As the departure of Director of Athletics Coach Melanie Horn gets closer and closer, the Tigers have given their all this spring season to make her last sports season the best it could be. Not only have three out of the four teams advanced to CIF, but numerous school records and achievements have been made in lacrosse and track and field. 

Here’s a rundown of our stellar spring sports season:

Lacrosse advances to CIF Quarter-Finals for the first time in Westridge history. 

Placing second in the Prep League, varsity lacrosse advanced to CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinals for the second time ever, with their first time being just last season. Because of their high scores and many victories, lacrosse received a first-round BYE. The Tigers advanced to the second round, dominating their game against Long Beach Wilson with a score of 19–1. Propelled by this win, the Tigers appeared in their first-ever quarterfinal in CIF-SS against Oaks Christian High School. Although the Tigers fought hard, Layla R. ’27, one of the Tigers’ strongest players, was injured early on in the game, which led to a tough loss of 11–18.

The Tigers had many strong players this season. Layla and her quick speed have proven essential to the team’s offensive prowess. Keira K. ’26 and Ramona N. ’28 have also made their mark on the scoring leaderboard. Additionally, current senior Sarah L. holds the school record for scoring 184 goals and 119 assists, contributing to 303 total points in their entire lacrosse career. The seniors graduating will be missed, but next year’s roster of players will bring the heat. 

Softball: Rysie Y. ’25 with five home runs.

Since becoming CIF Championship finalists in 2019, softball has since struggled to qualify. They finished with an overall season record of 4–1–13, which put them below the 0.500 winning percentage, which meant that they could not advance to CIF playoffs. “It was one of those seasons where we’d have so many games where we would play an extraordinary game, and yet have one bad inning, and we wouldn’t get over [the] top,” said Coach Horn. 

Needless to say, the Tigers had many wins to celebrate. They started the season off strong, with three out of their four wins within the first five games of the season, with a 21–1 game against Maranatha. However, they were unable to hold onto that momentum consistently as the season progressed. 

Offensive stronghold senior Rysie Y. hit five home runs this season and was accepted into the Prep League First Team All League. Abby W. ’27 and Jadyn M.-S. ’27 were also both accepted into the Prep League Second Team All League. Rysie, Abby, and Jadyn were a dynamic trio that nearly broke the 0.500 winning percentage last season with a season record of 7–10. However, with Rysie graduating this year, another player should fill in her shoes for the team to overcome the 0.500 winning percentage and advance to CIF. 

Swimming and diving: Swimming and diving move up to Division 3. Individual Athletes Qualify for CIF.

This season, swimming and diving moved up from CIF-SS Division 4 to Division 3 for the first time ever because they advanced to Division 4 Finals last season. This is a substantial achievement, but it comes with one major setback: qualifying for CIF will be considerably harder than in past seasons.

Although playing in a more competitive division presented new challenges, the Tigers finished fourth in the Prep league.

Only one individual qualified for CIF Prelims. Freshman Alexis N. qualified in the 200 individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke, and on top of that, she placed 20th in the entire division overall. Two relay teams also qualified, with seniors M.G. N. and Alana L., along with Jessica S. ’27 and Alexis, for the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. 

For the first time in a decade, Westridge’s team featured a diver: Natalie L. ’27. Competing in eleven different dives in her first year of diving, she was only a few points away from qualifying for CIF Finals. As her skills continue to develop, Natalie stands a great chance of competing in CIF in her future.

Though many key senior swimmers will be leaving the team this year, including M.G., Alana, and Aliena S. ’25, there is plenty of young talent on the team to make for another exciting season next year. 

Track and field: Field and distance events set new records and won championships in a stellar season.

This season, track and field broke record after record, and a large number of athletes advanced to CIF Prelims or Finals. As a team, they placed third in the Prep League Championships. In addition, the individual achievements were nothing short of outstanding this year, especially in the field events.

In high jump, Bennett T. ’28 initially tied the school record, clearing 4 feet, 10 inches, but later broke the record by jumping 5 feet. Bennett went on to CIF-SS Division 4 Finals and finished 9th place in the league, while fellow freshman Kassandra O.-C. qualified for CIF prelims. Additionally, Isabel D.-L. ’26 qualified for CIF prelims in long jump.

For throwers, juniors Micaela R. and Whitley L. both qualified for CIF in discus, and Micaela also qualified in shot put. Another school record was broken, this time by Micaela, throwing 31 feet, 5.5 inches to surpass the previous record. She went on to compete at Finals and placed 8th.

Athletic phenomenon Teia L. ’26 also advanced to CIF prelims, along with Sage and Kassandra. Teia had a spectacular season this year, breaking the Prep League record by vaulting a staggering 11 feet, advancing to finals, and placing third in the division.

Another four athletes also broke the school record in sprints while competing in an 800-meter sprint medley, a 100-100-200-400 relay at the Redondo Nike Track Festival. Jaden A. ’26, Willa E.-B. ’28, Isabel, and Ximena A. ’25 ran their way to a time of 2:05.14 seconds, breaking the school record from 2014.

Distance running also had a stellar season, where seven out of ten distance runners made it to the top 25 fastest 1600-meter times in school history, with Ximena placing third with a time of 5:53. 

Overall, the Tigers end this year’s athletic season on a high note. With the arrival of new freshmen, the development of current athletes, and the small number of Seniors graduating this year, Westridge can expect a competitive turnout in the upcoming year. 

That’s the Spring Sports season in a nutshell! Let us all bid a well-deserved goodbye to Coach Horn, and kudos to the Tigers for their dedication this season. On to next year with Coach Alice Lee!

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