inventory_2 Archive: Fall 2010 - Spring 2014
Softball season ends in first round of CIF
Samo's softball team ended its season in the first round of CIF, with a loss to Loara.
Boys' Volleyball wins CIF championship
The number one seeded Samo Vikings took the CIF Division IV championship in four games: 22-25, 28-26, 25-21 and 25-23 on May 21st at Cypress College against San Gabriel High School.
Volleyball beats Beverly for the third time this season
Index fingers pointed up to the vaulted ceiling, fans rose to cheer on the boys' volleyball team at their last game before playoffs, as they awaited the twenty fifth point in each match. The Vikings won in three matches, beating rival Beverly for the third time this season, 25-12, 25-22, 25-16.
Remembering a legend: Elizabeth Taylor (1932 – 2011)
There were fewer actresses that embodied Hollywood more than Elizabeth Taylor. She had the beauty of Scarlett Johansson and the dramatic screen presence of Meryl Streep; before there was Brad and Angelina, there was Dickie and Liz. Sadly, on March 23, one of the last remaining stars from the golden era of cinema left us — and boy, what a legacy she left behind.
Prom? The musical proposal that swept the nation
Despite or perhaps because of the minimal preparation involved, the video has been viewed over 250,000 times on YouTube since it was posted on March 27. Cohen, Pitts and his four backup singers were featured on “Good Morning America” and “Inside Edition,” and appeared on the front page of such websites as CNN, AOL and Yahoo. The video has also been tweeted by several celebrities, including one “tweet” that Pitts believes to be the catalyst to the success of the video by long-standing American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.
Samo softball bounces back after rough start
Last year’s CIF-winning softball team set the bar high for this year’s team. Although this year’s team consists of hardworking girls dedicated to improving their game, their opponents have been working diligently as well: Samo’s team currently holds a 3-8 record.
Golf encounters trouble against Beverly Hills, stiffer competition to come
Despite the stunning lack of experience, the team is starting the second half of its season with a 4-1 league record.
Tennis defeats Beverly Hills, has high expectations for CIF
An April 4 win against Loyola left boys’ tennis with a 5-2 season record and high hopes of more victories to come.
Samo boys' volleyball sets Culver City and Inglewood straight
“We were consistent. We blocked well, served well and played well,” senior Julian Hess said after the game.
Boys’ tennis plans to focus on improving doubles competition
Despite a 7-11 loss against Palos Verdes last week that left them with a season record of 2-2, boys tennis is optimistic about their prospects for the remainder of the season and their potential for a CIF win.
Tough competition prepares volleyball for league games
The Samo boys’ volleyball team took the challenge of participating in the annual Best of the West Invitational tournament at San Diego’s Poway High School against several top competitors. The boys took fourth place in their pool and seventh place in the tournament.
Samo’s fledgling lacrosse makes up for inexperience with hard work
“Use your stick!” Samo fans shouted across the John Adams Middle School Astro Turf. “Man up!”
Golf team sees steady improvement
Despite earlier difficulties of inexperience, the golf team is sealing cracks in their play, going 2-0 in the Ocean League.
Always ice-cold, Warm Brew champions rap renaissance
To put it bluntly, hip-hop has fallen off. Once upon a time it was prized as an underground movement, a counter-culture genre – its fans valued above all else clever rhyme schemes and word play. Beats spilled emotion into your ears, and the meticulously layered samples and hooks that launched producers like Pete Rock and J Dilla to international fame kept real fans deeply devoted. Sadly, this is no longer the case... This is why now, more than ever, artists like Warm Brew are needed to remedy the image that the genre has unfortunately adopted.
Track underclassmen overwhelm Hawthorne
Samo's track and field team triumphed in their season opener against Hawthorne, placing first in every event."It was kind of like a dress rehearsal," coach Tania Fischer said. "It was just our opener to work out the kinks to see if our relays are doing well."
Students "Grub Tough" at food truck fundraiser
With the ever-rising popularity of food truck dining, it is no wonder that when four of the tastiness food trucks in Los Angeles pulled into Barnum circle on Friday March 18 for "Grub Tough Truck Day," bands of hungry students eagerly waited in line to dine. Seniors Aidan Nathanson and Sean Robins brought forth the idea of a Grub Tough Truck Day fundraiser for the ROP’s Virtual Enterprise program and put their plan to create their own food truck into action.
Zoom in on hiking
The early riser awakes to get ready for his morning. He packs his backpack with his nikon camera, spf 40, and farmer's market fruit ready for the mountains. The hiker’s view is spectacular, offering a sense of perspective and the chance to breathe in the fresh air and experience nature first hand. Hiking is an activity that used to be about as popular among teenagers as early morning knee bends. Now it's a weekend must-do, especially in Santa Monica. Senior Aaron Pomerantz took note of the new trend at the beginning of this year.
Banksy brings the revolution to Los Angeles
I can’t tell you what to think about Banksy.But that’s okay – you don’t need me to. In recent weeks, the world-renowned street artist has been zipping around the Los Angeles area, leaving his artwork on billboards, burned-out buildings and back alleys, giving Angelinos more than enough samples to help them form an opinion of their own.
Softball looks to the future after losing five of six games
After losing five out of six games, including the home opener against South Torrance on March 11, and El Segundo on March 16, girls' softball is motivated to improve quickly.
It’s always sunny in Santa Monica with junior Lucas Lofaro
“Its funny when I tell people that I work as a visual effects designer because I can’t see that well. I feel that I kind of have an eye for things that are beautiful. I appreciate beauty a lot because of my condition,” Lofaro said. “Other people just view beautiful things everyday and take them for granted.”
Odd or Even? Doesn't matter, they're still the future
In an era of political correctness, they are the ugly duckling. They have mothers across the nation tearing their hair out, have record company CEO's shaking in their dress shoes, and are sure as hell not getting an endorsement from Oprah any time soon. They are Odd Future.
Boys’ Basketball team ends season with a six-game winning streak, earns playoff berth
“We came together at the right time,” junior Jordan Walker said. “We started fighting for each other during the mid-way point of our league season and played as one instead of as individuals. We’re all glad we got back on the right track before it was too late.”
Girls’ soccer wins league despite dissappointing loss
The Lady Vikings have ended up victorious and remain the champions of Ocean League. Since Samo left the Bay League in 2003 and joined Ocean League, the girls have been atop the proverbial pyramid. This year they continued the tradition of winning Ocean League, but unfortunately for the first time lost one game to historic rivals Beverley Hills.
Seniors Julia Glanz and Lizzy Lyons sign National Letters of Intent
The “National Letter of Intent” certifies that a student athlete will attend an institution for at least one academic year. Lyons will be attending Fresno State and Glanz will be heading to the University of Arizona next fall. Both will be receiving full scholarships.
Spotlight: Eli Brown and Cyrus Allyar
Eli Brown is a budding conductor; Cyrus Allyar is a polyglot already dreaming of conservatory life. But they have one very important thing in common: their love of trumpet. "The Samohi" sat down for a conversation with these two very different music men.
After Wrestling’s winless season, League finals breathe new life into six wrestlers’ CIF hopes
Out of the fray, six Vikings emerged with their season hopes intact: juniors Chris Abdullah, Enrico Cascio, Gianni Forster, Omar Solorza, and Buzi Turner, along with senior Wesley Evans. Sophomore Spencer Gordon qualified as well, but due to an injury sustained in his final match, he will be unable to compete at CIF.
Girls' water polo secures a spot in CIF
Ending their regular season at 13-12, and going 7-3 in the Ocean League, girls’ water polo will move forward into the second round of the CIF playoffs after their win against Hemet.
All- "American" Girls: in the flesh
You can see them perched on a cliff in the Hollywood Hills, eyes wide and breasts bared to the city of Los Angeles down below. They lay sprawled seductively on your coffee table or patio furniture, or swing bare-bottomed from low-hanging tree branches. They beckon to you from billboards and magazines, peddling clothes largely absent from the images in which they appear.
Athlete of the Issue: Lauren Nadel
After eating Babybell cheese from her packed lunch, she takes the wax wrapper and molds it into a figurine. Her creations are highly detailed and vary from giraffes to “gang-bangers.”
Vikings’ undefeated record earns home field advantage for CIF
From the beginning of the year, this team has had the potential to recreate the success of the famous ’08 squad – now is the time for these boys to prove that they can play under pressure and win when it really counts.
Samo welcomes new S-House principal
Jason Kurtenbach has taken over the position of S-House Principal, and is quickly settling in to the Samo lifestyle.
All the Grid’s a stage — for robots
Daft Punk return as orchestral maestros for "Tron: Legacy"
Starved for victory, Samo wrestlers feed off middle school programs
"There is no clear leadership, no one wants to stand up for the captain's position" junior Gianni Forster said, "[Without] the senior leadership, it has been harder to practice, harder to focus, and harder to compete."
The beating heart of Samo's marching band
At Samo, Drumline plays the tricky role of being a group within a larger group. As a smaller section of marching band, they also perform as a smaller ensemble at games and have extra practices.
Samo defeats Hawthorne, seniors’ season ends without playoff berth
The night before facing Beverly, the stress of playing their last possible game affected some seniors more than others. Timmy Lozano reflected on the possibility of a loss.“I’m never going to relive these memories,” he said.On the other hand, senior Terrance Saheim saw it as just another game.
Athlete of the Issue: Tess Walther
Walther began playing volleyball in fourth grade at John Muir, and debuted as an outside hitter for her club team freshman year. At Samo, Walther continued to play as an outside hitter, and was promoted to the school’s varsity team as a sophomore — unusually early. However, when senior year came around and the team needed a setter, Walther took on the challenge.
Volleyball’s promising season ends
The girls went into the match confident. But, as the match progressed, Samo made errors and began to break down.Although the team had a successful season, their second round match against Lancaster ended in an unfortunate loss 25-22, 18-25, 10-25, 21-25.
Tennis battles Beverly, qualifies for CIF
The match was close — seemingly every one of Samo’s wins was followed by a loss. But in the end, the pain of losing two weeks prior drove the Vikings to victory.
Football earns first league victory
After a poor defensive game by Samo, a victory was shortly out of reach on the last play of the game. The final score was 12-19.Aside from excessive penalties the main reason for this loss was Samo’s defense.
A new soda parlor with an old-time feel
Tucked away in a corner of the 1916 Landmark Carousel building, a vintage soda fountain harkens from the past like the carousel itself. “Soda Jerks” is a new concession that opened on the Santa Monica Pier in July. For the record, a soda jerk isn’t an obnoxious person who spits up Coke. The soda fountain gets its name from the 1930s slang used to describe the youths who worked behind the counter jerking silver levers to hand-pump syrup and soda water.
Steven Gordon: all that’s jazz
“In recent months, I’ve really started diving into writing my own music. Over the summer I worked on the music for a short film, and since then I’ve been writing music focused around a story or a character,” Gordon said.
School evacuates after gas odor is detected
The Samo community evacuates after students and faculty detect an odor in the History building.
Juniors in the driver's seat: the quest for league supremacy
As pressure and intensity increase, the boys’ water polo team continues to power its way past competitors as they find themselves well in reach of the League Champion title. Though for their hopes to become reality, each player realizes that better defensive playing becomes more crucial each match.
Amy Clark: from rap beats to art tweets
“What I really wanted to do was to make art out of something that wouldn’t usually be considered art.”– Amy Clark
The man behind the mustache: Nick Salazar
“Our captain doesn’t have to be the fastest. It’s about creating harmony and creating leadership,” coach Tania Fisher said.“It’s a hard thing trying to balance being captain with being a top member of varsity. It definitely makes it harder to focus,” Salazar said.
Cross-country on the trail to victory
The squad pulled off a substantial victory, placing first as a team. Salazar was the first to trounce the hill running, an impressive 17:07. Right behind him came junior Andrew Capron, finishing with an equally admirable 17:15.
Volleyball defeats league rival Beverly
With the crowd going crazy and Samo on fire, Beverly was silenced. Continuing their roll they went on to sweep Beverly in the third. Despite many bad calls, the girls overcame them and drilled kills and focused on passing with senior libero Lindsey Nakatani making great pancakes to lead her team closer to the victory.
Girls’ tennis fights through the rain, loses to Beverly Hills
“I think we went in very confident because of our previous wins, maybe a little overconfident,” senior and co-captain Lucy Walsh said. “I think it was that we weren’t thinking about tennis, we were thinking about winning. We need to think more about the fundamentals of the game in order to succeed.”
Football drops league opener after overwhelming victory
Even though Samo was crushed in its Ocean League opener to Inglewood, 28-7, it can take solace in the previous week’s victory over Compton Centennial.
Girls’ volleyball on a roll, loses to Windward
Going into the second game they made an uncharacteristic eight serving errors and gave up momentum to the Culver City team. It looked as if Samo was heading towards their first loss. The Samo bench looked unusually nervous, but steeled themselves for the second game.
Greenies find early success
“Last year we had better cohesiveness, but this year we’re having more fun. I think we’re positioning ourselves well for our league drive, which starts in October,” coach Matthew Flanders said. “We could have won those games, but we were having problems with over-aggressive players.”
Girls' Cross Country has room to grow
After their first two races where the team was unfortunately divided between grade levels, the varsity team was finally able to pull off a cooperative win at their first league meet at Kenneth Hahn park. They placed first, beating the Beverly Hills girls’ team, which has been a long-standing rival of the Lady Vikings.
Girls' Volleyball rebounds after initial loss
After losing to El Segundo Wednesday, Samo was hungry for a win. In the end they defeated Morningside in a 25-2, 25-8, 25-3 demolition. Most of Morningside’s points came from Samo’s serving errors.
Athlete of the Issue: Kris Comas
Even though he is small, he still works hard. In this respect, his inspiration is DeSean Jackson. “He reminds me that I still have to push hard [and] don’t get down because you’re small.”Comas’ size makes him faster, and makes it easier for him succeed on the field.
Vikings’ efforts not enough for Valencia
The excessive turnovers in the game played a big role in Samo’s loss, according to Clark.“The cons obviously were the turnovers. That’s just difficult to overcome,” Clark said.Ramos agreed with Clark, saying “We had about seven turnovers, and you can’t win a game with seven turnovers.”
Girls' Tennis inches past Mira Costa and El Segundo, falls to Harvard Westlake
“In the Harvard Westlake game, my girls were not focused. But against Mira Costa, they moved better because of their commitment and practice."
In the face of loss, Escalera remains positive
Difficult though it may have been for him to step into the position, Escalera still gleans an obvious pride and pleasure from his participation in Samo athletics. A longtime football coach and former high school athlete, he harbors a deep-rooted belief in the power of sports to improve individuals and unite communities.