After months of intense training and dedication has paid off for our cross country team. Racing at one of the fastest meets in the nation this month, the boys continue to showcase their strength and resilience. The boys placed 4th at Coolbreeze Invitational, 21st at Woodbridge Invitational and 1st at their first Coastal Canyon league meet. 

“Our team has been super strong this year across all levels and we swept in our first league meet so we are looking strong going forward in the season,” junior Ethan Marley said. “One of the biggest highlights for me with the team this season was racing in the fastest meet in the country last weekend at the Woodbridge Invitational. We were up against the fastest teams in the nation and it was great to be in that field.”

However, the team faced obstacles beyond just the competition, with sickness being the main concern. 

“Some of the toughest challenges I’ve faced is dealing with illness,” Marley said. “Illness can spread so easily across the team so staying healthy can sometimes be a challenge.”

Although the team is en route to high placement at the state meet, next stop is the Clovis Invitation. 

“The next big meet is the Clovis Invitational out in Fresno in a couple weeks which I am really looking forward to,” Marley said. “It is one of the fastest races in the state with so many former state champions there. And it will definitely give our varsity teams insight into what our placements will look like going into postseason.”

Just like the boys, the girls are maintaining strong performance in both invitational and league meets. The team placed 8th at Coolbreeze Invitational, 10th at Woodbridge and 1st at their Coastal Canyon meet. For the girls, celebrating alongside their teammates is the best part. 

“The most memorable moments for me have been watching all my hardworking teammates reach new personal goals and bests, and just winning as a team feels pretty great,” junior Naomi Lazarus said.

Despite their success, the team has faced few obstacles this season, though some individuals have worked to overcome mental hurdles.

“Our team hasn’t had very many challenges this racing season, the hard work really paid off,” Lazarus said. “But, one personal challenge that some runners have faced is their racing mindset, but everyones adjusting day by day.”

Before their big state meet, the team is eagerly preparing for their next big race on home turf, where they hope to continue their winning streak.

“I think if we keep working hard and taking everyday practice seriously, while also racing how we are now, our season will end on a very strong note,” Lazarus said. “I am most excited for our home meet this Tuesday since it is our home course! We as a team are ready to win all 6 races again.” 

After four consecutive undefeated seasons, the girls are upholding their streak for the fifth year in a row. This month, they won against Royal 198-255, Westlake 193-197, Camarillo 212-230 and Simi Valley 200-216. Their hard work and determination have been evident on the course, but the season hasn’t been without its difficulties.

“Some of the toughest challenges have honestly been the heat. It’s awful walking with your heavy bag in extreme heat and it’s so easy to get tired,” junior Madeleine Kim said. “Our toughest match was probably non league against Oaks Christian, but I actually didn’t play in that match.”

Despite these challenges, the team has built strong connections and created lasting memories. Whether on the course or off, the team has formed close bonds that make these moments even more meaningful.

“I love talking to everyone and being able to spend time with my friends. A lot of us don’t talk much at school so it’s nice to have a little family through golf,” Kim said. “One specific memorable moment I can think of is when Bianca finished one under par when I played with her, beating everyone else on the team and she got athlete of the week. It was fun to watch.”

Looking ahead, the team is preparing for the upcoming league finals, and the girls are determined to maintain their focus and finish the season on a high note.

“To finish strong, I think we all just need to stay focused and continue being consistent with our practice,” Kim said. “As long as we keep working hard and don’t spiral after a bad hole, we will be able to finish strong. I think practicing a lot is the key to a strong finish.”

With countless hours of practice ever since summer, Oak Park Dance Team work to perfect their routines and deliver entertaining performances. Among the team’s many memorable moments, the first performance of the year always holds a special place in their hearts. 

“I think one of our most memorable moments is always our first performance of the year at the first football game, along with the first time we get to do our dance team chant and the freshman’s first time out on that field,” junior Sophia Holmes said. 

Although preparing all these routines with such a short amount of time is very stressful, this year OPDT is making history. This year will officially be the first time the team competes in dance competitions. 

“I think an adjustment that is necessary now more than ever is putting in the same amount of effort outside of practice that is put in during practice,” Holmes said. “Reviewing the dance material and coming into practice knowing formations and choreography. Just small things to make everything go smoother and be as least stressful as possible.”

With football season coming to a close, the team is excited to celebrate the bittersweet moment, senior night.

“I’m excited for the senior night football game as well as the start of basketball season, but most importantly I’m so excited for competition and experience it with the dance team for the first time,” Holmes said. 

As other sports are in the midst of their season, boys beach volleyball have concluded their season with their championship this past weekend. The boys took home third place at the competition with new memories to forever remember. 

“Highlight for me was probably the Westlake game,” senior Alex Newman said. “Me and Brody got to stop a year plus win streak for the pair we played and it was a great game from all three of our pairs.”

Reflecting on the season, the team faced numerous challenges, but managed to stay competitive through it all.

“We’ve had a lot of changes in lineups and a lot of injuries so all things considered we’ve had a great season,” Newman said. “It felt like no one on our team was 100% but that’s part of it, just had to deal with it and move on.”

With beach volleyball behind them, the team is already shifting their focus to the upcoming spring season, preparing for indoor court volleyball.

As the football season, the team is currently on a winning streak, having secured victories this month against Birmingham, Taft and Grace Brethren. 

“I feel good about our team’s performance. We have started strong after not having a good start against Agoura,” senior Nico Mastrippolito said. 

Currently the team is at a high with wins, but each player has their own obstacle. 

“I think I have a lot of memories from this year and the best ones were from the games that have resulted in wins,” Mastrippolito said. “Some challenges I have faced are I am dealing with a knee injury.”

Anticipating for the last few games of the season, the boys are looking towards the results to secure their place in the playoffs. 

“Some adjustments we will make will probably just be to try to force more turnovers,” Mastrippolito said. “I’m excited about Oxnard and Buena because those are big deciding games if we make playoffs.” 

At every football game sideline and rally, we have our energizing cheer team give never-ending spirit and enthusiasm. With every moment being memorable, the team is constantly growing together. 

“I feel like the biggest challenge I’ve had to go through is gaining new skills and making them hit consistently,” junior Nicolette Hendizadeh said. “This year especially the team has gotten a lot stronger in our stunting abilities and with that comes harder skills.”

As the season progresses, the team is focused on finishing strong by staying motivated and energized, even during challenging moments.

“To finish strong, I think all of us as a team need to realize why we are on the team and to soak in all the moments because before we know it we will be graduating high school,” Hendizadeh said. “With that, keeping the energy up during every game and practice and being motivated even when tired is a big thing as a cheerleader to adjust to.”

Looking ahead, the team is excited for every upcoming game, especially the home game featuring the cheer mini clinic.

“I feel like this game is really special because teaching and hanging out with the kids is so fun and gives me so much joy,” Hendizadeh said.

After beating their biggest league rival for the first time in 8 years, the girls can see their hard  work and dedication paying off. The team successfully secured six wins out of the ten games they played this month. 

“We recently beat Camarillo 15-3, and they’ve been winning league for the past 8 years,” senior Joy Chu said. “I’m optimistic about our chances to take that position.”

The team has had many memorable moments together with a great team bond. This brings them closer as they go into harder matches. 

“Westlake is always difficult to beat, and Brentwood and Marlborough were also two difficult opponents,” Chu said. 

The team has great matches coming up that will be exciting for the whole team as they will

During football season, OP Eagle Brigade puts in a lot of work to bring good music and entertainment to the halftime of football games while also playing music during the games. 

“I think our performance has been good,” senior Priya Harry said. “As for football games, I think our tunes can be varied more, but I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made.”

As the season progresses, there is a lot of time to make improvements and have great staff to help them. The best way to grow is to learn from their challenges. 

“Some of our challenges we’ve had, I’d say, is starting and ending together on pep tunes; it’s difficult to gauge when we start and stop with all of the commotion during football games,” Harry said.

As the team marches into the next month, they are hosting middle school band night, which allows the high school to share their passions with younger students.

“I’m excited for middle school band night,” Harry said. “Additionally, this will give the middle schoolers a taste of marching band, even if they cannot participate in a full season in their high school years.”

As the season progresses, the girls flag football team holds a record of 3-4. Despite some challenges, the team remains determined and committed to finishing the season strong, learning from each game they play.

“The team is doing well this year but we still have areas that we need to improve on, like any other team,” senior Gemma Dutcher said. 

Among the challenges they’ve faced, some of the toughest have come from strong opponents.

“The toughest games we have faced so far have been Ventura and Camarillo, both are great teams with versatile players,” Dutcher said. 

This challenges the girls even more to improve and grow from their biggest setbacks. 

“In order to finish the season strong, we need to have better defensive coverage on deep balls and we need to have the ability to stretch the field and catch deep balls offensively,” Dutcher said.

With their last game of the season coming up, the girls are determined to take home another win. 

“I am looking forward to Royal because it will be senior night and our last home game of the season, so we will need to make it count,” Dutcher said. 

With just the second year of being an official sport at OPHS, the water polo team is slowly growing as a team, while working on individual skills. Reflecting on their progress, all the athletes are proud of their accomplishments so far. 

“I think our team has done really well this season so far,” senior David Ross said. “We’ve been working hard and it shows in the way we’ve been playing. There’s definitely room for improvement, but overall, I’m proud of how far we’ve come.”

Some of the highlights this season was their triumph over Moorpark and Pasadena.

“We have actually been able to win some games and we even beat Pasadena,” Ross said.”The most memorable moments were getting in and out after beating Moorpark. We definitely need to work on our conditioning and passing.”

Although the boys have only won two games so far, they are hopeful for the games to come. 

“I’m excited for Royal because they’re a very beatable team for us,” Ross said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to show how far we’ve come this season.”