Guts, Will & Honor

   After Further Review … One reason sports are universally popular
is that they provide a reliable contest of the attributes that people
wish they had—the courage of confrontation.  Call it guts. The ability
to summon extraordinary effort toward a goal. Call it will. A
passionate respect for rules of the game. Call it honor. 
Sports is Guts, Will and Honor, in ACTION.
   As I watched the 2010 Winter Olympics, those words kept resounding
in my head. How do you lay your body on that luge, after knowing and
watching the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili  crash to his death in
a practice run prior to the Olympic opening? Guts is the answer. The
courage to face confrontation. In this scenario:  confronting the luge
run.
   In snowboarding cross, I watched Seth Wescott edge out Canada’s Mike
Robertson at the wire after being seeded 19th out of the 32 riders—as
they call snowboarders—and closing an “impossible gap” during the race.
Call that will.

Ramona TEA’d hosts town hall meeting

 Ramona Tea’d, found on-line at www.Ramonatead.com, is holding another
exciting town hall meeting at the Ramona Main Stage Theater on Saturday
afternoon, Feb. 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. Like last month’s standing room
only meeting, this one will be both powerful and memorable.
   Many Ramona Sentinel readers know that Ramona Tea’d has embarked
upon bringing monthly citizen involvement events to Ramona all during
this politically critical year of 2010. In January, we focused upon the
Obama healthcare plan with expert Gary Gonsalves, M.D. and upon the
critical importance of our Constitution with Jeff Wangsgaard cracking
the lid on that vital topic.

Pedestrian struck by truck dies of brain injury

Girls end basketball season with two wins

 Ramona’s girls varsity basketball players pulled off their biggest
upset of the season by beating the number two team in the CIF, Westview
High School, in the Dawg House.
   The Lady Dawgs then went on the road and beat San Marcos. For their
efforts The Lady Dawgs received the eighth seed in the CIF Division II
playoffs and a home game against Morse High School.
   The team finished its first campaign under the tutelage of Erin
O’Connor with a 16-11 record overall and a 9-3 mark and a third place
finish in the Valley League.
   The Lady Bulldogs played their best game of the season and avenged a
first round 58-44 league loss to Westview by beating the Wolverines
44-40 in the Dawg House. Westview came into the game with a 22-3 record
and were undefeated in the Valley League.

Ramona’s Ilich is CIF wrestling champion

   Spaso Ilich went into the CIF Division III Tournament unranked in the county. He came out a CIF champion.
   The 132-pound Macedonian Mauler breezed through the tourney and beat
Adam Cham of Steele Canyon in the finals 8-2. Cham was the fourth
ranked wrestler in the county.
   Ilich started the meet with a pin in the first round and scored two major decisions to get to the finals.
   “For the past eight weeks he has improved every week and has
dominated,” said Ramona coach Steve Koch. “He has developed the mindset
of a champion and has done it on the mat every week. He wants to go to
the State Meet.”
   Ilich continues a Bulldog tradition. For the past 16 years, Ramona has had at least one CIF champion in wrestling.

Bulldog girls earn 11th seed in playoffs

   Ramona High School’s girls soccer team received the 11th seed for the CIF Division II playoffs.
   The Feb. 20 playoff seeding and selection meeting sent 16 schools to
the Division II playoffs, including Ramona and sixth-seeded Scripps
Ranch, who became the Bulldogs’ first-round playoff opponent.
   “Very happy,” Ramona coach Tom Charbonneau said of the seed. “I feel
very fortunate to get in with our overall record, but it was really our
strength of schedule that made the difference for us.”
   Ramona closed out the season with a 3-8-7 overall record, although
one of those losses was originally a tie but became a forfeit after the
discovery that one of Ramona’s players was academically ineligible.
Ramona’s 1-6-5 record in Valley League play gave the Bulldogs fifth
place among the league’s seven teams.

Boys soccer earns playoff spot

 None of the current Ramona High School boys soccer players were on the
Bulldog varsity during the 2006-07 season when the Bulldogs earned
their most recent trip to the CIF playoffs prior to this year. The Feb.
20 playoff selection and seeding meeting gave Ramona’s players their
first post-season opportunity by seeding the Bulldogs ninth among
Division II teams.
   “We felt very happy to be in the playoffs,” said Ramona coach Michael Jordan.
The top eight seeds earned first-round home matches while the ninth
through 16th seeds went on the road, which in Ramona’s case meant a
trip to South San Diego for the Feb. 23 match at Southwest High
School. 
   “I thought that strength of schedule would have merited us a home game, but we just missed out,” Jordan said.

Cagers lose to Westview in overtime

   The Bulldog’s boys varsity basketball team lost to Westview and San
Marcos in two Valley League games to end the season with a 14-12 record
overall.
   The Dawgs went 7-5 in the Valley League and finished in second
place. Westview and San Marcos were the league’s co-champs with 10-2
records.
   The Bulldogs took Westview to overtime before dropping an exciting
53-50 decision. The Dawgs led 16-10 after one period and took a 25-20
lead into the locker room at intermission.
   Westview went on a 13-4 run in the third period and took a 36-32 advantage into the final eight minutes.
   “We put on a full-court press to slow down their offense and we
slowed them down and forced some turnovers and took their momentum
away,” said Ken Scheib, Ramona’s head coach.

Dons beat 12th-seeded Bulldogs in water polo playoff opener

   Ramona High School’s girls water polo team ended its 2009-10 season
with a 15-2 loss to Cathedral Catholic in the first round of the CIF
Division II playoffs Feb. 18 at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla.
   “The girls played hard,” Ramona coach Donnie Williams said of his team. “They just didn’t match up as well.”
   During the CIF playoff selection and seeding meeting Feb. 15, the
Bulldogs were given the 12th seed among the 16 Division II teams
admitted into the post-season. 
“It was still pretty good for what we had for the season. I thought it was a good seed for us,” Williams said.
   Ramona entered the playoffs with a 15-14 overall regular-season
record, including a 7-5 record in Valley League competition which was
worth third place in the league standings.

Ramona High graduate portrays Joseph in play

 Ramona High School Class of 2009 graduate Trevor Rogelstad is
performing the lead role of Joseph in “Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dream Coat” at the California Center for the Arts in
Escondido.
   Rogelstad has been performing in various youth and community theater
groups for the past 10 years, and those who have seen his portrayal of
Joseph call it amazing. He is the son of Mark and Darlene Scott of
Ramona and Todd and Kim Rogelstad of Poway.