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Wednesday, March 10
The Encinal track team won its first meet of the year against San Lorenzo High and Arroyo High. Senior Brian Oduor was the Jets top performer, placing first in four different events: 200M, 400M, long jump, and 4x4 relay.
"Being able to be out there again felt great," said Oduor. "I used that time off to workout and prepare myself for this season and it’s final here. Now all I gotta do is continue to show out."
It was almost one year ago when COVID shut down all high school sports. In March of 2020, the track team was about to board of bus to head to it's first meet before getting the news. "It is only fitting that, a year later, they were the first Encinal athletics team to compete.
Junior Asia Lyons Mason also performed well, finishing second in both the 200M and 400M.
"I did okay I guess," said Lyons Mason. "Although those are good places, there is still a lot of room for improvement."
After one year away from the sport, many runners missed the rush it brings.
"It honestly felt super refreshing," said Lyons Mason. "Nothing can compare to the rush you get when you step foot on the track."
Thursday, March 11
Encinal women's tennis cruised to a 4-1 home victory against Hayward High, winning 2 of 3 singles matches and both doubles matches.
#2 Kaili Geritz won 0-6, 6-0 (12-10) and #3 Jess Drake won 6-0, 6-0. In doubles, Elizabeth Han and Olivia Grassman won 6-2, 6-1 while Megan Ngai and Carolyn Nguyen won 6-0, 6-0.
"It was a fun first match," said sophomore Elizabeth Han. "Something I really miss doing is socializing with people, so I made new friends playing tennis and got to socialize more."
"To be honest, I think did pretty good," said sophomore Megan Ngai. "There are still things I need to improve on, but I’m sure I’ll get better with practice."
The Lady Jets will take on Mt. Eden on Monday, March 15.
Friday, March 12
Football players took the field for the first time in over a year as Encinal High squared off against crosstown rival Alameda High. Though not a traditional Island Bowl, bragging rights were still on the line in the scrimmage. Three touchdowns for the Jets and zero for the Hornets ensured Encinal would retain the trophy.
"It felt really good to be back out there with the guys. I'm just happy we get a chance to actually play," said junior quarterback Garrett Deatherage. "As a team we played alright for our first game but there’s still a lot more for us to work on."
There was plenty of rust to shake off, but players acknowledged the significance of returning to play.
"It wasn’t the best and it wasn’t the worst," said senior running back Cordell Reed of his performance. "Just felt good to strap up and go against a different team."
"I feel like today went well but there is a lot that we need to work on and continue to get better as a team every day," added senior center Luis Verduzco Ramirez.
Encinal's first official league game in on Friday, March 19 against James Logan High School.
Saturday, March 13
The Jets and Hornets also faced off in the opening game of the baseball season with the Hornets taking home a 17-7 victory. The bats came alive for both sides as junior Chadd Edwards went 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
Encinal pitchers ran into difficulty early and often. However, junior Bobby Locklear had a respectable outing, allowing only two runs in three innings pitched.
"I think I pitched okay today, but definitely have room for improvement," said Locklear. "Just happy to be back out there playing with my teammates."
The prevailing sentiment was thankfulness for just being able to compete.
"Best part of today was just competing and being out on the field," said Locklear. "I think we're really lucky to be even playing, so just being able to play in the middle of a pandemic is a blessing."
"We played well, better then expected, given it was the first game of the year," said coach Trevor Sampson. "We are excited to build off of today’s game."
The Jets will face San Lorenzo next on Tuesday, March 16.
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