The winter sports season was filled with highlights, including the Branson School boys basketball team putting together an historic campaign, plus four North Coast Section titles and a NorCal title hauled in by the county’s girls basketball and girls soccer teams.
Here are the IJ’s picks for athletes for the year, plus some other standouts, in the winter sports.
Boys basketball
IJ Player of the Year, Branson senior Jase Butler
Butler, along with the MCAL’s player of the year pick Semetri Carr, formed a dynamic pair that powered the Bulls to an undefeated run to the MCAL championship and helped make them become the first Marin basketball team to be selected for either the North Coast Section or NorCal Open Division playoffs.
Butler, a senior, scored a team-high 23 points against Redwood in the MCAL title game, scoring 16 in the first half as the Bulls took control of the game in the opening 16 minutes. Butler then led Branson to its first Open Division victory, scoring 20 points in the first round against Clayton Valley Charter.
Other standouts
Carr, a junior, showed out with a series of impressive performances for Branson throughout the playoffs. Carr scored 19 points against Redwood then scored game-highs against De La Salle (25 points) and San Ramon Valley (24 points) in the section playoffs.
Branson seniors Finley Keeffe and Joaquin Aguillon, both MCAL second-team picks, didn’t always grab the headlines the way Butler and Carr did, but Branson wouldn’t have been as successful without them. Keeffe was easily a match for the other big men on the court, while Aguillon could take charge of a game at any moment.
Redwood’s Jake Vasquez, an all-league first team pick, helped power the Giants to a second-place finish in the MCAL.
Owen Bugas had a plethora of high-scoring games as Archie Williams enjoyed a strong season. Bugas was at his absolute best in the section playoffs. The Peregrine Falcons trailed by 19 heading into the fourth quarter against Piedmont then Bugas scored 24 of his 47 points in the final 8 minutes as Archie Williams staged a furious rally, eventually falling 64-61.
Marin Catholic’s Charles Williams and Tam’s Auvin Cole were the other two first-team selections. Williams scored at will in stretches this season, particularly in the final two games of the regular season. MC needed to win both to claim the fourth and final playoff spot and did so as Williams scored 71 points across the two games.
San Domenico’s Gavin Early helped lead the Panthers to the NorCal D-V championship game, a first for the program. A BCL first-team selection, he averaged 16.1 points per game and 11.2 rebounds.
Novato’s Josh DeVore and San Marin’s Nick Cubley, Terra Linda’s Grady Bowers, San Rafael’s Gio Brovelli, and Marin Academy’s Jermaine Standfield were all highlight-reel players for their teams.
Girls basketball
IJ/BCL West Player of the Year, San Domenico’s Carly Amborn
Amborn made an immediate impact after transferring from Archie Williams, leading the Panthers to league and section titles.
Amborn was unable to play for the first few weeks of the season due to the transfer rules, but once she got on the court she was electric. She added BCL West Tournament MVP honors to her resume after scoring 24 points in a 56-54 win against University in the final.
Amborn was dominant as the Panthers rolled through the D-V section playoffs, putting up 24 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinals followed by a 27-point, 15-rebound line in the final. All told, Amborn averaged 30.5 points across the four section playoff games.
Other standouts
Marin Catholic players dominated the MCAL’s list of regular-season honorees and with for good reason. MCAL player of the year Izzy McFadden and first-teamers Madie Dayton and Cecily Hadd spearheaded a dominating Wildcats squad that went undefeated on its way to the MCAL crown. Marin Catholic won its third consecutive section title, getting 19 points from McFadden and 18 from Hadd in that title game.
Redwood’s Kitty White and Maya Saibel — both all-league first-team picks — helped push the Giants to their first section title win in program history. White scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the title game.
Branson junior Avery Myerberg was also a first-team selection and put up some huge stat lines this season for the Bulls.
Marin Academy junior Amelia Thomas, a BCL West first-team pick, averaged 13.5 points per game, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 steals as a key part of the core that drove the Wildcats to the NCS playoffs.
Boys soccer
IJ/BCL West player of the year, Marin Academy’s Malcolm Zalayet
Zalayet is one of the most prolific goal scorers to come through Marin in many years. The Cal-bound senior had his best individual season to date, piling up 41 goals and 10 assists in just 24 games for the Wildcats.
Zalayet was ranked second in the North Coast Section, eighth in California, and 14th in the nation in goals for winter soccer, according to Maxpreps.com.
Zalayet tore through Marin Academy’s early-season slate at an insane pace, scoring 26 goals in the team’s first eight games. That torrid stretch included a seven-goal game against San Domenico, a four-goal game against Whitney, four other hat tricks, plus a two-goal game against a strong Redwood team.
Other standouts
The MCAL also featured its share of big-time performers this season. Redwood claimed its third consecutive regular-season title and second postseason league title in three seasons behind the MCAL’s player of the year, holding midfielder Jack Middleton. His teammate, central defender Ensio Sardans, was also in the running for that honor. The Giants’ top-end talent and depth – with first teamers Thomas Griffin, Masa Fujita, Jackson Walker, and Jack Corvi – led them to completing the league double.
Archie Williams enjoyed a bounce-back season, not only returning to the MCAL playoffs after a two-year absence but making it to three finals – MCAL, NCS D-III, and NorCal D-IV. Cole Sullivan led the way, particularly during the NorCal playoffs when he scored five times in the quarterfinals against Galt then netted two more goals in a 3-2 upset of University.
San Rafael midfielder Angel Hidalgo led a late-season surge that saw the Bulldogs take down Terra Linda 3-0 to become eligible for the NCS playoffs. Hidalgo then scored a hat trick, including an 80th-minute winner in the game of the year, as the Bulldogs stunned Marin Academy 3-2 in the D-III quarterfinals.
Finally, Marin Catholic forward Enrique Guzman missed a good chunk of the season while recovering from an injury. Once he returned, Guzman showed flashes of the talent that would have made him a strong contender for MCAL player of the year honors if he had a full campaign under his belt.
Girls soccer
IJ/MCAL player of the year, Tam’s Maren Jones
Jones, a senior midfielder, led the league in goals (10) and points (23) during the league campaign, helping Tam go unbeaten in eight games (7-0-1) and claim the regular-season title for the first time since 2020.
The Red-tailed Hawks leaned heavily on Jones’ attacking prowess early in the season then continued to thrive as other players began to find their scoring form.
With Julia Costle and Lauren Willard picking up their scoring in the playoffs, Jones continued to be influential in the midfield as Tam sprang upset victories over top-seeded Cardinal Newman and No. 2 seed Las Lomas en route to their first NCS title since 2020.
Other standouts
Tam also got a big year out of first teamer Sabine Szylko, who was deployed all over the field by the Red-tailed Hawks. Szylko flashed the ability to be one of the league’s top attacking threats while also being one of its premier defenders.
Branson junior Ally Hsieh was again one of the most dangerous attackers in the league, finishing second with eight goals and tied for third with four assists in eight games as Branson finished second. The Bulls, who featured two other first-team selections in Riley Pearson and Caitlin Capitolo, went on to claim the MCAL postseason title with a 2-0 semifinal win against Marin Catholic and a penalty shootout win in the final against Redwood. Pearson scored the game winner against MC then kept the Bulls alive in the shootout with a spot kick against the Giants. Capitolo anchored the Bulls’ back line.
Marin Catholic took a step forward as a program this season, moving up to third in the league standings, just one point behind second-place Branson. As a result of that success, the Wildcats had three first-team selections in forward Sloane Carey, defender Caroline McCarty, and goalie Finn Seymore. McCarthy and Seymore led the way for a defense that surrendered a league-low one goal during the eight-game MCAL regular season. MC really took flight in the NCS and NorCal playoffs, making the D-IV section final to qualify for NorCals for the first time in program history. MC went on to win the NorCal D-IV championship. Carey scored a number of key goals during the postseason, including the title winner in overtime.
Boys wrestling
IJ/MCAL Wrestler of the Year, Redwood senior Ali Hamzia
Hamzia captured championship gold at 134 pounds in the NCS tournament, a week after overpowering the competition to win the MCAL 132-pound title. Hamzia, who went 0-2 at the State Meet, finished the season ranked 21st at 132 pounds in the state. He placed second at the Redwood Rumble, Bill Martel Classic and Puma Classic during the season.
Other standouts
Novato High senior Ikaika Madayag took home MCAL gold at 138 pounds in a dramatic overtime 4-2 win, and went on to place third at NCS. The Hornets earned the MCAL team championship behind wins from Madayag, Diego Ramos (113), John Gramajo (126), Jacob Davis (165), and heavyweights Daniel Stathopoulos (215) and Braeden Carroll (285).
Archie Williams’ Alex McKenzie (157) was honored as the Wrestler of the MCAL Tournament as he won gold, as did his brother, John McKenzie (144).
San Marin’s Osuke Toshi (106), Jason Gurrola (120), Akio Suzuki (150) and Jordan Gardner (175) were also MCAL champions, as was Tam’s Decker Scholnick (190).
Girls wrestling
IJ/MCAL Wrestler of the Year, Redwood senior Luana Stathopoulos
Redwood’s Luana Stathopoulos and San Marin’s Lyla Kondrashoff continued their impressive and ongoing rivalry throughout the season. At the Albany Girls Tournament in December, Stathopoulos pinned Kondrashoff after 3 minutes, 7 seconds in a 145-pound title match.
Stathopoulos, the NCS champion, and Kondrashoff, who was third at NCS, were set to continue their saga at the CIF State championships, but a head-to-head matchup for the 140-pound title never materialized. Stathopoulos placed fifth at the state, while Kondrashoff lost in a consolation round.
Other standouts
Aside from Kondrashoff, Marin’s other top finishers were San Marin’s Catania DeKeyrel (145) placing seventh at NCS and Yuritzi Sanchez (155) grabbing an eighth-place finish. Archie Williams’ Sofi De Jesus (115) placed seventh and Novato’s Gissel Gomez-Santos (235) placed sixth.
