The MCS winter sports season is underway and, once again, the Dolphins look to be a force to reckon with in the Christian Athletic League of Orange County fielding nine teams (five girls volleyball and four boys basketball).
The girls volleyball program continues to be strong with the junior high Teal Team reentering CALOC Div 1 after spending the past five seasons in the local public school league (CAL). Veteran coach Tim Bahadoor will lead the team again. Tim has brought home the championship more than 10 times in his tenure. The team will be strong with some quality players, many who played on last years Division II champions. Those players include Lauren Grable, Cassidy Kofoed, Delaney Caroll, Peyton Espley-Jones, Alicia Muller, and Makena Martin.
The junior high Black Team will be coached by MCS alumni and Biola University volleyball standout Megan Spurgin. Megan brings her experience and leadership to the program in her first year with a talented group of players including Kristen Allen, Allison Hanscom, Katie Glavinovich, Savannah Stewart and Ashley Sheward. Look for big things from this team.
The junior high White Team will be coached by second-year coach and MCS alumni Stephanie Verheyen. Stephanie, a senior standout volleyball player at Newport Harbor High, coached many of these players to the sixth-grade championship game last year and looks to improve upon her accomplishments from last season. Impact players on this team include Taylor Cope, Jaylee Morse, Alexis White, Caroline Carr, Madalyn Risser and Abbey Ayulo.
The sixth-grade Teal Team will be coached this year by MCS physical education teacher Paulette Seaman. Paulette brings many years of experience to the program and is excited to be working with this talented group of individuals. Fundamentals and teamwork are the goals for her team. Look for players Danielle Manderson, Lillie Boyer, Delaney Bass, Grace Hachigian and Blair Hodges to make an impact on this team.
The sixth-grade Black Team will be coached by Biola graduate Casey Glass. Casey is thrilled about the chance to work with this group of players. Look for valuable contributions from Riley Warmington, Natalie Train, Krista Hanessian and Annie O’Connor.
The boys basketball program will feature an eighth-grade and seventh-grade teams and two sixth-grade teams. The eighth-grade team will be coached by Stathi Marcopulos, father of standout Taso Marcopulos. Stathi has coached this group since their beginning in sixth grade. As seventh-graders, the team reached the CALOC Division II championship game and will look to do that again this year in Division I. Players to watch include Taso, Connor Deverian, Noah Giddings, George MacCabe and Steven Guder.
MCS veteran coach Mike Hatcher will lead the seventh-grade team. Mike has been coaching both football and basketball at MCS for the past seven years. Mike has a talented squad and will look to go far in the regular season and beyond. Some players to keep an eye on will be point guard Colin Pipkin, Seifu Pierce, Landon Monroe, Spencer Lawrence, Mark Schaefer and Brock Malliet.
The sixth-grade Teal boys basketball team will be coached by Steve Moore. Steve has served as an assistant coach to Head of School Bob Sladek’s championship winning football team this past season. Steve is equally talented in basketball and will bring his positive coaching style to this group of standouts including, Cole Whitelaw, JT Murphy, Will Black, Clyde Moore and Elijah Collier. Look for good things from this team.
Finally, the sixth-grade Black team will be coached by Steve Bruno. Steve is an MCS alumni and was assistant coach to Athletic Director Mac Thompson in both football and basketball for the past four years. The sixth-grade Black team has some quality players in Ryan Sarvak, Caleb Ricketts, Connor Dean, Jack Hausam and Jack Brennan. Fundamentals and skill building will be the focus of our sixth-grade program as our teams compete in both Division I and II.
Mac Thompson, in his fourth year as Athletic Director, continues to elevate the MCS athletic program to be one of the best private school programs in the county. His experience as a Division I college soccer coach and over 12 years teaching experience has made him the perfect fit for the MCS athletic program.
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The popularity of the MCS program continues to grow with a record breaking 116 students involved in this season alone.
“The primary goal of the program continues to be to develop each player physically, mentally and spiritually so that each may reach their potential as they glorify God on and off of the field,” Mac said.
Good luck teams and GO DOLPHINS!!!
