AHS theater students gave exceptional performances during the 10th annual TheatreFest at Cal State Long Beach, competing against nearly 700 students from 23 Orange and Los Angeles county schools.

Anaheim High attended the festival for the first time, with seven contestants: two sang musical solos, three gave dramatic monologues, three presented comedic monologues, and one competed in the technical theater category.

Junior Gloria Ojeda was awarded 2nd place in the Comedic Monologue category and two AHS students made it into the semifinals: Erik Perez, Dramatic Monologue; and Renee Sampang, Comedic Monologue. Rounding out the AHS team were Natalie Elder, Carlos Perez, Theresa Mendivil, and Erwin Mancilla.

Gloria shined in her performance of a monologue from “In Search for Intelligent Signs in the Universe,” by Lily Tomlin. She played the role of Trudy the Bag Lady. There was laughter and sadness for her portrayal of a homeless woman jaded and shunned by society, said AHS Theater Director Sharon King.

“The rave review from the audience confirmed her success,” said King, who added that her students were grateful for the opportunity to participate in the festival. “It’s wonderful to know that, even in tough economic times, high schools have committed their time and money to support the arts. We were proud to represent not only Anaheim High School, but the Anaheim Union High School District, as the only school from our district to attend.”

SPORTS:

In keeping with its tradition of producing outstanding student athletes and winning teams, Anaheim High has produced multiple sports standouts in 2010.

Record Breaker

Junior Alex Perez recently broke the 800 meter track and field school record held for 51 years by Class of ’59 grad Gary Shepard. The young Colonist, now nicknamed “Rabbit” by his Class of ’59 counterpart, ran the event in 1:56.28, besting Shepard’s record of 1:57.1.

Note: Because of track and field events converting to the metric system, Gary’s original record of running the 880 yard dash in 1:57:8 was converted to 1:57.1, using the National Federation of High School Track and Field conversion table.

Gary spearheaded an effort to install a new track and field record board in the gymnasium as an incentive to current AHS track and field athletes to break the school records. The project certainly served as a successful motivator and Gary will be presenting Alex with a trophy recognizing his accomplishment at an upcoming ceremony.

Athletes of the Year Lauded

Congratulations to Michelle Torres and Jose Madera for being selected Anaheim High’s Female and Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Michelle participated in volleyball, basketball and softball and will be attending UC Santa Barbara this fall.

Jose, a senior cross country and track athlete, was also named Orange League Male Athlete of the Year. Deemed the greatest distance runner in Anaheim High history by Coach Brian Castelli, Madera has the 22 fastest times run on 11 different cross country courses over the past 12 years by an Anaheim long-distance runner.

His fastest time is 14:30 at The Woodbridge Cross Country Classic and 15:02 at Mt Sac, which are considered astonishing and among the 10 fastest in the CIF this year across all divisions. Madera will be attending the University of San Francisco on a full athletic scholarship in cross country this fall.

In addition, Torres and Madera are Bud Fassel Scholarship winners. This award is given by Jim Fassel, Class of 1967, in memory of his father Bud, a Class of ’39 grad who served as Anaheim High’s equipment manager for nearly three decades.

Congratulations also go out to Eleana Hernandez and Bruno Avila for being named Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Eleana participated in volleyball, basketball and softball and will attend Fullerton College. Bruno participated in cross country, track, football, soccer and baseball this past school year. He will attend Fullerton College and play soccer in the fall.

All-League Players Named

Seven Colonists were chosen for the 2010 All-Orange League Baseball Team under the tutelage of AHS Athletic Director and Baseball Coach Dave Torres.

Named to the First Team were senior pitcher Zach Gaddy, who was 6-0 with a 1.65 ERA; senior catcher Alex Ornelas, who hit .456; and junior infielder Jose Rojas, who hit .471. It is the third time Gaddy has been chosen All-League and the second time for Rojas.

Second Team members include senior pitcher Omar Robles, who had a 4-1 record with a 1.86 ERA; sophomore infielder Damian Gandara, who hit .382; senior outfielder Izzy Reyes, who hit .453; and junior designated hitter Manny Tafoya, who hit .441. It is the second time that Reyes has been chosen to the All-League team.

The Colonists finished the season with an overall record of 17-11, after starting the season 1-6. They had a 13-2 record in league play and finished in 2nd place, one game behind Savanna. They qualified for the CIF Playoffs for the 5th consecutive season and 7 out of the last 10 years.

Congratulations to all these outstanding Colonists athletes, and to those not listed here, who have contributed their talents to continuing Anaheim High’s tradition of being “Home of Champions.”