Move over track and field, tennis, softball, baseball and lacrosse. It’s time for the Culver City boys’ volleyball team to take the main stage during spring sports at the high school. On Saturday the volleyball team will step into the limelight when they host the 10th Annual Culver City High School Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The eight-team tournament starts at 8 a.m. with the Centaurs scheduled to play at 8 a.m. Culver City is also scheduled to play again at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. The starting times may vary slightly.
“We always invite seven different teams, and we make it a great one-day event,” said long time boys volleyball coach Joe Manzo after practice last Tuesday. “The teams have nothing to worry about, they can just come and play. Our players and parents do all of the work like refereeing, setting up the courts and the parents take care of the snack bar. We create a great atmosphere, and we have fun.”
After 14 years coaching boys’ and girls’ volleyball at Culver City High School Manzo is still enjoying his job. “I am having a blast putting on this tournament because I love to see other volleyball coaches that I have known for a long time. It’s a good thing for the community and the school.”
This year the Centaurs have moved from the Bay League, which is one of the best leagues in the nation, to the Ocean League that have teams that are on their level. “Now we don’t have to play some of the best teams in the United States like Mira Costa and Redondo Union,” said Manzo. “In the Ocean League we are one of the best teams. This will allow us to get into the CIF playoffs, which is nice.”
According to Manzo, despite losing four key senior players after this season the future looks bright for the Centaurs. “We have a mixture of freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors this year and we also have solid junior varsity, sophomore and freshmen teams. This year we have 40 kids playing volleyball at Culver City and the Culver City Middle School has a very good volleyball program. I am excited about the future.”
One of the key seniors that has several years of varsity experience is Kenji Toombs. Last year as a junior Toombs was expected to lead the Centaurs to the next level but playing in such a tough league, he put too much pressure on himself. “I did that last season, and it didn’t go so well,” said Toombs after practice last Tuesday. “This season I am just kind of chilling out. Just playing with my buddies is the main thing for me this year.”
Playing in the Ocean League takes a lot of pressure off everyone according to Toombs. “It’s exciting playing in the Ocean League and we still have good competition playing against Santa Monica. I love our team. They have a bright future. It’s a solid group of 7-10 freshmen who really know how to play volleyball. They are young and they will grow and develop.”
The Centaur track and field once again made their presence felt at the top high school track and field meet in the nation, the Arcadia Invitational last Friday and Saturday. On Friday Zakeyah Ross leaped 17’2 in the long jump.
On Saturday the boys 4X400 meter relay team placed second running a time of 3:14.59 with a team of Dontay Mayrant, Seth Shigg, Jonah Givens and Duaine Mayrant against some of the top 400-meter relay teams in the nation. In the individual 400 meters Duaine Mayrant ran a career best time of 46.99 to place third in the invitational section and while Shigg ran 48.25 to place fourth in the seeded section. Also, Dontay Mayrant ran his lifetime best time of 47.65 in his heat putting him fourth out of 63 runners in the open 400 meters.
The 11-6 overall and 7-0 in league play, baseball team will play home games on Thursday, April 17, against Beverly Hills at 3:15 and Monday, April 21, against Windward at 3:15 p.m.