Taking the best moments from the 2023-24 Campolindo sports seasons
Beating Acalanes (Football): By Harrison Fuller
On November 3rd, the Cougars made the short trip over to Lafayette to face rival Acalanes. Campo had bested Aca in their last two matchups, however, for most of this game it looked like the Dons were going to break the streak. They led the Cougars 24-10 at the start of the 4th quarter. But that’s when the comeback started. On their first drive of the 4th quarter, the Cougars stormed down the field. A 1-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Isaiah Ortiz reduced Acalanes’ lead to 24-17 with 7 minutes to go in the game. Then, after a quick punt by Acalanes, the Cougars got the ball back and had an opportunity to tie the game. And that’s when sophomore running back Micah Parker brought the house down with a 24-yard rushing touchdown that put the Cougs a single point behind Acalanes. But instead of going with the sane decision of an extra point attempt, head coach Kevin Macy decided to go for 2. This was to put them in the lead. Macy’s decision paid off. The Cougars went up 25-24 with just under 3 minutes left in the game. All they needed to do was to get a stop on defense, and the streak lived on. And that’s exactly what happened. Junior Mack Fisher, playing his first game at linebacker, intercepted Acalanes’ quarterback’s pass on an out route to give the Cougars possession, and the win.
Beating SRV (Boys Water Polo): By Thomas Berg
On Wednesday, November 8th Campolindo went head to head with San Ramon Valley in the NCS Open Division 3rd place game. Campolindo had beat the Wolves earlier in the year during a league matchup and was able to shut them out. Still being a tough opponent, San Ramon was ready for a rematch. A close game continued on through the whole match and seemed to be way more competitive of a game then their first meeting of the year with even more at stake. Clutch goals from various players gave Campolindo the win and gave them strong momentum going into the state tournament.
Silencing the Matadors (Basketball): By John Weaver
On January 26th, the Cougars headed to Orinda to take on the Matadors on their home court. For the game’s entirety, Campolindo struggled to play clean offense, allowing Miramonte to not only hang around the whole game, but to have a 6-point lead going into the 4th quarter. Campolindo fought back, giving them a late 2-point lead. After two missed free throws with 4 seconds remaining, Miramonte went on the break throwing it long down court for it to be emphatically batted away by a stretched-out senior guard Landon Fly, ending the game right there. Students poured down onto the court to celebrate this chaotic victory against rival Miramonte.
Beating Acalanes (Girls Soccer): By Thomas Berg
On Thursday, January 25th Campolindo headed to Lafayette to take on their cross-town rival Acalanes. In their first meeting it was a close match, as the Cougars only ended up winning by one goal. This matchup was shaping up to be a close game once again. As the game went on, the skeptics were wrong about it being a close game, as the Cougars destroyed the Dons, winning with a total of four goals scored. Two of these goals were scored from superstar senior forward Indira Naylor. Campolindo rode their momentum from their 3 previous wins to continue on their win streak, extending it now to 4.
National Lead DMR (Girls Track and Field): By Harrison Fuller
Despite heaving rain in Palo Alto, the Campolindo girls track and field squad made history at the Stanford Relays Invitational. On Friday, March 29, the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team from Campo– made up of senior Kate Kabenina, sophomore Claire Andrzejek, senior Daisy Penney, and senior Shea Volkmer– ran a nation-leading time of 11:57.26. The DMR is a relay where the first leg runs 1200 meters (3 laps around a standard 400 meter track), the second leg runs 400 meters (one lap), the third leg runs 800 meters (2 laps), and the 4th leg, or anchor, runs 1600 meters (4 laps). The Cougars won their heat by a stunning margin of 26-seconds between them and the team that placed 2nd. This was in large part to Volkmer’s anchor leg. She ran her 1600m in 4:45, which alone, would stand as the 3rd fastest time in California. Their time now ranks as 10th in the nation, but on that rainy day in Palo Alto, Campo was number one.
