Following a historic season for Panthers’ cross country, which resulted in not only Burlingame’s first ever CCS (Central Coast Division) Girls Division III title but also the opportunity to compete at the state championship in Fresno, the team hopes to pick up right where they left off last year.
But it won’t be easy. The loss of some impactful seniors will pose a challenge for this year’s team. On the girl’s side, four of the seven athletes on the championship team will not be returning, including Cora Haggarty, Lilly Kolmsee, Lauren Gonzalez, and Ava Gonzalez. Jake Ramirez, a standout runner for the boys’ side who individually qualified for CCS last year will also not return.

However, girls varsity veterans such as junior Ellora Horan, junior Stella Newman, freshman Elizabeth Carroll, and junior Ryan Liu for the boys, will be back and expected to put up strong performances. This year the team also boasts a large group of talented freshmen, who are vital to the program’s continued success.

As the squad begins its formal practices, the coaching staff is focused on assessing the runners and determining how to build out the rest of the team with newcomers.

Even after last year’s top-tier season, Head Coach Chris Coleman still emphasizes the importance of the process, not just the results.

“Good performance, good level of fitness, good overall team performance, and see where that takes us,” Coleman said.

Few within Burlingame’s football program deny that last season was far below their expectations.

The Panthers endured their worst record in over two decades, finishing fifth in the PAL Bay Division. The season culminated in a loss to San Mateo High School in the Little Big Game, marking Burlingame’s first defeat in the rivalry in 13 years.

Despite the disappointing results, this year’s team still believes that last season does not define them. Instead, they’re using it as fuel.

“I think the entire school knows we had a disappointing season,” senior quarterback Luke Levitt said. “We were far from achieving our goals, but now we’re going in with an underdog mentality.”

This year’s team is packed with potential standouts like Levitt, who’s committed to play Division III football at Pomona-Pitzer next fall, along with senior wide receiver Jake Flood and junior running back and defensive back Hayden Haba.

The Panthers’ coaching staff, led by head coach John Philipopoulos, have been training their team all summer, and hope to see that hard work pay off through the season.

“We’re trying to instill a level of discipline with these guys, a level of consistency, showing up every day, doing the right things, taking care of the little things, and making sure we go about our business in a way that’s going to lead us to success,” Philipopoulos said.

Now competing in the PAL De Anza Division, the Panthers are determined to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs: the league championship and the Little Big Game trophy, known as the “Paw.”

Burlingame dropped their first regular-season contest 21-18 against Half Moon Bay High School on Friday, Aug. 30. However, the team remains optimistic about their chances of achieving their goals.

“We want to be competitive, week in and week out,” Philipopoulos said. “We’d love to compete for the league championship, and we want that Paw back.”

Coming off of a 7-9 finish last year in the PAL standings (Peninsula Athletic League), the girls’ varsity golf team has high expectations for the new season and is starting off strong in practice under coaches Traci Kreppel and Michelle Riley. They trust that their strong core of upperclassmen will be the key to the team’s success this season.

“We have a lot of upperclassmen on the team and few underclassmen, and I think everybody’s meshing pretty well, because most of us have played together before,” senior Sienna Piazza Fuss said. “I think this year is probably going to be a lot of fun, and hopefully we’ll win a lot of matches.”

While the team is only one week into practice, the veteran players are working hard to ensure the newer athletes are comfortable and feel part of the team.

“Golf is a very bonding sport, there’s lots of opportunities to talk and get to know each other,” senior Taylor Oldenburg said.

Although the departure of senior Ellie Dowd from last season is a major loss for the team, the Panthers are confident that the team they have installed this year, which includes a balanced lineup full of strong players, will get the job done.

“[Dowd] was really good for the past few years, a couple more seniors too, but a lot of us played last year as well, “ Fuss said. “I don’t think it should be too different.”

As they prepare for the season, the team is focused on improving their form from last year and giving new players more chances to play and prove themselves.

“We want to beat our record from last year, and get to play with everybody on the team and do a lot more rotating,” Fuss said. “There’s a smaller team this year, so more people have opportunities to play.”

Girls’ varsity tennis is gearing up for a season of growth and development. Under new head coach Doug Stone and assistant coach Jed Moffitt, the team is ready to take on the challenges of the highly competitive PAL Bay Division.

“We’re a good team, but we’re in a super good league,” Moffitt said.

The team faces significant changes this season after losing last year’s No. 1 singles star, Mila Mulready. However, stepping into her sister’s shoes, sophomore Shea Mulready will be taking over. Joining her in the singles position are senior Natalie Gyde and juniors Evelyn Du and Samantha Tom.

While the team lost seniors Mulready, Lily Grenier, and Elizabeth Diehl, the squad is optimistic about the potential of younger players to step up. Freshmen Greta Martin and Ella Vuong, as well as sophomores Ali Endicot and Caroline Rafferty have already shown great potential in the first few weeks of practice.

To prepare for their first match on Sept.10, the team is focusing on shaking off the rust, learning essential skills and determining the best singles and doubles combinations before the Panthers begin their difficult schedule.

Following their triumphant playoff run last year, girls’ volleyball looks to repeat that success this season. Last year, Burlingame not only claimed the Peninsula Athletic Bay League (PAL) title but also brought home the Central Coast Section (CCS) Division III championship.

This year marks head coach Hannah Korslund’s second season leading the Panthers, and the team continues to show promising growth.

A handful of key players, including libero Hayley Fligel and setter Sophia Nixon, graduated after last season, leaving considerate voids to fill across the roster. However, the team is already setting up new players to fill the positions. Senior outside hitter Ella Duong and senior setter Jillian Kiniris are expected to be big contributors this season.

The squad boasts two freshmen, Elena Newman and Isla Carlson, who have impressed with their potential and are expected to make an impact immediately. Sophomore Jordan Toomey aims to step into the shoes of her older sister, Morgan Toomey, who graduated last year as an outside hitter.

The team is wrapping up its preseason preparation with competitive games against strong opponents like St. Ignatius and St. Francis, last year’s open division runner-ups.

“I would love for us to get to repeat as CCS champions, winning the league [PAL] is also always a goal and just making sure our players have a positive experience and still love volleyball in November, no matter how the season ends,” Korslund said.

With the ongoing gymnasium construction, The Panthers will play all their home games on the road for the second consecutive year. Burlingame’s first league contest is set for Thursday, Sept. 12, against Hillsdale High School.

Boy’s water polo finished last season’s CCS championship in second place, moving into the PAL Bay Division as a result. With essentially the same varsity roster to accompany the new varsity coach, Brett Reynolds, the team is hopeful they can rise to meet the stiffer competition and continue improving as the season progresses.

While the athletes continue to build swimming fundamentals like endurance and speed, the coaches hope to teach them some aspects of college-level play and broader fundamentals — humility, perseverance, and teamwork.

The varsity roster has remained mostly intact from last season and contains a host of strong newcomers, including freshman standouts William Wuebbling, Dylan Enriquez, and David Kossar. However, Reynolds emphasizes that all players have an important role in building a strong team.

“It’s not always about the best players — sometimes it can be the guys that bring the team together, that work hard; those can be just as key components to a successful team as a star player,” Reynolds said. “The way that you win at this sport at a higher level is [by] focusing on the team and less about an individual.”

Reynolds has spent practices encouraging the team to embrace other aspects of the game that contribute to winning aside from scoring goals.

“Kids, when they play age group, they just learn that if you score, that’s good. And water polo is a lot more than that,” Reynolds said. “It’s about speed, it’s about shot blocking, it’s about defense, it’s about assists. It’s a team sport, and so if somebody is scoring, it’s because another player is setting them up and doing the hard work behind it.”

As the team works toward accomplishing their lofty goals, they will have to focus on the small details as well.

“That’s a key teaching point that we want to emphasize this year,” Reynolds said. “It’s not just scoring — it’s all the little things that make a good team.”

After a season of intense recovery, girls’ water polo is back and in the words of head coach and safety specialist Ernesto Nuñez, “better than ever.” After losing just one senior from last season, captain Stella Wettan, the team has had a unique opportunity to rebuild, with a focus on team chemistry and teamwork.

“It’s the girls’ turn,” Nuñez said. “This is a great rebuilding opportunity for them.”

Co-captains Kelcey Flenniken and Charlotte Guglielmi, along with standout junior Aria Sherwood, are stepping into vital leadership positions and are crucial components in leading a successful season.

“[Our captains] have very strong, commanding voices, they know what they’re talking about,” Nuñez said. “I can already tell that the girls kind of listen to that, respect that, and do what they’re told from their captains.”

This year is also marked by a significant change as the team moves to a different division. However, Nunez views this as a positive shift, believing this is something the girls can benefit and learn from.

“In my mind, the girls can benefit from being down a division the same way the boys did,” Nunez said. “We haven’t seen every team on the girls side in Ocean, so I feel like the girls are gonna benefit in that rebuilding phase.”

With the season opener against Notre Dame High School, Belmont, set for Sept. 10, Nuñez is confident in the team’s ability to win and improve on last season’s performance.

After an exhilarating inaugural season, where the team barely missed the PAL (Peninsula Athletic League) playoffs, flag football is back in the game with renewed confidence and determination. Varsity head coach Nicole Carter and junior varsity (JV) coach Denise Burch have set their minds on one thing: world domination.

This year, coaches Carter and Burch have assembled a varsity roster of 13 girls, along with a new 16-player JV team. Expectations are high — especially on varsity, as they are eager to build on the immense growth and valuable game experience from last previous season. Despite the heavy loss of last year’s senior athletes Kaylee Ng, Lauren Cheng and Sylvie Olson, their training and guidance have ensured that the returning players are ready to take on their respective roles. Junior wide receiver Emerson Burri, senior running back Giana Johnson and senior quarterback Miranda Sibley are expected to be big contributors this season for the Panthers.

“They gave us a parting gift, and the varsity players that shared their positions were kind of already good to go because of the mentorship that they provided them,” Carter said.

With practices and community building already well underway, varsity will undoubtedly be prepared to tackle—well, technically de-flag—their first game against San Mateo High School on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Teamwork is essential for success in flag football, but what unites players the most is their driving goal to improve—and, of course, to win.

“Besides world domination, [we] just want them to really increase their skill level while enjoying the game,” Carter said. “Winning would be icing on the cake.”