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Six Winter Athletes Named to All-CIF-SS Teams
Three boys soccer players, two girls water polo players and one boys basketball player from San Clemente were named to the winter All CIF-SS teams in announcements last week and Monday, March 25.
In the first season with an Open Division in CIF-SS boys soccer, senior defender Jake Poole, senior midfielder Finn Linas and senior goalkeeper and forward Rolando Hernandez were named All-CIF. San Clemente advanced to the Open Division semifinals in the two-leg, aggregate format and fell to eventual champion Mater Dei.
Poole was a stalwart defender on a stingy San Clemente backline. Linas was a dynamic playmaker for the Tritons. Hernandez mostly played keeper for San Clemente, and the senior scored a goal at Mater Dei in the semifinals on a free kick from midfield.
In girls water polo, juniors Talyn Pelkey and Phoebe DeMoss were named All-CIF in Division 1. The Tritons advanced to the CIF-SS semifinals, where they fell to eventual runner-up JSerra. San Clemente went on to capture the CIF Southern California Regional Division II championship.
DeMoss and Pelkey were the top scorers by a large margin for the Tritons with 89 goals and 75 goals, respectively. Pelkey scored 34 goals more than her closest teammate. DeMoss and Pelkey co-led the team in steals with 48 each.
In boys basketball, junior Porter Hansen was named All-CIF in Division 3A. After capturing the South Coast League championship, San Clemente advanced to the CIF-SS quarterfinals. The Tritons set a program record for wins this season with 24.
Hansen led San Clemente in scoring with 15.1 points per game. Hansen was also second in assists per game with 2.1 and third in rebounds per game with five a night. The junior shot 41% from the field and 29% from beyond the 3-point line.
Baseball Wins Big Series Opener over San Juan Hills
Two weeks ago, San Clemente was able to even its league record with a two-game sweep of last-place El Toro.
This week, San Clemente (8-8, 3-2) has a chance to aim for the top of the Sea View League with a two-game set against San Juan Hills (13-2, 4-1), but it will be no easy task against the league-leading Stallions and their cache of arms.
On Wednesday, San Clemente broke through the stingy San Juan Hills defense with runs in the first and second inning for a 2-0 lead, but the Stallions staved off defeat with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. In the 10th inning, Mike Erspamer hit a two-run home run to right field to put the Tritons over the Stallions, 4-2.
San Clemente hosts the Stallions on Friday, March 29, at 3:45 p.m.
The Tritons began their season in streaky fashion with three wins, followed by four losses and bolstered by back-to-back wins over El Toro. In that streak of losses were two to Aliso Niguel (11-4, 2-2), including an extra-innings squeaker on the road. Since then, San Clemente has alternated wins and losses in tournament play, including a 9-2 win over Key West on Wednesday, March 20, and a 2-1 road loss at Corona del Mar on Thursday, March 21.
San Juan Hills has had no such letdowns this season, as the Stallions have only allowed nine runs in 14 games. San Juan Hills had won its last 11 games in a row with nine shutouts in that streak before falling to San Clemente on Wednesday. The Stallions’ only other loss was a 1-0 affair at Foothill on Feb. 15.
San Juan Hills shut out Aliso Niguel, 1-0, in both meetings to open league play, and won at El Toro in a shutout, 7-0, last Wednesday. The Stallions had to come back in a 3-2 home win over the Chargers on Friday, March 22.
San Clemente will enter the Ryan Lemmon Tournament at the Great Park in Irvine next week before returning to league play at El Toro on April 10.
Girls Lacrosse Extends League Win Streak to 28
The buzzsaw of the South Coast League has shown no signs of slowing down, as the San Clemente girls lacrosse team has continued to cut through league competition through two games.
The Tritons (9-2, 2-0) defeated Aliso Niguel, 20-2, last Thursday, March 21, and beat Trabuco Hills, 16-9, on Tuesday, March 26. The three-time defending league champions have not lost a South Coast League game in nearly five years, with their last defeat coming on April 16, 2019.
San Clemente, ranked No. 6 in CIF-SS Division 1, has remained an offensive juggernaut with a three-pronged attack up front. Entering league play, the twin junior Yeskulsky sisters continued to lead the way with a team-high 42 goals for Sophia Yeskulsky and 34 goals from Charlotte Yeskulsky. The Tritons have also gotten an infusion from senior Taylor Juncaj with 21 goals. The Yeskulskys and Juncaj combined for 97 of San Clemente’s 116 goals through nine games.
The Yeskulskys have also gotten the party started for San Clemente earning possession on the draws, with Sophia winning nearly 53% of her 178 draw attempts and Charlotte winning 21 of 25 draw attempts.
Against Trabuco Hills on Tuesday, Charlotte and Sophia Yeskulsky each scored seven goals.
San Clemente is next at El Toro on Thursday, March 28, and the Tritons host San Juan Hills on April 9.
Football Retires Number of Sean Harlow
The No. 77 will never be worn by another San Clemente football player, as the Tritons honored current New York Giants offensive lineman Sean Harlow at their annual youth football camp on Friday, March 22.
Harlow graduated from San Clemente in 2013 and played collegiately at Oregon State. The 28-year-old was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, but he was waived by the team ahead of the 2018 season and spent the next three seasons between the practice squad and active roster.
Harlow got his first break after signing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, where he was elevated off the practice squad to play in 15 games and 42% of the offensive snaps with five starts. Harlow made three starts and played in parts of all 17 games in the 2022 season.
Harlow opened the 2023 season in New York Giants training camp and then on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. He was signed by the Giants in October and played in seven games.