Conejo Valley youth teams piling up championships

AMAZING GROUP- The Newbury Park U-14 All-Stars won the AYSO Section 10 girls' soccer championship in Bakersfield. Newbury Park now advances to the California State All-Star Championship on April 6, where they'll compete against three other teams to determine the California state champion. The team is coached by Erin O'Connell, assisted by Mike Balustein, and consists of Amy Groth, April Salas, Ciara Gallagher, Delaney Mendoza, Hannah Burdick, Jenna Moncourtois, Kari Dixon, Lacey Smith, Maddie Forman, Marissa Deluca, Nicole Kabey, Sabrina Blaustein, Sarah Maldonado, Sarah Siros and Tori Benson. TRACK STARS- Five girls from the Newbury Park Track Club competed in the AAU National Cross Country Championships held in Virginia Beach, Va. The girls ran as part of the Valley Youth Conference team and as individual runners. To prepare for the event, the coaches- Don Klein, Deb Klein and Jan Cox- had the girls run 200-meter and 400-meter sprints, along with the usual 6,000-plus-meter practices. They also participated in the 5k Miller Family YMCA Turkey Dash on Thanksgiving at Dos Vientos Park in Newbury Park. Pictured from left are Mariana de Maillé, Samantha Cox, Natalie Cox, Swathi Samuel and Rachel Smiley. SILVER MEDALS- The Conejo Valley United boys' soccer team placed second at the U.S. 3v3 Tournament at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas. Because of the strong result locally, the squad has qualified for the national tournament this summer in Orlando, Fla. Pictured from left are coach Martin Bevan, Matthew O'Connor, Jonathon Weilbacher, Ryan Tyrrell, Bryan Lopez and Matthew Bevan. Coach Bill Propster and Ryan Buckingham are not pictured. FINAL FOUR- The Thousand Oaks U-12 girls' soccer All-Star team Most Wanted finished fourth at the Riverside Locomotion Tournament. Team members include Nikki Millman, Hayley Walke, Kayla Bredberg, Jessica Zlaket, Krista Andreassen, Alexandra Lafayette, Samantha Pryor, Courtney Akita, Kristen Spear, Devin O'Malley, Alexis Butsher, Samantha Whitney, Nicole Greenberg, Alexis Benedict and Molly Ginther. The squad was coached by John Benedict and Michael Koch. SUPER SLUGGERS- The Conejo Panthers baseball team won the U-11 division at the Newbury Park Tournament. Pictured in the bottom row, from left, are Michael Kress, Caleb Mulick, Scott Garifo, Drew Przybyla and David Foldes. Top row: Thomas Ponticelli, coach Barry Kress, Conner Kinsner, Daulton Duarte, coach Erik Przybyla, T.J. Kirchhoff, Blake Rocheleau and coach Brett Rocheleau. Nico Lima, Gage Nishi, Parker De La Pena and Jack Sanchez are not pictured. SOCCER SUPERIORITY- The AYSO boys' U-14 All-Stars from Westlake/Agoura won the Area 10 title in Simi Valley by beating Moorpark, 5-1. The team advanced to the sectional tournament in Bakersfield. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Richard Fasani, Jack Heald, Connor Fulton, Mark Seyler, Nick Chrysiliou and Steven Pelino. Back row: Ian Markham, Sky Bartsch, Nat Almeny, David Gallop, coach Bryan Johnson, Noah Johnson, Miles Schimmel and David Schatz.