Building a foundation

Bryce Alderton

With the improvement showcased by some of the girls sports teams at

Sage Hill School this past year, Athletic Director Nate Miller’s

vision for added facilities might have to come to fruition sooner

than expected.

CIF playoff appearances by the tennis, softball and basketball

teams highlighted the year in girls sports at the Newport Coast

private school, which will go on its fourth year of existence when

school resumes in the fall.

The tennis team, coached by A.G. Longoria, a teaching professional

at Mission Viejo Country Club, finished 13-3, 10-2 in the Academy

League, good for second place. The Lightning went 2-1, advancing to

the CIF Southern Section Division V quarterfinals.

Freshman Katie McKitterick won 53 of 57 singles sets and advanced

to the semifinals of the league tournament. The three-sport star

earned first-team All-Academy honors in tennis and was named the

school’s Girls Athlete of the Year.

McKitterick was an outfielder on Sage’s softball team, which lost

a wild-card playoff game to Western Christian and finished the season

10-10 under first-year Coach Jim Percival. The Lightning won nine

more games than the previous year. Jessica Torina represented the

Lightning on the All-Academy first-team.

Shanna Renkin led the Lightning’s girls basketball team to its

first CIF playoff appearance in the program’s second year of

existence. Sage finished 13-8, losing in the first round to Connelly

in the first round of the CIF Division IV-A playoffs. Freshman center

Haywood Wright earned first-team all-league honors.

Both softball and tennis teams practice and play at off-campus

sites. Miller would like to have as many teams as possible on campus,

but realizes there is only so much space and money.

“The new academic building supercedes everything else,” Miller

said about the structure the school hopes to add in two to three

years. “Once that is underway, maybe we can add some tennis courts.”

Sage tennis practices and plays at Park Newport while softball

uses a field on the corner of San Joaquin Hills Road and Newport

Coast. Sage’s water polo team plays its games at night at Corona del

Mar High.

“It is a challenge to be off-campus,” Miller said. “Some sports

like golf and track will always be off-campus. It all depends on how

successful we are in raising money for the school. It is not a

perfect scenario right now, but it is an agreeable one.”

This year, 33 seniors graduated from a student body of 350.

That leaves many players eligible to return next year, adding to

Miller’s optimism.

“Our girls teams were very good with the freshmen they had, which

should add to their strength,” he said. “In tennis we have three

strong freshman girls coming back and there are a number of eighth

graders who are interested in joining the program. I think softball

lost only one player and volleyball was a very young team that will

improve.”

Girls volleyball went 4-8, including a 3-7 record in league, good

for fifth place. Sophia Hillgren gained second-team all-league

honors.

Water polo finished 10-8, while soccer took fifth place in league.

Amy Werblin and Laura Gordon earned first-team all-league laurels in

soccer. Swimming finished 3-6 while golf ended last season, 2-13, 1-9

in league. Senior April Kim made the All-Academy first team after she

finished second in the Golden West League finals. Gordon also shined

for Sage’s track team, winning the 300 meters and triple jump at the

league finals.

Both track and cross country feature several young athletes

Miller, who coaches both sports in addition to teaching a calculus

class, hopes will improve with time.

In five years, Miller, who has been at the school since it opened

in 2000, expects enrollment to be around 500.

That figure is still significantly less than most public schools

boast, giving kids that want to play sports a chance, Miller said.

“Most [people thinking about attending Sage] want to know if they

have not had too much experience, could they make a team,” Miller

said. “A few teams have tryouts and cuts. The kids from many

different areas makes us unique as well.”

Last year, Sage’s freshman class equaled 120, with students coming

from 45 different schools.

Miller, 33, came to Sage after spending seven years as an

assistant athletic director for Lake Forest Academy in Illinois.

Even though he only taught one class last year, Miller treats that

time as gold.

“Keeping that classroom connection with kids is important,” Miller

said.

Most of Miller’s day is spent by scheduling matches and games,

overseeing equipment and facility needs and securing off-campus

sites.

“It is not one or two duties, but rather eight to 10 multiple

tasks,” Miller said. “Fifty percent of the job is dealing with things

that come up, trying to find immediate solutions.”

Building a winning athletic department is hardly an immediate

undertaking, but Miller, a Corona del Mar resident, realizes the

foundation is set.