Senior Dominik Maldonado made a devastating block for Coronado’s basketball team against Natalia Jarquin, a freshman, continuing to play to the very best of his abilities despite temporarily being a part of the opposing team.

With a small student body of only 50-60 students, Coronado High School has a basketball team consisting of just four to five players. To fill out the roster, Mt. SAC Early College Academy (MECA) seniors Angelo Karsouny and Dominik Maldonado, along with sophomore Christian Aleman, stepped in to play with Coronado. To make the experience feel more authentic, they even wore Coronado jerseys, blending in as part of the team.

For their efforts, MECA ultimately secured a 55-44 victory. Reflecting on the game, history teacher and basketball coach Gabe Nichols noted, “Including Angelo’s, Dominik’s, and Christian’s points, Mt. SAC [ECA] scored 92 out of the 99 points combined.” The trio’s performance had a major impact, but in the end, MECA’s overall strength carried them to the win.

In previous years however, MECA’s basketball team played against San Dimas’ continuation school, taking on Chaparral, the opposing team. The score had been close to 40 points up, and Chaparral had let up their guard.

In the midst of the game, Maldonado’s competitive spirit took over, blocking freshman Natalia Jarquin’s shot despite her best attempts to evade him. 

Nichols explained, “We teased him a little bit on that one… [since] he was physically a lot taller and more athletic.” 

This was not the first time the Jarquin and Maldonado faced off, which is a joke for the Basketball team.

“He is officially the only Mount SAC [ECA] basketball player who’s ever blocked a shot from a female athlete” Nichols reveals.

The next game for the Basketball team will be this Friday where they have a rematch against Coronado High during first and second period.