Photo by Daniel Ashlock

MHHS Varsity Academic League celebrates winning the Valley Division competition in the season of 2023 by unveiling a new banner at their first 2024 match.

After a good reputation in the year of ‘23, the Mission Hills Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Academic Teams are ready to bring it in the new season. With competitions running until the end of February, they began with their first match against Classical Academy last Thursday, Jan. 11.
“[The JV match] started off really close until about the last ten minutes, [in which] we hit our flow and just killed it. The win against Classical is a great start and [got] the students back in the swing of things. We’ve got a big team this year, which I love,” said AP Biology, AP Research, and Biology of the Living Earth teacher Michael Butler.
Butler is the JV coach for Academic League and is already ready for the next match today in the evening against Valley Center High School. The JV match last week ended with a score of 63-32 for Mission Hills.
“My favorite part about being there was watching all 3 matches and seeing the new[ly formed] teams play. I think there are some areas we can get better at, but the team looked really good, so I think the season will go well for us,” said sophomore Bridget Goode.
Goode is a member of the Junior Varsity team but was on the Freshman team during the 2023 season, and contributed to their 5-1 record last year. She provided insight on what the transition from Freshman to JV team is like.
“JV is definitely more competitive and there are more people on it; Freshman [team] is like an introduction. However, it [JV] is a fun challenge and I can learn a lot from my other teammates.” said Goode.
Although the Varsity and Freshman teams did not win against Classical Academy, the overall match was a good start, especially for the freshmen, as the Freshman coach and Geometry and Calculus teacher John Guseman clarifies.
“We should have a chance of winning in the rest of our matches this year. We have more freshmen on the team this year than any year before [and] I’m excited about the enthusiasm,” said Guseman.
Overall, the first match was a promising jumpstart to the year for Mission Hills Academic League, and the ultimate hope is to live up to and surpass the greatness Varsity achieved last year, in which they have a banner hung up in the library to celebrate.