While it’s still early in the season, head coach Chris Coleman is already conditioning his runners for success. Building off of a momentous season where the Panthers broke numerous school records and the 4×4 relay team qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state championship, Coleman believes this season is all about improvement and gaining more momentum. The team is conditioning to develop and hone their skills to get better every run to qualify for postseason competition.

For the first time ever, due to the increased number of athletes trying out, the track team had to introduce cuts during tryouts. For the past month, Coleman has been focused on ensuring that the team is at its strongest when it matters most, hoping that individualized preparation for meets will begin once the roster is finalized.

Although there are new athletes eager to prove themselves, the team has some big shoes to fill. Most notably, Cora Haggarty and Avah Reichow, who both broke records during their time at Burlingame, graduated. However, the team boasts several strong returners. The key runners gearing up for this season include sophomore Elizabeth Carroll and junior Stella Newman, who is starting the season injured but is expected to return.

Overall, Coleman is entering the season with an open mind.

“We want to take the kids we have and have them finish better or stronger than they started. And it’s not up to us, it’s up to the workouts, and it’s up to them, and we’ll see where it takes us,” Coleman said. “So we try to go in with no expectations.”

This year, the foundation of the boys’ lacrosse season is based around a method head coach Duncan Grenier has coined “a culture of control.”

The last several years have been difficult for the boys’ lacrosse program, with consecutive losing seasons and a nine-year playoff drought, but using this method, the squad is determined to put an end to the streak and qualify for the postseason.

“Last year was a little bit rough, so we’re looking to make some strides in a lot of different areas,” Grenier said. “We’re trying to control the ball, we’re trying to control our emotions, control the field, and control the game.”

Although the team has yet to play a game, the program’s new culture has already been implemented and can be felt during pre-season practices.

“We’ve instituted a high pace, low downtime practice routine that the guys have really taken to,” Grenier said. “We’ve also shortened the practices, we’ve gotten a lot more intense, and we work our conditioning into drills.”

Even though they will face tough competition in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Bay Division, the Panthers believe they can be a formidable team against difficult opponents. A number of players, including junior defender Lucas Kim and senior attacker Henry Bradley, have played on elite club teams during the offseason, improving their skills since last year.

“We think we’ve got a fair shot against [league competition] this year, we’ve got some good talent,” Grenier said. “If we can stay disciplined and run our game plan we should match up well against them.”

Last season, varsity girls’ lacrosse made history with its first-ever trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs (CCS), securing a quarterfinal victory before falling in the semifinals. Now, with a mix of returning players and fresh talent, the team is focused on building chemistry and refining their strategy to make another deep postseason run.

Despite losing several seniors, the team has adjusted quickly. Three freshmen have joined varsity, alongside a sophomore transfer. Among the newcomers, freshman Lilah Zander has already emerged as a standout offensively, according to head coach Phil Wang.

“I don’t know if she knows how good she is just yet,” Wang said. “Zander scored four goals in our first game and two goals in the second game.”

With early-season scrimmages providing a glimpse of the team’s potential, the players are preparing for the league season to start. The team opened with a 14-8 victory against Notre Dame Belmont on Tuesday, Feb. 25, followed by a dominant 16-6 win over Urban High School on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Their most recent matchup against Stevenson High School on Saturday, March 1 ended with a 13-13 tie, highlighting where the team already excels and where they can still improve.
“We need to lock down our defense and just learn the mechanics of how we work as a unit,” junior defender Lila Edmonson said.

With the end goal of returning to CCS, at practice, Wang is prioritizing both individual and team defense, along with ground balls early in the season. However, he also wants to utilize the team’s depth to manage the players’ minutes.

“One of the things I want to be careful about to achieve that goal is managing minutes,” Wang said. “I want to make sure we don’t rely too heavily on certain players and make sure the bench is strong.”

With almost a full squad of returning players, boys’ tennis is ready to establish themselves in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Bay Division.

“Last season was a building year, for sure,” head coach Doug Stone said. “We didn’t quite have the depth that we have this year. [This year], I will say that everybody who has returned from last year has returned as a better player.”

Almost all of last year’s squad is set to return: senior Nick Moshkovoy and junior Noah Chiang in singles, and the veteran doubles duos of juniors Kieran Kilgo and Jake Druskin and seniors Donovan Ranta and Spencer Phonsombat.

Still, the team isn’t without new faces. While four-year varsity players Chinmay Rao and Dylan Ares-Hanson will be sorely missed, freshman Kaden Lam and junior Alex Bozinovic have stepped up to take their spots: Lam, as a seasoned tournament player, and Bozinovic — who missed the past two seasons due to injury and prior commitments but has the talent to make an impact immediately. Both have solidified top spots in the ladder, and are set to make singles debuts as first-year varsity players.

So far, the squad has already impressed. The Panthers (2-0 PAL) won 4-3 in their opener against Carlmont High School — a team they had lost to 6-1 the previous year — and 6-1 against Woodside High School — getting revenge for last year’s devastating senior-night loss. Currently, the team is still focusing on matchplay to solidify positions and plans to transition to specific drills to improve upon situational awareness.

“It took number three doubles winning [against Carlmont] in order to win the match,” Stone said. “So for us to take two of the three doubles and two of the four singles to win, that’s a great metric to show the depth of the team and what we’re capable of.”

After a season of rebuilding, and with almost the whole roster from last year returning, the swim team is focused on riding the momentum of last year’s success. 

Last season, the team had multiple swimmers qualify for CCS, including returning sophomore Alexa Chang, who also qualified for the CIF state tournament. Strong swimmers like Chang and sophomores Justin Chiang and Sam Foo are also expected to make an impact in the pool this year. Senior Andrew Lee will also continue to provide crucial leadership and experience for the squad’s younger players. 

To prepare for the first events of the season, the team conducted intersquad meets to help new swimmers get acclimated with the competition format and practice relay races. 

“We did our inner squad meet last week, our red and white meet, and it was really great. We had a lot of really fun swims. The club swimmers are used to swim meets, so it’s not that big of a deal for them. But what’s really fun is relays, [which] they don’t really get to participate in very often, and then the kids that are kind of new to the sport get to be in their first meet,” head coach Traci Kreppel said.  

While the team did lose three seniors from last year, including CCS qualifier Sofia Kim, Kreppel believes the team can make up for the losses. As the returning team gets to further develop their skills, they hope to finish in the top three in the PAL standings, improving from the girl’s fourth, and the boy’s fifth-place finish last year. However, Kreppel is most focused on creating a welcoming environment for her swimmers. 

“I want everyone to have fun. I want everyone to feel like they are included and part of the team. We’re growing fast, so we keep improving, improving, improving. So we’re really excited,”  Kreppel said. 

In their first meet of the season on Friday, Feb. 28, against Sequoia High School, both the girl’s and boy’s teams took the win and will look for a second victory on March 7 against Woodside High School. 

Although the stats would suggest that the badminton team is coming off a disappointing season, which saw the squad get relegated to the PAL Ocean Division after winning just three league games, the team was still able to recruit young, immediate contributors for this year. Given the new players joining the team, junior Brandon Mark remains optimistic for a stronger result this season.

“[Last season] we tried our best to recruit as many members as we could. It was a success, because we were able to gain a lot more players, and we were able to convince some more people to train,” Mark said.

Head coach Salvador Banquiles attributes badminton’s struggles last season to a lack of commitment, where players frequently missed practices and competitions.

“[There were] a lot of sick players, a lot of appointments and not enough players. They didn’t show up,” Banquiles said.

But with increased training and a committed group, Banquiles believes this season will be different. Along with bringing back some of its most influential players from last year, the team is expected to receive a boost from a strong freshman class. Specifically, Banquiles believes that freshman Alvin Feng Heng Ho can compete against experienced opponents right away.

“I think we have a lot of chances because I know some players … especially, I have two or three [freshmen players] that are really good. I think we have a lot of chances,” Banquiles said.

According to Banquiles, the goal for this season is to win the PAL Ocean Division and earn a spot back in the Bay Division.

“This year I have a lot of good players, but they train. That’s why I’m trying to [achieve] my goal for this year, I want to go back to the Bay. That’s my goal,” Banquiles said.

Assistant coach Taylor White wasn’t wrong when he described the 2024 varsity boys’ golf season as anything short of “super successful.” After going undefeated, winning the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Bay Division title, and making it to the CCS Championship round for the first time in 20 years, the team is ready to “maximize their potential” this season.

“We were very competitive [last season],” White said. “Everyone played really well, and overall I’m proud of how every player competed, especially in CCS. My expectation for the returning players who competed in matches last year is for them to play even better than last year.”

Despite losing key players Nate Teitelbaum and Clayton Lau – graduated seniors who contributed greatly to last season’s success — the team is hardly lacking in experience and ability. With major returning players, including seniors Zach Newman and Ian Lai, plus juniors Cole Weyer and Ethan Cyb, White emphasizes the importance of new players stepping up to develop into the roles that the graduating seniors left.

“Our hope and expectation for the guys that didn’t play as many matches last year is that they have been practicing and playing a lot over the past year and that their scores will improve enough to the point that they’re going to step into [a higher position],” White said. “We also have more freshmen and sophomores that made the team than previous years, so there’s a lot of young talent coming up.”

After tying their most recent match to Menlo-Atherton High School on Monday, Feb. 24, White said the team didn’t play to their potential, but he looks forward to future matches and seeing the team grow as the season progresses.

“Golf is both an individual and team sport, so I hope these players keep a supportive attitude to establish our great team dynamic while also maintaining a [competitive attitude],” White said. “My expectation for the rest of the season is for the players to really internalize a sense of perfect practice and maximize their potential.”

After winning the PAL Bay Division and qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs last season, varsity baseball is excited to get back to their winning ways on the diamond this spring.
Head coach Shawn Scott, encouraged by his roster this season, is working on helping the team develop chemistry as they practice more together.

“We haven’t had a lot of field time, so hopefully, with the sun being out, we’ll start getting a little better chemistry, and we’ll go from there,” Scott said.

Scott believes his team can utilize their skillsets and work ethic to build a successful team. Right now, the Panthers are spending most of their time on practicing ground balls, fly balls, base running, and other fundamental drills.

While the team’s mentality for this season is all about winning the games on their schedule and remaining focused on game days, Scott still wants to have fun.

“I’m very tough, but I’m fair…we have a good time out here. We smile,” Scott said.

Junior Nick Armstrong and senior Dionisios Vorrises, who both excelled on the mound last season, return to lead the pitching staff. Seniors Roberto Beltranena and Rodrigo Beltranena, and juniors Grayson Howard, Ea Leialoha, and Slade Flores are also ready to replace a large group of graduated program cornerstones, including Luca Scatena, Will Robbins, Dylan Kall, and Tyler Lachance.

While baseball still has a lot of games ahead of them, none will be bigger than the squad’s April
12 matchup against Capuchino High School at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Coming off of a strong 2024 season, which earned them a 19-8 record and a quarterfinal finish in the CCS playoffs, varsity boys’ volleyball holds the same high expectations for this year. The team started off the new season with two convincing wins followed by a narrow loss to Lowell High School, giving them a 2-1 record early on.

While the Panthers lost two key pieces in graduated seniors Erazem Mattick and Leo Beringer last season, the current squad hardly lacks depth, with a strong core of returning players stepping up in their place. Seniors Reiter Madden, Lucas Stuart, Cole Ng, and CJ Reed, as well as junior Fabian Falconett, are leading the charge for the Panthers this season.

“I’ve been really impressed with our seniors this season,” assistant coach David Newman said. “[Stuart], on the right side, is a very powerful hitter, [Madden] is able to cover about half the court on defense and helps make sure the defense is set where it needs to be.”

Going into the season, Newman emphasized the importance of taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead to any potential playoff contests.

“Every match is tough, we can beat a team 25-7 and they can beat us in another game,” Newman said. “So consistency is key, making our serves is key.”

With an upcoming schedule filled with numerous difficult matchups, varsity softball is ready for the challenge. According to head coach Al Delrosso, no game will be easy, and the team can’t take any matchup for granted. To prepare for the regular season, the team has been going back to the basics and mainly working on fundamentals. As opposed to past seasons, Delrosso said that the team will be adjusting and this year plans to lean heavily on their speed and maximizing on the little details of the game to gain an advantage.

Senior Giana Johnson and sophomore Maddy Koo are expected to be some important players this season, paired with senior Amalia Alfers to anchor the pitching and senior Sienna Fuss in the middle of the infield. Sophie Lin, Olivia Evangelista, Kendall Gorshen and transfer Sam Arce are expected to contribute as juniors, especially offensively.

With the absences of Kasey Lyons, who pitched almost every game last year due to injuries, and Keira Parker, an all-league first baseman, other players are stepping up to fill the gaps. Sophomore Kylie Lyons, who is following after her sister’s footsteps as a pitcher and first-baseman Eleni Menicou, are determined to show their abilities.

“[My goal for the season is to] keep everybody healthy and just have a good strong season. We’re going to go game by game and just try to put one game in front of another,” Delrosso said. “Hopefully we can string three, four wins together at a time, here and there, and then the season will be successful.”