7th Grade Girls Basketball Scots Finish Season with Win

Piedmont 22, Prospect Sierra 17
The Scots saved the best for last, finishing their season with a thrilling win over Prospect Sierra. The victory was a true team effort with Siobhan Mitchell, Kerry O’Connor, Maddie Wolfe, Gracie Petty and Claire Laymon providing aggressive, defense, and Margaret Meagher, Emily Rexrode and Nina Adarkar combining for 29 rebounds. Meagher led the offense with 10 points and Rexrode added 6 points. Gillian Peters and Avery Bouch each had a basket and played outstanding transition defense. Mitchell and Petty made clutch free throws in the fourth quarter to stop a Prospect Sierra run and insure the win.

8th Grade Girls Basketball Stanley Middle School Invitational Tournament

First round: Piedmont 42, Walnut Creek 58 
The Highlanders kept within 8 points of the Scorpions until the last quarter, when the gap widened and the Highlanders lost, 42−58. It was an exciting game; every Highlander had standout moments. Kelsey Fennell spearheaded the offense, putting up 22 points, and led the team in rebounds with 16.  Malorie Han scored 6 points and made 3 steals; Caroline James, Tess Olcott and Cate Selna put up 4 points each.

Second round: Piedmont 20, Albany 9 
The Highlanders played the Albany Cobras in their second round game on Thursday, January 19th. The team maintained a comfortable lead the entire game, winning 20 - 9. Kelsey Fennell and Cate Selna shared top scoring honors with six points each, with Tess Olcott contributing 4 points. Fennell dominated the boards with 11 rebounds, Caroline James and Caroline Welch had 5 each, and Malorie Han, Sydney Boxer, Selna, Olcott and Mika Lee also contributed to the rebounding effort.

Consolation game: Piedmont 36, Martinez 23
Down by one point at the half, Piedmont came from behind to take fifth place honors in their final game of the season. Sydney Boxer was on fire and ended the night with 10 points, including a 3-pointer. Cate Selna and Kelsey Fennell followed with six points each, and Hana Elabed had four points.  Fennell kept things moving on both ends of the court with 10 rebounds and two steals; Selna pulled down six rebounds, and Caroline Welch, Elabed and Malorie Han had four apiece.
The team treated Coach Marikah Woodson to her first visit to Fenton's to celebrate a successful season.

7th Grade Boys Basketball Scots Add Two Wins

Piedmont 39, Moraga 33

Piedmont 37, Albany 29

The Scots improved their record to 3-1 this week with wins over Moraga 39-33 and Albany 37-29. The team played exceptional defense with 27 rebounds against Moraga and 60 boards against Albany. Highlights for the week include Max Manalo-Leclair scoring 14 points against Moraga and 17 against Albany, with 21 rebounds for the two games. Kyle Mortimer scored 11 points and 5 rebounds. Christian Turner with 13 rebounds, 8 steals, and 3 blocks. Sam Williamson had 6 points and 8 boards. Lane Manalo-Leclair had 3 points and 11 rebounds. Other highlights include Blake Meyers, Justin Nicholas, and Aidan Nabavi as point guards setting up the plays with 11 assists and 14 points between them. Both offensively and defensively Chris Conn, Jake Mura, Jordan Leon, Brandon Lew, Geoffrey Burge and Andrew DiGaetano all contributed to this week’s wins.

7th Grade Boys Basketball Fifers vs. Moraga

Piedmont 21, Moraga 21

The Fifers found themselves trying to play catch-up after the Moraga Marauders took an early lead. Piedmont faced a daunting 15 point deficit at the half, but came back behind Luke Eidem’s scoring to bring the team within eight points in the third. Unfortunately, Piedmont’s late game surge was not enough to defeat the Marauders, who won the game 33-21.

8th Grade Girls Highlanders vs. Albany

Piedmont 34, Albany 21
The Cobras stayed within striking distance with Piedmont leading by 5 points at the end of the first half, but the Highlanders pulled away in the end, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter for a decisive win. High scorer Caroline James led the offensive effort with 9 points. Tess Olcott widened the scoring gap with a late game three pointer for a total of 7 points, and Kelsey Fennell had 6. Caroline Welch led in rebounds, while Cate Selna and Mika Lee made key assists.

7th Grade Girls Basketball Martinez Jr. High School Invitational Tournament

Monday, January 9, 2012
Piedmont 15, Albany 25
The Scots fell way behind in the first half and lost the game despite a second half run that pulled them within 5 points with less than 5 minutes to go. Margaret Meagher led the Scots with 7 points and 11 rebounds, Avery Bouch had 4 points and played strong defense along with Gracie Petty and Nina Adarkar who each scored a basket and combined for 4 rebounds.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012  
Piedmont 11, Longfellow 15
After getting off to a slow start and trailing at the half by 11 points, the Scots dominated the second half before coming up short and losing 15-11. Margaret Meagher led the Scots with 10 rebounds and 3 assists and was awarded the game MVP trophy by tournament officials.  Emily Rexrode had her most complete game of the year with 4 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. Meagher and Rexrode combined with Gillian Peters, Siobhan Mitchell, and Claire Laymon on defense to completely shut down the Longfellow offense in the second half.  Maddie Wolfe had 4 points and Kerry O’Connor added a basket.

7th Grade Boys Fifers vs. Willard

Piedmont 21, Willard 30
The Fifers squared-off against Willard in their second game of the season. The Phoenixes took an early lead, but scoring by Jack McKeen and Eoghan Shields brought the Fifers to within one point at the half. Dillon Heller and Bing Mitchell kept the Fifers in the game, and Jackson Beieler scored a memorable bucket against his former school team. The teams were well-matched, but the Fifers were ultimately defeated, 21-30.

8th Grade Girls Highlanders vs. Orinda

Piedmont 20, Orinda 32

The Highlanders played Orinda close for the first half with a halftime score of Orinda 13, Piedmont 10. However, Orinda's full-court press forced multiple turnovers that plagued the Highlanders throughout the game. Kelsey Fennell, had 9 points, Caroline James had 4 points, and Hana Elabed, Sydney Boxer, Caroline Welch and Cate Selna also contributed to the scoring effort. The team never seemed to get in sync and just couldn't overcome the sharp defense, aggressive rebounding and the quick court rhythm Orinda threw at them.

8th Grade Girls Scots vs. Longfellow

Piedmont 18, Longfellow 39
The Scots played Longfellow to an 8-8 draw in the first quarter, but fell behind in the face of their tough defense and ability to score baskets in transition. Ashley Gerrity led the Scots with 7 points, and Elie Docter, Megan Deutsche, Genna Williamson, Julia Kelly and Tina Sieben added to the Scots’ scoring.  Maret Sotkiewicz and Nicole Bilorusky were tough on defense and came up with several steals.

8th Grade Girls Beat Martinez

Piedmont 25, Martinez 2
Their tempo slowed by multiple foul calls in the first half, the Highlanders picked up the pace in the second to beat the Bullpups, 25-2. Leading scorer Kelsey Fennell had 12 points, while Mika Lee hit a three-pointer to score a total of 5, Caroline Welch scored 4, and Malorie Han and Caroline James scored 2 points apiece. Welch added 4 rebounds, while Sydney Boxer added 2 assists and 2 rebounds to Piedmont’s effort.

8th Grade Girls Defeat Bentley

Piedmont 24, Bentley 14
Taking an early lead, the Highlanders faced an energized Bentley Phoenix team to start the new year. Kelsey Fennell was the team’s high scorer with 10 points. Cate Selna and Fennell led the team with 8 and 7 rebounds, while Caroline James, Hana Elabed, Caroline Welch and Malorie Han contributed 5 rebounds each. Tess Olcott sparked the defense with 5 steals. Piedmont pulled away in the third quarter to beat Bentley, 24-14.

8th Grade Girls Make a Late Run in Loss to Lincoln

Piedmont 18, Lincoln 25
The Highlanders struggled to find their rhythm against the Lions, with Tess Olcott scoring the team's only basket of the first half. Piedmont was down 2-17 at the half, but outscored the Lions in the second half 16-8, with top scorers Hana Elabed and Mika Lee unleashing their three-point shooting late in the game for 6 points apiece. Kelsey Fennell fought hard against Lincoln's collapsing defense to add 4 points.

7th Grade Girls Scots vs. Lincoln

Piedmont 8, Lincoln 48
The Scots had difficulty with the much taller Lincoln team and lost the game 48-8. Despite the final score, the Scots played hard throughout the game and had several good individual performances. Avery Bouch played aggressive defense and combined with Gracie Petty for 5 rebounds. Emily Rexrode scored 2 points and grabbed 6 rebounds and Margaret Meagher had 2 points and 6 rebounds as well. Siobhan Mitchell scored 2 points and added 1 rebound.

8th Grade Girls Score a Win over MLK

Piedmont 24, MLK 15  
Coming off a defeat on Monday and a win on Tuesday, the 8th Grade Highlanders played their third game of the week against King Middle School of Berkeley. Piedmont was able to hold off a third quarter rally as the King players pulled within two points. Kelsey Fennell, who finished with 13 points, scored two buckets to put them back solidly in the lead. King faced a triple-threat on the boards: Caroline Welch had twelve rebounds, and Fennell and Malorie Han contributed ten apiece. Han finished with 4 points, Selna 3, Welch and Olcott added two each to round out the scoring. Guards Tess Olcott, Hana Elabed and Mika Lee kept the game moving with quick passing and fast breaks.

7th Grade Girls Scots vs. MLK

Piedmont 19, MLK 41
The Scots ran into a much faster team from Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley and lost 41-19 despite playing one of their better games of the year.  Margaret Meagher was unstoppable on offense scoring 13 points and anchored the defense with 16 rebounds and 2 steals.  Emily Rexrode added 2 points and 6 rebounds and Nina Adarkar had 2 points and seven steals.  Maddie Wolfe had 2 points and Gillian Peters played strong defense with 5 steals.

7th Grade Girls Scots vs. Willard

Piedmont 16, Willard 32
After getting behind early to the Willard Phoenix, the Scots fought back in the second half and played the Phoenix fairly even before losing 32-16.  Gracie Petty had another solid offensive game, scoring 9 points.  Claire Laymon and Nina Adarkar each had a basket, and Adarkar led the defensive effort combining with Kerry O'Connor for 4 steals.

8th Grade Girls Highlanders: Tough Loss to Titans

Piedmont 26, Hercules 44
The 8th grade girls Highlanders lost to the Hercules Titans, fighting hard but ultimately going down 44 − 26. Kelsey Fennell led the Highlanders with 10 points, Sydney Boxer put up 7, and Tess Olcott scored 5. Cate Selna, leading the defense, pulled down 12 rebounds.

7th Grade Girls Scots Defeat Carquinez

Scots 32, Carquinez 15
Carquinez had no answer for Margaret Meagher who had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds and led the Scots to a never-in-doubt 32-15 win. Nina Adarkar scored 4 points and played strong defense with 8 rebounds and 12 steals. Claire Laymon with 8 rebounds, Avery Bouch with 3 rebounds, and Kerry O’Connor with 2 points and 2 steals, also provided aggressive defense.

8th Grade Girls Highlanders' Record: 3-1

Stanley 37, Highlanders 15 
The 8th grade girls Highlanders were handed their first defeat by a strong Stanley Wildcats team, 37-15. Kelsey Fennell led with 6 points and 7 rebounds, and Caroline James added 4 points. Malorie Han was strong under the boards with 4 rebounds and solid defense.

8th Grade Girls Basketball Continues Winning Streak

Highlanders 33, Albany 14
The 8th grade Highlanders improved their record to 3-0 with a win over Albany, led by Caroline Welch with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Cate Selna added 6 points and 8 rebounds. Sydney Boxer, Caroline James and Tess Olcott all contributed baskets, rebounds and steals. Mika Lee scored a three-pointer near the end of the game, capping a well-balanced team effort.

7th Grade Girls Basketball Scots vs. Albany

Albany 17, Scots 14
After controlling the game through three quarters, the Scots faltered in the fourth quarter allowing Albany to come back and win, 17-14. Emily Rexrode led the Scots with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and strong defense. Gillian Peters and Gracie Petty each had 2 points. Peters and Siobhan Mitchell combined for 8 steals and controlled the defense along with Maddie Wolfe and Margaret Meagher who combined for 16 rebounds.

8th Grade Girls Basketball Opens Season with Two Wins

With many of the players returning from last year’s team, the 8th grade PMS girls expect to have a strong team this year. If their first game is any indication, they are picking up where they left off last year – winning! Their first game of this season was against Martinez Junior High, final score Piedmont 36 – Martinez 31. The teams were well matched but Piedmont was in the lead throughout the game once they got on the board. Martinez was the first to score but then Kelsey Fennell sunk her first basket of the night and the team was off. Piedmont’s players shared fairly evenly in the scoring, Fennell with 10 points, followed closely by Caroline James (9) and Malorie Han (8) and Sydney Boxer (7). Hana Elabed added a basket for 2. The third quarter was the highlight of the game with first Boxer and then James hitting back to back 3 pointers. Boxer added another three-pointer later in the quarter as well. The team worked the ball well, played strong defense and Fennell dominated on the boards with excellent rebounding although she quickly had to tone her game down drawing 3 fouls early on.

Continuing their winning ways, the girls beat Moraga 43 to 18. Highlights of this game included a shoot, tuck and roll slam into the back wall by James for two points in the second quarter. Caroline also continued her three point shooting; hitting one in the third quarter, she finished the game with 9 points, followed by Boxer who contributed 9 points. Point guards Mika Lee and Tess Olcott (2 points) were sharp with multiple steals each. Caroline Welch was on fire contributing excellent defense and rebounding including racking up 6 points for the team. Cate Selna (4 points) put her first two baskets on the boards for the season. Elabed just missed a three pointer and ended the night with four points. Fennell was high scorer (13 points), including a left handed drift away shot that was just beautiful to watch.

Sixth Grade Girls Volleyball Jamboree

The 6th grade girls volleyball team made a spectacular showing at the volleyball jamboree hosted by Orinda Intermediate School on Wednesday, October 26th. The team was separated into two squads for purposes of the jamboree. With each squad playing five games, Piedmont won seven out of ten games against opponents from Stanley Middle School, Orinda Intermediate School and Joaquin Moraga.

8th Grade Girls Highlanders Volleyball Tournament

The 8th Grade Highlanders Volleyball team made an impressive showing in the post-season tournament hosted by Stanley Middle School in Lafayette. In the first match, played on Monday, October 24, Piedmont faced Doris Eaton and came up short in spite of excellent defensive plays by Lizzie Bjork and Mia Kate Hood, and a well-timed block by Eliza Lucas. The second match was a thriller against Foothill with Piedmont winning in 3 games: 19-25; 25-19 and 15-7. The game’s highlights included aces by Hood, Allie Frankel and Jackie Roland. Audrey Meyersieck and Sierra Singer provided solid passes and clutch defensive digs to set up a solid attack offense led by Makena Stone, Lucas and Roland.

The tournament continued on Tuesday with Piedmont playing top seeded Walnut Creek. The tightly contested first game ended on an impressive kill by Roland to finish the game at 26-24. Lucas, Hood, Bjork and Emilia Rivera provided the team with consistent serving throughout the game. Game two was controlled by the Highlanders from the outset. Back row passes and excellent digs by Meyersieck and Frankel set up great opportunities for Singer to provide juicy sets to Stone, Roland and Meyersieck. The Highlanders walked away with the game two victory 25-15.

On Wednesday, the Highlanders were defeated by Martinez in the fourth round of the tournament in a very close two game match, 25-23, 25-22.  In the first game, coming from behind, Bjork served six strong in a row to bring the team back to 24-23, but alas the opposing team got the next point to win the first game.  In the second game, Meyersieck gave the Highlanders a strong lead with six service points in a row. Steady defense and all around play by Roland, along with a couple of nice digs by Olive Werby, kept the game close. Julia Kelly, Lucas and Stone also contributed, with multiple kills each.

8th Grade Volleyball Victory in Berkeley

This past Tuesday the 8th Grade Girls Highlanders volleyball team took on Berkeley’s Longfellow Middle School. The girls scored a decisive victory, winning the first game 25-10 and the second game 25-18. Lizzie Bjork had some amazing digs, shutting down Longfellow's most powerful server, and Makena Stone and Audrey Meyerseick each had 3 kills.  Strong serving carried the day: Jackie Roland and Sierra Singer each had 4 aces and Emilia Rivera closed out the match by serving 8 straight points.

Wet Weather and a Hornet's Nest

as reported by Coach Len Goldman
The weather made a dramatic change this week and the heat was replaced by cool temperatures and rain.  I am very proud of the kids for showing up for both the meets and practices despite the wet conditions.  I heard some of the other sports were canceled because of wet fields, but that didn't stop our cross country runners, it was nice to see the mud on their legs.

Our meet at Golden Gate Fields Race Track on October 3rd was the second largest meet in league history, behind ours.  We had a squad of about 60 kids and despite the soggy turf, the flat course still proved fast.  I have placings for our runners but no times yet.  In the Boys 6th grade race, Michael Blake led the way with a 10th place finish and in 18th place was Walter Teitelbaum.  Again space does not allow me to name all the kids who ran, but several coaches from other schools noticed the large contingent of PMS runners and their purple jerseys at the meet.

For the 6th grade girls, Minnie Cooper was our top finisher in 7th place, followed by Kate Gross-Whitaker in 13th.  Natasha Long and Jacqueline Hollander ran well, and the coaching staff is noticing improvement in the running of many of the team members.  For the 7/8th grade boys, Everett Ellis continued his fine season with a 5th place finish.  Blake Gruendl was 14th and Kyle Mortimer had his best race so far finishing in 17th place.  About 130 boys ran in this race. The final race of the day was 7/8th grade race and running in her first race of the season for the team was Maddie Copeland, 8th grader and a 4 year veteran of the team.  She finished in 3rd place and pending official results set a new 8th grade girls school course record.  PMS had 5 girls finish among the top 17 places, Ava Podell in 9th, Emmie Seevak in 10th, Katie St. Claire in 15th and Mia Arthur in 17th.

The October 6th meet at Prospect Sierra presented more than the usual challenges to the runners.  A hornet's nest was disturbed during the 6th grade girls race and some girls got stung.  Subsequent races had to run an altered course of an unknown distance to avoid the hornets, but some kids continued to be stung.  In addition, the City of El Cerrito had a work crew and equipment on site that was a bit of an obstacle.  Despite these obstacles our team competed well.  Regarding the races themselves, in the 6th grade girls race PMS had three girls in the top 10.  Minnie Cooper was 4th, Ava Biehn was 5th and Olivia Adams was 8th.

In the 6th grade boys race, an altered course was run from the usual, plus several of the lead boys ran past the finish chute and had to back track.  Mitchell Bloemker finished 4th and his time of 7:05 will be considered a course record with an asterisk.  Both Michael Blake and Quinn Willrich ran in their first race and finished 9th and 12th respectively.

The 7/8th grade girls race was perhaps the highlight race of the day for our team, with a 1-2 finish.  Emma Seevak, 8th grade won the race in a time of 8:10, it was her first win in a cross country race and Ava Podell, 7th grade, was a very close 2nd place finisher about 7 seconds back.  Leah Kochendorfer, 7th grade, also had a top 10 finish in 5th place.  Rounding out our top 5 finishers were Monte Miller in 12th place and Megan Wilensky in 17th place.

The final race of the day, 7/8th grade boys featured Mingwei Samuel, 8th grade, running a very fine race and finishing in 3rd place.  Our next runner was Josh Wood, 7th grade, who was the 11th place finisher.  Nick Loduca had a solid race and was the 13th place finisher.

Cross Country Hosts Largest Meet to Date

as reported by Coach Len Goldman
On Monday, September 26th, PMS hosted the largest meet to date in league history with 407 runners!  Thank you to the parents who came to cheer, drove, provided snacks and volunteered.  Everything went well, no runners fell down, and we stayed pretty much on schedule, finishing the last race around 5:30 p.m. All the kids on the team ran well and time permits me to name just a few. Mitchell Bloemker, 6th grade, in his first cross country race, set a new school course record of 7:00.6 and finished in 2nd place. In the 7/8th grade boys race, Everett Ellis set a new school course record for 8th grade boys in a time of 7:09.3 and 4th place. 6th graders ran about a mile, 7/8th graders about 1.25 miles Just missing the school course record for 7th grade girls was Ava Podell in 8th place, 8:07.3, one second off the record. For the 6th grade girs race, we had several girls finish in the top 10, with Genevieve Raushenbush leading the way in 5th place.Over 60 PMS runners competed and I try to emphasize to the kids the important thing is trying your best and finishing.  Every team member can take pride and satisfaction in their accomplishment and it is an important building block in enjoying running for the healthy activity that it is.