San Diego, CA
PREVIEW: Dozens more San Diego-area high schools playing flag football this fall; here’s who to watch
Girls flag football
First contest: Saturday
Section finals: Nov. 21-23 (Playoffs will be in four divisions, up from two)
Defending champions: Bonita Vista (Division 1), Classical Academy (Division 2)
Offensive Player of the Year: Laurel Gonzalez (Torrey Pines)
Defensive Player of the Year: Mahilya Wilson (Bonita Vista)
Top teams (in alphabetical order): Bonita Vista, Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral Catholic, Classical Academy, Grossmont, La Costa Canyon, Mater Dei Catholic, Mira Mesa, Olympian, Our Lady of Peace, Morse, San Dieguito Academy, Torrey Pines.
Overview: The CIF introduced flag football as a varsity sport last year and it was a rousing success. The quality of play was beyond expectations. Success breeds success, and the sport has grown from 46 teams to 72 with the North County and East County schools jumping in.
Changes: Games have been lengthened from 20-minute halves to 24-minute halves.
Gabe Stamat Poway is among the newcomers to girls flag football. (Gabe Stamat)
Notable
• San Ysidro hosts a showcase Saturday, beginning with Calexico vs. Grossmont (10 a.m.), Southwest-El Centro vs. Kearny (noon), Central Union vs. Mira Mesa (2 p.m.), Brawley vs. Bonita Vista (4 p.m.) and Imperial vs. San Ysidro (6 p.m.).
• Escondido hosts a tournament on Aug 24 featuring Mt. Carmel, Santana, Carlsbad, Steele Canyon, Sage Creek and Poway. The same day, Hoover will host a tournament featuring Madison, Scripps Ranch, Morse, Mater Dei Catholic, Brawley, Central Union, Holtville, San Diego High and Mission Bay.
• For the first time, the annual Honor Bowl will feature flag games. Grossmont will play host Cathedral Catholic at 5 p.m. on Sept. 6; the next day, Bonita Vista plays Classical Academy at 1 p.m. at Cathedral Catholic. The Honor Bowl also features three top-flight tackle football games.
• Classical Academy led the county in scoring last season, averaging 30 points a game behind freshman QB Ella Moore. The Caimans’ defense allowed an average of just 4.5 points a game.
• San Ysidro returns six all-league players, including WR-DB Kristine Fadriquela and DB-LB Mia Gonzalez.
• Grossmont returns nine of 14 starters, including QB Marissa Farace, who threw for 2,181 yards and 33 TDs; and DB Xairiah Gromus, who had 19 interceptions.
• Bonita Vista returns All-CIF player Jamiya Valenciano; Khamaya Rockett, who had 10 sacks last season; and Layla Schoen, who had 43 catches.
• California is one of just seven states that offers flag football. The others are Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, Alaska, New York, Arizona and Illinois.
• Flag football for men and women will be an Olympic sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Players to watch
(in alphabetical order)
Nurah Arrellano, Our Lady of Peace
Azul Amador, Central Union (7 receiving TDs, 9 interceptions in 2023)
Jennifer Aguas, Escondido
Justine Batcheller, Classical Academy (All-CIF in ’23)
Ashley Beard, Grossmont (38 tackles in ’23)
Siena Botkin, Grossmont, (4 interceptions in ’23)
Iris Brogan, Mission Bay (All-CIF in ’23)
Alegra Camacho, Mission Bay
Jaylah Conner, Central Union (All-CIF in ’23)
Demi Cornejo, Brawley
Isabelle Cruz, San Ysidro
Paula Cruz, Calexico (1,641 passing yards in ’23)
Yareli Del Rio, San Ysidro
Elly DeGuzman, Classical Academy
Belinda Diaz, Morse
Nia Diaz, Escondido
Lauren Donovan, Classical Academy
Eliana Dorsett, Oceanside
Jaylene Duran, Castle Park
Catie Eberhard, Scripps Ranch
Kristine Fadriquela, San Ysidro (1,112 passing yards in ’23)
Rhiane Fadriquela, San Ysidro (1,000 receiving yards ’23)
Marissa Farace, Grossmont (2,181 yards and 33 TDs in ’23)
Myesha Frank, Hoover
Kaylah Franke, Otay Ranch
Jacqueline Gonzalez, San Ysidro
Mia Gonzalez, San Ysidro
Kaila Gonzalez, Classical Academy
Paola Gonzalez, San Ysidro
Olivia Grant, Hilltop
Xairah Gromus, Grossmont (19 interceptions in ’23)
Emma Gryn, Classical Academy
Naomi Gutierrez, Escondido
Frankie Haley, Mater Dei Catholic
Mary Haynes, Classical Academy
Rita Hazard, Oceanside
Dayanna Hernandez, Mira Mesa
Shairya Hollingsworth, Morse
Jae Jensen, Grossmont
Anna Jimenez, Mater Dei Catholic
Isabel Johnson, Classical Academy
Keilana Johnson, Morse
Kaitlyn Kaye, Oceanside
Paola Longoria, Vincent Memorial (All-CIF in ’23)
Mia Maldonado, San Ysidro
Jessica Manriquez, Vincent Memorial
Liz Martinez, Oceanside
Mia Martin, Otay Ranch
Sam Mather, Scripps Ranch
Leilani Mayne, Calexico
Nayelli McPherson, Oceanside
Kaitlyn Milano, Morse
Courtyln Mitchell, Mission Bay
Ella Moore, Classical Academy (All-CIF in ’23)
Bre Montano, Vincent Memorial (All-CIF, 3,973 yards passing, 54 TDs in ’23)
Ella Moore, Classical Academy (All-CIF in ’23)
Bridget Moreno, Classical Academy
Madelyn Morquecho, Central Union (1,582 yards passing, 24 TDs in ’23)
Hannah Narcy, Oceanside
Kaila-Mei Nelson, Morse
Cassandra Neva, Morse
Chloe Ng, Scripps Ranch (All-CIF in ’23)
Jiselle Nunez, Classical Academy (All-CIF in ’23)
Bryanna Ortiz, San Ysidro (447 rushing yards in ’23)
Lizbeth Ortiz, Calexico (All-CIF in ’23)
Evelyn Estrada Ramirez, San Ysidro
Mia Ramirez, Bonita Vista
Mary Reger, Mission Bay (All-CIF in ’23)
Lana Roche, Castle Park
Khamaya Rockett, Bonita Vista
Saraya Roope, Grossmont
Liliana Sanders, Mira Mesa
Natalie Savary, Scripps Ranch
Marena Schiess, Mater Dei Catholic
Layla Schoen, Bonita Vista
Alyzette Sierra, San Ysidro
Ari Simpson, Grossmont
Hailey Stepenosky, Scripps Ranch
Jenna Stroh, Classical Academy
Vyanna Ta, Mira Mesa (552 rushing yards in ’23)
Sinalei Talaitina, Cathedral Catholic
Gabby Thomas, Grossmont (523 yards of total offense in ’23)
Sydney Tobias, Our Lady of Peace
Azul Trujillo, Vincent Memorial
Jamiya Valenciano, Bonita Vista (All-CIF in ’23)
Atiana Velazquez, Scripps Ranch
Emma Valdivia, Our Lady of Peace
Tayana Venegas, Brawley (1,025 receiving yards, 9 interceptions in ’23)
Vania Victoria, Olympian
Abby White, Escondido
Nylah White, Mira Mesa
Jayden Wilson, Oceanside
Delylah Young, Brawley (956 yards of total offense in ’23)
JOHN MAFFEI
Originally Published:
Beauty and wellness are a staple of American culture. Thousands of citizens visit our spas and salons throughout the United States for critical, everyday grooming services they rely on. However, if the U.S. Department of Education has its way, Americans could soon have trouble finding qualified professionals to perform these traditional self-care rituals.
The department is proposing a new rule that would end access to many professional beauty programs — an important and growing trade. The department also is mistakenly labeling professional beauty programs as “low-value programs,” even though these programs offer students almost immediate employment opportunities providing professionals a flexible work-life balance.
Driven by high demand for skincare and hair services, there are currently more than 1.4 million professionals throughout the U.S. who work in the professional beauty industry. The professional beauty and wellness industry’s economic trajectory tells a story of continued and sustained growth. Growing at an annual rate of 7% from 2022 to 2024, according to McKinsey & Co., the United States ranks among the 10 fastest-growing wellness markets worldwide.
But even a robust and resilient industry like ours cannot overcome bad policy decisions that threaten an entire industry. Congress never included an accountability metric for certificate programs like cosmetology or massage therapy programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act does contain an accountability metric called “Do No Harm,” which is designed to keep colleges and universities that offer degree programs or graduate-level certificates accountable to the American people.
The accountability metric for degree programs, when applied to certificate programs, will eliminate opportunities for Americans to receive federal student aid, including Pell Grants, to unlock a career in cosmetology or massage therapy. The Department of Education has acknowledged using the Do No Harm provision as an accountability metric will have a severe negative impact on the cosmetology and massage schools nationwide, and determined that 92% of accredited cosmetology and massage therapy schools eventually will lose access to all federal student aid, including Pell Grants, for their students and most likely will be forced to close in the near future.
The one saving grace is that the department has not finalized its proposed rule, and it is not too late for the public to tell the department that this rule does not fit the bill for professional beauty students and schools. Comments must be received on or by May 20. You can submit your comments on the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) rule through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov/commenton/ED-2026-OPE-0100-0001. The department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by email or comments submitted after the comment period closes.
Any new rule adopted by the agency needs to account for the overall demographic and work-life balance goals of students and the professional beauty industry. These students and future small business owners deserve the same opportunities as students pursuing careers in other disciplines and fields.
Lynch is the owner and chief executive officer of the Poway-based Bellus Academy and the founding chair of the nonprofit Beauty Changes Lives, which awards nearly $500,000 in scholarships annually.
San Diego, CA
San Diego health officials monitor hantavirus situation as cruise ship passengers return to U.S.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — American passengers from a cruise ship hit with a hantavirus outbreak are back in the United States.
San Diego County health officials say they are monitoring the situation and there is no need for panic.
“The risk to Californians is really low and especially here in San Diego. Since the year 2000, we’ve only had 4 cases of hantavirus and the majority of those were in travel related cases so not even acquired here locally,” Ankita Kadakia, deputy public health officer for the County of San Diego, said.
According to the CDC, hantavirus is spread through contact with infected rodents.
“The virus can be in their saliva, feces or droppings,” Kadakia said.
San Diego County does see cases of rodents infected with hantavirus, but the strain seen locally is not the same strain connected to the cruise ship outbreak.
“The vast majority of strains of hantavirus are mouse or animal to human transmission. Not human to human transmission. So the Andes strain, which is found in Argentina, there is evidence that there is human to human transmission,” Dr. Ahmed Salem, a pulmonologist at Sharp Memorial Hospital, said.
Salem treated hantavirus during the 2012 Yosemite National Park outbreak.
“One of the ways you die from hantavirus is you get a collapse of your cardiac system and your pulmonary system and you have to go on something called ECMO. It’s one of the most aggressive forms of life support that you can do. So I do remember that case, and unfortunately, that person passed away,” Salem said.
There is currently no cure or vaccine for hantavirus. Health officials stress that for those who were not on the cruise ship, the risk of contracting the virus remains low.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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