Kicking off the fourth year of a special humanities seminar course, around 60 juniors and seniors from San Marino High School fully immersed themselves at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens and Caltech on Thursday, August 22 to gain deeper insight into the process of writing and research.

“There was unprecedented interest this year, which means it has gained momentum,” SMHS Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Instruction and Guidance Dr. Soomin Chao told The Tribune.

The blended interdisciplinary course is comprised of two groups who parted ways to explore both locations. One group visited Caltech and met with Caltech undergrads participating in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program. The experience was geared toward showing them how research is conducted, according to Chao.

“They’ll get their first glimpse at some of the potential that they’ll be able to see in themselves,” said Chao. “As the year progresses, students will be able to work with undergraduate advisers as well as professors.”

As the course goes on, the students will be working with four professors at Caltech to explore research areas such as material sciences, computer science and mathematics, among others.

The other group of students traveled to The Huntington’s Thornton Portrait Gallery. The low-lit gallery is home to grand life-size portraits of people, notable sculptures and the ongoing renovation of Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy.

Led by English teacher Kellie Redmond and art teacher Michelle Pauline, the group will tour different parts of The Huntington each visit. This quarter involves portraiture, the next will involve arts and crafts with a focus on the human hand, the third will involve landscapes and activist pieces and the fourth will involving breaking the rules of art, according to Redmond.

“We kind of ask them to look at what is art at the beginning of the year and then we come back to that question,” said Redmond.

The group was first instructed to tour the gallery at their leisure. The students fanned out, quickly perused the works and soon came back to meet with their teachers in the middle. Pauline noted that most students took around five seconds at each piece. She then encouraged them to select a single piece and analyze it for one minute while jotting notes on who they thought the person within the portrait was and why they would be getting painted. They were told to not look at the description of the work itself, but to experiment with their own creative thought process.

This time, when the students came back together, Pauline asked the students if anyone would have wanted more time to with the works. A crowd of hands shot up into the air. The students then returned to the same painting for around eight minutes to dive deeper into what they felt the symbolism meant, how the person was positioned and how constituted the scenery. Only in the last minute were they to read The Huntington’s description of the work.

Senior Enzo Repetto studied the painting of Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier, graced in a white dress with her hair in a stylish updo while thoughtfully leaning on a pedestal, by artist Thomas Gainsborough. He said the course’s experience of going from quick look to patient study helped him to take more aspects of the work into account.

“From what you could see there, instead of just being a normal pose of a woman, once you were able to take a long stare at it, you were able to see her divine attitude, you were able to see the pen she was holding, that she’s kind of more of an intellectual writer and everything,” said Repetto. “You wouldn’t have simply seen that or noticed that if you were taking a quick glance at it.”

“I think [the course] will help me have a deeper introspection, kind of more insight into how the artist sees their art and how they tried to present it the general audience,” Repetto continued.

Junior Rediet Retta was drawn to the painting of a young woman resting on a boulder by artist George Romney. She said that having more time with the painting opened her eyes into considering who the person pictured was instead of just what colors were used in the work’s creation.

“I feel like when I’d go to museums with my family, I would look around and see which ones look interesting but I didn’t actually pay much attention to any of the people in the paintings or what was going on,” said Retta. “So I think through this course, I’ll be able to understand the artist’s purpose and why they chose to paint that.”

Pauline said the course began with a critique on online resources of paintings, and the trip to The Huntington was an opportunity to show the students what happens when they slow down and take a closer look at the works up close and personal.

“The idea is that they now understand the scale, they now understand the textures, what the paint brush strokes look like, that kind of stuff is what I may end up seeing in their reflections,” said Pauline.

Redmond concurred with her fellow teacher. She said they were working to encourage the students to get comfortable in their own analysis and interpretation of the art so that when they’re able to meet with a curator once a quarter during the year, they’ll feel confident in expressing their thoughts and observations.

“In general, we would hope that they’re able to go out into the world, think critically, to visit museums and look at art in their everyday lives, to be able to feel empowered and feel like they have something to say,” said Redmond. “To not only interpret, but to be able to evaluate as well, so hopefully this helps prepare them for the type of thinking they’ll be doing in college and then for the rest of their lives.”

The post SMHS Seminar Unites Research, Art appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

It is often said said that necessity is the mother of design, but in Tanya Zhang’s case, her father had more than a hand in an invention the 2011 San Marino High School graduate hopes will soon be coming to a closet near you.

“I remember going from store to store with my dad after finally convincing him to splurge a little on himself,” Zhang said. “When it came to finding a crisp new dress shirt, he’d say right off the bat, ‘American dress shirts don’t fit me.’ I realized I would often hear the same issues from many of my friends, especially leaner Asian Americans with slimmer body types. They couldn’t find a good-quality, well-fitting dress shirt in the United States without having to pay a premium or shop in the Junior section.”

That’s the necessity, here comes the invention.

“I see whole brands and lines of clothing dedicated specifically for ‘petite’ women, but nothing similar catering to very slim men,” Zhang told The Tribune. “I want to be a part of changing the dynamic clothing landscape and drive awareness of Asian culture through the lens of thoughtfully crafted goods.”

With that in mind, Zhang and a friend started Nimble Made, a men’s dress shirt brand which Zhang said is “focused on increasing representation and inclusion in sizing for unique, actually-slim sizes.”

“Our dress shirts have a trimmed shirt length, sleeve length, and back and shoulder measurements for an actually slim fit,” she said.

Sizing issues also became a personal struggle for Wesley Kang, the friend and co-founder of Nimble Made. As a leaner 5’5,” 140 lb. Asian man working in the finance industry, Kang also found it difficult to find a good fit for his body type—and he was required to wear a dress shirt every day to work.

“He could never express himself properly in a professional way,” Zhang said.

She explained that the dress shirt industry creates their current size charts through an averaging method that caters to the mass market.

“The ‘slim fit’ in the industry is still too large for many leaner men,” Zhang said. “For guys like my dad and Wesley, I have seen them try on many different dress shirt brands, only to find that even the ‘slim fit’ is still too big. Sleeves were usually too long and baggy or the shirt would overflow at the waist. A lot of our customers are guys who, previous to finding Nimble Made, had to get their dress shirts tailor-made.”

Nimble Made specializes in fit solutions for different body types and are more similar to dress shirt brands like Ash & Eerie, who market to short men.

“Except our niche is slim guys, though we can still fit tall men,” she said. “What you’ll get with our dress shirts is trimmed measurements across the back and shoulders, shirt length, sleeve length, and chest. Nimble Made is a response to the dress shirt industry to look at sizing more holistically. Currently, the industry sizes through a function of neck and sleeve length while we size through a function of height and weight, which we believe is the better indication of someone’s size.”

Zhang graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2015 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts. She moved to New York City to start her career in advertising, working with brands like H&M, Nissan, McDonald’s, Michelin and others. She became the first brand design hire at a Manhattan financial tech startup before becoming a design consultant at Ernst & Young. She left her corporate job in 2018 to pursue Nimble Made full time and was recently featured by such media outlets as MONEY Magazine, Yahoo News!, MSN and Times of San Diego.

But her roots are still in San Marino, and the daughter of Qing Yun Zhang and Sophie Lin and stepfather Finno Wang fondly recalls her days as a Titan.

And a (Huntington Middle School) Fox.

And a (Carver Elementary School) Pioneer.

“I was very involved in Key Club at San Marino High School and served as president my senior year and was also on the district board,” she said. “I also have a soft spot for Yearbook, which I was a part of for all four years at SMHS. I even attended Yearbook Camp each summer and worked closely with Mrs. Lou Ann Fuentes and then Mr. Jose Cairé, who were our yearbook advisors during my time there.”

San Marino High School’s yearbooks are perennial award-winners, thanks to passionate contributors like Zhang. It’s doubtful this latest venture will be any different.

The post The Father of Invention appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

A seemingly permanent smile affixed to her face, Heein Kim strolled across the campus of San Marino High School on a beautiful morning, with sights set on drama, the first class of this late start day. ‘Peter Pan’ is Drama Director Blake Williams’ selection for the school’s musical, so very soon we might be fortunate to watch Heein fly across the Neher Auditorium stage in some capacity.

It’s a posture to which the senior is accustomed, but typically she leaps skyward without the assistance of ropes and pullys. Hapkido is a martial art borne to her Korean heritage and one that runs deep in the veins of her family. Heein has trained in the craft for more than a decade and a half of her young life.

“Basically because I was born into it,” she said with that trademark smile.

Her grandfather, Chong Sung Kim, founded the family’s Jang Mu Won Kim’s Hapkido Association in 1960 in his home country of South Korea, and moved to the United States in 1972. A year later, he established a school in Alhambra. Heein’s father, Han Woong Kim, created a studio of his own in 1992 in South Pasadena.

Last month, Heein advanced to third degree black belt and was officially promoted as an assistant instructor under the Jang Mu Won Association. She has been leading and assisting classes since she was twelve years old, when she received her first degree black belt.

“I have taught people of all ages,” Heein said. “I thoroughly enjoy teaching people, no matter how difficult it might be to work with certain individuals. It truly brings me joy in life when the little three to five year olds give me high-fives and hugs at the end of a class, or when the adults tell me they truly enjoyed their workout that day.”

The teacher also competes. And with a great deal of success. For the past two years, she has won the grand championship for the black belt demonstration division.

“The trophy is taller than I am,” she said with a laugh.

Heein also won the grand championship for the black belt women’s sparring demonstration division, though she will be unable to defend her title due to a scheduling conflict.

With the body control and discipline necessary to compete at the highest level of the martial arts, it’s no surprise that Heein succeeds in dance.

“I started my freshman year, not only for P.E. credit, but also because I really wanted to try dancing,” she said. “I think doing Hapkido all my life helped me a bit with my coordination, as I was able to skip a level and enroll in the Intermediate-Advanced class for my sophomore year.”

Scheduling conflicts precluded her from participating in dance, but Heein is starting her fourth year in San Marino High School’s Drama department.

“I am pretty sure I have participated in every single show that the department has put on since I got here,” she said.

Heein is also a four-year veteran of the Choir program, the senior class vice president, president of the Self Defense & Fitness Club—which she personally founded last year—and a cabinet member of San Marino High School’s Green Club. She is also a self-described “foodie” with interests in fashion and photography.

She chuckled at her own answers to two questions. When asked where she wants to attend college, she mentioned “I want to stay on the west coast. Or go somewhere on the east coast.”

Her areas of study were equally as disparate.

“Political Science. Or Early Human Development.”

Full on laughter.

Whatever path—where it starts and wherever it leads—will be a successful one for the daughter of father Han Kim, mother Stevie Kim, and older sister to Duin, 15, and Suin, who is ten.

Of that there is absolutely zero doubt.

The post You Don’t Mess Around With Kim appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

She is an accomplished dancer and actress, third-degree black belt in the Korean martial art called Hapkido, defender of the environment and a self-described “foodie,” and San Marino High School senior Heein Kim hopes to add one more prestigious title to her dossier next Monday morning.

The post SMHS Senior Heein Kim Is Royal Court Finalist appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

On a typical Friday, the only sounds heard on the athletic fields behind Carver Elementary School are laughter, bouncing balls and the occasional adolescent screams of joy. But last Friday was anything but typical.

Enter San Marino High School’s award-winning marching band and color guard, which paid its annual campus visit to entertain and educate the community’s young ‘uns.

The long-standing tradition was started by Musical Director Ben Ubovich during his long tenure at SMHS as a means to recruit elementary school students to join the district’s instrumental music programs that are made now available to students starting in the 5th grade. It’s a convention that Shota Horikawa, the current musical director at SMHS, is more than pleased to continue.

“The visits are a fantastic way to introduce elementary school students to the different instruments that they have available to them as they go through middle school and high school,” Horikawa told The Tribune. “They are also a great way to start exposing students to special programs that we have available such as drumline and color guard, which are typically not offered at the elementary or middle school levels.”

The students received an extra bonus as Christina Chu, a second grade teacher at Carver and 1994 graduate of San Marino High School, is a former drum major, one of just seven females to serve in that capacity in the band’s rich history. Chu was asked to come forward and lead the assemblage in a rousing rendition of the school’s fight song.

“It was great,” said Chu, who flawlessly reprised her former role. “The movements have stayed exactly the same and I love getting out there.”

By the actions of the students and faculty members, the feeling was quite mutual.

The post Strike Up the Band! appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The time is flying by, San Marino High School graduate (Class of 2016) Kelly Crowley says, and she cannot fathom that she is approaching stoppage time of her collegiate athletic career. But Crowley, a senior at the College of the Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Before the season, Crowley was chosen by her teammates to serve as one of the Crusaders’ captains and earlier this month was named the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Week.

In her typical “team-first” style, Crowley deflected the praise onto her cohorts.

“Everyone played well,” said Crowley, a forward, who during a recent three-game stretch scored three goals and assisted on four others to lock up the honors. “I just got picked out of the hat.”

A four-year starter, Crowley has enjoyed her experience on the East Coast.

“This has been the most incredible four years of my life,” she said. “I am pretty lucky. I love it here so much, and I can’t believe it is coming to an end.”

Used to playing on the soccer fields and softball diamonds of Southern California, Kelly acknowledged that the weather at her chosen university presented at least an initial challenge.

“That was an adjustment,” she exclaimed. “It is notorious for being bitterly cold and I definitely had to acclimate.”

She almost had to adjust to continuing her life with a two fewer teeth. During an August game, Crowley took some friendly fire in the form of a teammate’s elbow to the mouth, which knocked out one tooth and knocked loose another. Crowley said she initially didn’t want to come out of the game (“I had so much adrenaline”) but was forced to take a break due to the resulting blood.

“Someone actually found it on the field and gave it back to me,” she said. “I put it back in and it hasn’t moved.”

Kelly is the daughter of Carolyn and Jon Crowley. Her older brother Charles (Chip), is a 2019 graduate of the United Stated Coast Guard Academy. Her twin brother, Patrick, is currently a senior at the Coast Guard Academy and a member of the Bears’ football team.

At San Marino High School, Kelly was a four-year member of the Lady Titan varsity soccer team, serving as captain her junior and senior years and was an all-Rio Hondo League first team selection her sophomore, junior and senior years and league MVP as a senior.

She was also a four-year member of the Lady Titan varsity softball team, serving as captain her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, earning all-Rio Hondo League first team honors following her junior and senior years and was, again, the Rio Hondo League MVP as a senior.

After dropping their first two games, the Crusaders have won or tied every contest since as they battle for a Patriot League title.

“We have really found our stride,” said Captain Kelly. “I am hoping we can get a league championship this year.”

The post The Last Crusades For Captain Kelly appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

San Marino High School’s varsity football team is enduring what is known in the sports lingo as a “rebuilding year,” with just eight seniors and two returning starters in a sport that is as experience-heavy as they get. Head Coach Justin Mesa lauds his squad for its never-say-die attitude, and more than partly responsible for that approach are Seths Matzumoto and Canul, who share many characteristics aside form their unique first name. Both are seniors, returning starters and were selected to be co-captains for the 1-6 Titans, who travel to South Pasadena on Friday night for the annual Border War with the Tigers.

Canul, an offensive guard and defensive nose tackle, is never far from the ball before or after the snap and likewise, Matzumoto—the team’s Mike, or middle linebacker—always seems to find his way to the pigskin, usually arriving with bad intentions. The duo shares another sentiment: huge respect from their coach.

“Seth [Canul] shows up every day to work hard and genuinely tries to do everything right,” said Mesa. “He is what we call a program or a team guy. He is one of those guys who has the team in mind in all that he does.”

Mesa also touted Canul’s leadership skills.

“Seth is highly respected by his teammates and the coaching staff,” Mesa continued. “There is a reason he was voted as one of the captains. He is a leader and if guys aren’t locked in, he tries to get them back. He has all of the intangibles and is a really tough guy. If he is banged up, he continues to fight through the pain. He is selfless.”

Matzumoto might be a little less fiery on the outside, but the Titans’ leading tackler is as competitive as the come.

“Seth [Matzumoto] is a quiet guy, but he is also very coachable,” Mesa said. “He is willing to be corrected and always willing to learn more about the game of football. Seth has been willing to do everything we have ever asked of him and is a warrior out there on the football field.”

Mesa mentioned an incident that took place last Friday night that crystallized Matzumoto’s approach to the game.

“We were down 35-0 and I thought I would just take him out of the game to give him a breather,” Mesa explained. “Seth didn’t like that at all and he wanted to go back in the game. Of course I sent him back in and he played as hard as you can play.”

“A blessing,” Mesa said, when asked to sum up his feelings about the two Seths.

The post Seth-sational! appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

She admits there is a lot more competition for her time, but Fiona Harrigian, a 2016 graduate of San Marino High School, has continued her fine running career at Wellesley College, where she is a couple months into her senior year.

Her teammates and coaches recently honored her dedication when the daughter of Karen and Mike Harrigian was selected as a captain of the Blue’s women’s cross country team.

“I was a little hesitant to be captain since I knew I would be busy this semester applying for jobs and therefore may not be able to invest as much time into being captain,” Fiona told The Tribune. “However, I was and am excited to help my team be the best that they can be. As a captain, I enjoy making sure everyone feels like they are essential to the team, that the first-years are finding their place at Wellesley, and the team is working well together.”

Harrigian ran both cross country and track all four years at San Marino High School, advancing to CIF in the 1,600-meter run her senior year.

“In cross country, my sophomore year may have been the best,” she recalled. “Our team came frustratingly close to going to state after winning the Rio Hondo League championships.”

Her personal bests include a 20:28.4 clocking in the 5K at the 2017 Wellesley Invitational and 26:45.5 in the 6K, which she accomplished at the 2016 Bowdoin Invitational.

“From a physical standpoint, in college I run more each day and each week than I normally did in high school and most of my runs are at a faster pace,” Harrigian said. “We also lift weights more than we did in high school. Mentally, running does not change that much, although now I need to switch between a competitive mentality to an academic mentality much more quickly than I did in high school.”

Fiona is majoring in Biology and has spent the past few summers working in research labs; one for microbiology and another for nitrogen cycling. She studied abroad during the fall of her junior year in Bhutan, and though she lived at 8,000’ elevation, she continued to train. This past summer, Fiona spent three-and-a-half weeks in Siberia partaking in a class that was focused on Lake Baikal and its cultural and biological importance.

“I ran almost every morning along the lake shore,” she said. “It has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve run.”

The daughter of Karen and Mike Harrigian, Fiona has a twin sister, Olivia, who attends Stanford. Aside from cross country, Fiona also competes for Wellesley’s indoor and outdoor track teams.

The post The Long Run appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

An early morning burglary that took place in the 2700 block of Cumberland Road has delayed the start of the day at San Marino High School and other local educational institutions.

The San Marino Police Department responded shortly after 7:00 a.m. to a call from a Cumberland Road resident who spotted four males in the back yard of a neighbor’s home. The suspects immediately fled, two on foot and one in a vehicle while a fourth was taken into custody, according to Police Chief John Incontro. The suspect in the car crashed the vehicle on San Gabriel Blvd. and is still at large. Officers from multiple agencies are on site and a K9 search for the three remaining suspects has been initiated in the area of Huntington Drive, Palomar Road and Cumberland Road, according to Incontro.

Students had already arrived for San Marino High School’s Zero Period, which is in session from 7:00 a.m. until 7:50 a.m. Those students have sheltered in place, according to a school official.

All schools in the area were immediately notified of the situation due to their proximity to the crime scene and search area. A starting time for San Marino High School has not yet been determined, according to San Marino High School Principal Dr. Issaic Gates, who said students and staff are safe on campus. Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson, other administrators and cabinet members are also on site at SMHS this morning.

The post Cumberland Road Burglary Delays Start of School Day appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Titanium Robotics ended the past Homecoming week with a bang; they did a tremendously amazing job at San Marino High School’s Homecoming Parade, to which the team brought their famed t-shirt cannon, [Ti]rone. To finish off the Homecoming experience, the team brought [Ti]rone to the school’s home football game against La Cañada. San Marino High School’s football team beat La Cañada 42 – 7. Aside from the school’s accomplishments involving the parade and win, Titanium Robotics had many of its own accomplishments that day. [Ti]rone launched over one hundred t-shirts, at both the parade and the game! Hundreds of attendees at both events had the opportunity to view the robot and the team’s work throughout the day, and have fun while doing so.

The t-shirt cannon also launched candy into the parade’s audience, and hotdogs into the stands at the football game, with one almost going into one of the marching band’s sousaphones!

The football game was especially successful in terms of [Ti]rone’s performance and operation. With no technical difficulties whatsoever, [Ti]rone launched goodies at the audience after every touchdown made by San Marino, which luckily happened quite a few times at the Homecoming game. Game-and-Parade attendee Rachael Wen noted the team’s success in heightening school spirit by mentioning how “the robotics’ team always does a really great job in hyping up the crowd.”

Titanium Robotics was able to make the events of Homecoming day much more magical, all the while promoting school spirit and supporting the football team’s morale. To help be a part of such events and making them so successful, come to the team’s work sessions every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in room 308 from 3-6:00 p.m. after school. All help is welcome and no prior experience is required. See you there!

The post Robotics Team Stays Busy at Homecoming appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Chris Hazell arrives at work each day, sits down, looks across his desk and sees…himself.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Hazell said, smiling, as he sits on the other side of my desk, which may or may not be relevant to this story.

It’s doubtful that many outside of a very small circle know the legend of Chris Hazell. By the time he graduated from San Marino High School—well, more about that later—in June 2004, Hazell was the most-decorated athlete in the history of the institution, that designation courtesy of a source no less than the late Mickey McNamee, who for more than four decades saw every athlete who walked the hallowed halls of SMHS.

“It was during baseball season of my senior year,” Hazell says. “He told me I had received more varsity letters than any other athlete in the history of the school.”

Twelve in all: four in basketball, where he got the nod as starting varsity point guard while still wet behind the ears as a freshman; three in football, where he quarterbacked the Titans and—until fellow lefthander Carson Glazier duplicated the feat in 2015, was the last signal-caller to beat Monrovia (in a monumental upset, by the way); three more in baseball, where the speedy centerfielder displayed defensive range from foul pole to foul pole and occasionally pitched; and two more in track, where he was part of the Titans’ 4 x 100-meter and 4 x 400-meter relay teams, events he often ran while wearing his baseball pants during breaks in practices or games, with McNamee’s blessing, of course.

He was a rare, if not unprecedented all-Rio Hondo League selection in football, basketball and baseball and, at least for a while, held the Huntington Middle School record for the mile run.

Curiously, he seems more proud to mention that feat than the remainder of that most impressive list. A steady girlfriend rounded out the portrait of what appeared to be a perfect life.

And while Chris Hazell was taking the responsibility for a good deal of the school’s athletic fortune on his back, he was also taking his first drink. As a freshman. In 2000. Shots of tequila.

“I was a straight-edge kid,” he says. “An athlete. And I remember that warmness. And a feeling of ease. I remember it distinctly. And I liked it. That warmness.”

Alcohol turned to marijuana and weekends melded into weeks, but his strong, young body deflected the effects of his increasing use. While Hazell was able to fool others on the field of play, it was a different story in the classroom. Because of a bushel basket of absences,

Hazell was not allowed to participate in his own graduation ceremony, and was banished to a seat in the same Titan Stadium bleachers that many had paid cash money to watch him perform. He didn’t stay there long.

“I think that was the start of realizing that things were going to change,” Hazell says, pensive now. “It was the first time that I was seeing the consequences of my actions. I had a premonition that my friends and classmates were going on to make good in their lives, and I had an inkling of regret. My friends were talking about all of the colleges they were going to and I thought, ‘yeah I’m not going to do any of that.’ The next phase of life was going to happen and I was not going to start on the right foot.”

Hazell enrolled in a San Diego community college, lived with an aunt, lived with some buddies, endured a painful break-up with his first love, began drinking daily, gained weight due to his estrangement from sports, and finished exactly one class in two years.

After three months of odd jobs, Hazell turned to the Marine Corps, until three months went by, and he turned away. His civilian clothes tucked under his uniform, he “bounced out” during a night drill, over the barbed wire of Camp Pendleton, spilling onto the 5 Freeway, northbound.

“I hit the highway,” Hazell says. “I’ll tell you, I never knew until that night how far apart the freeway exits are near the base!”

A smile, then a laugh. Then this…

“I took the train home, and when I got there the next morning, my dad was waiting for me. He should have been at work, but he heard I had left. The look on his face…it was a new low. It was another thing that I had failed at, a new low. I really respect the military and being a part of it gave me a reason, it looked like I was doing something, it got people off my back. And then I was AWOL. I had to go before the military board and was fortunate to get a general discharge.”

Chris’s story is not unlike that of most addicts, and includes a series of fresh starts and failures. Progress, followed by, in his words, “loneliness that I cannot describe.”

On more than one occasion, Hazell ended up at The Gooden Center, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility that was created specifically for men. Chris has spent time at sober living facilities where he was subjected to random drug and alcohol testing and strict curfews. Hazell last took a drink on April 2, 2016. Notice we didn’t say “took his last drink,” because that might be tempting fate.

Hazell says he “no longer has the itch” to drink, but quickly adds “I know damn well how it is going to go for me if I have another drink.”

Through a counseling program at The Gooden Center, Hazell has encountered his demons. Notice we didn’t say “slayed his demons,” because that might be tempting fate.

“I have done my best to come to terms with everything,” Hazell says. “I am learning to see value in myself, to believe in myself again. I am learning to complete things, to look for little ‘wins,’ and to slowly build myself back up.”

After spending “parts of, like, eighty years” at Pasadena City College, Hazell enrolled in an online program at Arizona State University—he wears a Sun Devil baseball cap to our meeting—Chris has about a year left before he will earn a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Business.

He credits his supportive girlfriend, who also battled addiction, for his recent progress.

And he’s on the other side of that desk. While speaking as an alumnus to clients at The Gooden Center a couple years ago, Chris was asked if he wanted a job.

“I was really excited,” Hazell says. “I started as a program assistant, which basically means I handed out medications and everybody vented at me. Now I am the admissions coordinator, the gatekeeper. When I deal with addicts and alcoholics, I deal with them truthfully. It opens a dialogue.”

Chris Hazell returns to compete in San Marino on Saturday, October 26, when he participates in The Gooden Center’s “Run For Recovery,” a recreational 5K walk and run that will be held in Lacy Park at 7:30 a.m. Like life, Hazell is only interested in finishing, not setting any records.

“I am tired of running from my past,” Hazell says, with a healthy dose of resignation. “I think I can help Gooden Center.”

So can you.

The post His Greatest Comeback appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

One typically has no idea if a nationally ranked high school tennis player lives in their community, but San Marino High School’s Anessa Lee is anything but typical. Most blue chip tennis players eschew the typical educational model altogether and attend elite academies while others opt for home-schooling while simultaneously receiving private training from personal coaches.
Then there is Lee, who has chosen the rare Door #3, which includes being a card-carrying member of her local high school tennis team.

Fortunately for San Marino, its the Lady Titans for which Anessa proudly dons the Royal & White. Anessa is currently ranked #11 in the nation in the Girls Under 18 age group as determined by tennis recruiting.net, won the prestigious Easter Bowl singles championship in 2016, was a doubles finalist list in the Girls 16 age group at the United States Tennis Associations’ (USTA) Winter Nationals and made it to the finals of the 2018 United States Indoor Championships.

As as a freshman, Anessa won both the singles and doubles championships at the 2016 USTA Girls’ 14 National Selection tournament, where she also earned the Sportsmanship Award at that tournament.

And she has also won the Rio Hondo League singles championships in each of her two attempts, with the 2019 tournament having been recently postponed due to poor air quality caused by the recent wildfires.

San Marino High School tennis Coach Melwin Pereira, who has a son and daughter who played Division I tennis after completing full high school careers, admires Anessa’s skill and dedication to her teammates.

“Anessa is right up there with the best girls I have ever coached,” Pereira said, also mentioning Devon Jack and Dorothy Tang, who matriculated from SMHS to Brown and Princeton, respectively. “She is a very strong player and is a very good teammate. I understand her situation and try to give her a lot of space. Anessa is very serious and very focused this year.”

And with very good reason. Anessa has accepted an offer to play at Vanderbilt University for Coach Geoff Macdonald after graduation. Last year, the Commodores finished the season with a 19-8 overall record, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals where they were edged 4-3 by Georgia, a fellow SEC entry. Vandy finished the season ranked in the Top 10.

“Vanderbilt is lucky to have Anessa,” Pereira told The Tribune. “There are a few things she will work on for the college game and she will be outstanding.”

Anessa is the daughter of Albert and Pearl Lee. Her older brother, Connor, is a junior at Georgetown University and plays for the Hoyas. Another older brother, Ryan, was an accomplished tennis player at San Marino High School and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as mentioned.

The post The Real Deal appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

In what has been a season of strange twists and turns for San Marino High School’’s varsity football team, the events of last Friday may have set a new standard—and the Titans weren’t even directly involved. A water pipe apparently broke under the field at Temple City High School’s Bob Hitchcock Stadium, turning the last remaining natural grass surface into a quagmire and forcing the Rams to relocate their Rio Hondo League contest to South Pasadena for an unprecedented Monday night affair on October 28. And while it is pure conjecture, Temple City’s loss of what is arguably the league’s most substantial home field advantage just might have tilted the outcome in the Tigers’ direction as South Pasadena defeated the Rams by a score of 21-14, thus guaranteeing San Marino a spot in the CIF playoffs as the Rio Hondo League’s second place finisher.

“South Pasadena’s win on Monday night gave [San Marino] the advantage in all of the possible tie breaking scenarios,” San Marino High School Athletic Director David Irie told The Tribune.

Which renders Friday’s regular season finale in the friendly confines of Titan Stadium against the Rams basically meaningless, but San Marino is looking to resume its winning ways after consecutive rivalry victories over South Pasadena and La Cañada and a bye week.

“We had some excellent momentum and I wished we had a game last week,” said Titan head Coach Justin Mesa. “But having a week off was nice. The kids have been going straight through since July 24 and it was nice to get a couple days off.”

While Temple City’s Mud Bowl ordeal and the Rams’ resulting short week may benefit the Titans, Mesa said that this week’s opponent revealed a different defensive alignment in Monday night’s game, giving San Marino’s coaches a short window to prepare.

“We entered the bye week not wanting to over-prepare, and now that we have seen this new wrinkle from Monday night we had to get to work on it with just a couple less days, but that’s the way it goes,” Mesa said.

Mesa also said that the team is preparing “just like any other week” although the players are aware that they have already clinched a playoff spot.

“There is nothing different,” Mesa said. “We have a game to play and we have to win this game. This is just like any other week.”
But the Rams are hardly any other team. Mesa said that 240-lb. defensive tackle Wolfgang Volk, who wears license plate #77, will present a challenge to San Marino’s offensive line, which will be down a man Friday night.

“He is a tough kid,” Mesa said.

The first-year Titan coach acknowledged his own tough kids, who have persevered through a year of doubt, transition and change—and a 1-6 start—to finish in second place and qualify for an automatic playoff bid.

“This is how we approached the season,” said Mesa. “We said that things really mattered when league play started. I have a good feeling because we were able to persevere. We got a late start, there was a huge culture change and a very long adjustment period, a lot longer than a typical turnover period. We needed to learn how to win and I give a lot of credit to the guys for sticking with this thing.”

Not one to single out individual players, Mesa nevertheless credited seniors Seth Canul and Seth Matzumoto for their leadership during the transition.

“Seth Canul is the vocal guy who pulls everyone together and Seth Matzumoto is the quiet type,” Mesa said. “But they are both very effective.”

And still very crucial.

The post Titans Seal Second Place, Playoff Berth appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

San Marino’s destination was crystal clear when Temple City visited Titan Stadium last Friday night for the final regular season varsity football game of the season, but that didn’t stop the hosts from putting forth one of its most consistent performances of the year as the Titans, in the legendary words of Frank Sinatra, made “those Rams scram” with a comprehensive 35-0 beatdown in front of a large Senior Night crowd. Senior Yohannes Zerihun, who has emerged as a legitimate star on the Titan defense, intercepted a pass to begin the onslaught and San Marino never looked back. Senior quarterback Connor Short scored on a two-yard run with just 26 seconds left in the first quarter and Jordan Evans booted his first of five extra points to make the score 7-0. A 20-yard completion from Short to Matthew Karapetyan provided a key first down during the scoring drive.

San Marino’s defense forced a punt and the Titans immediately went back on the attack. Short found junior Trond Grizzell open down the left sideline for a 40-yard completion to set San Marino up on the seven yard line. On the very next play, Short tossed a pass to Karapetyan in the left flat for the score and a 14-0 advantage.

Credit the Rams for perseverance and the visitors embarked on their best drive of the night on their next possession. But the Titans held on fourth and goal, taking over inside their own one-yard line with four minutes remaining in the half. A 38-yard completion to Grizzell, a 20-yard run by Short and an eight yard run by Michael Prappas found the blue-clad Titans in the end zone again for a 21-0 halftime lead and holders of what could be the longest drive in school history.

Short connected with the emerging Prappas, who is just a sophomore, for a 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Karapetyan capped the scoring with a three-yard run for the 35-0 final.

Though he didn’t score, Nick Singhal again shouldered the majority of the offensive load with 80 rushing yards on 12 carries while Short called his own number seven times for 45 yards. But the senior quarterback—who received the Earl Bruce Award after the game—did most of his damage through the air, completing a remarkable 13 of 15 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Grizzell caught seven balls for 162 yards, Karapetyan snagged three for 33 yards and Prappas latched onto two for 36 yards, both for touchdowns.

Senior Seth Matzumoto again led the Titans in tackles with ten, followed by Seth Canul with eight, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Senior defensive tackle Kourosh Hassibi made three tackles, one for a loss, but statistics fall woefully short of quantifying his impact on a game as he regularly was blocked by two or three opponents. Singhal made four tackles and defended a pass as the Titans improved to 4-6 overall and 3-1 in the Rio Hondo League, good for second place and an automatic bid to the CIF playoffs.

Panther Sighting

And what a draw has San Marino received in the Orange High School Panthers, champions of the Golden West League, who will bring their 9-1 overall and 5-0 league marks into Friday’s CIF Division 10 playoff game, which will be played at Segerstrom High School with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
“They are a good team,” said Mesa. “They want to run the ball and will also throw it if they need to. They have some very good athletes that they want to get into space. Their quarterback is an excellent game manager who can beat you with his arm and his legs. They are very stout and physical and intense on defense and we are going to have to match all three of those characteristics.”

Mesa said that the Titans have had “an excellent week of practice” preparing for the Panthers.

“We have to expect ourselves to play hard every week,” he added. “Playoffs or not, that has to be the standard. This is part of the culture that we are building.”

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The Rio Hondo League assigns its schools with the hosting of championships for its sports that have such an event and for tennis, the responsibility falls on Temple City High School. League officials might consider handing that responsibility over to San Marino if only to save fuel as this past Monday afternoon, nine of the final twelve competitors at the Rio Hondo League individual championships were Lady Titans.

At the end of the day, San Marino swept the three singles titles and took second and third in doubles, fortifying the team championship the Lady Titans claimed with a perfect 8-0 mark.

Anessa Lee won her third Rio Hondo League individual championship in three tries, edging teammate Selena Wu, a freshman. Fellow ninth-grader Margaret Piatos finished third to complete the sweep.

In double action, the team of Rakel Ang & Elaine Wu claimed second while Grace Carter & Katie Kirkendall finished in third place. Knowing there was a Royal blue lid atop the singles ladder, La Cañada paired its two best singles players to win the doubles championship.

“We did really well,” said head Coach Melwin Pereira. “I am very happy with the way the girls played. To have nine players representing San Marino on the final day is a very nice accomplishment.”

The Lady Titans rolled to their 13^th consecutive Rio Hondo League regular season team championship, outscoring the opposition by 108-18 in combined set scores.

San Marino heads to Peninsula High School in Palos Verdes on Friday for the first round of the CIF Open Division Playoffs, where they will face the Panthers. The two teams met in September with the Lady Titans claiming an 11-7 win.

The post Lady Titans Dominate In League Individuals appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Hundreds of athletes assembled in Lacy Park on Thursday afternoon for the running of the Rio Hondo League cross country championships, a tradition that dates back almost a half-century when a man named Jack Bradford figured out a way to run a two-mile race within the confines of San Marino’s iconic public park.

Much has changed since that day—Bradford passed away a few years ago and the standard race distance has increased to three miles—but along with Memorial Day and the 4^th of July, the event is right up there with Lacy’s finest.

Junior Jonathan Karkafi paced San Marino’s boys, finishing seventh in a time of 17:09. He was followed to the finish line by freshman Thai Villaluna (14^th, 17:46), freshman Neil Chen (18^th, 17:58), sophomore Gavin O’Malley (21^st, 18:01), senior Leighton McBryde (327^th, 18:37). Junior Tavis Chen (31^st, 18:55) and freshman Benjamin Hughes, who ran a gutsy race, finishing in 33^rd place with a time of 19:20.

Karkafi will advance to the CIF semifinals but the Titans’ fourth place finish puts and end to the season for the remainder of the squad. South Pasadena easily won the league title, as four Tiger runners finished in the top five.

Senior Puja Balaji again led the way for the Lady Titans, finishing 6^th with a time of 19:28. She was followed to the finish Chute by sophomore Anya Tang (10^th, 20:21), Peyton Talt (12^th, 20:23), junior Lily Tong (14^th, 20:35), junior Karen Lee (20^th, 21:17), senior Katie Wong (26^th, 22:23) and sophomore Katelyn Hansa (33^rd, 25:08).

The Lady Titans’ team score of 62 earned San Marino a third place finish in the Rio Hondo league and an automatic bid to the CIF semifinals. La Cañada (42 points) and South Pasadena (50 points) finished I first and second places, respectively.

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A decade of hard work has paid off for Kali Villaluna. The San Marino High School senior has committed to the University of San Diego, where next fall she will join the Toreros swim team while majoring in Business.

Kali began her swim career at the age of eight at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. She has been a member of San Marino High School’s girls’ varsity swim team since she entered the school as a freshman and has been captain her sophomore and junior seasons, with that streak expected to continue this year. The Lady Titans have won the Rio Hondo League championship in two of the three years Kali has been a member of the squad and shared the title in the third. The Lady Titans have not lost a dual meet in the last four seasons.

“Ever since I have known Kali, she has been very focused and dedicated,” said Mark Barr, head girls’ swim coach at San Marino High School. “Kali has been a big part of the run we have been on the last three years. I have never seen her not happy about swimming and she will definitely benefit the program at USD.”

A specialist in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, Kali is the daughter of Doojduen and Fernando Villaluna. Her younger brother, Thai, is a freshman at San Marino High School.

Outside of the pool, Kali was involved in Girl Scouts for eleven years and earned her Gold Award by completing a project that focused on helping homeless families through a partnership with Family Promise of San Gabriel Valley. She placed first at a Regional Business Competition in 2018, serves as a Link Crew leader at SMHS and was also named Homecoming Queen last month.

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Though it might come as a surprise, the Rio Hondo League is turning into quite the cross country power house. All three girls’ teams that qualified for the CIF preliminaries from the Rio Hondo league—La Cañada, South Pasadena and San Marino—last week advanced to this Saturday morning’s finals, which will be held at the Riverside Cross Country Course. The Lady Titans, who finished third at the Rio Hondo League finals in Lacy Park, will compete in the Division 4 race, which begins at 9:05a.m.

Last week, San Marino finished eighth in its preliminary heat to qualify for the finals. Senior Puja Balaji again led the way, finishing 17th overall on the three-mile course in a time of 20:12. Anya Tang (34th place, 21:02), Peyton Talt (35th, 21:08), Karen Lee (65th, 22.15), Katie Wong (73rd, 22:25), Katelyn Hansa (134th, 25:23) and Lily Tong (151st, 28:26) rounded out the lineup for head Coach Angus Leung.

The Lady Titans have not been to the finals since 2016.

“This is the best team I have coached since I have been here,” said Leung, who is in his fifth year at SMHS. “They work well together, they work hard together, and they have really bonded as a team. “It goes to show you that if you commit to one another, it can make a difference.”

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Ending a long community campaign against its existence, the cell tower located on the campus of San Marino High School is being dismantled, with its coverage being picked up by a tower currently in use at the Sunrise Senior Living Center, which is located in the Los Angeles County area just east of city limits. The tower at Sunrise was recently upgraded to handle the extra load, according San Marino Director of Planning and Building Aldo Cervantes.

The SMHS tower, which is located directly atop the Raymond Fault just north of Dingus Memorial Fieldhouse, never received proper permits, according to Cervantes, and was “considered to be in violation of City Laws.”

In early 2018, a large sinkhole developed just a few yards away from the cell tower, causing the temporary closure of an access road that runs directly behind the gymnasium.

While some of the antennae have been removed at the SMHS site, Cervantes personally inspected the tower on Thursday and believes at least one carrier still uses the monopole.

“It is scheduled to be completely removed by December,” Cervantes told The Tribune. “They want to wait until winter break for a safer work environment.”

According to the San Marino High School calendar, the final day of classes for the first semester is slated for Friday, December 20 with the second semester starting on Monday, January 6, 2020.

The cell tower currently located in a maintenance yard between Valentine Elementary and Huntington Middle Schools is also scheduled for eradication, according to Cervantes.

“According to a timeline I have received, it will be gone some time in January or February,” Cervantes said.

The antennas will be relocated to the roof of a building on the southwest corner of Huntington Drive and Ridgeway Road to fill the coverage gap. Cervantes told The Tribune that the owner of the building has pulled and signed permits allowing for the installation of the cell site.

“It seems as though the schedule is falling into place and they are holding to their timeline,” Cervantes said.

The post Cell Tower At SMHS Is Going Away appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The scoreboard inside San Marino High School’s Dingus Memorial Fieldhouse is capable of registering 100 points and higher. That is according to a few members of the Titan boys’ varsity basketball team, who claim to have witnessed the phenomenon.

It’s safe to say we will find out for certain in the next few weeks if San Marino’s first two contests hold any clue as the Titans have racked up 97 and 95 points in season-opening victories over Chino and Baldwin Park, who were able to counter with just 65 and 80, respectively. Heck, San Marino even rang up the ol’ Fair-Play for 94 last week in a scrimmage against Gabrielino.

The high point totals are lifted directly from the playbook of Titan head Coach Mihail Papadopulos, who has adopted a run-and-gun philosophy that encourages frequent substitution and free-range shooting.

So far, so good for the Titans, at least according to the 2-0 start and the point totals which are approaching the century mark. Students attending the win over Chino on Thursday, November 21 were on their feet until the final buzzer, hoping for a last-second three-pointer to reach triple digits with the same vigor Los Angeles Laker fans pull for their heroes to keep opponents under 100 in the Staples Center, which earns ticket-holders free tacos. A wise local marketer might consider adding incentive for the Titans to reach 100.

Ethan Deng broke loose for 35 points against Chino, with support from Joey Fuerst (21) and Sean O’Brien and Trond Grizzell, who chipped in with nine apiece. A 35-point second quarter helped the Titans overcome a groggy start.

“Our boys did such an amazing job this evening playing with such incredible grit and playing for each other,” Papadopulos said after the game. “Even though Chino did a great job in the first quarter taking the lead 21-18, we all just felt it would be a matter of time before our boys would get going and eventually wear them down. This group has a motor that is unusual and their ability to shoot the ball is definitely unique.”

The Titans also stepped up the defensive pace, recording 15 steals, most of which led to quick baskets.

“I am probably most proud of the level of effort that all of our boys played defensively which opened up these great scoring opportunities,” Papadopulos added. “We shared the load and the ball and everyone got a chance to eat, so to speak. Fun to see the boys so happy for each other.”

The coach called the Titans’ 95-80 win at Baldwin Park on Monday night “sloppy,” but an extended bus ride forced San Marino to hasten its pre-game preparation routine.

Senior point guard Sean O’Brien caught fire early as he not only helped to control the pace of the game but also burned the nets for 33 points. Again, the Titans had a multitude of contributors who impacted the game offensively and defensively.

Deng scored 22 points while pulling down five rebounds, Grizzell added 15 and seven, senior Brian Zhang contributed 14 points and seven rebounds and Fuerst scored nine while grabbing six boards. Quintin Hollomand has gotten in on the fun with six and two points, respectively, in the opening games.

“I’m proud of our boys, Papadopulos said. “Of course we are super proud of players like Sean and Ethan, who had stellar nights, but we also commend guys like senior Brian Zhang, who just give you their soul every day, especially on the defensive side. Tonight he was rewarded with 14 points to go with his sweat. We did not have our cleanest technical game tonight but our boys were gritty and we’re proud of them.”

San Marino will open tournament play next week on December 5 against West Covina at the Webb School tourney.

The Titans’ next home game will be played on Monday, December 16 when Bell Gardens visits at 6:30 p.m. San Marino will again play in the Pasadena Poly Tournament from December 12-14.

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