This year was another memorable year for Linfield Christian Athletics. As a community, we experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Our teams, athletes, and coaches persevered through challenges, surpassed expectations, broke school records, and found success beyond the win/loss record. As an athletic department, our coaches and staff worked to carry out the mission of our department as they challenged our athletes to grow in their character, build community, and compete for championships.
Here are just some of the highlights from this year:
- Girls Cross Country not only earned their 4th consecutive Ambassador League Championship, but also clinched the first CIF Championship in school history and went on to finish 3rd at CIF State Championships.
- Our two female swimmers Caroline Blount and Kennedy Krohn finished in the top 3 in the Ambassador League in their events and Caroline earned an individual league title in the 500 yard freestyle.
- Boys Basketball finished as Ambassador League Champions for the first time since 2013.
- In Track & Field, the girls team earned their 9th Ambassador League Championship title. The boys team had 8 athletes finish as individual league champions in their respective events, which is over half of the league’s individual titles. 22 athletes qualified for CIF prelims and 9 advanced to compete at CIF Finals where 3 athletes medaled with a Top 6 finish.
- We had two athletes ranked #1 in the nation in individual stats: Zac Williams in Lacrosse goals and points and Damian Ruiz in Basketball for three pointers.
- Softball made a huge run in the playoffs, competing for a CIF Championship for the first time in 21 years, and finishing as CIF Finalists. They will look to make another run in the CIF State tournament next week.
- Golf recorded their best team finish in school history, tying for third place at the CIF Championship Tournament last week. Daniel Guerra also qualified and competed at CIF Individual Finals.
- 5 of our 14 teams earned the Ambassador League Sportsmanship Award.
Thank you to all the athletes and their families, all our coaches, Trainer Abby, our team doctors, our faculty, and the entire Linfield Community for being a part of the successes this year!
Every year, the athletic department presents two awards. The first is the CIF Scholar Athlete Award.
CIF SCHOLAR ATHLETES
Sierra competed in varsity Cross Country this year, Soccer for three years, Track & Field for four years, and even Football for one year, all while maintaining a 4.16 cumulative GPA.
Sierra was a Soccer CIF Champion as a sophomore, Soccer CIF State Regional Champion as a junior, and a Cross Country CIF Champion as a senior.
In her main sport of Track & Field, Sierra was a team captain this year and a scholar athlete all 4 years. As a freshman, she was 1st Team All-League in the 4×100, Team League Champion, & CIF Prelims Finalist. As a sophomore, she wasn’t able to compete in track due to a worldwide pandemic. As a junior, she competed in soccer and track simultaneously and still earned 1st Team All-League in both the 100 and 200 and was a CIF Prelims Finalist
And this year as a senior, Sierra was 1st Team All-League in the 100, 2nd Team All-League in the 200, League Multi-Event Athlete of the Year, and Team League Champion. At CIF Finals, Sierra finished 7th in the 100 and 9th in the 200. She holds school records in the 100, 200, and Distance Medley Relay. And she is #2 on Linfield’s All-Time List for the 4×100, #3 for 300 hurdles and 4×400, and #5 in the 400.
Academically, Sierra has been involved in CSF, NHS, & NEHS all eligible years of high school and Science National Honor Society as a senior. She served as the CSF Vice President as a junior and NEHS President as a senior. She’s been on the Presidential Honor Roll all 4 years, a Silver L Pin Recipient as a junior, and Gold L Pin Recipient as a senior. And she was also Bio Med Student of the Year as a sophomore and AP Language Student of the Year as a junior.
Head Track & Field Coach Amber Young had this to say about Sierra: “Sierra’s senior year of track success has been four years in the making. Motivated by a desire to break school records and hit times that will allow her to compete in college, Sierra has put up some remarkable numbers. Sierra will leave Linfield with her name all over the track and field record books, but her legacy will be far beyond stats, times, and records set. Sierra has been a humble, Christ-following, influential leader that has impacted so many of her teammates, coaches and opponents. She has held herself to an extremely high standard, never missing a practice, always giving her best, and competing at the highest level. To say the program will miss her is an understatement; we are so proud of you Sierra and can’t wait to see you excel at Montana State University.”
CIF MALE SCHOLAR ATHLETE – SPENCER LEWIS
Spencer competed in soccer for three years and football for two while maintaining a 4.25 cumulative GPA.
In Football, Spencer was Special Teams Player of the Year as a junior and 1st Team All-League as a senior.
In his three year Soccer career, Spencer was Scholar Athlete all three years, both 1st Team All-League and League Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and senior, 1st Team All-CIF as a senior, and ranked #3 in the nation in goals scored as a sophomore. He also holds multiple school records including season total goals (38 goals in 19 games), most goals in a game (5), and career goals (64).
Academically, Spencer has been involved in CSF, NHS, NEHS, & SNHS all eligible years of high school, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Principal’s Honor Roll all 4 years , Gold L Pin Recipient as a senior, and Junior Honor Guard. As a freshman, Spencer was Student of the Year in Biology, English, Principles of Biomedical Sciences, & Spanish 1. As a sophomore, he was Student of the Year in AP Euro, Pre-Calculus, and Spanish 2. And as a junior he was English Student of the Year.
Head Soccer Coach Mike Martinez had this to say about Spencer: “Spencer is well known in the soccer community for being one of the most skillful players to ever walk on the pitch at Linfield Christian. He has set the bar extremely high for those who wish to achieve his level of play and he has done so with an abundance of hard work and a quality of character that cannot be matched. As a leader, Spencer is quick to praise those around him and manages to remain incredibly humble anytime he excels and is always the first one to recognize the accomplishments of the team as a whole. Most importantly, Spencer never lets any moment deter him from what he holds closest to his heart, which is his love for Christ. He truly is a blessing to have as a teammate and friend.”
The second award is the Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year.
SPORTSWOMAN / SPORTSMAN
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR – RYLEY BURNS
Ryley competed in Cross Country, Soccer, and Track & Field all four years of high school. In Cross Country, Ryley was 1st Team All-League all four years, Ambassador League Runner of the Year all four years, and Ambassador League Team Champion all four years. She also earned the title of CIF Team Champion as a senior with a 2nd place individual finish at CIF Finals. Her team went on to finish in third place at CIF State where she finished 8th as an individual. Ryley was also named to the Inland Empire 1st Team as a senior and holds the schools records in both the 3 mile and 5k.
In Soccer, Ryley was 1st Team All-League as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, 2nd Team All-League as a senior, CIF Team Champion and CIF Player of the Year as as sophomore, and CIF Finalist, CIF State Regional Champion, and All CIF as a junior.
In Track & Field, as a freshman Ryley was 1st Team All League in the 3200, League Multi-Event Athlete of the Year, Team League Champion, and finished 7th at CIF in the 3200. As a sophomore, she was not able to compete in track due to a worldwide pandemic. As a junior, she competed in soccer and track simultaneously and still earned 1st Team All-League in the 3200 and finished 7th at CIF in the 3200. And this year as a senior, Ryley was 1st Team All-League in the 3200 and 1600, League Track Athlete of the Year and Team League Champion. At CIF Finals, Ryley finished in 3rd place in the 3200 and 5th place in the 1600. She holds the league record in the 3200 and school records in both the 3200 and Distance Medley Relay. And she is #3 on Linfield’s All-Time List in the 800, 1600, and 4×400.
Head Cross Country Coach Amanda Burns had this to say about Ryley: “Ryley has always led her team by her dedicated work ethic. She knows what it takes and she puts in the work every single day. Ryley’s humble attitude about her running success is what really makes her a special athlete. You won’t hear her bragging about her times or her wins. You will just see her show up the next day and work even harder to hit her next goal. It has been a joy to coach her over the last 7 years and I can’t wait to see all that she accomplishes in the future.”
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR – KAI NEWMAN
Kai competed in Cross Country for three years, Soccer for one year, and Track & Field all four years of high school.
In Cross Country, Kai was 1st Team All-League as a junior and senior. He earned an 11th place individual finish at CIF Finals this year and qualified for CIF State. And he hold the school record in the 5K.
In Track & Field, as a junior, Kai was 2nd Team All-League in the 1600. As a senior, he was 1st Team All-League in the 800, 1600, and 4×400 and League Track Athlete of the Year. At CIF Finals, Kai finished in 6th place in the 1600 and 8th place in the 800. He holds school records in both the 1600 and 3200 and he is #1 on Linfield’s All-Time List in the 4×800, #2 in the 800, and #4 in the 4×400.
Head Cross Country Coach Amanda Burns had this to say about Kai: “Kai has had an incredible athletic year. He set some really big goals in cross country and track. One by one he checked off the completion of those goals by always giving 110% and having a positive attitude in practice. After every race the first thing that Kai does is give the glory of that race to God. He inspires all those around him by his hard work and success. It has been a pleasure to coach him over the last few years and especially this year when we really got to focus on his goals. Kai is just scratching the surface on what he can do as a runner and it is going to be so fun to watch him rise to the top at Pepperdine.”
