La Costa Canyon High School

Carlsbad, California

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Principal’s message: Welcome to La Costa Canyon High School, Home of the Mavericks, where our mission is to develop a community of life-long learners, creative thinkers, and responsible individuals, by providing innovative, quality educational programs in a safe, supportive environment. Since opening in 1996, LCC has established high standards for academic achievement and extracurricular activities, placing Mavericks in the national spotlight. Mavericks maintain high academic standards with over 90% of students attending college after graduation, have nationally recognized and award winning speech and debate teams, performing arts programs, superior athletic programs, and the only marching band in the area, The Maverick Brigade. Our school is proud of this exemplary foundation of learning and achievement. Mavericks are on the move!

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Darren Fahy: Competitor

In a seemingly effortless sprint-to-the-finish, La Costa Canyon senior Darren Fahy claimed the title as the Foot Locker West Regional Cross Country champion, clocking 15 minutes and 29 seconds on Mt. SAC’s 5-kilometer course.

However, Fahy’s victory wasn’t quite as painless as it may have appeared to spectators.

“It was definitely my hardest race of the year,” he said of the race on December 3rd, “I took an early lead and held on at the end.”

Fahy ran his first mile in 4 minute and 48 seconds, a pace that he claims to be “pretty slow.” Despite taking the race out conservatively, “slower than last year”, Fahy managed to beat his 2010 Foot Locker West Regional time by an impressive 20 seconds. Both this and last years’ times have qualified him for Foot Locker Nationals held at Morley Field in Balboa Park.

Mt. San Antonio College, located in Walnut, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, is famous to runners throughout the West for its brutal hills. Fahy’s personal record on the course, 14 minutes and 41 seconds, was set at the Mt. SAC Invitational this October.

Amongst several cleverly named hills throughout the course, Fahy’s favorite is the steepest of all, “Poop Out.” Located about halfway through the race, “Poop Out” is where he typically “makes his move”, pulling away from the lead pack.

“I like Mt. SAC. I run it a lot, so I guess I have to like it,” explained Fahy.

In fact, Fahy has been competing on the course since he started his running career at eight years old, then coached by his father.  Due to the familiarity of Mt. SAC, Fahy even turned down the opportunity to travel to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon in order to compete at Foot Locker.

“I think the course is more genuine. Nike’s muddy course makes it hard to even run fast… I [also] wanted to run in front of my home crowd.”

Furthermore, Fahy credits a majority of this decision to the hospitality of the organizers at Foot Locker.

“The whole experience was great last year, so I really wanted to do it again.”

However, Fahy’s so far undefeated season, marked by first place victories at the Stanford Invitational, Mt. SAC Invitational, CIF San Diego Section meet, and CIF State meet, has not come easily. While the average high schooler lounged on the beach, Fahy dedicated his summer vacation to putting in necessary pre-season miles.  Around three times a week, during the early and middle parts of the season, Fahy wakes especially early in order to squeeze in a run before heading to class.

Fahy attributes this undeniable success to his parents, both runners, who introduced him to the sport at an early age. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities like taking me around the country to race.  They’ve have really helped me discover the enjoyment in racing,” Fahy graciously acknowledges.

He is also grateful for the support, dedication, and knowledge of his coaches, Bill Vice and Taylor Hindle, at La Costa Canyon. He also recognizes the benefits in having encouraging and talented teammates.  “I feel that having this team has helped me improve. We always do workouts together and Eric [Causey] always pushes me in practice. We all do better together. It’s kind of cliche, but it’s true.”

While his days as a high school athlete are coming to a close, Fahy plans have a strong track season and continue his running career into college. He is currently deciding between attending two prestigious universities, Georgetown in Washington D.C. and Stanford in Palo Alto, California.

As for Foot Locker Nationals on December 10th, Fahy is confident he will shine amongst fellow runners from across the country. “My goal is to place in the top 5,” he stated, “I’m sure I’ll do well.”

His 2011 Foot Locker West Regional victory is clearly just a mark of Fahy’s outstanding potential.

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2011 La Costa Canyon Varsity Girls Tennis

As the 2010 tennis season came to a close last fall, the La Costa Canyon girls record stood at just 8-7 in CIF Division I, and the team had failed to make the Division I finals for the 10th consecutive year. As the head coach departed, a thick air of uncertainty engulfed the varsity girls’ tennis program at LCC. A lengthy search for a new coach, which ended just weeks before the start of the 2011 season, and a new crop of young untested freshman left many patrons wondering about the competitiveness of the team in the Avocado West and even the future of the program.

New head coach, Erik Mateljan, and new assistant coach, Jimmy Santangelo, had their work cut out for them as the team took the court in late August. A team had to be molded from the morass of drama, immaturity, egos and jilted parents in just a few short weeks before the team’s first match against SDA.

As the season unfolded, it became surprisingly apparent that three freshman and a sophomore from Colorado would provide some much needed fire-power to the team. Freshmen, Nicole Yermanos and Nicole Camaratta, and Sophomore, Rachel Bosler, became the top singles players while freshman, Shawn Specht, joined returning Mavericks Kelsey Richer, Anya Tugucheva , Lauren Morrison , Blair Middlebrook, Shelby Wailes, Megan Bertha, Nicole Drago,  and  Allie Mulloy on the doubles teams.

This young team took the Avocado West by storm compiling a 9-0 league record. Their overall 12-3 record seeded the Mavericks  #4 at the start of the CIF Division I team tournament on November 1st. After breezing through the first two rounds, the Mavericks faced-off against the #1 seed, the heavily favored Westview Wolverines. Lead by tremendous play by their doubles teams, the Mavericks pulled- off the upset defeating the Wolverines 10-8 and found  themselves in the Division finals against Torrey Pines. Although, the Mavericks lost to powerhouse Torrey Pines in the finals, this marked the first time in eleven years that an LCC Girls Tennis team had made it to the CIF Division I finals.

The team also experienced tremendous success in the League tournament the following week. It would be LCC’s crowning achievement to a Cinderella season as the finals in both doubles and singles featured all LCC players. Nicole Camaratta won the League Singles Championship while the team of Anya Tugucheva and Kelsey Richer won the League Doubles Championship.

This week the mavericks play in the CIF Division Tournament against the best female tennis players in San Diego county. Both Nicole Yermanos (#16 seed) and Nicole Camaratta have advanced to the third round of the singles tournament. Play continues through Friday, November 18th, to determine the CIF Division I Champion. Regardless of the outcome, LCC has established itself as a force to be reckoned with, and have laid a strong foundation of young players to build upon for the future of La Costa Canyon girls tennis.

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LCC’s Nicole Drago Serves it Up

Nine years ago senior Nicole Drago picked up the sport of tennis, and has been impressing coaches and teammates ever since.

“Nicole brings a positive vibe to the girl’s tennis team at LCC,” first-year head coach Erik Mateljan said. “She is the inspirational leader of our team and always gives her best effort on and off the court.”

Drago comes to LCC after having played for two years at Cathedral.

Coach Mateljan has implemented new practice drills for each girl this year. They all receive individual instruction from the coach about their specific weaknesses. Drago has her own growth areas. “Mine is chasing the ball when it is closer to the net,” Drago said. “So coach will hit the ball short during my session, and I’ll have to run up to keep the rally going. I definitely think I’ve gotten faster, and coach really pushes us during practice.”

The team has improved since last year with their new practice drills and new freshman players. Currently, the girls tennis team is undefeated. “We’ve played some really tough matches this year,” Drago said. “I think La Jolla Country Day is our biggest rival overall, but in our division, it would be Rancho Bueno Vista.”

Drago finds tennis exhilarating. “My favorite part of tennis is playing for match point,” Drago said. “You feel that adrenaline rush as the ball is served, but you get focused as soon as it’s not about rallying, but winning. It’s up to you to make that first aggressive move if you want to win.”

She certainly has applied her theory for initiating the win during a match point. She has only lost three matches in the season so far. As a team leader Drago enjoys bringing her teammates together at their many bonding activities. They frequently meet for team dinners and pool parties outside of daily practice.

“It’s a great way to really incorporate the freshmen,” Drago said. “I know it sounds cheesy, but we really are one big family. We help each other with school problems, family problems, and anything that’s bothering us. I can go to my team for advice without being judged.”

In order to win a tennis match, players must win in doubles. Drago feels that doubles wins define a team, and because of the increase in team bonding, this year’s team has become much stronger.

Although it is difficult to balance academics and athletics, Drago has pushed through the long nights to excel in her schooling.