Our cross-country team will be entering a series of races against other schools in the San Gabriel Valley League, such as Dominguez, Downey, Lynwood, Paramount, and Warren High School.

The cross-country team trains everyday except for Sundays. They have all been trying really hard to accomplish their goal of entering the CIF championship race.

They are now entering the league finals. As we all know, if they win the championship, not only will they be credited, we will also earn a good reputation for our school.

“So far its been great and we matured as a team,” Donaldo Lopez (12) said.

Team captains James Collins and Donaldo Lopez are expected to lead the team into victory. They train by doing long runs, which consist of up to 10-12 miles of intense running around the city to get them used to sprinting in the real championship.

After a long and tiring day of practice and teamwork, they are all very tired and need to be cooled down. They all take ice baths to relax their sore muscles.

Working hard is an essential element for most sports such as this, so they need to make sure they do not lag in training. After all, you play how you practice.

Our cross-country team has been working hard to be the best out there. They represent our school and how we do it here a Gahr.

If you ever see our Gahr students from cross country running around Cerritos, Artesia, tell them they are doing a good job and motivate them to try their best.

“I think we’ve accomplished a lot this season. For example we won district,” Collins said.

They are determined, motivated, and ready to take on the championship. It is only right that we should match their commitment.With our teamwork and dedication to their sport they will definitely succeed in bringing home the respect that Gahr High School deserves.

“Being a coach, I love! I love tennis, this season many of the girls were close in their games,” Thompson said.

Throughout Thompson’s coaching years, he has made sure that his players are playing hard and staying positive. He has shaped his team to know that no matter what, they are all winners.

“The season isn’t over yet, but we should have the double’s championship for this year on Thursday,” Thompson said.

With Tennis being such an intense sport, Gahr has a couple of talented girl players this year. Tennis may look easy, but there is more to it than some may think.

“It’s really intense, like really intense! When you get into it its great and its also great to watch,” Evana Walker (12) said.

This year’s teammates have realized that tennis is more than a sport; it is more like a family. These students have grown to like each other and now know each other personally.

Many students who have yet to experience this sport and its many dynamics think of it as boring. Tennis is a game that many can relate to and enjoy.

“I love how we can come out and play hard then at the end of the day we have each other to lean on and have girl talk,” Rachel Chauvin (12) said.

Robert Garcia, head water polo coach, trains his boys almost everyday of the week including Saturdays from 11am-2pm. He has really pushed his boys to do their very best this season.

“I yell at them! That makes them want to get better, and work so much harder!” Garcia said.

Despite the effort and hard work the boys put in for their sport, the overall season was not too hot. With an overall losing record, the water polo team lacked the support needed to train correctly. One reason is there is no pool on campus.

“I want Gahr polo to be good. This situation is like having to teach polo all over again. We are a team under development,” Garcia said.

His determination to improve the team is encouraging to all the water polo players. With some of the team lacking experience, the support from Garcia pushing the team was extremely needed.

“The discovery of young talent was an exciting experience, the freshmen and sophomores have a lot of potential. I am looking forward to their future,” Garcia said.

It is obvious that there is a great deal of potential for the team next year. And by the looks of it no one will be giving up. This sport became more than just a sport to some of the boys.

“It helps because this sport not only taught me water polo, but also taught me how to be a man,” Krish Karia (12) said.

Although their season started off with a couple losses, they were able to finish the season with a victory against Artesia High School. They won the game with a final score of 13 to 9.

“I was excited because it was my last game ever, and we won!” Carlos Ceballos (12), water polo captain, said.

It has been a season full of both positive, and negative outcomes.  As the boys polo team ends their season we can be sure that they will be training, and conditioning diligently for next year.

“My goals for the season were to do my best, and improve as a team,” Carlos Ceballos(12), Captain said.

The team was successful in meeting this goal.

Henry formed a cycling team, along with Mr. Patrick Gordon, due to their personal interest in the sport and to expose the sport to the students here at Gahr.

“Myself and Mr. Gordon both ride and we thought the sport would interest the kids in the school,” Henry said.

This sport did find interest in the school with students interested in biking joining the team.

“I was into bikes and this team filled my urge to ride on a competitive team,” Tyler Pilapil (10) said.

Cycling, as with any sport, requires great physical ability in both races and training. Moreover, it  consists of a certain amount of danger.

“We usually train for around two hours and ride 30 miles in that time,” Henry said. “The dangers include falling off your bike or getting hit by a car.”

These training sessions are held in order to prepare the cyclists for their races called criteriums.

“The criteriums that we participate in last for 30 minutes and require a cyclist to go as far as they can in that time limit,” Henry said. “The longest criteriums can last for up to an hour.”

Gahr’s cycling team is unique in that it is the only one in the area. Other cycling or mountain biking teams do exist in other states, but are few and far between locally.

“We compete against other cycling teams that are not school affiliated,” Henry said.

Participating in a cycling team is a unique opportunity that is only available in the area to students of Gahr High School. If you are interested in joining the cycling team or acquiring more information about it, speak with Mr. Henry in room 503.

The last NBA lockout was during the 1998-1999 season and due to issues in laboring contracts, another NBA lockout has been put into effect. The issue lies between the owners and the players, but it is not clear where the fault lies.

“I think the owners are at fault since they just realized that the players make more money than them,” Cory Johnson (11) said. “The owners need to keep the players happy.”

The fairness of the previous contract is what is being caled into question. It states that the players are to earn 57 percent of basketball revenue and that the remaining 43 percent of revenue would go to the owners.

During recent contract negotiations, both sides offered different plans. The players offered to cut their percentage to 54.3, but the owners refused. The owners also offered a 50-50 split that the players refused.

“The owners are at fault because the players are the ones out on the court,” Timmi Agbelemose (11) said.

The failure to come to an agreement resulted in the cancellation of all pre-season games and the first two weeks of regular season play. Two-week increments of regular season play are next in line to be cut. All this extra drama, however, has not caught the attention of people not regularly interested in basketball.

“It has no affect on me at all,” Jennifer Avila (10) said.

The NBA lockout also affects career opportunities within the NBA and has had a negative effect on business near stadiums that rely on the crowds the stadiums attract.

“I think that this could affect the chances of our players or students to get a job associated with the NBA,” Jason Mesina (9) said. Not everyone thinks that this will have a negative effect in the long run though.

“The lockout will be resolved before it affects any of us,” Marinelle Sampaga (11) said.

So while many will not notice the lack of basketball on television, a great amount of sports fans are waiting with bated breath to see the outcome of this rare and concerning event.

“The first thing that inspired me was my dad. He was once a member of Gahr’s varsity soccer team as well,” Jonathan Fuller (9) said.

The team’s main focus this year is shooting accuracy and dribbling enhancement. Knowing that soccer is not an easy sport these students keep their game face on at all times.

“I’ve been working very hard to get on the soccer team, because there’s a lot of competition,” Jimmy Hurtado (10) said.

This year the boys have a great deal of confidence and believe this will be their best season yet. The team is also looking forward to making their fellow Gahr Gladiators proud.

“I think the team and I are in good shape this year, we want to be great athletes as well as great role models for our school,” Fabian Gutierrez (11) said.

We applaud our Gahr soccer team as they show commitment and dedication to their sport and our school.