Heartbreaker of a Loss in OT for 7th Grade Boys Highlanders Basketball Team

Playing during a power outage, the 7th Grade Highlanders held the lead for the majority of the game, with strong defensive play by Graham Low. Julian Cortez led the team in points scored, helping Piedmont maintain their lead until the final quarter. With the power back on and seconds on the clock, Lincoln hit a three pointer to tie the game and send the shooter to the free throw line with a chance to win. Fortunately for PMS, the free throw was missed and the game went into overtime. The Highlanders made a good effort in overtime, but ultimately lost by 6.

Final score: PMS 37 - LMS 43.

Lights Out at 8th Grade Boys Scots Basketball Debut

In their first game of the season, the 8th Grade Scots faced off against Lincoln Middle School. Michael Tam scored the team’s first basket, and Ben Wilson led the break with a pass to Tam for another two points. Joseph Powell led the team’s scoring with 10 points, including a three pointer. Miles Lee seemed to literally shoot the lights out when he hit a three pointer near the end of the third quarter, just before a power outage. The teams finished out the game under emergency lights and the fading light of the sunset. Chris Feterolf added another four points, with Corey Collier, Grant Gadbois and Nick Docter also scoring for PMS.

Final score: PMS 28 - LMS 64.

Albany No Match for 7th Grade Girls Highlanders

With multitudes of steals and goals, the Highlanders easily beat Albany on December 15. Madie Eidam was on fire, scoring 10, making 5 of 6 field goal attempts. Angel Rael scored 8, Claire O'Connor scored 7, Nicole Cosares and Lindsey Vaughn scored 6, Sarah Mooney and Sydney Williams scored 4, Cecilia Soghikian scored a field goal and a free throw, and Kerry Krohn and Marley Bratman each scored a basket. The team made 40% of their attempted field goals, a marked improvement from the last game.

Clare Keating topped in assists with three, while Marley Bratman, Nicole Cosares and Sarah Mooney had two assists each. Angel Rael had six rebounds, and Madie Eidam and Sarah Mooney each had four. The Highlanders were tough on defense, not allowing any field goals (Albany's points were from 2 free throws). Sarah Mooney was tenacious with 6 steals, Lindsey Vaughn with rocket like speed made five steals, and Clare Keating made four.

Final score: PMS 52 - AMS 2

Martinez Muscles Past 7th Grade Girls Highlanders, 41-26

While the Highlanders played tough with much physical contact, they were ultimately outplayed by a strong, experienced team with a height advantage and a good offense. Martinez came out strong and fast in the 1st quarter, led by 8 at the half, and then advanced their lead to 15 in the 3rd quarter. While the Highlanders only made about 1/4 of their field goal attempts, they did play defense with tenacity, especially in the 4th quarter, only allowing 4 points to end the game 41 - 26. Lindsey Vaughn had an amazing 18 attempts at goal, scoring 14, 5 field goals and 4 free throws. Kerry Krohn and Clare Keating scored 4 each with multiple drives to the basket, and Angel Rael and Sydney Williams each scored 2. Maddie Eidam played strong defense with multiple defensive rebounds, steals, and a forced turnover. Lindsey Vaughn, Angel Rael, and Sarah Mooney also aggressively stole the ball multiple times. Clare Keating had 5 rebounds and 2 assists, while Angel Rael had 3 rebounds and an assist. Marley Bratman played strong with a steal, and Claire O'Connor made a great block.

7th Grade Girls Scots Spoil Longfellow's Bid for Revenge

Sparked by Julia Ormond, Noelle Lautt, and Sofia Lautt's combined 13 steals, the 7th Grade Scots basketball team frustrated Longfellow's hopes for revenge by defeating them 27 to 17. In the game, Abby Ramsey had 11 points and Claire Schane had 7 rebounds to lead all players. The Scots also benefitted from strong defensive contributions from Johanna Rapport, Sabrynna Yarbrough, Remy Afong, Maya Kiruluta, and Jo Ireland.

7th Grade Girls Basketball Scots Trounce Moraga

The seventh grade girls Scots Basketball Team continued their winning streak on Wednesday, December 2nd, by easily handling their counterpart from Moraga Middle School by a score of 42 to 12. Aided by the deft passing of Sofia Lautt who had 7 assists, Remy Afong lead all scorers with 14 points while Julia Ormond poured in 12 of her own. Meanwhile, Noelle Lautt and Maya Kiruluta controlled the boards with 7 rebounds each while Johanna Rapport, Sabrynna Yarbrough, Claire Schane and Jo Ireland contributed to the Scots’ trademark stifling defense.

7th Grade Girls Basketball Highlanders Slip Past Stanley

In a tight game, the 7th Grade Girls Highlanders pushed past Lafayette Stanley to win an exciting match, 22-21. The first two quarters were challenging for Piedmont with a lead by Stanley of 6 at one point in the game. However, Piedmont's defense held strong in the 3rd and 4th quarters, only allowing 4 points. The Highlanders showed the power of teamwork with some strong offensive plays to come from behind in the 4th quarter to take the victory. Angel Rael contributed with assists, as well as 6 point. Lindsey Vaughn and Clare Keating scored 4 with multiple drives to the basket, while Cecilia Soghikian, Maddie Baum, Madie Eidam, and Sydney Williams each scored a basket. Sarah Mooney and Kerry Krohn played aggressive defense with multiple steals. Coach Matt Kirby says, "The girls played great."

7th Grade Girls Scots Basketball v. Longfellow

The PMS Girls 7th Grade Scots basketball team routed Longfellow Middle School Thursday by the score of 28 to 12 for their second win in as many games. In classic David and Goliath style, PMS spent the first quarter and a half feeling out their opponent, then suddenly came to life, scoring 10 straight points to go ahead 17-7, effectively putting the game out of reach. Abby Ramsey and Remy Afong led the offense, combining for 18 points and controlling the tempo from the point guard spot. Frustrating the Longfellow attack, Noelle Lautt had five steals, blocked two shots and took two charges while Julia Ormond and Sofia Lautt added 8 and 6 rebounds respectively. Also contributing to the Scots trademark team defense were Maya Kirulata with two blocked shots, and solid performances by Sabrynna Yarbrough and Johanna Rapport.

PMS Cross Country Teams Conclude Season on a High Note

The PMS cross country teams ended their season with the league championships where both team and individual trophies were awarded. This year, the squad fielded scoring teams of five in all four league championship races, something that last happened

in 2007.

First up was the 6th grade championships on November 2 at Prospect Sierra school in El Cerrito. For the 6th grade boys, ten runners competed in the race. While no one on the team scored a top ten finish, leading the way were Alex Harrison and Everett Ellis, who finished in 18th and 19th place, respectively. The boys team finished in 5th place out of 10 schools.

For the 6th grade girls, Piedmont was the only school besides Albany to field a team of five (Albany Middle had a dozen girls in the race). That kind of depth was too much to overcome as our girls finished 2nd, the best showing ever by a PMS 6th grade girls team. Maddie Copeland lead the way with a 2nd place finish, earning a trophy. Madison Tenney was 11th, Alexandra Shoptaugh was 16th, Megan Wilensky was 22nd, and Nicole Bilorusky was 24th.

The 7th & 8th grade meet was held on November 5th at Kennedy Grove in El Sobrante, both our boys and girls teams finished in 4th place. For the girls, the team was missing its top runner, Anna Harleen who was injured. Sofia Lautt, 7th grader, scored a top ten finish and a trophy, placing 9th. Just missing out on a trophy was another 7th grader, Sarah Ching in 11th place. Angel Rael, also a 7th grader, finished right behind Sarah. For the boys, eighth grader Kevin Wu was injured in the previous meet, and although not 100%, gave it his best effort. Our top finisher was Matthew Gologorsky, an 8th grader and a 3 year veteran for the team, who finished in 11th place, just missing out on a individual trophy.

PMS Cross Country Team Closes out Regular Season, Championships Next

The PMS cross country team finished its regular season with a meet at Mills College in Oakland. For the 6th grade girls team, Maddie Copeland won for the fourth time in five meets in which she competed. Maddie should contend for the league championship individual title, but there are several other girls who are her main competition. In addition, Alexandra Shoptaugh and Nicole Bilorusky also ran well in the meet, finishing 6th & 17th, respectively.

On the 6th grade boys side, we had nine runners compete, with Alex Harrison finishing in 6th place and was our only runner to place in the top 10. For the 7th & 8th graders, in the girls, PMS had three girls in the top 10, Sarah Ching (6th), Anna Harleen (8th), and Angel Rael (9th). For the boys, our top runner, Kevin Wu, turned his ankle and could not finish. Still, Piedmont had three boys finish in the top 10: Andrew Strauch (4th), Thomas Horn (5th), and Jack Flynn (8th). The league championships will be held on November 2 for the 6th graders in El Cerrito and November 5 for the 7th & 8th graders in El Sobrante.

Piedmont Scots 7th Grade Volleyball Team Wins Second Place at Tournament

Through tough playing, the Scots brought home the Second Place Trophy for PMS under the first year coaching of Aleesha Woodruff. The first game against Berkeley Longfellow was an exhibit of Taylor Chow's serving skills with 12 aces, and Clare Keating's multiple kills resulting in a 25-10 win. The second game against Berkeley Willard was close through the first 10 points across the teams, but Reina Lowe blasted with 9 aces and Clare Keating with 5 aces to take Piedmont to a 25-6 win. In both games, Sabrynna Vasaure and Maya Kiruluta played strong defense.

The third game started with Albany leading 7-1 as Piedmont couldn't respond to their strong serves. Piedmont responded with a number of strong serves by Kathy Caldwell and tied the game at 7-7. Although Sabrynna Vasaure contributed some great serves and bumps, the Scots saw the game slip away due to a string of Piedmont errors, final score 18-25. The loss placed Piedmont in second place in their division.

In the semifinal match against the 1st place winner of the opposing division, Piedmont tasted victory that comes with strong teamwork, 25-18, against El Sobrante, a team Piedmont lost to twice in the regular season. The Scots took a 6-point lead early in the game. El Sobrante came within 3 at 20-17, but the Scots held them off with strong defensive moves. Taylor Chow and Kathy Caldwell again served strongly, while Reina Lowe was all over the court with multiple assists, hits, kills, and sets.

In the championship game against Albany, Piedmont took the lead by 6 (11-5). Albany and Piedmont were within 1 point of each other from points 11-16. However, Albany's strong serving and hits took the game to 16-22. Piedmont found resolve and fought back under the steadfast serving of Taylor Chow with 5 aces and Maya Kiruluta's multiple kills, and lost only by 2, final score 23-25. The team came off the court feeling like winners because they never gave up.

In the last regular season game, the Scots beat Longfellow, 25-10, 25-22. Reina Lowe was on fire in the first game with 6 aces and multiple sets and passes. Nicole Cosares and Sabrynna Vasaure played strong offense with multiple kills, digs, and passes. The second game was quite different with Berkeley taking the lead up to point 21, when Piedmont finally broke past to win the game by 3. Clare Keating and Maya Kiruluta played strong defense with multiple digs and saves.

Cross Country at Rancho Laguna

Thirty-two runner represented Piedmont in a meet at Rancho Laguna in Moraga on Thursday, October 22nd. For the 6th grade girls, we had three runners compete, Madison Tenney who finished 6th, Alexandra Shoptaugh who ran 8:34 for the 1 mile course and Nicole Bilorusky who completed the race despite turning her ankle. On the 6th grade boys side, we had 9 boys competing and our first finisher was Kyle Bilorusky, closely followed by Everett Ellis and Dylan Porter. Also running in the race were Chris Baringer, Wills Bird, Liam Carrington, Josh Erkelens, Mitch Winters and Mason Willrich.

On the 7th & 8th grade boys side, preliminarily it appears that the 7th grade boys course record was broken by Thomas Horn and his time was 7:47. Jack Flynn was just a few seconds behind him and he also broke the record. Space does not permit to list all the PMS boys in the race, but I was pleased with the turnout and how well they ran despite several who were recovering from colds. For the 7th & 8th grade girls, only four girls ran in the race with Sofia Lautt leading the way in 8:34, followed by Chole Jiang and Sydney Williams. Sydney had the misfortune to turn an ankle but still gamely limped in.

For complete meet results, please go to www.pmscc.com.

7th Grade Scots Flag Football v. Stanley

On a beautiful October day, the Scots played against their rivals, the Stanley Wildcats. The game started out well for the Scots as they shot out of the gates in the first quarter with a touchdown. The touchdown was scored by Joey Moyer who rumbled forward and danced around defenders for the Scots. Stanley responded with two touchdowns of their own and at halftime the score was 13-6. In the second half, Stanley came out a new team as they rallied for two more scores against the Scots, and held Piedmont without a score. Offensive standouts for the Scots were Fiachra Collins and Chase Betta. Fiachra had an amazing block to allow Piedmont to get a large gain, and Chase Betta had spectacular catches throughout the game. Luke Smith made his presence felt on defense batting down a ball.

7th Grade Scots Volleyball Score 2 more wins bringing record to 8-3

Scots Push Past Moraga

The Piedmont Scots extended their winning season, beating Moraga 25-16. The second game was a nail-biter, tied at 11-11, but the Scots' serves moved them out front for the 25-19 win. Nicole Cosares had 6 aces, Taylor Chow had 4, and Maya Kirulutu made some powerful, offensive hits.

Piedmont Pounces on El Cerrito Panthers

The Scots displayed depth of serving strength, winning 25-21, 25-10. Leading by 9 points, the Scots had a string of errors, and the Panthers were suddenly breathing down Piedmont's neck with the score 22-21. Coach Woodruff called a timeout, the Scots returned to the court with resolve, and won by 4. Reina Lowe's five aces and Clare Keating's multiple digs, assists, and sets were notable. The second game displayed Piedmont's all around serving strength, led by Taylor Chow's five aces. Sabrina Vasares played a very strong offensive game, including a pair of aces.

Cross Country Team Returns to Action

After a break of ten days, the PMS Cross Country team returned to competition with a meet on October 15th at Prospect-Sierra School in El Cerrito. Thirty-one PMS middle schoolers ran in the meet, their second at this venue.

In the 6th grade girls race, Madison Tenney was our top finisher in 3rd place. For the 6th grade boys, our top finisher was Everett Ellis in 10th place. For the 7/8th grade girls, our first finisher was Angel Rael in 5th place, and for the 7/8th grade boys, Kevin Wu was 2nd, Matthew Gologorsky was 4th, Andrew Strauch was 6th and Thomas Horn was 7th. We are awaiting official results to confirm that Strauch has broken the PMS 7th grade course record, and will update accordingly.

The next race for the team is at Kennedy Grove on October 19, followed by a meet at Joaquin Moraga School on October 22. For more Cross Country information, please click here.

7th Grade Scots Flag Football v. Foothill

The Scots played their best game of the season beating Foothill 26-7 on the road in Walnut Creek. Piedmont used a balanced attack of run and pass. Kieren Baack threw several nice passes including TDs to his big receivers Chase Betta and Liam Schindler. Fakra Collins popped a huge TD run from fullback busting through a surprised Foothill defense on a 60 yard jaunt.

The defense was a team effort with Collins, Tyler Pribyl, Joey Moyer, Bennett Barnes, and Betta pulling several flags. Kieren made a spectacular play at D-line when he tipped the pass at the line then caught it and rumbled 50 yards for the touchdown. Tucker Johnson and Jeevan Rajaratnam created pressure all day with a two-man rush. Piedmont was three plays away from a shutout, but a Foothill receiver made a great catch between three Scot defenders to put them on the board.

7th Grade Scots Flag Football Team

7th Grade Scots Volleyball - Week of Oct. 5th

Scots Whip Willard

25-11, 25-9

Making short work of it, the Scots easily pass up Willard through a string of 8 aces by Reina Lowe in the first game. Maya Kirulutu also played hard with multiple digs, assists, and kills. Nicole Cosares had 6 aces and multiple digs in the second game.

Scots Challenge El Sobrante but Lose the Set

18-25, 25-8, 10-15

While the first game was close for the first 14 points, the Scots' serving was off, losing 18 - 25. Ignoring the volume of the home crowd, Piedmont found their power and took over with an astonishing 25 - 8 win, due to a string of aces by Reina Lowe and Clare Keating. In the deciding game, Piedmont held strong until the end, but could not overcome some powerful hits and lost 10 - 15. Kathy Caldwell had several kills and Taylor Chow made some critical assists, bumps, and serves.

Scots Defeat Dorris-Eaton

25-21, 25-19

After suffering a loss to Dorris Eaton a few weeks ago, the Scots roared into action and defeated them in a very close, exciting rematch, 25 - 21. Nicole Cosares and Taylor Chow had nerves of steel with their numerous aces. The Scots took a strong lead in the second game, and warded off Eaton's challenge to win 25 - 19. Sabrina Vasaures had some great bumps, Clare Keating made some great saves, and Reina Lowe was instrumental in the win. Overall, true teamwork was evident in this display of obvious improvement in just a couple of weeks.

8th Grade Scots Volleyball v. Dorris-Eaton

10-25, 18-25, 11-15

The Scots had a tough loss against Dorris-Eaton last Thursday. Alaina Martin and Tess Reichle displayed some impressive offense, with outstanding defensive play by Natalie Phillips and digs by Sami Barney. Aces by Rachel Moes, Maddie Noonan and Madeline Turner rounded out the Scots' effort in their disappointing loss.

7th Grade Scots Volleyball - Week of Sept. 28

Scots Sweep All Three Matches this Week!

Scots Squeeze Past Stanley (Lafayette)
In a heart pounding match against Stanley, the Scots won the first game 25-17, but lost 23 - 25 in the second game. Never losing spirit, focus or resolve, they won the 3rd game 15 - 13 amidst thunderous cheering. Reina Lowe had multiple aces, Clare Keating gave numerous assists and digs, and Rachel Hodgson had an amazing save under pressure.

Scots Leap Over Longfellow (Berkeley)
Piedmont won 25-13 and 25-19 against Longfellow. Sabrina Vasaures played strong offense with numerous kills. Reina Lowe was hot with her serving and assists, Kathy Caldwell contributed multiple digs, and Maya Kirulutu had several powerful aces and digs to take Piedmont to victory.

Scots Pounce on Prospect (El Cerrito)
Piedmont won 25 - 11 and 25-17 against Prospect (El Cerrito). Taylor Chow was on fire with at least nine aces, while Nicole Cosares had numerous aces and assists. Clare Keating and Reina Lowe also served solidly and contributed many digs and assists.