The 2023 San Diego Sections CIF finals were a long day for Westview’s track and field team, but after nine hours, it proved to be a successful one as well. As the sun moved slowly westward over the Mt. Carmel stadium, the Wolverines took the podium time and time again.

Macy Ratermann (10) was the first to take home victory, running not only a fifth-place 100m at 12.37 seconds, but also the 200m in 25.27 seconds for second place, less than an hour later.

Kaitlyn Arciaga (10), fresh off third place at CIF prelims and the prestigious Arcadia Invitational, nabbed a fifth place for herself in the 800m by edging past her 2:14.71 in prelims with a 2:14.65 time. She is

taking the experience to springboard into even more success this summer before starting up her junior season this fall.

“[Fifth place] was awesome,” Arciaga said. “I have nine national competitions in June, so I’m super excited, and I’m going to rethink my strategy in order to ensure that I have the best chance of doing well.”

Adrian Welton (10) closed out the meet with a first-place victory in the 3200m, the last event of the day. A week prior, during prelims at Del Norte, he’d come in second with a PR of 9:24.71. Only 9:15.80 seconds after the bang of the starting gun, he crossed the finish line, dropping nearly nine seconds off his time for a new PR and creating an almost 6-second gap between him and the second finisher.

“I knew going into the race that plenty of guys were going to run my realistic goal time (9:20), so my race strategy was to go with those guys and hit a 70-second lap pace,” Welton said. “My first mile was 4:40, right on my goal. Three laps left to go and I was really starting to hurt, but I just trusted my legs’ endurance, managed to hold off some challengers, and held on with a strong final lap.”

Ryland Arciaga (12), one of the only seniors in the postseason, ran the anchor leg of the 4x800m relay, along with Matthew Dobrolowski (11), James Hilton (10), and Parker McDevitt (9). The team placed sixth with a time of 8:18.79.

Across the track, on the inner field, Andrew Schiering (11) and Vincent Farenc (11) tried not to go

faster, but to go higher.

As pole vaulters, Schiering and Farenc cleared 14’6” and 14’, respectively, in the prelims, placing in the top five and qualifying for the finals. Finals were a first for both Schiering and Farenc, and more than anything else, an opportunity to push themselves in a new way. Both Farenc and Schiering cleared 14 feet, with Farenc placing fourth and Schiering sixth overall.

“I’ve improved a lot as an athlete this season,” Schiering said. “My PR has improved by two and a half feet, my form is much better, I’m more confident in my capabilities, and I hope that I’ll be back next CIFs.”

The competitors who have qualified in their events for the state CIF competition will compete at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California.

After a rollercoaster of a season, the gymnastics team earned the CIF championship for the second year in a row, May 20. Captain Aadya Nayak (12), who was on the team last year, was able to see that success carry over to her final season.

“I was just really glad that we were able to take the momentum of last year’s pretty much undefeated season and carry that on to this season,” Nayak said.

The team spent months preparing for their competitions. While the sport requires them to hone their physical skills, Nayak said they have to keep mental focus as well.

“Mentally, it was just keeping your head in the game and staying focused,” Nayak said. “We just needed to stay consistent and do what we had been doing like we did in practice.”

Unfortunately, early on in the season, this consistency was interrupted when captain Camille Caires (12) was injured and unable to perform for the rest of the meets. Nayak said Caires’ absence impacted the team’s morale and overall performance. 

“[Her injury] was devastating, and not just in terms of scores,” Nayak said. “As a person and as an athlete, Camille is one of those people that inspires you with her hard work. Her not being able to be there because of surgery was really hard on us. At the two meets she was out, we had our lowest team scores.”

After those two meets, Caires came back to cheer on her team from the sidelines as she recovered. Her return renewed the team’s energy and gave them a boost for the remainder of their meets.

“Her presence at meets really changed the game for us,” Nayak said. “When she came back, even though she wasn’t competing, our points rose drastically. I think that just shows how connected we are as a team because when somebody is not there, all of us are affected.”

This connection was fostered by the team early on, according to Anika Chung (12), with outside activities and events that allowed the team members to spend time together.

“I think this year we had a lot more team bonding,” Chung said. “Our captains really encouraged it. So after every meet that wasn’t too far away, we usually [went] out to eat with each other. [At meets], we all watch each other and cheer each other on. We have a small team this year so it makes it easier to pay attention to everyone.”

As one of the captains, Caires recognized the importance of the close team environment that was promoted by these activities.

“Our season isn’t very long, but I think the team bonding really helps us connect,” Caires said. “So when we do encourage each other, it means we can trust what that person is saying and [know] that they care about you more than just your scores.”

Individual focus was still required in order to make significant progress in their routines. 

Nayak said that each teammate was able to reflect on their personal abilities, but Serena Broley (9) in particular dramatically improved in her floor routine. 

In addition, according to Caires, many of the team members had strong seasons and some broke school records with their scores, like Kiara Lutz (12).

“[Lutz] ended up getting a 9.9 [in her floor routine] at CIFs, which is pretty much unheard of,” Caires said. “It broke Westview’s record of highest score.”

The day after the CIF competition, the gymnastics team held a banquet in order to celebrate their victory and the dedication of all of the members as the season came to a close.

Softball reaches semi-finals in CIFs, farthest achieved in past four years

Adrenaline rushed through the veins of each member of the softball team, May 24, as they got ready for their third game against Santana. 

The first time the team went against Santana was in the first round of CIFs, May 17, when the Wolverines emerged with a 6-3 win. The second matchup was the CIF semi-finals, May 23, when Westview lost 10-0. However, since this portion of CIFs was now double-elimination, Westview and Santana were required to have a third rematch for the semi-finals. This would be the deciding factor if the team would move on to CIF Finals Despite the valiant effort the team put up, the game ended in a 13-7 loss. Nevertheless, captain Lily Lai (12) said this was the furthest the team had advanced in CIFs since her freshman year.

Last season the team was in Division III, but since they were able to make it to the quarter-finals, they were moved up to Division II for this season. Due to this move-up and the fact that they were competing against more advanced teams than last season, they were ranked 8 out of 12 teams in the Division II bracket based on their overall win-loss record. 

Ever since their first win in CIFs against Calexico, May 15, Emma Guzman (9) said that the team was closer than ever before.

“CIFS [has]  brought us closer together because I feel like our energy has really carried us through these games,” Guzman said. “[The] games have really shown everybody that we can come together as one and our energy is really what carries us.”

A majority of the girls on the team had a long experience playing softball on travel teams before joining the program, and a major strength of the team is being able to blend all their previous experiences together and come together as a team. 

“It’s like this weird sort of mesh, trying to figure out our styles together by communicating together,” Lai said. “We emphasize a lot of communication drills, and so it’s a lot better with backing each other up on the field and supporting each other out there.”

As captain, Lai has tried to highlight the importance of communication between grades. During Lai’s freshman year, she said she felt intimidated playing alongside seniors. She has tried to foster this communication throughout the season by including more team bonding and building relationships with everyone on the team.

“I think it has made it easier for people to open up to one another,” Lai said. 

Lai’s teammates, including Guzman, have felt this sense of community since the beginning of the season. She has been playing softball since she was 4 years old, and she said the community in the team is very different from her travel team because she is able to make friends that she also goes to school with and get close with people from all grades.

When it comes to being on the field, the friendship within the team allows them to support each other during games.

“[Good communication helps with] everyone getting their head in the game,” Lai said. “[Then everyone is] focusing on the field to work together.”