Breakers brought home titles

From start to finish, the 2009-2010 school year contained plenty of accolades for the Laguna Beach High athletic program.

Whether it was fall in Fresno, or late-spring in Irvine, Laguna Beach teams and athletes turned in outstanding performances that led, on several occasions, to honors and championships.

Below are some of the key athletic highlights from the school year that were reported in the Coastline Pilot:

Fall

Senior Maddie Jaeger won three matches with ease to take the Orange Coast League singles title in girls' tennis and advanced to the CIF Individuals tournament. Also advancing were two Breakers doubles teams, Claire Jaeger and Bianca Sganga, won the OCL doubles title, and Alison Azera and McKenna Nokes. Jaeger and Sganga won the title by default over Azera and Nokes because Nokes was running in the league cross country finals and wasn't able to get back in time for the doubles championships. The Breakers, as a team, also won the regular season league championship.

The boys' water polo team again took the Orange Coast League championship and advanced to the semifinal round of the Division III playoffs were the Breakers fell to eventual champion Montebello, 10-5.

In girls' golf, senior Grace Komoroczy and junior Christianne Kinder were named first-team All-Orange Coast League, while senior Jenni Coury and sophomore Taylor Weiss earned second-team status. Komoroczy finished second in the league individually, and the Breakers also finished second to Estancia in the team standings. Komoroczy advanced to the CIF Southern Section Girls' Individual Championships.

In a showdown to determine the Orange Coast League champion on the football field, Laguna Beach pounced on Costa Mesa, 49-34, on Senior Night at Guyer Field. The victory gave the Breakers their first league title since 2006. The 2009 Breakers set several records during a season that ended in a first-round playoff loss to Beckman: rushing yards, game (Alec Jaffe, 361, Oct. 23 vs. Calvary Chapel); touchdown passes, game (Austin Paxson, five, Sept. 11 vs. Corona del Mar); touchdown passes, season (Austin Paxson, 24); touchdown passes, career (Austin Paxson, 33); catches, game (Chris Paul, 15, Oct. 1 vs. Garden Grove); touchdown catches, game (Chris Paul, four, Sept. 11 vs. CdM); touchdown catches, season (Chris Paul, 18); touchdown catches, career (Chris Paul, 26). Paul went on to be named league MVP and Jaffe the Offensive MVP.