CdM girls’ lacrosse receives its bling after winning inaugural CIF title

The inaugural CIF Southern Section girls’ lacrosse championships were held last spring, and Corona del Mar did not waste any time securing a title.

CdM won the Division 2 championship, defeating Canyon 12-8 in the title match.

On Wednesday morning, the Sea Kings finally got the bling to go with it. The program held a short ring ceremony on campus.

The girls examined the rings, each of which featured their first names and jersey number, as well as the words “History made” on the back.

“It’s exciting,” CdM coach Jessica Murray said. “We’ve been waiting for it. The girls worked so hard last year through that whole COVID weirdness, and to be able to celebrate in front of their peers on the quad is pretty awesome.”

Members of the Corona del Mar High girls’ lacrosse team pose for a group photo with their championship rings during a ring ceremony held on Wednesday morning.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Murray said the program plans to honor the graduated seniors — including team captains Shelby Glabman (attack) and Olivia Sargent (defense) — when they’re back for the holidays as well. The CIF championship banner still needs to be raised inside the CdM gymnasium.

Belle Grace was a junior midfielder on the CIF championship team, and the third team captain. Grace, now a senior, ended up earning Division 2 Player of the Year honors.

“I remember we did a team-bonding activity in the beginning [of the season], and it was like, ‘What’s your goal for your the team?’” Grace said. “I wrote down, ‘Win a championship.’ For that to come true was really pretty amazing. To get a ring is just the cherry on top of it all.”

Goalkeeper Ellie Spotts, also now a senior, said receiving the ring just made the championship seem more real.

Coach Jessica Murray, center, hands out championship rings during a ring ceremony held on Wednesday morning at CdM.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

CdM also was the top-ranked team in Division 2 in the 2019-20 season, but those playoffs were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A year later, the Sea Kings didn’t miss the second chance.

“We all worked really hard for it and put in a lot of effort,” Spotts said. “We really bonded well and had really good chemistry on and off the field.”

The 2020-21 championship team also included Natalie Moorhead, Paige Phillips, Elyse Mina, Brooke Stearns, Teddy King, Isa Arrigo, Abby Grace, Haile Franklin, Lauren Westrick, Kate Kittleson, Frankie Garcia, Katie Sullivan, Amanda Cord, Caroline Cannon, Brooklyn Racunas, Makeila Yee, Ivy Hollander, Kate Miller, Ava Chambers, Megan Schafer, Elysia Samen, Hailey Peterson, Catherine Keifer and Charlotte Keifer.

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