Rio Mesa now enters its winter sports season! Returnees get back in shape to make a comeback or our new student-athletes get ready for tryouts. The excitement builds as they prepare for competitive matches and games to proudly represent Rio Mesa high school. Freshman Serena Montiel begins her high school soccer career after a successful cross-country season in the fall. Having PR’d (personal record) significantly at her last league meet, her confidence soared and she was ready to tackle soccer tryouts as it came to it.

 “The stamina I’ve developed in cross-country has helped me a lot with soccer,” she says. 

Serena competes in the Junior Varsity team. Four-year varsity soccer athlete and co-captain Kamyla Navarro makes a stunning return. Despite the varsity soccer team getting the win, she says she feels she could have assisted more at their first game. Though the team has been putting in the hard work at practice and being patient with the positive outcomes. Kamyla hopes to enter the playoffs and win CIF in her final season at Rio Mesa as a senior.

“I feel like our team is really good competitively, we all lift each other and make sure to create a good environment.” 

Varsity athlete Leilani Conn also enters her last season of basketball. She feels she did pretty well defensively but recalls that there is always room for improvement. Leilani adds a genuine mention to her coach, stating he maintains the team’s opportunities to improve their skills. Speaking of skills, comparing the first game to the most recent one, the girl’s basketball team has seen changes in their communication. It certainly does take time for a team to break the ice and become familiar with each other. Teams go through heartfelt wins and losses together so it’s ideal to figure out team barriers sooner rather than later. 

Leilani concludes with, “I hope to end this season on a good note and I could tell I’m going to have fun with everyone.”

Boys basketball player Kamden Kiech comments that his first game of the season was great regardless of missing a couple of shot” because they grabbed the win in the end.The varsity athlete hopes to make it as far as he can in the playoffs and the team devotes to achieving what they’re willing to in the end. 

Taking a dive into water polo, Emerita Woolgar reflects on her decision to rejoin the varsity team. 

“Our first league game was tough since we moved up in divisions… but we have made so much more progress since then.”

 Before the season, Emerita was set on being the girl’s water polo team manager. After a long debate, she decided to continue with her water sports ventures. The winter season invites cold winds and chilly game days for water polo. So it’s beneficial to have a proper warm-up before competing to raise the body temperature and get ready mentally for an exciting season at Rio Mesa!