Over the years, Cal High has excelled in several sports while sending numerous teams and individual athletes to the North Coast Section playoffs.

This fall was no exception as seven teams represented Cal at NCS.

Football

Once again Cal continues to be dominant in football as the Grizzlies claimed a share of their third straight EBAL championship.

The team went 5-1 in league to share the title with Foothill.

As a result, the Grizzlies (8-3) earned the No. 4 seed in the NCS Division I playoffs and has advanced to the second round after beating No. 13 Heritage 45-13 last Friday.

Cal hosts No. 5 Liberty on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets will be $6 for students and $9 for adults. The winner will likely face top-seed De La Salle in the semifinals on Nov. 28 or 29.

On offense this season, seniors Jacob Wooldridge and Matt Snyder, and junior Justin Locklear have led the way with great seasons. Wooldridge, the quarterback, threw for 1,140 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. Locklear ran for a total of 819 yards and 11 TDs. Snyder caught 14 passes for 349 yards at tight end.

On defense, seniors Peter Farina, Cole Dohmann and Simi Hingano all have shined. Farina has five interceptions and 42 tackles. Dohmann led the team with 69 tackles and recovered one fumble. Hingano, who played both defense and offense, had three pass deflections and 55 tackles.

Cross Country

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will be participating in NCS Championships on Saturday. Running for the boys will be senior Christian Aldana, who earned all-league honors after placing seventh at the EBAL Championships on Nov. 7, juniors Travis Fleming, Eric Perez, Akul Goyal, Austin Guo, and sophomores Michael Leonard and Alex Castillo.

Some of the men’s highlights included placing fourth at the Monte Vista Invitational, fifth at the EBAL center meet, and third at the Farmer Invitational. Throughout the season, their personal highlights included Perez taking 15th at the Monte Vista Invitational and Fleming placing 16th at the EBAL Center Meet.

Running for the women’s team at NCS will be freshman Kayla Neumann, who placed 11th at EBALs, sophomore Mary Swisher and Anne Kasenchak, and seniors Angelica Pollard, Alexandra Tran and Mikhaela Santos.

The girls team did very well at the Farmer and the Monte Vista invitationals, placing fifth and 14th respectively. They were led by great races from Neumann, who took 12th at Monte Vista, and Swisher, who got 39th at the Farmers.

Senior Christian Aldana races at the cross country EBAL meet at Shadow Cliffs on November 7.

Women’s Tennis

For the first time in at least 10 years, the women’s tennis team qualified for NCS as the 10th seeded team.

But the ladies’ impressive season came to an end when they lost 5-2 to No. 7 Foothill in the first round of NCS.

The Grizzlies finished fourth in EBAL with a 7-7 record in league, 14-9 overall. The team seems built for future success as well with four sophomores and six freshmen on varsity this year.

“We got very close this year and all got along,” said senior captain Smita Balaji.

The chemistry the ladies formed helped them succeed throughout the year.

Sophomore May Zhu was the team’s top-ranked singled player and earned all-league honors with an astounding 22-1 record. She also advanced to NCS singles play as the No. 3 seed, but lost 2-1 in the opening round to Christina Wang from Dougherty Valley.

Sophomore Ana Maria Stoenescu also lost in the first round of NCS singles play.

The team’s season was highlighted by beating San Ramon Valley for the first time in 10 years and beating Carondelet on senior night.

Senior Sarah Chang serves the ball against her Granada opponent.

Women’s Golf

The women’s golf team went 6-8 in league and reached the NCS Tournament of Champions for the third straight season.

The team traveled to Berkeley for NCS on Nov. 3 and placed ninth place out of 15 teams. This marked the second straight season Cal finished in the top 10 in NCS.

As individuals, Terciano came in 15th with an 81, followed by Guimaraes with an 84 and Truong with an 86.

Cal’s season was highligted with key victories against San Ramon, Amador Valley, and Foothill. The team was led by an excellent play from juniors Fericia Terciano and Alexis Guimaraes, and sophomore Ashley Truong who averaged 8.1, 10.4 and 6.0 strokes over par, respectively.

“Coach Pottinger would usually give us motivational talks a day before every match,” said Terciano.

Water Polo

For the first time in three years, Cal’s women’s water polo team qualified for NCS.

After the No. 7 seeded Grizzlies beat Neward Memorial 14-5 in the opening round, Cal lost to No. 2 Monte Vista 20-4 in the quarterfinals.

The team’s ranking this year was the highest seed Cal has ever earned in women’s water polo.

“It feels so amazing that all of our hard work paid off,” said senior Jessica Gonsalves. “I’m so honored to get to represent Cal High in NCS and I’m so proud to get to play alongside such an amazing group of girls.”

The team finished 12-9 overall, 2-5 in league. Their season was highlighted by wins over Carondelet and Foothill. The girls also won the Pinole Valley Invitational, claiming the championship with 16-7 victory over College Park.

Men’s water polo also advanced to NCS as the No. 15 seed, but lost to No. 2 Miramonte 21-5 in the first round.

The boys went 11-14 overall, 2-5 in league. The team had great goalkeeping throughout the season. In wins over Dougherty Valley and Granada, goalie Josh Shapland only allowed five and seven goals, respectively.

“Our captains helped and challenged our team by making sure we were focused, motivated, and cooperative,” said senior Austin Keller.

Women’s Volleyball

After deep runs in NCS the past two seasons, the women’s volleyball team did not return to NCS this year. The team struggled to replace key players that graduated. Cal finished 10-19 overall, 3-11 in league.

Two of the Grizzlies’ biggest games were sweeping both games against Livermore, beating them in four and three sets.  But the team struggled to beat tougher league opponents, such as San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista.

“We definitely have enough talent to make NCS next year,” said sophomore Sabrina Quilalang.

Despite the disappointment, the girls still have high hopes for next year.

Senior Caitlyn Lowe bumps the ball during her Senior Night game against Livermore.