Milken Athletics Celebrates Fall Season
As the Milken fall athletic season comes to a close, the various teams gathered together to celebrate their sports and accomplishments. While some sports held individual gatherings or dinners, like Girls Tennis and Boys Football and Water Polo, others participated in an evening of awards and honors. Girls Varsity, JV and Frosh/Soph Volleyball, Cross Country, and Girls Varsity Golf celebrated the end of their seasons with awards ceremonies on Tuesday, November 22. Family, friends, and faculty were in attendance as the student athletes were recognized for their contributions to their teams and seniors were honored.
Girls Volleyball
At the Varsity Volleyball ceremony, Co-Captain Taylor Feldman recounted her experience in the volleyball program and explained how it helped her to develop confidence and leadership skills, and to grow as a person. It was a fun evening and also bittersweet, knowing that the seniors had wrapped up their Milken volleyball careers.
A teary-eyed Sherri Fogleman, mother of Hannah Fogelman ’18, praised Milken volleyball calling it “an incredible program.” She thanked the school and coaches for working so hard and said she would miss it.
“It is easy to rattle off stats for each of our girls ... What is not easily measured is the amount of heart, sacrifice and passion each of these girls brought to the program – those stats are not measured but without a doubt are the most important,” remarked Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach Lisa Steenport.
Seniors were presented with action pictures and varsity team members received Varsity Letters or Chevrons if it was their second or third year on the Varsity Team. In an exciting announcement, Coach Steenport revealed that Co-Captains Taylor Feldman ’18 and Hannah Fogelman ’18 were selected to the All-Liberty League Volleyball Team.
JV Coach Javy Martinez stressed to his team the importance of accountability noting that success happens when you play for others rather than for yourself. The JV team closed the season with a six-game winning streak and were Milken Dig Pink Tournament champions. “I’m extremely proud to have coached this great group of girls,” expressed Martinez.
Frosh/Soph Coach Bruce Languren stressed to his team that they create the results that they get and the wins came because they pushed through and worked as a team.
He emphasized, “How we do anything, is how we do everything. Their work ethic, not only reflects on the court, it also displays in the school and daily life. Also how they treat each other and the way they work with others reflects them outside of the court.” He added, “I would be honored to coach them again.”
After individual ceremonies, the Varsity, JV, and Frosh/soph teams came together to view a touching video montage featuring the volleyball teams in action, blooper shots, and player introductions.
Girls Volleyball Awards
Varsity Volleyball
MVP: Hannah Fogelman ’18
Rookie of the Year: Chloe Saba ’20
Coaches Award: Taylor Feldman ’18
JV
Most Improved: Kaitlyn Nickfardjam ’21
Coaches Award: Eden Zoghi ’19
MVP: Eliya Makabeh ’19
Frosh/soph
MVP: Gabby Melton ’20
Coach Award: Noa Noudel ’21
Most Improved: Amanda Amirieh ’21
Cross Country
Varsity Cross Country Coach Damon Scoville expressed that, “The ceremony was a great chance to reflect on the positive points from the season and recognize the work our runners did over the last three months. We are so proud of the commitment, dedication, and hard work our runners put in each year. This season the boys varsity made it to CIF and placed 11 of 17 in their heat, only three places from qualifying for the second round of CIF. We are looking forward to continuing the great racing of the boy’s team and developing the girl’s team next season.” Scoville heralded the accomplishment of their Rookie of the Year, Hannah Safer-Brickman ’19, who shaved over five minutes off her race time throughout the season. He added that the Most Valuable Runner, Sasha Hakimi ’19, ran a personal best of 17:06 at the league finals.
Cross Country Awards
Most Valuable Runner: Sasha Hakimi ’19
Rookie of the Year: Hannah Safer-Brickman ’19
Girls Varsity Golf
The Girls Varsity Golf Team is still in in its infancy, having completed only their third season. Assistant Coach Alison Smith stated, “With the standout players we have on the team, we are on the verge of having a competitive team next season!” She also noted that Grace Zucker ‘19 won the Most Valuable Player award in only her first year playing.
Varsity Girls Golf Awards
MVP: Grace Zucker ’19
Best Putter: Sydney Raphael ’20
Best Short Game: Bella Spencer ’20
Long Driver: Eden Hess ’20
Varsity Football and Boys Varsity and JV Water Polo Teams were honored at ceremonies held earlier in the month. Girls Varsity Tennis will gather for a Shabbat dinner in December to commemorate the end of the season.
Varsity Football
Coach Elliott Turner noted there were many impressive highlights from the season, including Jordan Kalman ’18 not allowing a sack all season. “On defense, our opponents would not run the ball in his direction because he would be in the backfield so quickly,” said Coach Turner. He singled out other players that had exceptional seasons, including Maxwell Ptasznik ’19, who had 245 yards rushing, 154 yards receiving, 45 tackles, and 2 Safeties, and Yoni Ben-Haim ’18, who rushed 562 yards, had 185 Kickoff return yards, 8 touchdowns, 2 extra point scores, and 65 Tackles. He named Adam Sina ’20 as the toughest player on the team, having played every position except for quarterback and kicker.
Varsity Football Awards
MVP: Yoni Ben-Naim ’18
Most Improved: Jake Thomas ’21
Leadership: Gavin Lieberman ’19
Max Effort: Jeremy Zarnegin ’20
Boys Water Polo
Varsity Water Polo ended on a high note winning their last two games. Among the the highlights of the season, according to Varsity Coach Jason Walters, was beating Beverly Hills and St. Francis for the first time.
Boys Water Polo Awards
Varsity
Captains Award: Steven Raminfar ’18
Coaches Award: Andrew Raminfar ’18
Defensive Player of the Year: Yaniv Maddahi ’18
Offensive Player of the Year: Dustin Nazaria ’18
JV
Defensive Player of the Year: Elijah Pressman ’21
Offensive Player of the Year: Ben Melamed ’20
Coaches Award: Justin Shemian ’21
Girls Varsity Tennis
It was a tough season for the Girls Varsity Tennis Team, conceded Coach Omar Morgades. They couldn’t recover after losing their #1 player, Sasha Kleinman ’18 to injury. Coach Morgades credited the players for their dedication and hard work in the face of the loss. He looks forward to next season and added, “We have 99% of the team returning next year, so I’m hoping we can build on this and come back bigger and better next season.”
No comments have been posted
At Milken Community School, we think education is more than what you know. Our School, founded on Jewish values, is about who our children can become and how they can help others become who they might be. Because the world our children will create tomorrow is born in the School we build today, our mission is to educate our children so they can surpass us.
Non-discrimination Policy: Milken Community School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, athletic, and other school-administered programs.
Saperstein Middle School Campus
Upper School Campus
Copyright © 2024 Milken Community School