2023 Senior Night @ Cal Hi

For the third season in a row, El Rancho Swimmers have celebrated Senior Night away from Pico Rivera. After having their freshman season cut short due to COVID, the Class of 2023 lost the use of their home pool the following year due to foundation and piping issues. ERUSD revived its facility plans and started the multi-year, multi-facility process of planning upgrades to the Football Stadium, Soccer and Baseball Fields, and a new aquatic facility that would put us on par with other local schools. Construction is planned to break ground after the Fourth of July fireworks this year with a timeline of 12-18 months for completion. I refer to my Seniors as The Nomads, because they have never had the chance to "Defend the Ranch" as almost 7 generations of Dons have had in the past.

California High School was gracious to allow El Rancho HS to celebrate its Senior Night 2023 at their site. Due to unforeseen issues between LA County and Whittier Union High School District, the brand new County Aquatic Facility goes virtually unused since its opening two months ago. What could have been a temporary home for the Dons this year won't even be the location of the Del Rio League Finals. This year, Whittier College will host the 3-day Pre-lims and Finals.

Decorations were provided by our amazing ASB students/Swimmers/Stat Team Denise Garcia, Kiana Vidana, Julio Jimenez-Perez, Raphichy Olvera, Eduardo Plata, Cali Garcia, and Gaby Morales. Each Senior had a swim cap with their name and events made for them while their underclassmen teammates provided goodie bags/baskets. 

Congratulations to our Senior Boys' Christian Elias (CSU Fullerton), Timothy Ramirez, Sam Cordova, and Captain Eduardo Plata (Rio Hondo CC), Castor Villegas, Captain Raphichy Olveras, and Julian Jimenez-Perez (US Navy), and stat Melanie Cuellar (CSU Bakersfield).

I'd also like to congratulate my daughter Lorelei Rojo, who will be attending UCLA in the fall and my AVID student Carolina Moore who will join Christian Elias at CSU Fullerton. The girls' team elected to have underclassmen recall a short story about the influence each Senior Girl had on the team. It was a wonderful Friday night that capped an end to the 2023 season. The next two weeks will see the Del Rio League 2023 Finals and CIF SS Finals, taking place at Riverside Community College.