Lamorinda School Rivalries Shifting

Is stomping the Mats still Campolindo’s number 1 sporting priority?  Or is there a new, more contemporary rivalry brewing?  Should students be wearing shirts that ready “Beat the Dons”?

Out of 31 Campolindo students interviewed, 29 consider Miramonte to be the school’s natural rival.

But when you put the question to kids at the Acalanes campus, they believe that the real rivalry is between the Cougars and the Dons.

During the week of October 20, “Who’s your rival? Campolindo vs. Acalanes” shirts made by varsity football coach Kevin Macy were spotted around campus. At the Acalanes homecoming game vs. Campolindo on October 27, cheers of “We’re not rivals” filled the stadium.

Acalanes’ MaxPreps site wrote, “The Acalanes varsity football team has a home conference game vs. rival school Campolindo.” However, Campolindo’s MaxPreps website described it as simply a “conference game.”

Evidently, this is a one-sided rivalry between Acalanes and Campolindo. Acalanes considers Campolindo to be their rival, but Campolindo considers Miramonte to be its rival.

Is Campolindo the “hated school” of Lamorinda, or are we the “elite school” to beat?

“[We’re] the elite school to beat,” sophomore junior-varsity volleyball player, Kimya Peyvan, said. “We have the most titles out of all three [schools].”

“I grew up in Moraga, and the rival has always been Moraga-Orinda. It’s just been more intense playing against [Miramonte] than Acalanes,” senior wide receiver Parker Windatt added.

Senior varsity quarterback John Torchio agreed, “[Campolindo and Miramonte have] been rivals for a really long time and it always will be.”

However, Torchio acknowledged that some people believe the Acalanes-Campolindo rivalry is stronger. “I think they have a point because a lot of Lafayette kids come to Campo, but I think there is a greater history between Campo and Miramonte,” he said.

Though the majority of Campolindo students feel that Miramonte has staked the claim on the school rivalry standing, some believe that the tide could be turning, and Acalanes may join the duel.

“It’s fun to just say ‘Oh, you’re not our rival; Miramonte is’ but in my heart [Acalanes] is,” said freshman cross-country runner Katie Strohmeyer. “It’s obviously more fun for [people] to say that they are rivals against their friends. But, since I am from Lafayette, I still think of Acalanes as our rival.”

Freshman Dylan Gunn added that rivalries sometimes differ between sports.

“In cross country, it’s Las Lomas, but in other sports, it’s Miramonte. Las Lomas has a lot of kids on their team, and they have a very large team size. They compete with us in a lot of different groups,” said Gunn, who runs with the varsity cross country team.

Whether we are rivals with Acalanes, Miramonte, or Las Lomas, Peyvan believes that the schools should collaborate with each other. “I like the friendly rivalry; I think it’s fun, but I also like that all three schools work together,” Peyvan said.