One world championship, one national championship, two state championships, and four CIF titles.  That wouldn’t be a bad haul for five years, or maybe even a decade—but that’s what Long Beach’s youth and prep sports teams managed in just the last twelve months, as we end a stellar year for the city’s under-18 athletes.

The dominance was year-round, too—in Winter, the Poly girls’ basketball team went 31-2 (with one loss coming to Millikan on their home court) on their way to winning a CIF title and a record-tying third straight state championship—at the same time, the Wilson girls’ soccer team was bringing home a CIF, state, and national title.  In the Spring, Poly’s track team won another CIF and state title.  Over summer, while most 14 and 15-year olds were relaxing, the Whaley Park PONY All-Stars were in Pennsylvania, where they won the world championship in dramatic fashion against the national team from Taiwan. 

Then, when school was back in session, the Poly football team got to work early and brought home the school’s 18th CIF championship—they had to face another Moore League school, Lakewood, in a CIF semifinal.  It was the first time in thirty-plus years that two teams from the Moore League met in a semifinal, a fitting end to an historic year for local youth.