General 3/6/2025 1:13:00 PM By Clay Kallam, Executive Editor, The Orinda News

Spring has Sprung, and High School Sports are Blooming

(Ann Murphy, Photographer)

Spring has Sprung, and High School Sports are Blooming
By Clay Kallam, Executive Editor, The Orinda News
February 27, 2025

The spring sports smorgasbord at Miramonte has something for almost everybody, especially on the boys' side. There are eight sports for boys on the spring calendar, and if it seems like most of the student body heads out to practice right after the last bell for classes, that might just be the case. And though most of the boys' teams have already played some games, the critical part of the season is just getting under way – and here's what to look for.

Baseball
    The analytics say the way to win is home runs and strikeouts, but Miramonte went old-school last year, relying on pitching and defense to put together a solid season for Skip Tague's second year in charge.
    "We manufactured runs," he said. "Our defense made plays. We were smart on the bases."
    Home run trots? Not so many. Blazing fastballs? This year's pitchers rely more on movement than velocity.
    But as Tague pointed out, "The little things add up," and they totaled a 9-3 Diablo Athletic League record and a first-place tie in the Valley Division with Alhambra.
    And though the pitching staff will have a new look, with reliever Austin Bilello moving to anchor the rotation and fellow senior Casey Young stepping into a bigger role, the defense and baseball IQ should still drive the Miramonte bus.
    "We won a lot of close games last year," said Tague, "in part because our defense was so good – and defensively, we should be really solid again."
    Junior shortstop Ian Hughes anchors the infield, and seniors Luke Holden (third base) and Preston Rguem (second base) are top-shelf defenders as well. Senior David Leibowitz will play a key role in the outfield, and yes, there are a lot of seniors playing pivotal positions.
    "We return nine players, eight of which are seniors," said Tague, but also notes that "last year's JV players will get a lot of opportunity."

Golf
    "We're the top public school in Division 2," said Jack Schram, who's been coaching the boys' golf team for the past eight years. "We're in the top four every year," but Marin County consistently hosts the North Coast Section golf tournament, which gives private schools like Marin Catholic a major home-course advantage come postseason.
    The Matadors were four strokes from an NCS title in 2024, but "we were senior-dominated," said Schram (who was the head football coach at Miramonte for 13 years before moving to College Park last year).
    But Schram isn't worried. With senior Archer Eames looking solid in the No. 1 spot, Schram is confident that the depth of the program will deliver plenty of low scores as the season progresses.

Tennis
    The top three for the Mats look to be seniors Gavin Dille and Jonah Eliase and junior Lucca Zamani, but fourth-year coach Andrew Lee knows the key to success is depth – and the early season goal is to develop that depth.
    Miramonte finished 7-3 in the DAL last year, and advanced to the NCS playoffs, losing to eventual champion Cal High in the second round.
    To take the next step, Lee is relying on the court coverage from Zamani and Dille to win singles' matches, but Lee acknowledged that "a strong team can't go far without depth."

Swimming
    With powerhouse, and archrival, Campolindo just over the hill, coach Trevor Rose knows it's always going to be tough to win a league title, but last year's team "did exceptionally well," he said.
    This year, Miramonte will rely on junior Laird Delbridge, who is both versatile and extremely talented.
    "He will finish his career as one of the best swimmers in the history of the school," said Rose, and given the Mats' illustrious past in the pool, that's a strong statement.
    Seniors Pat Stice and Griff Tunney and junior Gabe Hoffman are also expected to play key roles, and Rose looks to use them in a variety of ways.
    "We have a lot of versatile swimmers," he said, "and it makes us more of a competitive dual meet team – and it's a big deal in the league meet."

Lacrosse
    "We only return three seniors," said co-coach Tom Duffy, "but we're optimistic that we'll be competitive. Coming off a year when our emphasis was on defense, we want to build a more fast-paced team, and turn defense into offense."
    Leading the way in that upgrade will be senior attack Liam Campbell, who has been on the varsity team since his freshman season. Derek Youn is a two-way midfielder who will also be an important part of the equation, and the junior also began his varsity career as a freshman.
    With only three seniors back, an influx of youth will be needed to keep Miramonte competitive in the tough eight-team DAL.
    "The door is open for younger players," Duffy said.

Track and Field
    Senior Alex McManomon was a force in the high jump and triple jump last year, and he's back to lead the Matadors' track and field team.
    Sprinter Andrew Bjornsen, just a junior, and distance specialist Logan Letulle, a senior, will also be scoring points in running events.

Volleyball
    Aria Jahangiri is in the second year of his rebuilding project at Miramonte, but as any coach knows, it takes time to turn the ship around.
    "We have eight returners," he said, "but everyone is pretty new to volleyball – so I'm just putting simple systems into place."
    Senior Pearson Smith and junior Ryan Balonick are the two top players, with Smith's outside hitting supplying the offense, and Balonick's versatility filling gaps in the rest of the rotation.
    "It's a very competitive league," said Jahangiri, but he's looking for a leap forward in year two. "We'd love to qualify for NCS."

Continue Reading...

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Ryan Balonick: Sophomore

Logan Letulle

Archer Eames: Junior

Laird Delbridge: Sophomore

Gavin Dille: Junior

Jonah Elias: Junior

Lucca Zamani: Sophomore

Austin Bilello: Senior

Luke Holden: Senior

Ian Hughes: Junior

David Leibowitz: Senior

Preston Rguem: Senior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Balonick
: Sophomore

Logan Letulle

Archer Eames
: Junior

Laird Delbridge
: Sophomore

Gavin Dille
: Junior

Jonah Elias
: Junior

Lucca Zamani
: Sophomore

Austin Bilello
: Senior

Luke Holden
: Senior

Ian Hughes
: Junior

David Leibowitz
: Senior

Preston Rguem
: Senior

Miramonte High School

Spring has Sprung, and High School Sports are Blooming

Players Mentioned

Ryan Balonick

Logan Letulle

Archer Eames

Laird Delbridge

Gavin Dille

Jonah Elias

Lucca Zamani

Austin Bilello

Luke Holden

Ian Hughes

David Leibowitz

Preston Rguem

Players Mentioned

Ryan Balonick

Logan Letulle

Archer Eames

Laird Delbridge

Gavin Dille

Jonah Elias

Lucca Zamani

Austin Bilello

Luke Holden

Ian Hughes

David Leibowitz

Preston Rguem

Sticky bar