Ray Holly etched his name into the record books

Posted by Tony Lee - Nov. 18

Coast's running back Ray Holley broke the all-time single season rushing record at OCC Saturday (Nov. 14) when he rushed for 266 yards with five touchdowns against Long Beach City College. See all the entire game summary and how Holley got the record.

Fastest of them all

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 31

Orange Coast College's cross country teams proved Friday (Oct. 30) that both men's and women's squads are the team to beat for the 2009 state championship. At the Orange Empire Conference Cross Country Tournament in Huntington Beach's Central Park, Coast finished first in the men's five-mile run and the women's 5K run in a convincing fashion. See how the runners finished.

Where are the champs?

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 25

The defending Orange Empire Conference Player of the Year, Brett Wallach, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, leads the pack key players on the 2009 state champion baseball team have moved onto different locations. See where they moved to since then.

What loss to Golden West?

Posted by Tony Lee - Oct. 25

After the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, the lady Pirates have won five-straight games - the latest on Friday (Oct. 23) against Santa Ana College. See how the lady Pirates have bounced back.

Meet a Pirate: Danny Orona

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 20

Danny Orona is a 5 foot 6 inch, 160 pound driver from Los Amigos High School who starts on the men's water polo team. “Last year, he really didn't get much playing time but he kept working in practice every single day,” head coach Monty McCord said. "He makes things happen when he's in there. He's a great defensive player (and) he's willing to do a lot of the dirty work not everyone is willing to do." See how he answered the questions.

Victory Bell stays at Coast

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 20

For the first time in the West-Coast Showdown history, the Pirates have won the Victory Bell three years in a row. In a dramatic 24-21 victory, Coast (3-0) defeated the Golden West College Rustlers (0-3) to even up the all-time series at 20-20-2. See the last-second dramatics of the game with pictures and quotes from players and coaches.

Meet a Pirate(s): Rebecca Murray and Melissa Mahi

Posted by Tony Lee - Sept. 11

The women's basketball coaching staff have picked their captains for the 2009-2010 season. Rebecca Murray (left) and Melissa Mahi (right) are sophomore returners. See how they answered the questions from the hat.

Deal me in

By Tony Lee On Saturday, December 05, 2009 0 comments
Freshman Amanda Deal (pictured) scored a career-high 25 points on Friday to defeat Allan Hancock College 71-67 at the semifinals of the Cuesta College Tournament.

Deal had five three-pointers and scored 16 of her 25 points in the second half to help the lady Pirates (6-3) advance to today's title game at 4 p.m.

Coast's Samantha Hansen added 11 points in the contest.

[Photo courtesy of Justin Yamasaki]
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Opportunity to play at a $3 million stadium

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, December 02, 2009 0 comments
Right next to the Adams Avenue, a brand-new softball field is being built for the start of the 2010 spring season for Orange Coast College's softball team.

Head softball coach Ruby Rojas said she will have open tryouts for OCC students who are interested in suiting up for the lady Pirates next season.

"I will be holding tryouts January 5th at 1 p.m. and I am looking for eligible student athletes to come out for the 2010 season," Rojas said. "Especially since we just got a $3 million stadium."

Rojas is a 2008 Beijing Olympian athlete and batted cleanup for the Venezuelan national team. She also competed in the Canada Cup over the summer and led Venezuela to a third place finish.

To read a feature story about Rojas, click here. To read a feature story on some of the 2010 recruits, click here.

[Artist rendering courtesy of Orange Coast College]
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Make it rain

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, December 02, 2009 0 comments
Head coach Mike Thornton said the Orange Coast College lady Pirates have been playing stressed out at the start of the season.

His goal at the third place game of the Santa Ana College Thanksgiving Tournament was for his players to be stress-free and relax on offense. The lady Pirates (4-3) did just that and responded with making a season-high 12 three pointers on Sunday (Nov. 29) to defeat Solano College, 81-50, at the Cook Gym.

"I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and have been a bit demanding," Thornton said. "Our goal today was to come out relaxed on offense and I think we did that today."

Sophomore Jenna Lujan (pictured), who led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds Sunday, was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Thornton said that he asked Lujan to be more assertive on offense this season and this was the first time she did that this season.

"Coach has been talking about being more offensive minded - and not just defensive," Lujan said. "I'm still looking for my players, but firstly, looking for my layups and finishing strong."

Thornton was also impressed by her defense - especially against San Bernardino Valley College on Saturday.

"I think she had only nine points but took four charges," he said. "I think that's the most charges anyone has taken at Coast in a game."

Freshman Tiffany Montiero added 10 points off the bench and contributed two of the 12 three pointers on Sunday. Lujan converted three of the 12.

Coast's Sam Hansen scored nine points, Helena Robel scored eight and Alyssa Hanson and Michelle Yamasaski scored seven also.

"We have a lot of people that can play - we play about 12 people," Hanson said. "We have a lot of people rotating in-and-out, pretty quick."

Lujan also echoes that statement.

"It's cool knowing that we can all score," she said. "We don't have that one go-to-player. We can all drive, finish, make free throws so it just equals it all out."

OCC returns to action on Thursday (Dec. 3) at the Cuesta College Tournament against the College of the Redwoods, beginning at 3:30 p.m.

[Photo by Tony Lee]
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Ouch!

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, December 02, 2009 0 comments
Orange Coast College's Alyssa Hanson (No. 12) said she suffered a bloody lip early in the first half Sunday (Nov. 29) after her teammate Jenna Lujan "elbowed me in the mouth."

"Oh my gosh I feel so bad," Lujan said. "I told her she went after my rebound and she was in post territory. But I feel really bad about that."

Hanson returned to the game after getting her lip treated and finished with 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting.

"She was really sorry about it," Hanson said. "It just happens. It's OK. I'll just have a fat lip for awhile."

Also in the picture, trainer Dan Denzler on the left and teammate Bianca Carranza on the right.

[Photo by Tony Lee]
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State finals for the second straight year

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, December 02, 2009 0 comments


Orange Coast College’s head women’s volleyball coach Chuck Cutenese reminded his team about all the bleachers they’ve run and all the push ups they did prior to the final set against Moorpark College.

“All of that was for this moment right now — being in shape, to be disciplined and to be focused,” Cutenese said to the fifth-ranked lady Pirates Saturday at the Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Coast (20-2) responded to their coach’s speech by playing an errorless final game to upset the fourth-ranked Raiders (20-3), 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 16-25, 15-8, at the Raider Pavilion and move onto the state championship for the second consecutive year.

“We’ve worked so hard for this and we were seeded lower than this team,” said sophomore libero Nikki Osuna, who led Coast with 26 digs. “We wanted to show everyone that they need to stop underestimating us.”

Osuna, who redshirted last year due to a knee injury and missed the state championship, now has 435 digs for the season and needs 17 more to break the school single-season record (451) set by Ashlee Moon in 2006.

“I started crying right at the end,” she said. “From last year, being at state and just watching it, it’s driven me so much just to want to be on the court this year.”

Coast sophomore outside hitters Poe Gantt led the lady Pirates with 16 kills with Rachel Freeno trailing behind with 15 kills in the contest.

Coast sophomore outside hitter and middle blocker Briana Fields, who finished with 13 kills, added that she doesn’t agree with their ranking.

“I personally think we’re better than our ranking,” she said, “but the good thing about being ranked low is that people underestimate you and we can come out and show them what we’ve got.”

Fields was the only lady Pirate to be selected for the 2009 All-State SoCal team. She was also one of two players from the SoCal region to be selected for the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s All American first team.

“They anticipate she’s going to get the ball and (Field) is hitting against two people every time,” Cutenese said. “I think that shows how good of a player she is.”

But Cutenese said freshman setter Kimya Jafroudi, who compiled a game-high 54 assists Saturday, has gone unnoticed and is the lady Pirates’ unsung hero this season.

“They make all the decisions and she’s done a fantastic job, especially as a freshman,” Cutenese said of setters. “That’s a lot of pressure on (Jafroudi) and she’s really come through.”

Despite being ranked No. 5 at the start, Coast is now the highest-ranked team out of SoCal to make it to the state championship.

Now as the No. 1 ranked team, the lady Pirates face fourth-ranked Sierra College Wolverines Friday at the California Community Colleges Athletic Association Women’s Volleyball Championship.

The state championship is held at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. and is a double-elimination tournament that ends on Sunday.

“I set a goal for this team and it was to get back to the state tournament,” Cutenese said. “We came up against a real strong Moorpark team — they were real physical, real aggressive — and (we) really pulled through at the end and I’m really proud of them.”

[Photos by Tony Lee]
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No Thanksgiving hangover for the lady Pirates

By Tony Lee On Friday, November 27, 2009 0 comments


The lady Pirates put their hands in the middle and yelled out "team" before the opening tip-off of the Santa Ana College Thanksgiving Tournament Friday (Nov. 27).

That word is probably the best way to describe the 2009-10 Orange Coast College women's basketball team because, according to head coach Mike Thornton, there are no superstars on the roster.

But to win, the lady Pirates do not need a No. 1 offensive option. With its top four scoring leaders only separated by four points Friday, Coast (3-2) shared the ball as a team en route to a 56-47 win over Merced College (1-4) at the Cook Gym.

"Through the first four games, we had a different leading scorer every game," Thornton said.

But Coast forward Sam Hansen, fresh off a 21 point performance in a 76-74 overtime win over Cerritos College on Nov. 18, is one of the front-runners to be that No. 1 scoring option.

Hansen scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting (4-of-4 on free throws) Friday to become the lady Pirates' first back-to-back scoring leader this season.

"When I'm in, I'm going to give it my all," she said.

Hansen also had a team-high four steals in the contest and was a big part of Coast's full-court defensive press that resulted in 20 first half Merced turnovers.

Because of that, the lady Pirates closed the first half on a 7-0 run and carried over the momentum at the start of the second half with an 8-1 run to give themselves a 15 point cushion with 14 minutes left in the game.

"We practiced that a lot," Hansen said of the full court press defense. "We just want to execute that to give ourselves more chances for baskets."

Coast freshman Amanda Deal, who scored 11 points on 2-of-2 shooting and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, added that because no one is a No. 1 offensive option, their team unity shows on both sides of the court.

"We're always working hard (and) I can count on any girl at any time when we're playing," she said. "We all just want to win and it shows."

The other top scorers for Coast were sophomore Jenna Lujan, who also led the lady Pirates with two blocks and four assists, and freshman Tiffany Monteiro (2-of-4 on three pointers) with eight points.

"We have to work really hard together," Hansen said. "We win as a team, we lose as a team."

Coast will play against San Bernardino Valley College Saturday (Nov. 28) in the second round of the tournament at 5 p.m. at Cook Gym.

[Photos by Tony Lee]
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Second place for the Pirates

By Tony Lee On Saturday, November 21, 2009 0 comments
The lady Pirates cross country team will not defend its state championship as Coast fell to Glendale College by 37 points at the 2009 California Community College State Championship at Woodward Park in Fresno Saturday (Nov. 21).

Glendale finished first at 43 points and Mt. San Antonio College finished third with 92 points.

To lead the lady Pirates once again was sophomore standout Kimone Hewitt, who finished in third with a 18:05.30 mark.

Coast's Hillary Labelle finished 16th (18:52.24), Jane Kerner finished 22nd (18:59.93), Andrea Gayton-Jacob finished 23rd (19:05.74), Sara Toberty finished 28thh (19:16.83), Andrea Guerra finished 42nd (19:37.02) and Margaret McDuffee finished 62nd (19:58.57).

The men's squad also finished in second place Saturday.

San Bernardino Valley won the state championship with a 67 and OCC finished 66 points behind with a 133 to finish in second.

Third place finisher was Glendale College at 164.

Coast was led by sophomore standout Russell Westphal, who finished 13th with a mark of 20:41.94.

Eric Dyson finished 24th with 20:55.35, Sergio Olivarrias finished 29th with 20:58.04, Pedro Saucedo finished 31st with 20:59.68, Jake Dawson finished 44th with 21:10.20, Francisco Baquero finished 63rd with 21:24.30 and Jorge Torres at 124th with 22:05.03.

[Photos from the Orange Empire Conference finals and courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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Nov. 18 issue of the Coast Report

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 0 comments
This week's top headline of the Coast Report's sports page is the men's and women's cross country team going to the state championship on Saturday (Nov. 21) to Fresno.

Sports column "It's Me, Tony Lee" is about football player Ray Holley who set OCC's all-time single season rushing record Saturday (Nov. 14) in Coast's final game of the season.

This week's Pirates of the Week are Nikki Osuna, who almost set a school record in digs, and Antonio Dominquez, who scored seven goals in the men's water polo playoff games.

Also, more than 50 percent of the 2009 OCC spring athletes made the honor roll.

All the articles are available on www.coastreportonline.com.
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Top of the rowing world

By Tony Lee On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 0 comments



The Orange Coast College men's crew team defeated many Division-I, four-year universities and placed first and second place in the Head of the Harbor's Novice 8 race at San Pedro Harbor Sunday (Nov. 15).

Out of the seven teams in the race, Coast's A team finished at 15:55 for first and Coast's B team finished second at 16:42, which beat third place UC Santa Barbara by five seconds.

In the Varsity 8 race, Coast's A team lost a neck-to-neck race to USC (15:26) by just one second and finished second at 15:27.

Coast's B team finished behind third place Loyola Marymount University (15:54) and UC Irvine's A team (15:57) at 16:29 to finish fifth out of nine teams.

[Photos courtesy of Dan Ferons]
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Men's soccer ends in a shutout

By Tony Lee On Tuesday, November 17, 2009 0 comments
Prior to the 4-0 loss to Riverside Community College in its season finale Friday (Nov. 13), Orange Coast College's men’s soccer team was ranked 16th in the region.

However, the loss bounced Coast (8-10-3, 5-6-3) out of playoff contention and the Pirates finished the season 19th in the southern region with a 1.7286 power ranking.

“We thought we would be much better than we did,” head men’s soccer coach Laird Hayes said. “We were wrecked by injuries. We just got disseminated.”

On top of injuries, Hayes said he lost some players due to academic ineligibility and a lack of sophomore leadership also hurt the team down the stretch.

“I’m not blaming the kids. That’s our responsibility as coaches,” Hayes said of coaching leadership, “to try to teach that, get them to buy into it. (The coaching staff) learned a lot, we got a lot to do, make amends and improve for the next year.”

The Pirates were led by Jordan Gorman (six goals, nine assists) and William Munoz's (pictured) nine goals and two assists this season.

[Photo by Hank Schellingerhout]
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Lady Pirates playoff bound

By Tony Lee On Tuesday, November 17, 2009 0 comments
After defeating Irvine Valley College due to a forfeit Friday (Nov. 13), the lady Pirates (14-5-1, 10-5-1 in the Orange Empire Conference) finished the season ranked 12th in the southern region with a 2.0425 power ranking.

This earned Coast a playoff spot and the lady Pirates will face the fifth-ranked Cypress College (16-3-2) Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.

Head women’s coach Kevin Smith said that one of the key wins that helped the lady Pirates to make it to the playoffs this season was the victory against Riverside Community College in the OEC opener on Sept. 15.

“To be honest with you, out of the bat, Riverside on the road, turned out to be a pretty big win,” Smith said of beating the 10th ranked team in the southern region.

However, Coast didn’t find the same success against OEC's top two teams, Santiago Canyon College (ranked first in the southern region) and Cypress, as the lady Pirates went 0-4 against them and was outscored 12-to-one in those games.

“We just have to find a way to beat Santiago and Cypress,” Smith said.

The lady Pirates will rely on Kallie Ryker (pictured), the No. 1 goal scorer in the OEC with 19 goals and eight assists, Taryn Bales (eight goals, 14 assists) and Laura Tishler (nine goals, six assists).

If Coast beats the Chargers Saturday (Nov. 21), the lady Pirates face the winner of fourth-ranked Moorpark College and 13th-rank San Diego Miramar College on Tuesday (Nov. 24).

[Photo by Hank Schellingerhout]
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It's Me, Tony Lee: Holley is the best ever at OCC

By Tony Lee On Sunday, November 15, 2009 0 comments
It’s hard to explain what Orange Coast College football player Ray Holley has that makes him the best running back our school has ever seen.

On Saturday, Holley, playing in his 10th game of the season and his fourth with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL), needed 252 yards to break the school’s single-season rushing record of 1,442 yards set by Jeff Clayton in 11 games.

The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore from El Modena High School knew what he needed to do and opted not to tape his knee so he wouldn’t have to think about the injury.

As a result, Holley played in arguably his best game at OCC, rushing for 266 yards and all five of the team’s touchdowns on Saturday and set the all-time record at 1,457 yards in a season.

“It feels great,” Holley said. “I worked for it, everyone else worked for it and they helped me get there. It was a great group of guys we played with and it was fun. I just wish that it would last another week.”

However, the Pirates did lose to Long Beach City College 42-38 and no one was more disappointed than Holley.

“It sucks to be a sophomore, come out and be this close to make it to a bowl game,” Holley said. “It just sucks to lose this way.”

But it’s not just the single-season rushing record that he’ll be known for.

“That kid’s got the most heart that I’ve ever seen,” said teammate Jimmy Keating after the 33-27 triple overtime victory against Santa Ana College on Oct. 10.

Holley sprained MCL on the Pirates’ first offensive possession in that game but played through the injury and finished with 42 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns n the last being the game winning score.

That’s not just having heart. That’s having courage, determination and pride like no other athlete I’ve ever come across.

Ever.

He also puts on an eye-black before every game with the initial PIW — which stands for put in work.

“The guy’s a solider,” sophomore teammate Jimmy Keating said. “Put in work is his motto. He puts in the work everyday and no one wanted (Saturday’s game) more than him.”

Head coach Mike Taylor said that Holley not only puts his time in on the football field during practice, but he also studies films regularly and puts the effort in the weight room.

“Ray’s a great kid; I’ve said that from the get-go,” he said. “He’s a team kid, the team loves him, he’s got lots of energy (and) he practices hard.”

This season, Holley had 75 percent of the Pirates’ touchdowns, involved in 45.3 percent of plays of scrimmage and rushed for 311 times — almost 100 more times than the previous record holder Bart Recktenwald (216).

The stats and records he has set speak volumes about his football abilities but it’s what’s behind pads and the helmet that makes him truly stands out.

This season, he’s also showed all the Coast fans the expression of “leaving everything out on the field.” This season, he showed what it means to play through an injury.

Records are mean to be broken but I hope no one breaks the school records Holley’s set in 2009.

[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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