SPRING

Athletics are alive and well at Twentynine Palms High School.  Winter sports have finished and spring sports are under way.

Boy’s basketball finished the season with a record of 15 wins and 10 losses.  In De Anza League play, they had 7 wins and 1 loss, finishing as League Champions for the fifth straight year.  The boys lost in the first round of the CIF Playoffs to Tustin High School. All league players for boy’s basketball were Juwan Rice (MVP), Jarin Rice (1^st Team), Chris Fuifui (1^st team), Robert Caldwell (1^st Team), Aaron Anderson (2^nd Team), and Ozbaldo Chavez (Honorable Mention).

Girl’s basketball finished the season with a record of 22 wins and 7 losses.  In De Anza League play, they had 7 wins and 1 loss, finishing as League Co-Champions for the third straight year.  The girls lost in the quarterfinal round to St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria. All league players for girl’s basketball were Irie Engesser (MVP), Erin Stanford (1^st Team), Marlene Goldsmith (1^st team), Alexa Herrera (1^st Team), Catherine Mount (2^nd Team), and Jaymee Candelaria (Honorable Mention).

The boy’s soccer team finished the season with a record of 13 losses.  However, Coach Anthony is working on rebuilding the team and he felt the boys played well this season and showed real improvement. The boy’s soccer team competed againest teams this year that were ranked very high.

The girl’s team completed the season with an overall record of 1 win, 11 losses, and 3 ties. They were 0 – 6 with 2 ties in De Anza League action.  They finished fourth in the De Anza League but are a young team with only one senior on the squad and they look to improve next year. All league players for girl’s soccer were Elissa Bohanan (1^st Team), Erin Ingram (1^st team), Ashley Nixon (2^nd Team), Lauren Anderson (2^nd Team), and Veronica Rodriguez (Honorable Mention).

Spring sports are just beginning.  You have probably already heard of some of the accomplishments of our track, baseball, softball, swimming, golf, and boys tennis teams.  All six teams are looking forward to a great season.

You can follow all of the athletic teams by checking out the athletic website, www.29wildcats.com, or by reading The Desert Trail Sports Page. 

Thank you to all of the donations, sponsors, and support of the Twentynine Palms High School Athletics Program.  Please take a minute to look at our website’s list of sponsors.

WINTER

From the Athletic Department:

The Athletic Auction and the Sponsor an Athlete fundraisers have been a huge success towards raising funds to pay for athletic transportation. The Auction brought in 17 thousand dollars and the Sponsor an Athlete has brought in over 3 thousand dollars. We will continue the Sponsor an Athlete fundraiser in the winter and will sell Cookie Dough in the spring. Please support our Student Athletes in this difficult economic time. To view a list of the Wildcat Athletic Sponsors, please visit our webpage at www.29wildcats.com.

The fall sports at TPHS have concluded and the winter sports have begun.

A recap of the fall sports shows that all four Athletic teams made it to the post season and the football team won the DeAnza League Title for the third consecutive year. 

Earning All DeAnza League awards for Football were:

            Defensive MVP – Austin Cole

Special Teams MVP – Robert Caldwell

1^st Team – Robert Caldwell, Halston Shotwell, Aaron Anderson, Michael Pinto, Austin Cole, Thomas Ramirez, Ron Russell, & Tuvalo Melei

2^nd Team – Brian Walters, Dromynique Chestnut, Marcos Estrada, Shiloh Hepler, Anton Carrillo, & Joe Kappus.

Honorable Mention – Chris Fuifui

Earning All-CIF honors were:  Austin Cole

The Lady Cats volleyball team placed second in the DeAnza League and went into CIF playoffs as well. 

Earning All DeAnza League honors were:         

1^st Team – Lindsey Spinning & Brittney Candelaria

2^nd Team – Jessica Gray & Irie Engesser

Honorable Mention – Naomi Leutu

The Lady Cats tennis team finished third in DeAnza League play.  They were defeated in the wild card round of playoffs. 

Earning All-League honors were:

            MVP’s – Allena Sears & Erin Stanford

1^st Team – Allena Sears, Erin Stanford, Erin Ingram, Elissa Bohannan, & Alexis Coleman

            2^nd Team – Kathleen Lunn, Natasha Goehring, & Marysita Brown

Finally, the Lady Cats girls cross country team finished second in the DeAnza League and went to CIF Prelims but did not advance.  Cameo Lakey ran to 1^st Team honors, and Sara Roberts & Monica Tree earned 2^nd Team awards. 

The Wildcat boys cross country team placed third in DeAnza League and went to CIF.  They did not advance beyond Prelims.  Colton Byers earned 2^nd Team honors.

Wildcat winter sports are in full swing.  As you read this newsletter, all of the basketball and soccer teams have already competed in several contests.  The Varsity Girls Basketball Team won the Hemet Tournament and the Varsity Boys Basketball at the moment has a record of 9 & 6 and is improving. Both teams are expected to do well in league.

The soccer teams are doing their best and are looking to make some noise in the De Anza League. Coach Ingram continues to prepare the girls for each game and Coach Anthony has been a good addition to the boys program.

You can follow what our teams are doing through the Desert Trail or by checking the Athletic website, www.29wildcats.com.  We hope to see you out there supporting our athletes.

Spring sports, track, baseball, softball, swimming, golf, and boys tennis have already started.  Coaches for the various sports will be holding preseason meetings after the Winter Break.  Potential athletes need to pay attention to announcements to find out when and where the meetings will occur.  Athletes are reminded that they must have a physical on file with the Athletic Director before they may participate in tryouts or practices. 

Parents and athletes must attend an Athletic Department meeting before the athlete is allowed to compete on a team.  A parent/guardian and the athlete must both attend this meeting. The last meeting for the school year for Spring Sports will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 24^th, at 7 PM in Wildcat Gym.  There will be no makeup meeting.  If you have already attended a meeting this school year, you do not have to attend.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Wildcats Athletics please email Jeremy Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 367-0744.

FALL

From the Athletic Department:

Athletics at Twentynine Palms High School is off to another great start!  The Fall sports have already competed in their first contests.  All of our coaches and athletes are looking forward to another exciting season.

My goal for the Athletics Program is to win the De Anza League Sportsmanship Award.  Parents and athletes may have heard about the “Pursuing Victory with Honor” program, but I would like to take a moment to explain what this means to our school.  The program is based on the “Six Pillars of Character”.  They are as follows: Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, Caring, Trustworthiness, and Good Citizenship.  These are lifetime values that everyone should learn and are taught through athletics as well.  With them, the spirit of competition thrives, fueled by honest rivalry, courteous relations, and graceful acceptance of the results. 

If you attend any of our athletic events at Twentynine Palms High School, please support our teams with positive cheers; discourage cheers that would redirect that focus – including those that taunt and intimidate opponents, their fans, and officials; and reprimand those who engage in such unsportsmanlike behavior.

Adults need to set a good example for our athletes and our students.  We all need to follow those principles, especially in regards to our attitude towards officials.  They have a tough job without having to listen to criticism from the adults in the bleachers. If you don’t believe me, please feel free to sign up to officiate. Give them a break and let them do their job.

Let’s all enjoy the efforts of our Wildcat athletes and emphasize the values we would like our children to have.  PLEASE BE POSITIVE!!!

Finally, the winter Parent Athlete Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 18 beginning at 7 PM in Wildcat Gymnasium.  Any athlete who plans to try out for a winter sport who has not already attended the fall meeting must attend along with his/her parent/guardian.  There are required CIF documents that will need to be turned in that evening.

See you at the game!