March 14th sports update

Softball – Lissette Martinez

Record: 2-7

Results: 

Feb. 16, vs. La Canada, W, 9-8

Feb. 17, vs. Workman, W, 14-4

Feb. 22, at Pioneer, L, 4-2

Feb. 24, vs. Alhambra, L, 20-3

Feb. 26 at Duarte, L, 10-1

Feb. 26 vs. Rowland Heights, L,10-0

Mar. 5 vs. San Marino, L, 17-3

Mar. 8 vs. San Gabriel, L, 9-7

Mar. 10 at Azusa, L, 13-2

Interesting Fact:

Freshman Leanna Ramirez was the winning pitcher against Workman on February 17.

Baseball – Jose Flores

Record: 1-6

Feb. 12, vs. South Pasadena, L, 5-0

Feb.17, vs. Bosco Tech, L, 12-4

Feb.19, vs. Avalon, L, 5-4

Feb.22, vs. La Canada, L, 8-7

Feb.26, vs. Monrovia, L, 14-1

Mar.1, vs. Wilson, W, 4-3

Mar.9, vs Sierra Vista, L, 16–6

Mar.11, vs South Gate, W, 5-4

Interesting Fact: 

Jeremy Martinez was the winning pitcher against Wilson on March 1.

Boys Tennis – Junior Duran and Adrian Vega

Mar. 8,  vs. North View, W, 16-2

Interesting Fact: Wesley To won 2 out of 3 matches. 

Track & Field – Sibyl Soto

Feb 19, at Ontario HS (Ontario Relays) 

Elizabeth Castillo placed 8th in the 100 meters with a time of 14.19 seconds.

Mar. 4-5, at California HS (Condor Invitational) 

Elizabeth Castillo placed sixth in the 100 meters with a season-best time of 13.90 seconds.

Xavier Spann had a personal record finish in the 100 meters with a time of 12.91 seconds. Jared Gonzalez also had a personal record finish in the same race at 13.3 seconds.

Rafael Puente had a personal record finish in the 400 meters with a time of 60.91 seconds.

Interesting Fact:  Xavier had the lead pace

Varsity Sports Update: Winter Sports final

This recap covers the Winter ’22 seasons. We will post our first Spring ’22 update in March.

Basketball

Boys record:

Results: Overall: 11-15 League: 7-5

Dec. 9, at Bosco Tech, L, 48-44

Dec. 11, at Sierra Vista, L, 56-37

Dec.13, vs El Monte, W, 50-41 

Dec.15, vs Rosemead. W, 61-37

Dec.20, vs Diamond Bar, L, 82-27

Dec.21, at Silverado, L, 80-38

Dec.22, at Central City Value, W, 80-79

Dec. 23, vs Kaiser, L, 71-56

Jan. 7, at Arroyo, W, 65-61

Jan.12, at Gaberlino, L, 62-52

Jan.13, at Arroyo, W, 65-61 

Jan.14, at Marshall, L, 70 – 68 ( League)

Jan.18, at South El Monte, W, 52-32

Jan.19. at El Monte, L, 52-50

Jan.21, at Rosemead, W, 62-40

Jan.24, at South El Monte, L, 73-63

Jan. 28, vs Arroyo, W, 47 – 26

Feb. 2, vs Gabrielino, L, 49-38

Feb. 4, vs Marshall, W, 68-61

CIF Wild Card Round: Feb.11 vs Santa Ana, L, 75-59

That’s Interesting:  This year’s varsity roster featured 5 seniors.

Girls Record: Overall: 5-11  League: 1-11

Results:

Dec. 13 vs El Monte, L, 53 – 23

Dec. 15 vs Rosemead, L, 62-22

Jan. 3 vs South El Monte, L, 44-12

Jan. 7 at Arroyo, L, 44-16

Jan. 12 vs Gabrielino, L, 53 -8

Jan. 14 at Marshall, W, Forfeit

Jan. 19 at El Monte, L, 27 – 25

Jan. 21 at Rosemead, L, 54 – 20

Jan. 24 at South El Monte, L, 58 – 15

Jan. 28 vs Arroyo, L, 44 – 28

Feb. 2 vs Gabrielino, L, 66 – 15

Feb. 4 vs Marshall, L, 44 -30

That’s Interesting: Evelyn Hernandez (’22) averaged 17.3 points per game.

Soccer

Boys’ Record: Overall: 14-8-4 League: 8-4-2

Results:  

Dec. 15 at El Monte, W, 3-2

Dec. 16 at Rosemead, T, 2-2

Dec. 29 vs. Monrovia, W, 5-1

Jan. 3 at South El Monte, W, 7-0

Jan. 7 vs. Arroyo, T, 1-1

Jan. 11 vs. Gabrielino, W, 4-0

Jan. 13 vs. Marshall, L, 5-2

Jan. 18 vs. El Monte, W, 4-0

Jan. 20 vs. Rosemead, W, 3-0

Jan. 24 vs. South El Monte, W, 4-1

Jan. 28 at Arroyo, L, 3-2

Feb. 1 at Gabrielino, W, 3-2

Feb. 3 at Marshall, L, 3-2

CIF round: Feb. 9 vs. Redlands East Valley, L, 2-1

That’s Interesting: Senior goalkeeper Cesar Pina broke his knee last season and was unable to play. This season he sprained his ankles and despite the injury, he continued to play. He said, “It was difficult in the beginning. It was hard to get used to an ankle that doesn’t work the same way it used to, but with the help of the trainer, I was able to play.”

Girls Record:  Overall: 5-13 League: 3-10

Results:

Dec. 14 vs. El Monte, L, 2-0

Dec. 16 vs Rosemead, W, 3-1

Jan. 3 vs. South El Monte, L, 2-1

Jan. 7 at Arroyo, L, 3-0

Jan. 11 at Gabrielino, L, 9-0

Jan. 13 at Marshall, L, 10-1 

Jan. 20 at Rosemead, W, 2-1

Jan. 21 at El Monte, W, 1-0

Jan. 24 at South El Monte, L, 1-0

Jan. 28 vs Arroyo, L, 4-2

Feb. 01 vs Gabrielino, L, 5-0

Feb. 03 vs Marshall, L, 5-0

That’s Interesting: Coach Carlos Rivera was moved up to girls varsity soccer coach and is currently coaching both varsity and JV teams.

Wrestling

15 Vikings qualified for the CIF tournament on February 11. Additionally, the following wrestlers placed at the CIF tournament:

Boys: Raymond Flores (2nd place), Bryan Quintero (3rd place), Leonel Nava (4th place), Fernando Mendez (4th place)

Girls: Samantha Diaz (1st place), Brenda Pineda (1st place), Jocelyn Camarena (1st place), Vivian McMahon (3rd place), Emma Michel (3rd place), Natalie Cisneros (3rd place), Genesis Ceja (4th place)

Mariana Barboza, Destiny Flores, Jose Flores, Marytere Flores, Noemi Linares, Lissette Martinez, Irene Sanchez all contributed to this report.

Viking Scroll Issue 1 (2021-22)

Our first in-print issue since February 2020! Copies will be distributed during 5th period on November 19. After that, you can get a copy from Mr. Weller in Room 248.

Please note: On page 1, the Scroll wrote “When students or staff receive a positive COVID-19 test, the school performs contract tracing by evaluating all staff and students who had close con-
tact…Staff then determine if the students will be sent home, or if they can stay on campus depending
on their vaccination status and symptoms.”

To clarify, in the last sentence, “students” refers to students who had close contact with another person who tested positive for COVID. Students or staff who receive a positive COVID diagnosis are required to self-isolate according to Los Angeles County protocols and are not allowed to return to campus until at least 10 days have passed.

The Scroll regrets this lack of clarity and will run a correction for the record in Issue 2.

ASb officers in-brief

Destiny Flores, contributor, contribution by Metztli Hernandez, page editor

Though the campus is closed due to the pandemic, the MVHS ASB continues to meet virtually with its new cabinet.

Arlene Hernadez (‘21), the current ASB president, was voted in on June 10. Hernandez said, “I am happy to be president because I was super shy before and never thought I would do something like this. Unfortunately, I can not do everything that I had planned for this school year, as I was looking forward to achieving a lot for our school.”

Julieth Cardona was elected as the ASB vice president on June 10. Julieth (‘21) said, “With everything going on due to the corona virus and distance learning I believe ASB has helped me still include a sense of normality. Sure it’s not the same but it’s still nice to plan things for the school as always.” 

 On September 12, Frankie Robles became the ASB President and Diego Gonzalez became the Vice President of the freshman class.

Robles said, “I hope to make the school better, help out with everything, and to make sure to listen to everyone’s ideas.” 

Gonzalez said, “I want to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to do something new and get an amazing experience out of it.” 

This new leadership hosted a spirit week through instagram from August 24-28. They had many polls like debates between movies and other fun activities. The ASB leadership also interacted with students by reposting many of their costumes and makeup posts submitted.

The rest of the ASB cabinet are 

  • ASB Secretary Fabiola Cruz
  • ASB Treasurer Manuel Andrade
  • Senior President Alexandra Nery 
  • Senior Vice President Leilani Perez
  • Junior President  Jesse Arias 
  • Junior Vice President Isabel Fernandez
  • Sophomore President Anisa Robles
  • Sophomore Vice President Mariana Barboza

College Corner

Contributions from Aaron Phung and Anisa Robles

Hey Vikings! It’s college time. In this article, we’ll go over some of the different college applications.

For all of your applications, you will need to fill out quite a bit of information. Since a lot of these questions on the application require information about your parents, you’ll want to ask your parents to help you out with applying. You’ll need your transcript, and of course, you will need to complete all required A-G courses by the time you graduate high school. Colleges also have fees for submitting applications, however many offer waivers for lower-income students. You’ll also need test scores for the SAT or ACT; however this year, due to the unprecedented pandemic, colleges have temporarily dropped their requirement for test scores (although you can still submit test scores if you took the exams) for the 2021 graduating class. Students who have taken AP tests will also want to submit their AP test scores.

The UC application filing period for fall classes will start on November 1st, and the deadline to turn in applications is November 30th. When you fill out a UC application, you’ll need to select the UC colleges that you want to apply to, instead of having to apply to each school. For the application, you’re going to have to answer 4 out of 8 personal insight questions, with a maximum of 350 words for each question. These questions cover a wide range of personal subjects about your personal life. Often, these questions can make your application, as it is one of the ways to make yourself stand out above the rest of the other applicants.

For the CSU applications, the application filing period started on October 1st, and the deadline is December 4th. Like the UC application, you will select which colleges you wish to apply to on the application website. Like the UC application, there are personal questions that the application will ask you. As of writing, the application for fall 2021 students has not opened yet.

For most colleges that aren’t UC’s or CSU’s, you will most likely fill out a Common App application, which is a general application that most private colleges use. Deadlines will vary from college to college, so make sure you find out the deadline for the college(s) you’re applying to. Like the previous applications mentioned earlier, you’ll fill out some information about you, your parents, your household, etc. However, depending on which college you plan to attend, additional requirements may be present, such as certain personal essays or teacher recommendations.

For more info, visit the MVHS College & Career website: https://sites.google.com/emuhsd.org/collegecareer/12th-grade

Alumni Profile: Sandra Rodriguez, class of 2009

Sabrina Villalobos, Staff Reporter

Contributions by Natalie Gastelum, digital editor

Sandra Rodriguez, an MVHS alum from the class of 2009, visited the Journalism virtual classroom as a guest speaker on September 28. Rodriguez talked about the struggles of balancing her personal life and being a student mom. With her experiences, she reminded us that even through difficult times, we need to be kind to ourselves as we do our best. 

When Rodriguez was a student at MVHS, she was a part of the Viking Scroll as a photographer and writer. She recalls having great teachers and ROP programs when she was a student at MVHS. 

Rodriguez became a mom to her first child, Odin, at the age of 16. After graduating from MVHS, she took two years off to work. Later, she attended Pasadena City College.

After Rodriguez graduated from Pasadena City College, she committed to Cal State Northridge (CSUN). She wanted to attend school that was close to home and study mental health.  

She loved CSUN’s strong Psychology program, campus, and the many opportunities that were offered to her. Rodriguez was involved in the Blues Project, a volunteer program that promotes awareness and education about mental health. Rodriguez was inspired to join from having kids – her second child, Irissa, is now 5 – and how being a student mom has affected her mental health.

Rodriguez was able to use the writing and critical thinking skills that she learned in Journalism at CSUN for studying her psychology major. “Much of what is taught in the field of psychology alongside the social and behavioral sciences, is to think holistically and take in many different perspectives and populations other than our own,” said Rodriguez. She explains that it was easier for her to analyze concepts from an unbiased perspective from what Journalism taught her.  

She graduated from CSUN with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology in 2020 and is now involved in mental health outreach.

Rodriguez believes that attending a CSUN was a better choice for her than a UC. It was much more affordable for her and classes were smaller. 

Being a student mom, she found ways to take care of her mental health. Rodriguez advised current Vikings to be honest with yourself and create goals.  

She was able to overcome the struggles of balancing being a mother and a student. She strategized an hourly study schedule that included time for breaks and time with her kids as well.

Her advice to students who want to continue their education is to try not to be caught up in expectations. Rodriguez said, “It’s okay to go at your own pace and do what feels right for you at a pace that feels right. That being said, if you find yourself being the first in your family or social circle taking on this challenge like many of us first-generation students have, don’t be afraid to be the pioneer for your family.”

Sandra Rodriguez celebrates her 2018 graduation from Pasadena City College with her son, Odin, and her daughter, Irissa. Photo courtesy of Sandra Rodriguez.
Sandra Rodriguez celebrates her graduation from Mountain View in 2009 with her son Odin. Photo courtesy of Sandra Rodriguez.

Pets relieve stress

Metztil Hernandez, page editor

During these critical times, many of us might be feeling stressed or down. One of many solutions can be in your back yard or home: a four-legged friend.

Two studies done by Elizabeth Scott, MS, and an article from a monthly newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have shown that animals can help improve your mood and relieve unwanted stress. Scott’s research also shows that spending time with animals also lowers blood pressure.

Last fall semester, PREP held a Puppy Therapy Event before finals. They also conducted a survey after the event. Their survey showed students had enjoyed the event. It also showed students felt much more relieved after the first 10 minutes of the event.

Vikings Alexandra Ramos and Anabell Flores shared photos of their four-legged friends with us.

“Charlie is a boy. He is 6 months old and he has this favorite toy mouse. He plays with it all day long, running back and forth.”
Alexandra Ramos (’21)
Anabell Flores (’22) shared this photo of her dog Smokey.