The North Gym updates CIF banners
As two new basketball and wrestling California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) banners are placed in the North Gym, memories of history and glory are brought back. A variety of different sports, names and years lay upon a wall and all hold their own history and accomplishments. All symbolize one thing: Samo.Each year a Samo athletic team advances and wins CIF finals, and the banner for that respective sport has another year added on to the banners with records previously set.To some, the banners may bring up a feeling of intimidation when they step foot in the North Gym and stare at all the CIF athletic achievements that Samo athletics has made. For the Vikings, however, the banners represent a sense of pride and determination to accomplish the same goals that their predecessors did.“Personally, whenever I stepped into the gym, whether it was getting ready for volleyball practice or getting ready for a game, the banners always served as a constant reminder to perform the best that I could on and off the court so that one day, my year would be hanging up in the gym,” volleyball player Mary Guirgus ('14) said.Dedication and talent have been some of the key factors that have led to Samo’s athletic success, as almost every sport team holds a CIF title. From holding two soccer CIF championships, two CIF back-to-back wrestling titles, three basketball titles, five volleyball titles and 10 CIF titles in boys' tennis, Samo has accomplished a lot in the athletics department in years past.As of last year Samo is also the most recent CIF Southern boys' basketball Division 1 champion. Last year the boys' basketball team represented the Viking name throughout its whole journey, as it went 8-1 in league and concluded the season with an overall record of 29-7. The team surpassed the power of the 2013 CIF banner by making it all the way to CIF State finals."When we won CIF I felt relieved that all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears meant something," basketball player Ray Mancini ('14) said. "We did for the team, the school and for the city. Our whole history is explained in that banner."That same year, Samo also brought back another banner for wrestling. Jessica Walker ('13) was able to repeat her glory as she finished her senior year with two time back-to-back CIF and State Championship records."Winning State and regionals will forever be one of my greatest accomplishment through my high school career," Walker said." These banners represent my hard work and perseverance throughout my years of wrestling. As well as those who helped me through my process of becoming a champion."Multiple accomplishments, years and stories are held in these banners. Although they hold several different meanings to many, the banners all serve to represent the Viking body as a whole and the city in which we play for. The banners are just a piece of the pages in our book of athletic accomplishments that still hold several different stories to be inscribed in.dperdomo@thesamohi.com