Some striking improvement

Rick Devereux

Sage Hill School senior Laura Gordon continued the torrid pace she

set last year when she was named the school’s Female Athlete of the

Year.

Gordon’s performance and leadership helped the 2004-05 Lightning

soccer team advance to the CIF Southern Section Division VI

semifinals, becoming the first team in the program’s history to win a

playoff game.

As goalkeeper, Gordon led the Lightning to a 21-2-1 record. Gordon and freshman Kellee Kim were first-team All-CIF Division VI

selections.

Gordan and Kim were also first-team All-Academy League, as were

teammates Rebecca Gordon, a senior, and Emily Webb, a sophomore.

Laura Gordon also excelled in track and field. She won the CIF

Division IV triple jump with a leap of 37 feet, 2 1/4 inches and was

first alternate for the Masters Meet.

Laura Gordon was league champion in the 100-meter hurdles, long

jump and triple jump and was second in league in the 300 hurdles.

Other Lightning league champions were Amy Werblin in the discus

and Kelsey Rose in the 200. Rose also took second in the 100 while

Werblin was runner-up in the shot put. Sophomore Amelia Fletcher was

second in the triple jump.

Sage senior-to-be Cat Dailey already knows where she will be going

to college after the outside hitter verbally committed to play at Cal

in 2006.

Dailey, a two-time All-Newport-Mesa selection, led the Lightning

to a 17-7 record and a berth in the CIF Division IV-A semifinals.

Dailey was second-team All-CIF and first-team all-league. She led

the Lightning with 257 kills, 61 blocks and 44 service aces.

Joining Dailey as first-team all-league selections were fellow

juniors Vista Murphy and Haywood Wright.

Freshman Katie McKeon was named Academy League Runner of the Year

in cross country, after capturing the league title in 20 minutes, 16

seconds.

McKeon continually broke the school record in cross country, with

her best performance of 19:19, good for fourth place at the CIF

Division V finals.

The Sage Hill girls tennis team advanced to the CIF Division V

semifinals before losing to top-seeded Malibu at Pepperdine

University to finish 15-7.

Senior Sarah Flynn and sophomore Alle Hsu, the Academy League

doubles runners-up who finished 56-11, won two matches in the CIF

Southern Section individual regional tennis tournament.

Sage Hill freshman Justine Chen shot a 10-over-par 150 and

finished one stroke behind Piper Miller of St. Margaret’s to finish

second in the two-day, 36-hole Golden West League individual golf

tournament at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club. Chen had a one-shot

lead over Miller after the first day of competition.

Sage’s Emma Koh shot 181 to finish eighth individually and the

Lightning finished second as a team behind St. Margaret’s in the

league standings.

Wright was named the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year in

basketball. The 6-foot-1 standout averaged 13.1 points, 13.2 rebounds

and led the Lightning to a quarterfinal playoff appearance, the

deepest the school has ever gone in the postseason.

Wright led the team with 81 blocks and 59 steals, while providing

a mixture of inside and outside play that provided a tough matchup

for opponents. Her 81 blocks was the most in the Academy League and

she was second in the league in rebounding.

Wright was selected to the girls basketball All-CIF Division IV-A

second team.

Sage had wins over Buckley and Woodcrest Christian in the first

and second rounds of the postseason before falling to eventual

champion Brentwood in the quarterfinals.

Recent graduate Katie Puishys, a 6-1 center, was also selected to

the Dream Team. Puishys averaged 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds and

registered 35 blocks. Puishys was selected to represent the South in

the Orange County All-Star game, but was unable to play due to a

broken hand sustained while playing softball.

The Lightning finished the season 14-9, 8-2 in league for a share

of first with Brethren Christian.

The girls water polo team finished 10-11 and just missed

qualifying for the CIF postseason.

Two-meter player Devin Tooma finished with a team-high 47 goals

and freshman Sarah Wesley performed well throughout the season.

Rebecca Hembarsky, a junior pitcher who was equally strong with

the bat, helped the Lightning softball team tie for second in the

Academy League. It finished 12-6, 7-3.

The Bolts earned a CIF Division VI playoff berth, their second in

the last three seasons.

Hembarsky was named to the Dream Team and joined senior Jessica

Torina as first-team all-league selections.

Recent graduate Allison Grigonis was 28th in the 100-yard

backstroke (1:09.71) and 32nd in the 200 individual medley (2:37.21)

at the CIF Division V swim finals at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in

Long Beach.