The Serrano High School Diamondbacks had a remarkable Fall athletic season. Here is a round-up of Serrano’s varsity teams and athletes who achieved great accomplishments this year.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Serrano cross country girls team placed 2nd in the Mojave River League, while the boys cross country team placed 3rd. Both teams went on to compete in the CIF Southern Section Preliminaries on Friday, November 10th, at Mt. San Antonio College, where they faced runners from top high schools all over Southern California. The boys team placed 9th in their division while the girls team placed 6th, just barely missing a spot in the Top 5 in order to qualify for the Southern Section Finals. The girl’s team top finisher was sophomore Jaelynn Alvarado, who placed 3rd at the Mojave River League Finals on November 1st in Apple Valley with a time of 19:49.3 and then went on to place 9th at the CIF SS Preliminaries with a time of 19:21.9. “Jaelynn had an amazing race and a great overall season, we’re just all so excited for her” said coach Rhonda Cornell, who is now in her 2nd year as head coach for the boys and girls cross country teams. The team will celebrate their successful season with an end-of-the-year banquet and awards ceremony on December 7th.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The girl’s varsity volleyball team placed 4th in the Mojave River League standings and completed their season in October with an overall record of 7 wins and 11 losses. During the season, senior Riley Chaffee was voted as the “Victorville Chevrolet High School Athlete of the Week” through The Daily Press with a total of 18,788 votes and was recognized for her amazing gameplay on Senior Night, September 25th, where the Diamondbacks won 3-0 against Apple Valley High School.
FOOTBALL
The Serrano Diamondback Football team placed 4th in the Mojave River League with an overall season record of 5 wins and 6 losses. Senior Running Back, Carlos Amplayo (#21) was also voted as the “Victorville Chevrolet High School Athlete of the Week” through The Daily Press. Carlos’ mother Deserie Amplayo said she was extremely proud and excited that he was recognized for his hard work especially since he was out with an ankle injury at the beginning of the season. Four Diamondback players also made the Mojave River First-Team All League where the top players from all the high schools in the league were included. Congratulations to Carlos Amplayo (#21) David Green (#79) Odis Hammer IV (#24), and Josh Martin (#19) for making this years First-Team All League list. The football team will be closing out their season at the end-of-the-year banquet in December along with the Serrano Cheerleading Squad.
GIRLS TENNIS
The girl’s tennis team placed 1st in the Mojave River League standings with an undefeated overall record of 17 wins and 0 losses. The league champions continued on and competed in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Championships on November 1st, where they played against the Yucaipa High School Thunderbirds. Going into the finals, the team was down three of their players due to injuries, and the Diamondbacks lost to the Thunderbirds with a final score of 6-12. But Coach Heather Dodson will be back on the tennis courts this spring to continue coaching the boys tennis team, with their first game of the season scheduled for February 2024.
The Serrano athletic department is now moving on to Winter Sports, where games and matches have already begun for the Diamondback soccer, wrestling, and basketball teams.
