Tag Archives: Jamie Levin

Burbank Will Again Be Well Represented in College Athletics

Leave a reply

One of the toughest parts of every school year is graduation time because so many high school seniors will move on an go in a number of different directions in continuing their education and athletic careers.

Some will still be competing locally. Others will not. We took a look at where our seniors are going to college.

Burroughs

The Burroughs Class of 2019 is led by an athlete who actually never represented his school. Dylan Young, who is one of the top gymnasts in the nation, has signed a letter of intent with the University of Nebraska.

Dylan Young will compete in gymnastics at the University of Nebraska.

From the girls’ volleyball team, Juliana Van Loo will join her older brother Ryan, a 2016 graduate, at Lewis University in Illinois. Her Burroughs teammate Shea McGovern will continue her career at Cal State Los Angeles.

Sam Tipton, the boys’ volleyball Pacific League Player of the Year, will continue his career at Grand Canyon University.

Distance runner Raymond Berrellez will continue his career as a preferred walk on at the University of Arizona for the cross country and track teams.

Lakely Nealis will continue her distance running career at Pt. Loma Nazarene University.

Football players Andrew English and Johnny Factora will continue their football careers at Whittier College and Willamette University in Oregon, respectively.

Softball player Hannah Skinner will continue her career at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, where she will play for former Burbank High coach Debby Day.

Swimmer Nathan Gault-Crabb will continue his career at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.

Soccer players Esteban Alcantar, Alfredo Tejada and Matthew Cardenas will continue their career at Glendale Community College.

Jhazmin Pitts will continue her basketball career at Glendale College.

Boys volleyball players Jagger Green and Evan Troncoso will continue at Pierce College. Teammate Steven Grandinetti may join them or play at Santa Barbara City College.

Abbie Riggs will play on the women’s soccer team at Santa Barbara City College. Emily McHorney will continue her soccer career at Chapman University.

Burbank

Bulldogs will be well represented at colleges around the nation.

Receiver/defensive back Erik Harutyunyan will play football at UC Berkeley as a recruited walk on.

Erik Harutyunyan will be helping out the Golden Bears at UC Berkeley. Photo courtesy Doug Brown

Burbank quarterback Matthew Porras will continue his career at Whitworth University in Washington.

Baseball player Davis Mieliwocki will suit up next season for Chapman University in Orange.  Teammate Joey Clark will play baseball at prestigious Macalester College in Minnesota.

Sarah Garelick will continue her softball career at prestigious Smith College in Massachusetts. Softball teammate Alex Davis will continue her career at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Zion Chavez will compete on the men’s track and field team at Kansas Wesleyan University.

Raquel Goli has plans to continue her cross country career at UC San Diego.

Andy Cardenas will continue his soccer career at Cal State Northridge.

The traditionally strong Glendale Community College’s women’s cross country team has picked up a trio from Burbank High in Jamie Levin, Natalie Danao and Lydia Forsyth.

Tight end Duncan Smith will continue his football career at Ventura College. Defensive lineman Karo Koshkaryan will play at Riverside City College.

Baseball players Andrew De La Torre and Daniel Ruiz will play at Los Angeles Valley College. Volleyball player Chase Marcy will continue his career at Pierce College.

Providence

Four Pioneers will continue their athletic careers in college.

Andrew Kim accepted a soccer scholarship to play at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Nick Montijo will run cross country at UC Merced. Jonas Holt plans to play basketball at LA Valley College. Justine Nunez will play volleyball at LA Mission College.

Village Christian

Justin De Sales, who previously attended Burbank High, will play basketball at the University of Puget Sound.  Carley Gay will continue her softball career at Azusa Pacific University. Ashley Sands will be part of the competitive cheerleading squad at UC Santa Cruz.

Notre Dame

The Sherman Oaks-based school has several  seniors from Burbank who will continue their athletic careers. Swimmer Dominic Margarino will compete at the University of Southern California.

Dominic Margarino will swim for the USC Trojans.

Soccer player Nick Sailer will continue at Curry College in Massachusetts. Carter Kessinger will continue his baseball career in the Ivy League at Yale University.

Loyola

Two graduating Cubs from Burbank will continue their athletic careers. Quarterback Nathan Priestley will play at the University of North Carolina under College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown.  Baseball player Joseph Augustine will continue his career at New York University.

El Camino Real

Former Burbank High point guard Tyrese Willis, who transferred to the Woodland Hills school in the fall,  will join his former teammate Justin De Sales at the University of Puget Sound.

Burbank Girls Cross Country Wins League Title Outright

Leave a reply

The last time the Burbank High girls’ cross country team won a league title outright, the year was 1978.
Despite the fine achievement, the Lady Bulldogs didn’t grab all the headlines as those went to Jeff Nelson, arguably the greatest high school boys’ cross country of all time.
Now four decades later, Nelson’s wife Kathryn, led the Bulldogs to their historic title, which was clinched Thursday in the Pacific League Finals at Crescenta Valley Park.
“I stood their crying for a second,” Kathryn Nelson said of the achievement. “(It was) a lot of hard work. They wanted it. We knew we could be competitive, but you have to show up in the race.”
The Bulldogs easily won by scoring 32 points. Burroughs finished second with 59 points. Both teams will advance to postseason competition. Burbank tied for a Pacific League title in 2014, but the Bulldogs never won a league meet in doing so.

Junior Sol Fernandez led the Bulldogs by clearning the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 12 seconds.
“Our coaches told us it is not for you to grab, you are defending it,” Fernandez said. “It is a huge success for this team.”
Shalom Mejia finished third in 19:36.
Also for Burbank were Jamie Levin (seventh, 19:54), Megan LaCamera (ninth, 20:02), Mckynzee Kelley (11th, 20:06), Lydia Forsyth (13th, 20:11) and Natalie Danao (16th, 20:21).

Burroughs was led by sophomore Jordan Guzman, who finished sixth in 19:53.
Also for the Indians were Ceci Whitney (eighth, 19;58), Sophia Navarro (10th, 20:05), Lakely Nealis (15th, 20:14), Julianna Navarro (20th, 20:37), Jamie Perez-Fernandez (26th, 21:19) and Kiara Cruz(27th, 21:46).
Burbank finished third in the boys’ varsity competition with 85 points. Crescenta Valley won with 27 points. Burroughs, without injured star Raymond Berrellez, finished fifth with 110 points.
The Bulldogs were led by sophomore Andres Leon (eighth, 16:12). He was followed by Victor Goli (12th, 16:23), Tadeh Shanazari (15th, 16:37), Steven Wright (24th, 17:23), Dayne Ellis (26th, 17:29), Tyler Jenkins (32nd, 17:51) and Mher Matevosyan (36th, 18:07). All seven of Burbank’s runners are underclassmen.


Burroughs was led by the duo of Robert McGraham and Carlos Ponce. McGraham finished 18th in 16:52. Ponce was 19th, also in 16:52. Trevor Villagran was 20th in 16:55. Jimmy Nealis was 23rd (17:12), Johnny Padungyothee (30th, 17:38), Peter Lainson (33rd 18:00) and Logan Berger (39th, 18:30).

Burbank Girls Cross Country Wins Again

Leave a reply

A season after finishing fourth in league, there wasn’t much hoopla over the Burbank High girls’ cross country team heading into this season.
But the Bulldogs showed once again Thursday afternoon that times have changed and that they are for real.
The Bulldogs won their second consecutive Pacific League meet, topping second-place Burroughs, 36-59 at Arcadia County Park.
For decades the league has been dominated by Arcadia and Crescenta Valley.
“We talk a lot about what it means to win. It comes down to hard work. They made the commitment to do it this summer,” Burbank coach Kathryn Nelson said of her team. “They took the Verdugos and ran every piece of the Verdugos that they could run.”

Burbank, which is ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, was led by senior Shalom Mejia. She finished third overall, covering the flat three-mile course in 18 minutes, 5 seconds.
She was followed by teammates Sol Fernandez (fourth, 18:12), McKynzee Kelley (seventh, 18:33), Jamie Levin (ninth, 18:35), Lydia Forsyth (13th, 18:45), Megan LaCamera (15th, 18:58) and Natalie Danao (17th, 19:01).
Burroughs was led by freshman Sophia Navarro, who was sixth in 18:19. Ceci Whitney (eighth, 18:35), Jordan Guzman (11th, 18:42), Lakely Nealis (14th, 18:53), Julianna Navarro (20th, 19:19), Patrycija Maciak (23rd, 19:23) and Kiara Cruz (26th, 19:56) round out the Indians, who narrowly beat out Crescenta Valley for second place by just one point.
In the boys’ varsity competition, Burbank finished third with 77 points and Burroughs was fourth with 97. Crescenta Valley won with 36 points.
Burroughs Raymond Berrellez finished third overall in 14:54.
Burbank sophomore Andres Leon led the Bulldogs by taking fifth in 15:00.
“We’re just trying to do better than we did before,” Leon said. “A lot of us have been sick so we haven’t been performing at our best.”

Also for Burbank were Dayne Ellis (16th, 15:38), Victor Goli (17th, 15:39), Tadeh Shanazari (19th, 15:47), Anthony Chiaravalle (20th, 15:49), Steven Wright (28th, 16:24) and Jahir Olvera (30th, 16:30).
Following Barrellez for Burroughs were Carlos Ponce (21st, 15:49), Robert McGraham (23rd, 15:52), Trevor Villagran (24th, 16:02), Johnny Padungyothee (26th, 16:14), Logan Berger (32nd, 16:33) and Patrick Suarez (38th, 17:15).
“The girls ran pretty solidly today,” Burroughs coach John Peebles said. “On the boys side Raymond ran a really good race. We’re still trying to pack with our two through six.”

Burbank Girls Cross Country Comes Up With Big Win

Leave a reply

One could go on and on about the accolades Burbank High boys’ distance runners have achieved over the years.
Thursday afternoon, it was Burbank’s girls’ team that showed it can achieve fine results as well.
The Bulldogs won the first Pacific League Meet at Crescenta Valley Park and was followed in second by Burroughs. The Bulldogs scored 34 points. Burroughs scored 52. Crescenta Valley was third with 60 and Arcadia was fourth with 79.
Burbank’s boys’ team finished third and Burroughs was fourth.
“We said if our coach says we can do it, then we can do it,” said Shalom Mejia, the top runner on the Burbank girls’ team. “I’m excited to see what we can do for the other league meets.”
The win for Burbank in taking a league meet is believed to be the first in more than 25 years, back when teams would compete in dual meets.

Mejia finished third overall, covering the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 41 seconds.
Also for Burbank were Natalie Danao (fourth, 19:47), Sol Fernandez (sixth, 19:54), Megan LaCamera (10th, 20:00), Mckynzee Kelley (11th, 20:10), Jamie Levin (14th, 20:20) and Lydia Forsyth (16th, 20:31).
Burroughs, which was hit hard due to graduation, ran very well with a young group.
Freshman Sophia Navarro finished fifth overall in 19:53. Also for the Indians, Jordan Guzman (eighth, 19:55), Ceci Whitney (ninth, 19:57), Julianna Navarro (13th, 20:18), Lakely Nealis (17th, 20:36), Vanessa Reveles (21st, 20:57), Samantha Hoxsie (33rd, 23:59).

The boys’ race was won by Crescenta Valley with 34 points. Arcadia was second with 40. Burbank was third with 76 and Burroughs fourth with 86 points.
Burroughs Raymond Berrellez finished third overall in 15:53.
Burbank, which has just one senior, was led by sophomore Andres Leon, who took ninth in 16:16.
Also for the Bulldogs were Anthony Chiaravalle (13th, 16:31), Tadeh Shanazari (15th, 16:35), Dayne Ellis (16th, 16:38), Victor Goli (23rd, 17:13), Steven Wright (26th, 17:28) and Jahir Olvera (27th, 17:29).
Also for Burroughs were Carlos Ponce (14th, 16:32), Robert McGraham (17th, 16:38), Johnny Padungyothee (24th, 17:15), Logan Berger (28th, 17:32), Joseph Aguayo (37th, 18:41) and Peter Lainson (38th, 18:44).
“It was my first race of the season, so I was just testing myself out today,” Berrellez said. “I’m trying to have a long season.”

Burbank Sharp in First Jeff Nelson Invitational

Leave a reply

It took nearly 40 years after Jeff Nelson left his footprint at Burbank High as arguably the greatest American high school distance runner ever to have a race named in his honor.

Saturday, Nelson as well as his high school coaches, Dave Kemp and Frank Kallem were on hand for the first Jeff Nelson Cross Country Invitational on a newly created 3-mile course at Griffith Park.

The host Bulldogs didn’t disappoint in front of Nelson, who is close to the program since his wife, Kathryn, is one of the Bulldogs’ coaches.

Burbank High’s Victor Goli at the finish line.

“Jeff is super close to us, so to have a meet hosted in his name and for us to do that well in our first impression for the season, I feel it is a great start for us to get motivated. Our main goal this year is to get a league title and then move up to postseason stuff,” Burbank’s top runner, Victor Goli, said.

Burbank finished second in both the boys and girls competitions, losing only to former Foothill League rival Saugus. Saugus has been one of the top programs in California over the past decade.

Saugus won with a score of 25 points. Burbank was second with 36 points. Burroughs, which kept its elite frosh-soph runners down in a race of that grade level, finished 6th with 147.

Jacob Kaufmann of Saugus won the race in 16 minutes, 3 seconds. Goli was second in 16:16.

Jeff Nelson (middle) with his high school coaches, Dave Kemp, left, and Frank Kallem, right.

Burbank sophomore Andres Leon was fifth in 16:20. Juniors Tadeh Shanazari (eighth, 16:42), Dayne Ellis (14th, 17:04) and Anthony Chiaravalle (16th, 17:09) round out the top five. Senior Jahir Olvera was 20th in 17:22 and junior Steven Wright (30th, 17:45).

Burroughs was led by senior Carlos Ponce (19th, 17:13). He was followed by juniors Robert McGraham (26th, 17:41) and Logan Berger (29th, 17:46). Seniors Patrick Suarez (54th, 18:59) and Peter Lainson (61st, 19:10) round out the top five for the Indians.

The girls’ varsity race was won by Mia Barnett of Village Christian in 19:12. Saugus won the team competition with 33 points. Burbank was second with 64. Burroughs did not field a full team as many top runners ran in the lower level divisions.

Burbank senior Shalom Mejia was second in 19:44.

“It is amazing how the invitational was named after Jeff Nelson and he is really inspirational to all of us. I’m glad we were able to have our own invitational here,” Mejia said. “I personally like this course. When I was racing I knew when to speed up, when to slow down.”

Also for Burbank were junior Sol Fernandez (13th, 20:17), sophomore Noela Kim (18th, 20:56), senior Natalie Danao (20th, 20:58), sophomore Mckynzee Kelley (21st, 21:00), senior Jamie Levin (22nd, 21:02), sophomores Megan LaCamera (24th, 21:16) and Elin Markarian (25th, 21:20).

Burroughs was led by junior Ceci Whitney (11th, 20:15). Seniors Julianna Navarro (17th, 20:49) and Lakely Nealis (30th, 21:58) were also impressive.

Burroughs showed it is still very strong by its performance  in the frosh-soph boys’ race with sophomore Jimmy Nealis taking second (17:49).

Freshmen Jalen Leighton (third, 17:49) and Mason Ortega (fourth, 17:50) were right behind. Xander Penaflor, another freshman, was ninth in 18:22. Tyler Jenkins (10th, 18:23) was Burbank’s top runner in the race.

In the frosh-soph girls’ race, Burroughs was led by freshman Sophia Navarro (third, 21:31). Alongside her in fourth (21:31) was sophomore Jordan Guzman.

Burbank sophomore Gabrianna Bass was fifth (21:31), and fellow Bulldog sophomore Zoe Zeron was seventh (21:23).

Full meet results can be seen at finishedresults.com

 

 

Burroughs, Burbank Track Ready for Start

Leave a reply

The local track and field scene should be quite interesting this year as Burroughs High returns a number of veterans with vast experience whereas Burbank High has a group of young athletes who appear to be extremely talented.

Burroughs

The Indians have lost their top returner in Master’s Meet pole vault qualifier Christian Valles, who transferred to Canyon High in Santa Clarita.

But the Indians have a pair of seniors with the ability to make long postseason runs in senior distance runners Jagdeep Chahal and Alexander Hirsch.

Photo By: Edaward Tovmassian

Seniors David Lennstrom and Aashwin Roy are the top returning sprinters. Sophomore Caleb Black is a threat to be a new top talent in the 400.

Sophomore Ryan Thomas should lead the way in the jumping events.

Seniors Grant Housley and Sarkis Tatarian will lead the way in the throwing events.

“We have a smaller coaching staff this year so we also decided a smaller team as well,” Burroughs coach John Peebles said. “We definitely have some talent, so it will be exciting who takes the most advantage of their opportunities through hard work.”

For the girls’ side, senior distance runner Emily Virtue returns and should challenge to be one of the top runners in the CIF.

Senior Catrina Villalpando, who came off a fine soccer season, is one to look out for in the 800.

Senior pole vaulters Alex Akobian and Elizabeth Switzer have already both cleared 10 feet, 10 inches in the early season.

Senior Kate Jones as well as juniors Jada Reese and Valerie Reveles should lead the group of sprinters.

Junior Priscilla Murillo is the top returning thrower.

Burbank

The Bulldogs have been blessed on the girls’ team by the addition of freshman sensation Jayla Flowers, who competed at the Junior Olympics last summer and is nationally ranked in both the long and triple jumps. She will also compete in the sprints and on relays.

Junior Paula Jaramillo and Isabel Partida should lead the group of sprinters. Junior Alissa Petrosyan and sophomore Amira Ottoson give the Bulldogs some talented in the hurdle events.

Freshman Tamryn Betts is a multi-talented athlete who can run the sprints and hurdle events, as well as relays and field events.

The distance running group is led by sophomore Sol Fernandez, junior Jamie Levin and senior Noemi Apreza.

In the jumping events, the Bulldogs will rely on junior Andrea Castresana. Sophomores Kim Ramirez and Bella Lamanna Stevens will lead the way in the throwing events.

“We have a pretty good combination of experience and ability this year,” coach Darin Wolf said.  “It should be an exciting year to see what they can do.”

Photo By: Edaward Tovmassian

For the Burbank boys’ team, senior Sergio Aguilar leads the way as the defending league champion in the 110 hurdles.

Senior Nathanael Ehmann and junior Chris Stanis should provide support in the hurdle events.

Junior Oladele Hospidales and sophomores Cole Le’au and Bryan David should lead the way in the sprint events.

The boys’ distance runners are young and talented, led by junior Jahir Olvera and sophomores Victor Goli and Dayne Ellis.

In the field events, Burbank will rely on the help of juniors  Zion Chavez, Erik Harutyunyan, and Sam Vaseghyzand in the jumping events. Senior Chris Aslo and sophomore James Smyth are expected to lead the group of throwers.