Author Archives: The Brave News

Life Of A Brave: Bosco Hosts Annual Father-Son Mass And Car Show

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by Isaac Mays, Sports Editor

On Sunday, the St. John Bosco Braves student body was provided with a unique social event they could experience with their fathers. A special Mass, breakfast and car show were organized to celebrate the father figures in the Bosco community.

Photo by Rosie Gutierrez

The morning began with a mass celebration in the chapel, which was led by Spiritual Director Father Ted Montemayor. Father Ted led the fifth Sunday of Lent with the story of Lazarus and his resurrection, an inspiring parable about hope for all in attendance.

Soon after Mass concluded, the Braves and their fathers poured outside to begin their breakfast. During the event, vendors sold Bosco-affiliated gear for guests to purchase. Many sports teams and clubs at school also prepared baskets of items for auction.

Meanwhile, residents of the Bellflower area were encouraged to bring their luxury and classic cars to put on display. The car show brought many families together, as a voting process was implemented to determine winners for each car style. Many event patrons appreciated how welcoming and friendly the car owners were, even though they maintained some exceptional higher-end cars.

“My dad and I both got to see some pretty rare cars. We bond over cars, so it was nice to have that at our school,” said senior Ryan Cirrincione. “The Red Chevy Impala was our personal favorite.”

Many boys were happy to share their love of cars with their fathers. An entire fleet of Mustangs were present along with the infamous Jeep Trackhawk mentioned in Lil Baby’s “Life Goes On.” Many of sportier vehicles were fan favorites.

Perhaps the highlight of the event was the tug of war match between fathers and sons. The tug of war concluded with another win for the fathers, marking the third year in a row that they achieved victory over their sons. Many seniors commented how fun this activity was, as they faced off head-to-head against the undefeated “dad strength.”

“It was so fun to compete against my dad,” said senior Eiian Reyes. “My Baba has a lot more strength than I had initially assumed; he ended up being a major player on the parents’ side.”

Overall, the event fostered many relationships that most high school students don’t typically have the opportunity to cultivate, as the morning allowed students to interact with each other’s families.

“My friends and I are close, but I feel like our dads don’t know each other. The Father-Son Mass lets all of us meet and get to know each other better. I wish I could come back next year,” said senior Andrew Rivera.

This father-son tradition is one of many instances that help separate St. John Bosco from other high schools. Bosco tries to emphasize the family component of our community, and experiences like these help make the student body be more mature young men. All students and important male figures in their lives are welcome next year to continue this great tradition.

Around Bosco: Bosco Robotics Team Reaches New Heights 

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by Ed Crowe

Tribe Robotics terminated the competition and secured a second place finish and a ranking of seventh out of the 47 schools that competed in the Orange County Regionals, being one of the best finishes the program has had in its history.

Photo by @triberobotics

For this year’s competition, the theme was “Charged Up”, which required each team to design and construct a robot that will pick up, transfer and place a small traffic cone on a pedestal as well as a foam square. What is also very important is that each team had an alliance, which made two bigger teams. These alliances brought energy to their so-called “community” by retrieving these pieces and scoring them into their grids.

Each individual match always began with a 15-second autonomous time period that gave the team several opportunities to earn points. These points were earned by completing tasks such as leaving their community, retrieving and scoring game pieces onto the grid as well as docking on or engaging with their charge station.  However, in the final two minutes and 15 seconds of the match, the drivers of the robots took control and scored points by continuing to retrieve and score their game pieces onto the grid and docking on or engaging with their charge station. After the match ends, the alliance with the highest score wins. 

Tribe Robotics was given a six-week timeframe to design and build a robot that would complete these tasks, which sounds easy, but is more challenging than most can imagine. Due to having a complex robot, everybody is dependent on everybody, which brings a lot of pressure to the team as a whole. On the Tribe Robotics team, there are separate teams that are responsible for specific aspects of the robot, such as the framework, the chassis, scouting and driving. These are just some of the few miniature teams that make up the Bosco Robotics team as a whole. In order for progress to be made, each smaller team must produce their products and work together in order to create a working piece of machinery. 

Senior Loreto Albaran, who has been a part of Tribe Robotics his entire four years at Bosco, believes that the team took new leaps and reached new heights. Loreto also believed that the bond the robotics team developed for the past couple of months gave them a huge advantage compared to the other teams that competed. 

As a team captain, Loreto observed all the miniature teams, made sure that everyone showed up to practice, and most importantly, ensured no one was running behind schedule. In the competition, however, Loreto was part of the drive team, which entailed him having complete control over the robot. While this may be Loreto’s last year participating in Tribe Robotics, he strongly believes that the team will only continue to soar from here. 

“I want the team to continue to ride the upward trend our team has been building, and I know leaving Tribe Robotics that the team is in good hands,” said Loreto. 

Senior Marco Castro, who has also been a part of the robotics team for four years, agrees with Loreto that the team is only progressing from here. However, he noticed from the offseason as well as on the day of the competition that the team faced a great deal of pressure they simply were not ready to handle.

“At the competition, I would say there was a lot of pressure, especially on the drive team. I really feel like the only thing that could beat us was us,” said Marco Castro.  

Marco also believes that because of the promotion Bosco is giving to the team, more and more people are becoming interested in being a part of the Robotics team. Marco added that this is the first year that St. Joseph’s High School girls who were interested in robotics had the opportunity to join the team, which to Marco is truly extraordinary for the program but also for the bond that each person shares on the team.

Marco plans on continuing his robotics career at the California State University, Long Beach, where he will major in electrical engineering. Much like Marco, Loreto will also continue his robotic career at Kettering University with a major in mechanical engineering.

Life of a Brave: Bosco Alumnus, Mr. Derrick Fernando, Named Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs

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by Christian Angel, Managing Editor

Mr. Derrick Fernando, alumnus of the Class of 2001, has served in a variety of roles at St. John Bosco High School, including as a teacher, coach, Dean of Students and Assessment Coordinator. He now plans to step into a new leadership role in the 2023-2024 school year. 

Photo by Megan Nash, Director of Digital Marketing & Social Media

St. John Bosco High School announced that Mr. Derrick Fernando, who currently serves as an upperclassmen English teacher and Assessment Coordinator, will be the new Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs in charge of academics needs and administration. In addition to his four years as a student, Mr. Fernando has served in the Bosco community for the last eleven years in various capacities. 

Mr. Fernando grew up in an active household in Downey. In the fall of 1996, Mr. Fernando stepped onto the campus of St. John Bosco and was involved throughout his four years in the basketball and volleyball programs. He was even involved in organizing a “Filipino Night” showcasing Filipino culture. 

He then attended Loyola Marymount University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing. In 2008, he received his Master of Arts in English from Loyola Marymount University and has spent the past 17 years as an educator at both the high school and collegiate levels.

Coming home to St. John Bosco in the Fall of 2012, Mr. Fernando has worked in the English Department, teaching World Literature, American Literature, British Literature and AP English Language and Composition at different points in his tenure. Mr. Fernando took a short break from the classroom when he was a Dean of Students from 2016-2018. 

On the sports side, he worked as an Assistant Freshmen and Assistant Varsity Coach for the basketball program and later as Head Junior Varsity and Assistant Varsity Coach for the volleyball program. 

In stepping into this new role, Mr. Fernando is focusing on the mission of continuing to develop a rigorous academic program at Bosco that brings continuity and cohesiveness in order to support teachers and students at all grade levels.

“My new role is to ensure I can provide any kind of support or development that professionals need, so our teachers are asking a lot for the kinds of support and opportunities to learn and grow that a growing and ever-evolving academic landscape would allow for,” said Mr. Fernando.

Mr. Fernando credits his time working in many leadership positions across his eleven years at Bosco having helped him be ready for this role, as he plans to lead the school with a new perspective to help many students with different backgrounds, especially at-risk students.

“In this new role, the same idea needs to apply from an academic perspective,” said Mr. Fernando. “By being able to work with students and to work with teachers to recognize that there’s something underlying that might cause an at-risk student to slip in their performance in class is another big part of that role.”

Mr. Fernando may be known for his classes being rigorous at a college level, but he has a softer side, too. He is a family man, a devoted husband of 13 years and a father to three beautiful children. With the inspiration of his family, he puts his heart and soul into St. John Bosco, recognizing the gifts that have been bestowed upon him and how he can use those gifts to benefit the futures of Braves for years to come.

A+E: Bosco Theatre Company Closes Season With Five Sellout Performances Of Fiddler On The Roof

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by Brett Baligad, Senior Editor

Over the past two weekends, the St. John Bosco Theatre Company hosted their final production of the year, Fiddler on the Roof. With five out of the seven performances selling out, this production is the highest grossing show in Bosco history, while also being one of the most acclaimed shows ever produced by the company.

Photo by Gabby Dela Vega

Directed by Mr. Martin Lang, Fiddler on the Roof is a Broadway classic following an early twentieth century Jewish community in the town of Anatevka, Ukraine. The heartfelt musical focuses on characters created by Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem, specifically Tevye, a poor dairyman played by senior Connor Sheehan, and his wife Golde, played by senior Eva Sadler, who are trying to navigate raising their five daughters while upholding Jewish traditions in an increasingly antagonistic world.

Debuted in 1964, Fiddler on the Roof stood as one of the longest running Broadway musicals in history with over 3,000 performances in the sixties. Along with its historic initial run, the original Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony Awards, with its revivals receiving several more Tony nominations. 

Performing such an iconic musical is not common for the Bosco Theatre Company. However, the cast was eager to take on the project with great success.

“This is the first big show we have done since the pandemic, and it was time to produce something on a large scale again,” said Mr. Lang. “While I have directed Fiddler on the Roof in the professional world, I have not directed it for high school. It is a difficult undertaking, but I felt we had the right people to do it.”

A large reason for this production was the cultural relevance of Fiddler on the Roof. The play takes place in Ukraine and demonstrates similar elements to the current political turmoil presented in Russia’s invasion of the country, as the Jewish community in Anatevka must coexist with the rising Russian Revolution. Additionally, the production solemnly shows the persecution of Jewish culture in heartbreaking contrast to the warm, bright community of Anatevka. To put elements like these on display meant a lot to Mr. Lang and the cast as a whole.

“Anything that is art concerns the human spirit. Theatre and this story offer a glimpse into a group of people who were persecuted and singled out in a specific time in the history of the world and in a specific place, Ukraine,” said Mr. Lang. “It is my great hope that high school students, who are the future citizens of the world, see this story and that it might speak to them in a way that encourages them to speak and act out against any kind of hatred, bias or persecution.”

Even with a political message, Fiddler on the Roof is no short of a fun sing along musical. A large component of the musical is the comic acknowledgement of the extreme traditions of the people of Anatevka. Along with this, the play joyfully demonstrates Jewish culture and practices through its classic musical numbers. Lastly, Fiddler on the Roof displays the strong family values and devotion to God within the Jewish faith.

Bosco’s rendition of Fiddler on the Roof is chalk full of actors with experience, as nine seniors made appearances throughout the play. This is evident through the many familiar faces, such as seniors Kate Sheehan, Alex Palmer and Jack Scalas all playing memorable love interests through the course of the musical.

“With such a large cast we knew it would take all of us to make this production a success. Mr. Lang can’t do it alone and a lot of the responsibilities fell upon the seniors. I felt they held us to a high standard and raised the bar for our overall performance,” said junior Grant Hidalgo-Villanueva.

Overall, the two weekends proved to be a large success. With five sellout nights for Fiddler on The Roof, it will be regarded as one of Bosco’s most noteworthy productions, rivaling other classics like Ragtime, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. 

Life of a Brave: 21 Questions with New English Teacher, Mr. Ramon Casas

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by Christian Angel, Managing Editor

St. John Bosco High School welcomes back alumnus and new English Teacher, Mr. Ramon Casas, Jr.

Photo by Robert Visty III, Photo Editor

Q. Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

A. I was born in Bellflower, CA and grew up in Downey, Lakewood and Bellflower.

Q. Where did you go to college and what did you study?

A. I have a B.S. in Policy, Management, and Planning from the University of Southern California. Currently, I’m pursuing a M.A. in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University.

Q. What was your dream job growing up as a kid?

A. Teacher, Deacon of the Catholic Church, Architect or Real Estate Developer, Doctor, Professional Athlete, Musician or even the President of the United States of America.

Q. What made you want to become a teacher?

A. As an elementary school student, I found careers in education incredibly fascinating. My parents, sisters, and Grandma Medina inspired me to become a teacher. In addition, my dad was a Catholic school teacher and my sisters are currently Catholic school teachers.

Q. What is your favorite part of being a teacher?

A. Teaching is my career and ministry. As a teacher, God has allowed me to educate and help his children. I’m grateful for this rewarding opportunity. Truthfully, I enjoy everything about teaching.

Q. What made you choose to come to St. John Bosco and what excites you the most
about it?

A. I’m an alumnus of St. John Bosco High School and many of my best experiences derive from this great institution. My parents worked diligently to send me here and my sisters to St. Joseph’s High School. I truly understand and appreciate the immense efforts that they exhibited for us. Therefore, I want to provide the same Salesian education to the current and future students. Alongside the faculty and staff of SJB, I know that I’m making a positive impact on the lives of these boys.

Q. How has Bosco changed since you last were a student and now that you are a teacher?

A. I find it comforting that the great values that were exhibited during my time at St. John Bosco High School still exist today. There are more programs and advancements in all facets of the school. It’s great to see the positive growth and development.

Q. What do you love about teaching English and do you have any favorite authors?

A. English is my first language, and I enjoy it immensely. I’m able to articulate myself well and incorporate the elements of the language proficiently. English has been my strength and passion. My favorite authors are St. Paul, King David, the four writers of the Gospels, Ernest Hemmingway, Plato, Emmanuel Kant, Albert Camus, Edgar Allan Poe, John Steinbeck, Sandra Cisneros, Francisco Jimenez, William Shakespeare and many more.

Q. Do you have any pets?

A. We have a dog named Sammy. He’s a cute little white dog with a little black nose.

Q. What are your favorite hobbies?

A. I love to play at the park with my daughter, read and write, play and watch sports, and playing and listening to music.

Q. What do you do in your free time?

A. I spend quality time with my daughter, Olivia, and my family. During my free time, I like to take my daughter to the park and beach so that she may interact with other people.

Q. What is your favorite food?

A. Grilled steak (carne asada), Mexican or white rice, beans and a quesadilla.

Q. What is your favorite fast food and what is your typical order?

A. Wing Stop is my favorite fast food restaurant. I typically order the 10 wings combo with original hot and mango habanero sauces. French fries are served on the side along with a Coca-Cola on light ice.

Q. What is your favorite restaurant?

A. Mastro’s Ocean Club in Malibu

Q. What is your favorite movie or TV show?

A. For Greater Glory.

Q. Did you play any sports during your time at Bosco, and if so, what did you play?

A. I played sports on campus, such as Varsity Wrestling, Varsity Football, Freshman and JV Soccer and Freshman Track and Field.

Q. Do you have a favorite athlete?

A. Julio Cesar Chavez, the boxer, is my favorite athlete. He holds the record for the most world title victories with 31. I find it particularly intriguing when a person is extremely dedicated to their career or craft. Great results are destined to transpire from their efforts.

Q. What type of music do you enjoy?

A. Christian and Gospel music, Modern and Classic Rock, Mariachi, Salsa, Cumbia, Soul, R&B, Country and some Hip Hop

Q. What came first, the chicken or the egg?

A. The chicken because I think God allowed the chicken to join the other animals immediatly upon their creation.

Q. What is one place you would like to travel around the world?

A. I would like to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican, Italy.

Q. What are you most looking forward to in your time at Bosco?

A. Along with our St. John Bosco community, I’m excited to share in our Catholic faith, academic persuits, athletics and life experiences.

Sports: Head Volleyball Coach Shane Beatty Leads His Young Squad To An Impressive Start To The Season

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by Carter Daley

A team full of young talent and untapped potential has just recorded one of the best starts to their season in program history. The Braves have started 15-2 with wins over big name teams such as South Torrance, Los Alamitos and Marina.

Photo by @sjbathletics

Although this great start was not expected from all, this early success is not surprising considering the experience of fifth-year Head Volleyball Coach Shane Beatty. Coach Beatty played collegiate volleyball at Hope International University, where he was named Setter of the Year in the GSAC conference. 

Coach Beatty then went on to become the assistant coach for the men and women’s volleyball teams at Holy Names University from 2015-2017. From there, he would move to an assistant coaching job at Long Beach City College during their 2017-2018 season.

The experienced coach would then take on the task of trying to transform the Braves program, as he took the head coaching position right before the start of their 2019 season.

Captain Matthew Gallegos has a big role to play this year, as he is the only senior in the starting lineup. This lineup is made up of one freshman, two sophomores, two juniors and Matthew. 

“We have a very young team with not a lot of seniors, but our young guys are so talented. We will be extremely competitive for the next few years to come,” said Captain Matthew Gallegos.

The Braves this past weekend competed in a very tough tournament at the Long Beach Invitational. Although the competition was challenging, the Braves shined by beating Los Alamitos and coming up short against Long Beach Wilson to secure a second place finish. 

A stand out player in that tournament was junior, Tucker Carichner. Tucker, who received First Team Trinity League honors as a sophomore, had an impressive third set against Los Alamitos, ultimately helping the Braves secure the victory.

“Tucker was without a doubt the reason we won that game against Los Al. He had three kills and two blocks in just that third set alone which got us the win,” said Coach Beatty.

The Braves would take this game against Los Alamitos by a score of 2-1, which helped the Braves make some noise in the Southern Section CIF rankings. As of March 5th, the Braves find themselves 25th in the CIF rankings, earning them their first top 25 spot since their 2013 campaign. 

“Four of our league opponents are ahead of us in the top 25 rankings. So even though we have celebrated this achievement, we need to keep working and put our foot on the gas,” Coach Beatty said.

The Braves have an extremely difficult road ahead of them, as they start their Trinity League season with Santa Margarita on March 13th. They hope to be one of the top teams in their league as the Trinity League is known to be one of the best leagues in the state for volleyball. 

Coach Beatty asks that students pack the Thunderdome tonight, as Bosco Volleyball takes on local rival Long Beach Poly at 5:30 pm.

Sports: Bosco Lacrosse Locked In On Chasing CIF Gold

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by Michael Barba

Bosco Lacrosse has made it loud and clear that their number one intention this season is to overpower all opponents in their way to achieve a CIF Championship.

Photo by Austin Hughes

After a successful 2021-2022 season for Bosco Lacrosse, they have continued to make the improvements and adjustments necessary to have an even more successful season in 2022-2023. The Braves have a big advantage over their competition by training since the Winter, making sure to get in all of the time they could before their first home opener game of their season. 

The much anticipated lacrosse season will consist of fourteen games, with five of those games being Trinity League opponents and nine other games against non-league opponents. The Braves hosted their first two games of the season against the Santa Monica Vikings and the Downey Vikings. 

The first game of the season against the Santa Monica Vikings ended in a hard fought loss for the Braves with a goal being scored by freshman attacker, Milo Watts. The Braves made sure to bounce back in their game last Friday against the Downey Vikings, flipping the script in a 17-1 victory. 

“Bosco Lacrosse has put a bunch of effort into our stick stills. We are a super young team and super athletic, but we need to continue to be able to handle tough situations,” said senior midfielder Paxton Allison. “Also, we are continuing to put in work on and off the field by watching and studying teams in order to combat whatever they throw against us.”

Last year’s varsity lacrosse team consisted of many seniors, which gave the opportunity for many young and talented freshmen prospects to get opportunities to contribute and shine. Head Lacrosse Coach Chris Jewett emphasized how this Braves team is not only fresh, filled with young and hungry underclassmen, but that they are ready to compete at the next level.

With many talented freshmen and sophomores in the mix, Coach Jewett has been making sure to get the young bucks adjusted to the difference between 8th grade lacrosse and high school lacrosse by putting emphasis on fundamentals.

Photo by @BoscoLacrosse

“Some points we stressed on were fundamentals overall, like catching, shooting, throwing, lacrosse IQ. With a young team making the jump from 8th grade to high school is very difficult in some cases with the size, speed, as well as the skillset. Overall, we’ve just been doing lots of fundamentals and lots of in-game reps to get kids better,” said Coach Jewett. 

This lacrosse season, there is also a fair share of veterans that are models for the underclassmen, like Paxton Allison. Through Paxton’s hard work and commitment to the program, he recently committed to Baldwin Wallace University, setting an example for the young core that they’ll be able to accomplish the goal of continuing their lacrosse careers past high school with commitment and discipline.

“The majority of our team want to play college lacrosse, so I hope what I’ve done inspires them to work hard. You have to be open to any opportunity that comes your way and be humble. I would also say [to young players] figure out what you want to chase after and don’t stop chasing it,” said Paxton.  

The Bosco Braves lacrosse team is prepared to take on both the toughness of the Trinity League and their non-league opponents to reach the CIF Championship. The Braves take on non-league opponent, the La Canada Spartans, this afternoon at 4pm at home.

Sports: Two Brave Wrestlers Bring Home Gold At CIF State Finals

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by Ed Crowe 

The wrestling program traveled to Bakersfield, where eleven wrestlers competed for the CIF State Championship in their respective weight classes. Senior Nicco Ruiz and sophomore Nicholas Sahakian emerged as champions.

Photo by Tony Rotundo

The elite eleven qualified for their matchups, making them “placers,” as they worked to earn their spot in the CIF State matches. These eleven placers consisted of many underclassmen. Freshmen Sean Willcox, Issac Torres Nathan Carrillo, Zaydrein Hernandez and Tigran Greyan as well as sophomores Nicholas Sahakian and Joseph Antonio all competed at the Bakersfield event. The upperclassmen consisted of Stanford University commit junior Grigor Cholakyan, Arizona State University commit senior Nicco Ruiz, senior Julian Barajas and senior Mark Ayala.

Photo by sjbwrestling

Head Coach Jeff Anderson, who is very proud of all the placers, as well as the other wrestlers, believes that this year was the program’s best year. 

“I expect that nationally Bosco will take the number 15 spot. The wrestling program continues to make history, and has very high hopes that next year, the team will reach new heights and take the world by storm,” said Coach Anderson. 

From these eleven placers, Nicco Ruiz and Nicholas Sahakian wrestled their way to the top and were able to achieve CIF State Championships. In addition to this year’s victory, Nicco has now won this title two years in a row, making him the California two-time defending CIF State Champion for the 160-pound division, which is a remarkable accomplishment for himself as well as the Bosco wrestling program. 

Nicco gives special thanks to his family and friends that pushed him to his limits as well as his coaches and Bosco brothers who pushed him even further to his accomplishments. Of course, this achievement was not earned with ease, a lot of hard work and determination was necessary. 

“To prepare mentally, I looked at my past matches from last year’s state tournament and kept telling myself that I have to be better than that. Also, I have my medal from last year in my room hanging, and I would see it every day and I would tell myself that I need to get that medal again,” said Nicco. 

Wrestling is not only a challenging sport physically, but also mentally. Each wrestler must have the right mindset stepping onto the mat, and Nicco made sure he was fully prepared for it. However, each year the competition grows even more challenging. 

“Throughout the whole competition, I felt really confident and I had wrestled some of the top guys in the state before and I was ready to beat them again,” Nicco said.

As a team, Nicco believed that the wrestlers did great. Nonetheless, he also added that there can be much more improvement next year. Unfortunately, Nicco and the other seniors will be graduating this year, yet their legacies will be felt for years to come. Nicco will be attending Arizona State University and also has aspirations in the future to earn a spot on the USA Wrestling team.

Nicholas Sahakian, who is only a sophomore, put in the work and received a state title as well. While the competition was heavy, Nicholas kept focus and wrestled his way to the top. Nicholas has experience competing at the state level, achieving the remarkable as he had earned third in the competition the year prior as a freshman. 

The most impressive accomplishment is that this year, the Bosco wrestling program placed seventh overall in the entire competition. On top of that achievement, seven of these placers were only freshmen or sophomores, which is incredible for the future of Bosco Wrestling. 

Though two wrestlers earned the CIF State Championship, every wrestler earned the experience needed for next year. While this tournament may mark the end for the seniors, it marks a new beginning for the underclassmen wrestlers. The Braves were able to finish out their season on a high note and hope to continue bringing the heat for years to come.

Sports: Bosco Basketball Looks To Pick Each Other Up After Heartbreaker in CIF-SS Open Division Final

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by Marcelles Williams

Last Saturday Bosco Basketball competed inside the Honda Center for the CIF Southern Section Open Division Final. The atmosphere was electric, as the St. John Bosco community cheered on their Braves in a thrilling game.

Photo by Alex Diaz, Photo Editor

The Braves rose to the occasion in last week’s title game, jumping out to a quick 10-4 lead over the top seeded Corona Centennial Huskies in the middle of the first. They closed it out and ended the first quarter with a 16-12 lead.

Junior Jack Turner made an early impact on the game, scoring a crowd-pleasing 3-pointer and a couple layups.

“We were coming to play, and we were going to give it our all,” said Jack. “We still have unfinished business.”

Bosco led for almost all of the first half until late into the second quarter. Kade Bonam, Jack Turner and Xinyi Li were on their A-games from the jump ball, and the Braves were adamant that the Huskies wouldn’t walk off the court without a determined fight.

At halftime the score was 28-23, with the Braves trailing by five points. The game was still far from decided and tension continued to mount.

Coming out of the tunnel in the third quarter, the Braves got a strong push from sophomore guard Elzie Harrington, who scored ten points in the quarter. Elzie is one of the top sophomores in the nation and is rated as a five-star recruit for the class of 2025.

“I was trying to do anything I could to help the team,” said Elzie. “These are the type of games you play for. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

The game came down to the wire and was tied in the very last second of the game. Yet devastatingly, the Huskies intercepted a pass from Elzie and followed through to end the game on a dunk to secure a 58-56 victory over the Braves.

Bosco Basketball might not have been able to pull off the win, but they still are hopeful for the CIF State Playoffs with their sights on a match-up with another top 25 team in the country, Harvard-Westlake, who they recently defeated only two weeks ago.

The last game was played on the opponent’s turf at Harvard-Westlake, but this time the Wolverines will come to the Thunderdome. The Tribe went wild for the Braves in their last home game against St. Bernard, so fans should expect the same and more tonight.

The Braves had won 62-55 in the first game, and Elzie scored 22 points to lead the Braves to victory.

If the Braves best the Wolverines tonight, they will advance and most likely get a shot at redemption with Corona Centennial for a chance to go to the CIF State Championship game. Fans not attending the game can tune in to Spectrum Sportsnet to watch the action starting at 7:30 pm.

News/OP-ED: The Catholic World Mourns The Tragic Death Of Bishop David O’Connell

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by Brett Baligad, Senior Editor

The late Bishop David O’Connell presided in Los Angeles for over forty years and brought relief to underrepresented communities. The Irish native used his platform to serve the Los Angeles community and manifested Catholic values throughout his respected pastoral career.

Photo via Facebook (@Bishop David G O’Connell)

On Saturday, February 18, Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell was found dead in his Hacienda Heights home with a gunshot wound to his upper chest. This discovery was made apparent as Bishop O’Connell was found unresponsive to a fellow deacon attempting to contact him. The accused murderer, Carlos Medina, is the husband of one of Bishop O’Connell’s longtime housekeepers and is being charged with first-degree murder.

The recent tragedy to the Catholic community has garnered much support from parishioners across the county. Over the past week, hundreds of people have paid their respects to Bishop O’Connell by hosting prayer services and placing flowers outside his Hacienda Heights home. Along with this, prominent Los Angeles Catholic icons have expressed their grief for the death of Bishop O’Connell.

Archbishop Jose Gomez released a statement saying, “Every day [Bishop O’Connell] worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant and to all those living on society’s margins. He was a good priest, a good bishop and a man of peace. And we are very sad to lose him.”

Born in 1953, Bishop O’Connell lived a life of service and empathy to the people of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Beginning his pastoral career in 1979, the Irish immigrant served as an associate pastor for nearby St. Raymond Catholic Church in Downey, California. After assisting other parishes over the years, it would not be until 1988 that he would head his own church, St. Frances X Cabrini, in South Los Angeles. From there, he would serve St. Frances X Cabrini and other South Los Angeles parishes for the majority of his pastoral life. 

Using his platform, Bishop O’Connell fought on issues regarding workers rights, gun violence and immigration. Most notably, Bishop O’ Connell helped mediate racial violence and gang activity in his community. During the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, he was a key contributor to help rebuild his community. One way he achieved this was by rebuilding the relationship between his community and law enforcement.

“That was part of our work as a Church, to try to provide spaces for conversations. And we thought we really had achieved a lot of progress. There was a trust built up between LAPD and residents,” said Bishop O’Connell in a 2020 interview with the Angelus News.

Being named bishop was not a role he always had in mind for much of his pastoral career. As a man for the people, Bishop O’Connell felt that his work was best fit on the front lines with the people that needed his support most. This is emphasized by the fact that the Irish-born pastor is fluent in Spanish. By speaking Spanish in a heavy Latino region, this was one more way Bishop O’Connell demonstrated relatability to his parishioners. In 2015, he proudly accepted the role of Auxiliary Bishop for the San Gabriel Region.

Bishop O’Connell was known by many within the Salesian community. Over the past three years, Former Salesian Provisional and current Spiritual Director of St. John Bosco High School, Fr. Ted Montemayor, shared membership on Don Bosco Technical Institute’s school board with Bishop O’Connell.

“He was very interested in assisting Don Bosco Tech because of its Salesian values and the uniqueness of the school. His goal was to help bring financial aid to kids that needed it and wanted the opportunity to get a Catholic education,” said Fr. Ted.

Don Bosco Technical Institute is St. John Bosco High School’s brother school located in Rosemead, California. Being the Auxiliary Bishop for the San Gabriel Valley, Bishop O’Connell found it to be a great necessity to continue the growth of an all boys learning environment along with the unique STEM learning integrated within the school’s curriculum.  

Bishop O’Connell’s legacy in the Catholic world will not go forgotten. Over the past week, parishioners have flooded social media with personal stories and interactions with Bishop O’Connell over the years. All stories aligned in agreement with his willingness to help the needy and sense of humor. O’Connell was not only an iconic Catholic figure, but also a well respected man within the Los Angeles area for all of his philanthropy performed over the years. 

“He [O’Connell] was a humble man and a good listener. He was not afraid to be vulnerable, which not every leader has the capability to do. David really had a care for helping the poor, the immigrant and the kids,” said Fr. Ted.

On Friday, March 3, a funeral mass will be open to the public at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles at 11:00 am. 

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