Spring Teams Looking Strong At Monrovia

With a nice new all-weather track, Monrovia hosted the Ice Breaker Relays last Saturday, and the Wildcats turned in some quality performances.

The girls 400-meter relay team of Skylar Buchanan, Maryssa Black, Jasmine Thomas and Kia Smith turned in a fine time of 49.88 seconds to finish third in their heat.

The girls 800-meter relay team of Buchanan, Smith, Thomas and Rebekah Dangle finished sixth in 1:46.79.

The girls 1,600-meter relay team of Smith, Buchanan, Thomas and Javon Barnes ran a solid early-season time of 4:14.87.

The boys team got a solid effort from jumper Michael Harris, who finished second in the long jump (21 feet, 3 inches) and fourth in the triple jump (41-2).

Matt Wheeler finished second in the boys high jump as he cleared 5 feet, 10 inches.

McCarthy takes weekend off from track

One person who did not participate in the Ice Breaker Relays was former baseball player turned shot putter Ellis McCarthy. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound junior said he attended USC’s Junior Day football camp. McCarthy was a standout defensive tackle on the Wildcats championship team last fall.

McCarthy, who is being recruited by top college programs across the nation, threw the shot over 39 feet in his first track meet last week. But he knows he is far from reaching his best.

“I just need to work on it some more,” he said.

Checking in on the Wildcats swim team

Monrovia’s swim team competes Wednesday in Burbank against Burroughs. But the Wildcats were successful in their first meet last week, as both the boys and girls teams notched wins.

The boys team defeated Sierra Vista 87-66 and the girls team won 102-46.

On a sour note, the Wildcats have been moved up to Division I this season due to the success of league rival La Cañada. As a result, qualifying for the postseason will be more difficult.

One swimmer who has the best chance of achieving a CIF qualifying mark is senior Ruben Carillo.

Wildcats coach Janice Lopez said she is encouraged by what she has seen so far.

“We have a team of close to 60 kids, which is up from about 40 last year,” Lopez said. “We’re pleased with the size of our team. We’re wide across the board with seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen.”

Football news

It is never too early to start thinking about football season. Defending CIF champion Monrovia has been working on developing its quarterbacks for next season without Nick Bueno. Coach Ryan Maddox has three candidates for the starting job next season. George Frazier, who will be a junior and was the second-string quarterback last season, is in the mix for the job. Frazier (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) is also a linebacker.

Also competing for the job are sophomore-to-be DeShawn Potts and rising senior Shaun Reilly.

Maddox said he could have three seniors get scholarships next season as receiver Luke Williams and running back/defensive back Michael Harris are getting looks from some schools.

Softball season begins

The Monrovia softball team has started off the season 1-2. The Wildcats defeated Arcadia 7-5 on Monday thanks to a 13-hit effort. Senior Schae Simpson had four hits and drove in a pair of runs.

Lindsay Arnett and Elise McCarthy each had triples in the game. Freshman Adrienne Guerra picked her first career win and senior Emmy Orozco earned the save.

Oaties is Monrovia’s No. 1 singles player

The Monrovia tennis team has not begun its season yet. But the Wildcats will benefit from having senior Wesley Oaties at No. 1 singles. Oaties, who sat out last season, also played basketball for the Wildcats. He transferred to Monrovia as a junior after two years at Duarte in which he competed in CIF postseason competition.