The Culver City High School girls’ softball team has put together a CIF and State regional post season playoff run that is one of the most unlikely journeys in Culver City athletic history. They ended the regular season with a losing record, but they have caught lightning in a bottle during the last few weeks. Last Tuesday the Centaurs beat Westchester 20-7 at Culver City in Round 1 of the State regionals at home.
Their miraculous season continues Thursday, June 5, when they host a rematch State regional semifinal game against the No. 1 seeded team in Division V, Rancho Mirage at 4 p.m. on the Culver City High School campus. Rancho Mirage handed the Centaurs their only playoff loss in six post season games when they were defeated 7-3 in the CIF Division 7 final last Friday in Irvine.
To reach the State regionals Culver City beat Citrus Hill, Los Amigos, Silverado and Notre Dame before losing to Rancho Mirage on the road. “It’s been fun to see,” said Culver City head softball coach Carlos Chavez. “It’s all about the girls buying in and the girls bonding. It’s the girls playing for each other. I keep telling my wife that it’s awesome to see. These girls are showing up to practice and games wanting to keep playing.”
The Centaurs go into Thursday’s game with a 14-15 overall record, and they were 9-3 in their league. “It’s been a long season, yet they still want to keep playing and that just shows that they don’t want the season to end,” said Chavez. “As a coach it’s a great thing to see. They are cheering each other, and they are doing what the coaches have asked them to do.”
One player that has really stepped up to the plate is senior pitcher Anyah Francis. Francis pitched every inning of every playoff game except for last Tuesday against Westchester when she was relieved for a few innings. “Anyah has been great,” said Chavez. “She’s been great since day one. She is magical right now. She is throwing strikes and letting the defense play. She keeps throwing strikes and she knows the defense has her back.” If the Centaurs win on Thursday, they will play in the regional final on Saturday. Check with the school to find out the time and location of the game.
Last Saturday the boys’ track team competed in the California high school State meet. Hurdle specialist Kingston Waring placed second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 36.50. Duaine Mayrant placed third in the 400 meters with a time of 47.04, Dontay Mayrant finished eighth in 48.69 and the 4X400 meter relay team placed fourth with a time of 3:12.05. That team consisted of Dontay Mayrant, Jonah Givens, Waring and Duaine Mayrant.
“We got two guys in the state finals in the 400 meters and Kingston did a great job in the 300 hurdles and Duaine ran a good 400 meter race and our 4X400 meter relay team ran well but we were hoping to run a little faster but we were running against some of the fastest teams in the country,” said co-head coach Jahmal Wright. “We set goals at the beginning of the year, and we did not achieve every goal, but we are proud to be CIF Champions.”