The student news site of Alisal High School

Trojan Tribune
Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik
How Much Homework is Too Much?
In Mr. Abanathie’s 4th period class, students were directed to spend a few minutes discussing a presented prompt on the projector. His daughter, Jamie Abanathie (bottom left) collaborates with her group mates alongside a game of Uno.
Under the same roof…Twice!
Where to go for AP exam prep
Where to go for AP exam prep
At CCS, both Coach Zavala and Coach Cabrera guided their wrestlers to victory. “CCS Regionals went really well," Cabrera said. "We had many athletes qualify to Masters and we were excited to see four athletes in the regional finals! CCS is always intimidating and challenging so it was wonderful to see our athletes go out and face the challenge.” The team sent 3 wrestlers to State - Briana Ochoa, Areli Rodriguez, and Fabian Martinez.
Growing pains and gains
Damian Ramos-Gomez, Jason Majano, Kevin Majano, (Back Row) Marisol Botello, Bethany Vargas, Luis Ante, Dannadely Juarez, Diego Ortega, all became champions of the NPS Design Challenge on December 13th. They built a biofoul-cleaning robot (barnacles, algae, seaweed) cleaning robot, to help military battleships glide through the water more efficiently. “Winning the NPS design challenge had a profound effect on me because it was the first thing I accomplished this year,” Vargas said.
Engineering team wins NPS competition
At the K-Bell Invitational, junior Fernando Herrera ran the 3200m. Herrera placed 7th with 9:40.39 minutes. “Munoz and I have been talking about that this year I was going to try for that two mile,” Herrera said. “The goal for that race was to hit 9:40, which is exactly what I hit. This was a 16 second PR from last season. I got the sixth fastest time in school history.”
Growing pains
Overcoming both physical and mental hurdles, junior Marley Llamas runs 22.01 seconds in the 100m hurdles against North Salinas. “It was a tough race but I was able to push through it,” she said.
Hoping to rise to the challenge
Once fearing the 100 fly, Leonardo Mariscal stepped up when his senior teammate graduated. “I can’t do it easy, but I’m better than I was before. That’s basically what got me into the 100 fly, making it my favorite event because it allows me to challenge myself,” he said.
Making waves
On the 2nd hole at Fairway Golf Course against Alvarez, senior Jeremiah Baloca makes par with this putt.
Driven to perform
In a preseason matchup against Palma, middle blocker Lawrence Escobedo gets a kill. The Trojans defeated the Chieftains 3-0, going 6-3 in preseason, and are currently in first place in league at 2-0.
Small team, big heart
Series Review: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Series Review: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Movie Review: Dogman
Movie Review: Dogman
Review: XO, Kitty – Season 2
Review: XO, Kitty – Season 2
Movie Review: Mufasa
Movie Review: Mufasa
Album Review: Hurry Up Tomorrow/The Weeknd
Album Review: Hurry Up Tomorrow/The Weeknd
Students in Mr. Battaglini's 6th period journalism/yearbook class discuss a warmup question.
Should grades be based on excellence or effort?
Image by foto-retusz from Pixabay
Learning to manage my time
On my second trip to Mexico, I experienced the grueling work on the ranch. As my cousins gathered the sugar cane from the field, I had to jump on the piles to flatten them.
Learning to live in the moment
Brain Rot? Nah, "Cooked" should be the word of the year
Brain Rot? Nah, “Cooked” should be the word of the year
My style is something I take a lot of pride in, and it takes a lot of self confidence to put myself out there with the fashion statement I make.
Keeping things professional
The student news site of Alisal High School

Trojan Tribune
The student news site of Alisal High School

Trojan Tribune
Categories:

Something to prove

Tennis team looking to make a statement
Omar Gonzalez, Reporter • April 2, 2025
Omar Gonzalez
The team played a difficult preseason schedule to prepare for league. Senior Angelo Rodriguez hits a backhand in a game against Piedmont Hills. Although the Trojans lost, Rodriguez is keeping his head up. “I played solid, but there’s always room for improvement,” he said.

After finishing 5-5 in the Mission Division and finishing in  3rd last season, the boys’ varsity tennis team have their eyes on winning everything. “This season we have something to prove… we didn’t get ranked, so a lot of the teams here think our players can’t play,” Coach Isaac Santa Cruz said.

This year the team consists of 14 players – seniors Angelo Rodriguez, Alexander Rodriguez, Jovany Serna, Aniken Deniz, Kike Jacinto, and Joshua Saldaña; juniors Kayden Posecion, Aaren Dimaano, Joseph Aguilar, Fernando Gonzales, Alexis Duenas, and Christopher Garcia; sophomore Joshua Ward; freshmen Alexander Juarez.

Santa Cruz decided to challenge his team with a tough preseason schedule. This year the team had a packed preseason as they played 5 matches and a jamboree with 3 other schools. The Trojans played Santa Clara, Cupertino, Piedmont Hills, Stevenson, and Carmel. Although they lost every match, it was a learning experience for the team. “We took them to San Jose to compete against teams that compete in State and CCS, and it was a learning experience,” Santa Cruz said. 

One of the team captains, junior Joseph Aguilar can already see how the team will succeed this season. “I think what makes this year’s team special is the returning players already experiencing what tennis matches are like,” he said. 

Story continues below advertisement

The other team captain, junior Kayden Posecion, has big goals for the team this season. “I expect us to win the league and go undefeated,” he said. With this big goal Posecion doesn’t want his team to think too much about it. “I think for us, we’re just trying to get game by game and one point at a time,” he added.

Coach Santa Cruz agrees with Posecion,  as he also has a positive attitude towards league games. “We’ll be heading in the right direction and I feel like for the league our goal is to win against whoever’s in our way,” he said. 

Through two league matches, the team was 1-1. “We’re heading in the right direction but we still have to take care of business,” Santa Cruz said. “I want to see the team stay locked in, keep grinding, and push each other to get better every match. If we stay focused and keep that energy, we’ll finish the season strong,” Angelo Rodriguez added.  

View Story Comments
Print this Story
Donate to Trojan Tribune
$0
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Alisal High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
More in Showcase
Series Review: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Series Review: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Students in Mr. Battaglini's 6th period journalism/yearbook class discuss a warmup question.
Should grades be based on excellence or effort?
Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik
How Much Homework is Too Much?
At the K-Bell Invitational, junior Fernando Herrera ran the 3200m. Herrera placed 7th with 9:40.39 minutes. “Munoz and I have been talking about that this year I was going to try for that two mile,” Herrera said. “The goal for that race was to hit 9:40, which is exactly what I hit. This was a 16 second PR from last season. I got the sixth fastest time in school history.”
Growing pains
Overcoming both physical and mental hurdles, junior Marley Llamas runs 22.01 seconds in the 100m hurdles against North Salinas. “It was a tough race but I was able to push through it,” she said.
Hoping to rise to the challenge
In Mr. Abanathie’s 4th period class, students were directed to spend a few minutes discussing a presented prompt on the projector. His daughter, Jamie Abanathie (bottom left) collaborates with her group mates alongside a game of Uno.
Under the same roof…Twice!
More in Sports
Once fearing the 100 fly, Leonardo Mariscal stepped up when his senior teammate graduated. “I can’t do it easy, but I’m better than I was before. That’s basically what got me into the 100 fly, making it my favorite event because it allows me to challenge myself,” he said.
Making waves
On the 2nd hole at Fairway Golf Course against Alvarez, senior Jeremiah Baloca makes par with this putt.
Driven to perform
In a preseason matchup against Palma, middle blocker Lawrence Escobedo gets a kill. The Trojans defeated the Chieftains 3-0, going 6-3 in preseason, and are currently in first place in league at 2-0.
Small team, big heart
In the 7th inning against Watsonville, senior Caleb Gabriel hits a single, helping his team get the 4-1 win.
Guarded optimism
Keeping her head down and eye on the ball, sophomore Micah Smith rips a base hit against Rancho San Juan. The team had an impressive game against Rancho San Juan, winning 10-0.
Higher expectations
At CCS, both Coach Zavala and Coach Cabrera guided their wrestlers to victory. “CCS Regionals went really well," Cabrera said. "We had many athletes qualify to Masters and we were excited to see four athletes in the regional finals! CCS is always intimidating and challenging so it was wonderful to see our athletes go out and face the challenge.” The team sent 3 wrestlers to State - Briana Ochoa, Areli Rodriguez, and Fabian Martinez.
Growing pains and gains
Donate to Trojan Tribune
$0
$500
Contributed
Our Goal