By Brandon HENSLEY

ith the start of another school year, local middle and high school teams are gearing up for fall competition. The Crescenta Valley varsity girls’ volleyball team has already been participating in preseason tournaments, which they did last week. The team will be led by second year head coach Kevin Boyke, and will return eight players who are seniors. Last year’s team went 13-12 overall, and 6-8 in the Pacific League.

Last year’s senior co-captain Paige Baker is gone, but the Falcons might be helped by more experience in 2016. Only four players were seniors last year, so the amount this season has doubled. Returning players include seniors Alyssa Pimental, Patty Kerman, Elise Boyle and junior Roxy Raad. The Falcons play at a Pierce College tournament on Saturday. On Tuesday they scrimmage against Monrovia at Monrovia High School. On Sept. 3, Sept. 5 and Sept. 7 they play a Molten Labor Day tournament. The team begins league competition on Sept. 8 against Muir High School. The season ends Oct. 25 on Senior Night against Arcadia and, if the Falcons make the CIF playoffs, they’ll start those on Oct. 25.

The Falcon boys’ water polo team had a memorable season last year. The team won nine of its last 11 matches, and advanced all the way to the CIF championship game, where it was defeated by Righetti 11-2. It was Righetti’s fourth straight trip to the finals, and the second straight championship. The Falcons lost 12 seniors from last year’s roster of almost 30 players, including star goalkeeper Logan Goddard. The schedule has boys playing a tournament on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 at Thousand Oaks. The calendar in September is filled with tournament matches. CV plays Hoover, the first league game, on Oct. 6 at Pasadena City College.

Football is right around the corner, and fans can see the Falcon varsity team in its first game Sept. 1 at Glendale High School vs. the Verdugo Hills Dons. It will be the fourth straight year the teams have met in the season opener, with CVHS winning all previous matchups. After the Dons, the Falcons finish their non-league schedule by playing at Golden Valley on Sept. 9 and hosting La Cañada at Glendale High on Sept. 16. From there it’s seven games against the Pacific League to the end of the season.CV was 7-3 last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs at Cathedral High School. Sophomore Cole Doyle will be the new starting quarterback, although Ty Hill will also share time at the position as he did last season. Hill will also once again be a key piece on defense at the safety position.

Basketball may be a winter sport in high school, but at Rosemont Middle School it is played in the fall. This week, the school is holding tryouts for both boys and girls teams. Both squads won the district championship last year, led by the boys’ coach Brent Ballard and girls’ coach Bon Sam. The boys have only lost the district title once since the league’s inception, and the girls have won it every year. (Other teams in the league include Toll, Wilson and Roosevelt.)

Basketball returns at CVHS in November when the annual alumni game makes its way back to the big gymnasium to open the boys’ season on Nov. 23. The Falcons lost in the second round of the playoffs last year, and will have to make up the loss of seniors Arin Ovanessian, Gabe Ajemian and Tadeh Tarverdians.

The girls’ basketball team will be coming off the program’s first ever CIF championship. The girls won the Division 1A title at Azusa Pacific University in March, a thrilling 37-36 victory over Mira Costa. The girls lost Alisa Shinn and Josie Brock, but will return key players Caity Bouchard, Rachel Dayag and Senayt Tassew.

  Brandon Hensley