Paloma Valley Girls Basketball Team Set for Ramona Tourney

Junior guard Regina Sheffield has attracted college coaches with her shooting and defensive abilities.

The Paloma Valley High School girls basketball team will continue to prepare for the Sunbelt League season when it opens play in the Ramona Tournament Thursday in Riverside.

The Wildcats (5-5) will face Ramona at 3 p.m. In their most recent competition, they beat Don Lugo (53-14) and Campbell Hall (47-43) in the Mustang Classic at Roosevelt High.

"The tournament went well," said coach Romeo Galbreath. "We good to face a good mix of teams. We got to see big post players, some good guards, and we went 3-1 against some good teams."

Paloma Valley's offense is guard-oriented, with Galbreath starting three or four guards at a time. That group is led by 5-foot-2 junior guard Alize Hancock (left) and 5-8 junior guard Regina Sheffield. Hancock is expected to be back for the Ramona Tournament after missing some games with a concussion. Sheffield is expected to average 15 points and 7 steals per game.

"Regina has a couple college coaches interested in her already," Galbreath said. "Her aggressive deefense, her speed and her ability to score are her strengths."

Adding to the team's depth is senior guard Ashlynn Cota (right). For strength on the front line, Galbreath will look to 5-11 freshman Rochelle Wagner.

Paloma Valley Girls Soccer Team Off to Fast Start

Members of the Paloma Valley girls soccer team were all smiles after winning the second-place trophy in the recent Beaumont Tournament.

Completing strong finishes in the Beaumont Tournament and Bellflower Tournament, the Paloma Valley High School girls soccer team takes a 7-2-2 record into the holiday break in preparation for a Jan. 9 nonlegue game against Hemet and the Jan. 15 Sunbelt League opener at Elsinore High.

The Wildcats finished off the Bellflower Tournament with a 2-0 victory, highlighted by goals from Chloe Atkins and Amanda Gomez and assists by Lauren Perez and Bailey Calhoun. Prior to that, the team defeated Santa Monica 1-0 on a goal by Kaitlyn Johnson off an assist by Elizabeth Elisa Huerta.

Goalkeepers Christina Rodriguez and Linday Baca each recorded four saves in the shutout victories. Rodriguez was the league MVP last season, when Paloma Valley finished third despite allowing only three goals in league play.

Earlier last week, the Wildcats beat Murrieta Mesa 2-1 on goals by Gomez and Atkins.

Paloma Valley's defense is anchored by senior Jackie Armijo and juniors Vanessa Banuelos and Jada Brown.

"Defense is our strength," said coach Marie Dillon. "We're trying to be more consistent, though, and improve our attacking game."

Paloma Valley Hosts Boys Basketball Tournament This Week

The Paloma Valley High School boys basketball team will entertain seven other teams from surrounding areas beginning Thursday in the Paloma Valley Winter Shootout.

The schedule for the pool play tournament includes four games Thursday in the Paloma Valley gym. In the day's first game at 1:30 p.m., Paloma Valley will take on Carter High of Rialto. Paloma Valley is 2-7 so far this season with a chance to dramatically improve its record with a good showing in its tournament this week.

Other teams entered in the tournament include Elsinore, Valley View, West Valley, Boulder City, Canyon Springs and Tahquitz. The tournament continues with games Friday and Saturday, with the final day scheduled for next Monday, Dec. 30.

Paloma Valley Boys Soccer Team Aims for Success

RJ Benz has scored nine goals this season and is on pace to break the school record of 17.

By Patricia Sanchez

After a less than perfect season last year, the Paloma Valley High School boys soccer team has managed to improve its game and team attitude -- a feat Coach Ramon Benz and players attribute to hard work, a new mindset and team bonding.

"Last year, we didn’t do so well," said Benz. "But what’s really great about this year is that we’re able to adjust."

The Wildcats finished their season last year in second to last place. This year, the team doing well in the nonleague South West Division play with five wins, three losses and one tie.

Benz said that despite being in a tough division, the Wildcats are doing well and he and the other coaches are doing their best to keep the team humble.

"Our motto is ‘Be selfless, not selfish’" said Benz.

Along with a new mindset, Benz said that a few key players have helped the team improve. Last Thursday night, the Wildcats demonstrated their talent when they beat the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks, 2-1. In one of their last few games of the nonleague season, the Wildcats dominated the field and demonstrated teamwork and determination.

"I think we were pretty confident [tonight]," said forward Jose Sandoval, who scored the second goal to win the game. "We came out to win."

Forward RJ Benz -- the coach's son and also a standout football player -- has played a big role in the Wildcats' success. He has scored nine goals and is on his way to breaking the school record of 17 goals for the season.

“RJ is a great player,” said Ramon Benz. “He is constantly being bombarded with fouls and a lot of the time the referees don’t call them. We don’t get mad at [the refs], though. We don’t complain, we just adjust. Even when RJ doesn’t score, he attracts attention from the defense and that opens up opportunities for other players to get the ball and score.”

RJ Benz said that the players are much more comfortable with each other and have grown closer this season than previous seasons.

“We see each other more often for practice and bond as a team,” said RJ. “I think this year we trust each other a lot more.”

Overall, the Wildcats are optimistic about their season and know that they have a lot of work to finish on a good standing and hopefully make it to the CIF playoffs.

“We know we have no breaks ahead of us,” said Benz. “This year we’re going out to compete and make a name for ourselves.”

Bell Mountain Bobcats Win PONY Middle School Title

The Bobcats were managed by Rob Prendergast. The players are Ryan Christensen, Thomas Bartholomew III, Nolan George, Owen Prendergast, David Toruno, Joseph Romero, Blake Alanis, Daniel Montgomery, Gabriel Talamantes, Henry Proger, Charles James, and Paul Turner.

Congratulations to the Bell Mountain Middle School Bobcats, who recently won the Menifee PONY Baseball 2013 middle-school league championship (Bronco Division) by defeating the Canyon Lake Cougars.

The Bobcats then went on to play in the MPB/TYB World Series, losing 2-games-to-1 against the TYB champion, Day Middle School. This is the second year that the Cougars won the MPB Champions Cup, with the first coming in 2011. The MPB Bronco-Division Champions Cup trophy will be on display in Bell Mountain Middle School's trophy case until the fall 2014 season, when it will be engraved and placed at that season champions' school

This is the third season Menifee PONY Baseball has been involved in the Middle-School Baseball program with TYB. Team tryouts are held each August and the season runs from September into November. Teams consist of players from each middle school, creating a middle school baseball team where there would otherwise be none

Menifee PONY Baseball organizes and supports these school-based teams in an effort to create school pride and unity within our local schools. For more information, visit WWW.MENIFEEBASEBALL.COM.

Palmer, Taoete, Castor Named Athletes of the Month

Three high school athletes who recently completed standout fall sports seasons have been selected by their schools to receive the Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Month Award, sponsored by RE/MAX Diamond Realty.

Football player Matt Palmer and volleyball player Dayanerrah Taoete of Heritage High School and cross country runner Zackery Castor of Paloma Valley High School were recently honored for their accomplishments in November. Each was presented a VISA gift card by Cynthia Nemelka of RE/MAX Diamond Realty.

Matt Palmer had one of the best seasons of any defensive football player in Southern California for the Patriots, who posted a 13-1 record and won the CIF-SS Central Division championship. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior defensive back had 10 interceptions this season -- second most in the state. Six of those came in the playoffs, including one in Heritage's 34-33 victory over Rancho Verde in the championship game.

Palmer, who also played wide receiver for the Patriots, is being recruited by several colleges and already has received a scholarship offer from Azusa Pacific University, according to his father.

Dayanerrah Taoete just completed an impressive season as outside hitter for the Patriots girls volleyball team. Under first-year coach Lindsey Sappington, she provided leadership for a team that finished 12-8 and advanced to the CIF playoffs.

Taoete will play club volleyball through the summer in hopes of earning a college scholarship.

Zackery Castor was the top athlete on the Paloma Valley High boys cross country team, even though he spent the entire season dealing with a leg injury suffered during the preseason. He posted a time of 16:19 in the CIF prelims at Mt. San Antonio College, setting the pace for Wildcat runners as usual.

The Menifee 24/7 Athlete of the Week and Athlete of the Month awards will resume in early January.

Paloma Valley Hosts Girls Basketball Tournament This Week

The Paloma Valley High School girls basketball team is hosting a 10-team tournament beginning today and running through Saturday.

The Wildcat Tip-Off tournament begins with four games today. In the featured game beginning at 8 p.m., Paloma Valley plays Citrus Hill.

Elsinore, Rancho Verde, Temecula Valley and Murrieta Valley are other local teams entered in the tournament, which culminates in the championship game Saturday at 6 p.m.

In Tuesday's pool play tournament action, Paloma Valley plays Murrieta Valley at 4:30. Pool play continues the next three days.