2011 began just as Mountain Pass league play kicked off for winter season sports.

Boys' basketball in the valley did not fare extremely well last year. While San Jacinto was able to fi nish second to Citrus Hill of Perris in Mountain Pass play with a fi nal league record of 8-2, the other three teams in the valley rounded out the bottom three league positions.

The 2011-12 season is starting off differently for valley schools.

A young, talented Tahquitz basketball team seems to be showing some promise. They have started out the year 7-2 and have a very deep team, said head coach Brad Smith.

West Valley also started off with a winning record. The team is 5-3 for the season and head coach Mike Frazier said he is depending on his team's aggressive defense to win games when league begins.

"League is going to be very competitive," Frazier said. "Right now, anybody could win it."

Hemet is 4-6 and San Jacinto has struggled a bit, opening the season with only two wins and nine losses.

Mountain Pass league play begins Jan. 10. Tahquitz will open league at San Jacinto High School and Hemet will travel to West Valley.

Girls basketball teams also struggled in the 2010-11 season. West Valley was able to earn a second place league fi nish with a 7-3 record, but Tahquitz and Hemet were only able to win one league game each. San Jacinto fi nished the season at .500 with a 5-5 record.

This season, West Valley is leading the way for the Mountain Pass. They are sitting on a 6-2 record followed by San Jacinto at 4-6 and Hemet at 3-5. Tahquitz has yet to earn a mark in the win column.

"I think we have a fair shot in league this year," said Hemet head coach Andrea Ranney. "It is pretty up in the air right now."

Mt. San Jacinto College mens' basketball made it to the regional tournament last year and fi nished in the fi nal four in Southern California.

"I think we have enough talent to make it just as far in state this season," said head coach Patrick Springer. "We are just as good, if not better."

Girls' soccer made a mark last year as Hemet made it to the semifi nals before falling to the San Dimas High Saints. The Bulldogs were undefeated in Mountain Pass play, tying only once to runner-up Tahquitz High School.

From the successful Hemet team was standout Sarah Hopper who earned a scholarship to the University of Alabama- Birmingham.

The soccer star, who said she wanted to play outside of California, started on varsity soccer as a freshmen. She enrolled at the Division I school in the fall.

"College comes faster than you think," Hopper said. "You have to love the sport and, if you don't love it, don't plan on playing it in college."

Both Tahquitz soccer teams, boys and girls, made a CIF run. Before taking out Hemet, San Dimas was able to beat Tahquitz girls in the quarterfi nal round.

While San Jacinto boys' soccer won the Mountain Pass league, it was the Tahquitz boys who made a playoff run before falling to Crossroad High School in the quarterfi nals.

Starting off this season, Tahquitz is the only boys' soccer team in the valley with a winning record at 5-3. However, girls' soccer has started off strong at both Hemet and San Jacinto. Hemet is 6-1 in the early goings with much credit to senior standout Rosie Robinson. San Jacinto has started the year at 10-3 with help from Patricia Roach and Leola Cooper.

Other winter sports include girls' water polo, in which Hemet is leading other league teams with a 5-3 record, and wrestling.

San Jacinto is known for its successful wrestling program and hopes to make a consecutive berth into the playoffs this season.

Spring sports took off in February of 2011 and Mountain Pass baseball was fi erce in the valley. Hemet and Tahquitz battled for a fi rst-place fi nish throughout the season and ended up sharing the league title after Tahquitz defeated Hemet in their second head-to-head matchup. West Valley came in third.

Hemet fell in the quarterfi nal round of playoffs to Serra High School, while Tahquitz lost in the second round to Cathedral High School.

"This was a special group," said Tahquitz head coach Ron Savage. "After spending four years of your life with them, you get a sense of fatherhood. I couldn't have asked for a better group. I'm proud of every one of them."

In softball, Hemet and West Valley tied for second with a 9-6 record. Hemet went all the way to the quarterfi nals before falling to La Canada, while West Valley fell in the fi rst round of CIF to South El Monte.

Athletes of the year were chosen by school athletic directors during the fi nal weeks of the school year in late May of 2011.

From Baptist Christian was volleyball, basketball, and softball star Jenna Haringa and basketball, volleyball, and baseball athlete Caleb Anderson.

Baseball standout Nicholas Bruno, who earned a scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was chosen for Hemet High School along with volleyball player Hayleigh Freimoth. Freimoth earned a scholarship to Grand Canyon University where she played this fall. She was named the Division 4A CIF Player of the Year after Hemet High School won their fi rst CIF girls championship in 2010.

From Noli Indian School, football and basketball playing freshman Sadiq Kabeer was picked, as was volleyball, basketball, and softball player Susan Boggs.

From San Jacinto High School, fi rst-team all Mountain Pass league softball player Sabrina Schouten was chosen as athlete of the year. Schouten also played volleyball for the school. She earned a softball scholarship to West Virginia State University. Football, basketball, and track star Anthony Collins was also nominated from the school.

Tahquitz High School named golf, water polo, and swimming sensation Barbara Krach and baseball player Zane Tanguay. Tanguay was named to the allleague team for two years.

Softball and basketball player Vanessa Cordova was picked from West Valley, as was basketball, football, and volleyball phenom Daniel Graves. Graves earned the Hemet Unifi ed School District athlete of the year and was a started on all three of his varsity teams.

Graves was also chosen as The Valley Chronicle's athlete of the year along with Friemoth from Hemet High.

New coaches abounded at high schools in the valley in the fall of 2011.

Tahquitz high school hired on Dennis Gregovich early last year to coach their football team. The school, who had three head coaches before Gregovich since they opened in 2007, cited his strong morals and ability to be a positive role model as the reason for his hire. His dedication to the team was also an important asset.

"I intend to stick around for the long haul," Gregovich said at a preseason practice. "I want these guys to know I believe in them and plan on sticking around for seasons to come."

Another new football coach in the valley was Jeff Reitz at Hemet High School. Reitz came in with plans to lay the foundation for the future success of Hemet football, a reminder printed on the back of each player's helmet.

Whether or not that foundation has been laid is yet to be determined, but the Bulldogs did improve their record to 3-7 from 1-9 in 2010.

"I am extremely proud of these kids," Reitz said. "They are only going to get better."

While Tahquitz and Hemet rounded out the bottom of the Mountain Pass League, both West Valley and San Jacinto made the postseason. They came in second and third respectively in league to fi rst-place Citrus Hill.

Both teams fell in the fi rst round of CIF playoffs. San Jacinto lost to Kaiser High of Fontana and West Valley fell to Elsinore High School.

MSJC football was just short of its early season goal of making a postseason bowl game. The Eagles posted the same record as least season, fi nishing 4-1 in Mountain Conference play.

Seven Eagles were names to the fi rst team all-conference roster including Perris Scoggins, Jamie Lucio, Emanuel Hamilton, Brian Malone, Nigel Barksdale, Anthony Gordon, and Kenny Bell.

Valley volleyball also got a coaching overhaul. San Jacinto and West Valley got back previous coaches in Larry Graham and Greg Freistad. Tahquitz hired on former Hemet freshman coach Molly Otis.

While Tahquitz struggled the entire season and were only able to win one game in league, West Valley and San Jacinto battled for the second place position to undefeated Hemet.

Hemet, who won the CIF Division 4A championship in 2010, dominated opposition this season. They then cruised through postseason play, struggling only in the quarterfi nals when they went fi ve sets with a much improved Bellarmine Jefferson High School.

In the finals, Hemet made a repeat look easy with a dominant win over Connelly of Anaheim.

"The effort that the team made throughout the season to get here is tremendous," said head coach Jewel Robinson, who won Division 4A coach of the year for the second year this season. "They worked so hard to get this win. I do think that the win is a bit more signifi cant than last year in that sense. Last year was special because it was our fi rst win and the school's fi rst girls' championship. This year it's special because the girls had to work so hard and nobody thought that they would ever be where they are at."

Sophomore setter Tristan Self won Division 4A player of the year while senior libero Rosie Robinson took home fi rst team all-CIF honors.

(Huh?)"T (Self) goes out there and works hard every time she steps on the court," Robinson said. "I'm very proud of her."

Hemet boys' water polo also had a strong season. They fi nished second in Mountain Pass play and made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they fell in the fi rst round.

Goalie Mason Rafferty made history with his 412 saves this season, the highest in Hemet High polo history and in the top fi ve for Riverside County.

MSJC women's golfers performed well in state competition, particularly sophomore co-captain and international student Tina Yang. Yang shot an even par 72, which would have won her a fi rst place fi nish in the California Community College Association State Tournament, but a scorecard error made by a Northern California Golf Association representative, led to Yang's disqualifi catin.

Mountain Pass league play kicks off for winter sports in early January. Valley coaches expect Mountain Pass competition to be close this season - and therefore heated.