(Left) Senior DJ Garcia runs to third base off of a hit by senior Niko Mendez. Mendez played for the first time after being out for the entirety of the season due to an ACL tear after joining football with baseball teammates. Fullerton baseball (18-10-1) qualified for CIF (Division 1), losing the first round against Ghar High School (17-10-0) with a final score of 5-2. The Indians fought hard and celebrated the team’s last game with their seniors Maxwell Ramirez, Matthew Hancock, Eddie Avitia, Logan Davis, Hayden Moore, DJ Garcia, Manny Idelfonzo, Armando Gonzalez, Bryce Rasch, Carlos Barrios, Niko Mendez, and Manuel Valentin.

(Right) Senior Zoey Bautista has a .667 batting average.

Sophomore Malaya Majam Finch had two plate appearances on May 9 during the 3-0 loss against West in their third round of CIF.

Majam-Finch explained how their injuries were a big hardship that the team was able to persevere through. 

“I’m a little disappointed because we didn’t make it too far, but we had a lot of roadblocks throughout the season. We had a ton of injuries this year. We had a torn meniscus, ankle injuries, and arm stuff. It was crazy that we got through it all,” Majam Finch said. “I’m very proud of us for being able to go through what we did and still make it to round three which is still really good. I’m a little disappointed, but I’m so proud of us.”

In the second round of CIF on May 7 the girls softball team played against Woodbridge (13-8-0) winning 6-1. During this game the team had .320 batting average, and .393 on base percentage.

In the first round of CIF on May 2 the team faced off against Hart (14-9-0) and won 4-3, going into an extra inning to settle the game. The team had a .346 batting average, and a .321 on base percentage.

The Indians faced off against Buena Park for the final freeway league game on April 24 and won 5-1. Majam-Finch said placing first in the Freeway league was a great accomplishment.

“We really wanted to win the last league, so it was a really great accomplishment.” Majam-Finch said. “Especially because now the league is gone.”

(Left) Junior Lily Guevara finished 6th in the 200 Individual Medley finals and contributed to the girls 200 medley relay which finished 6th in the finals. Fullerton’s girls swim team placed 8th overall in the Division 3 CIF Southern Section while the boys placed 38th. Freshman Natalie Kim, FUHS’ only varsity diver, placed 3rd overall in the Division 3 CIF Diving Championships in her first year competing on the high school level.

(Right) Senior Alejandro Hernandez broke the 3200 meter school record with a time of 9:42 at the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Prelims at Ontario High School on May 4. Hernandez says this race was more mentally exhausting than previous races. 

“Since this was my last race, I had to go for it and go as hard as I could,” Hernandez said. “And I did. I went out fast. It was like a 4:45 first mile, way faster than I usually go out.” 

Hernandez plans on attending Cal State Fullerton and trying out for the Track and cross country team. 

Along with Hernandez, Junior Jack Golla also set a school record at CIF prelims with a time of 4:28 for 1600 meters.

(Left) Senior Morgan McAndrew broke the school record for 800 meters with a time of 2:23 at the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Prelims at Ontario High School on May 4. McAndrew plans on keeping running as a part of her life after high school and will run the San Francisco marathon in the summer. 

Along with McAndrew, senior Janelle Flores qualified for CIF in the 300 meter hurdles. Being one-tenth of a second off last year from qualifying last year, Flores had one goal for her senior track season. 

“This season I always told myself to do my best because it’s going to be the end soon, It’s gonna be all gone,” Flores said. “I told myself to go as hard as I could and do everything I can so I would leave with no regrets.” 

Flores came in 35th with a time of 51.27 seconds.

(Pictured) Sophomore Diego Gomez (left) and senior Nathan Bek (right) commend one another after scoring against Troy. The boys tennis team (12-4-0) finished third in league and secured its spot for the Division 3 CIF Championships. The Tribe faced La Quinta High School (18-7-0) in the first round of CIF. In a very intense back and forth game, the Indians squeezed out the win against the Aztecs 9-9 and advanced to the second round. The Tribe’s match against Capistrano Valley High School (13-7-1) ended in an unfortunate loss with a final score of 12-6 on May 12.

(Left) Junior Nathan Medina hit the ball to score a point against Sonora. (Pictured left to right) Teammates Johnny Leonardo, Hyunmin Kim, and Rowan Yeo positioned themselves to receive the ball in case the other team blocked the hit.

 Fullerton’s boys volleyball team played against Sage Hill High School on April 25 for the CIF Southern Section Championship. The Indians lost with a score of (1-3).

The team had the odds stacked against them, most significantly being the recent loss of key player, Dominick Valenzuela. Valenzuela suffered a sprained ankle and was forced to observe the game from the sidelines. 

“The game was definitely more stressful than the others. Everyone did have their little flaws for sure, but the thing that had a bigger impact was that we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into,” Valenzuela said. “We went into the game knowing practically nothing about how they play, and it definitely had an impact on us.”

Although the Indians had a tough loss during CIF, the team’s energy itself was positive. Junior Johnny Leonardo believed that the team became closer through this shared experience.

“We have our ups and downs as a team, but that’s just every team in general,” Leonardo said. “Overall, our chemistry was better than ever.”