In the heat of the moment

After one of the mildest summers on record, Tuesday saw, by far, the hottest day of the season (ironic, considering Monday was the first official day of autumn), which forced local athletic directors pull out their “Wet Bulb Globe Temperature” instruments.

With the passage of Assembly Bill 1653 in October of 2023, high school administrators are now required to monitor temperatures when the thermometer starts to rise — as it did Tuesday. Aragon athletic director Steve Sell knew he would have to pull out the ultra-fancy thermometer — which takes into account many weather factors, including temperature, humidity, wind speed and sun angle — because he knew Tuesday’s forecast called for extreme temperatures on the Peninsula.

“I’ll start sending emails in the morning to my coaches saying, ‘Hey, be aware. You guys might have to push practice back,’” Sell said. “Thankfully, a lot of schools have lights on multiple fields.”

Not only were practices impacted Tuesday, but so were actual games. Two Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division matches, Half Moon Bay at Burlingame and San Mateo at Mills, were both postponed.

The showdown for first place in the Bay Division, with undefeated Aragon traveling to Belmont to face undefeated Carlmont, was pushed back a half hour from its scheduled 4 p.m. start. Following warm-ups, the matches didn’t start until about 4:45 p.m. with the final match at No. 1 singles was ultimately postponed at one set apiece because of darkness.

Neither coach was thrilled with having to play in heat that was around 83 degrees at 4:30 and the players certainly felt it as matches dragged on because of frequent water breaks.

Sell said he was in contact with his Carlmont counterpart, Pat Smith, in the early afternoon and when Smith used his WBGT monitor, it hovered between “orange” and “red.” In orange, players are allowed up to five-minute breaks every 20 minutes. Red sees more breaks more frequently and if gets to “black,” games and practices are shut down.

“[Every school] is so different,” Sell said. “Because everyone has their own little microclimates.”

So it could have been red in Belmont, but black in Millbrae. Add to that each section in the California Interscholastic Federation may be in a different tier. The Central Coast Section, for instance, is in Category 1, in which any temperature hotter than 86.2 degrees shuts everything down.

The Sac Joaquin Section, which encompasses most of the Central Valley, is in Category 3, which means the temperature has to be higher than 92.1 to shutter games/practices.

Sell said his school’s water polo games were slightly delayed as they made accommodations for officials and players. The officials moved to the shadier side of Aragon’s pool facility, while pop-up shades were erected for both teams and the temperature was measured in the shade.

All in all, Tuesday wasn’t so bad. Some practices were moved to later in the afternoon or early evening and most events were completed. And because it is an actual law, ADs are less likely to blow off the requirement.

“In the first year (2024-25 season), it was like, ‘This is going to be impossible.’ But then you start thinking — well, how many days are we talking about (heat making an impact)?,” Sell said. “It does require some flexibility.”

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With the Daily Journal sports department covering the majority of high school athletics on the Peninsula, we sometimes have to take a macro view of things. It’s hard to keep track of everything.

But thanks goes out to Peninsula Athletic League scorekeeper Simi Lee, who has a much more micro grasp on what is happening in the PAL, especially on the girls’ side of things.

Last weekend, Lee gave the Daily Journal an update on the Jefferson volleyball team, which beat South City in four sets last Thursday — 23-25, 25-10, 25-17, 25-22. Freshman Desiray Chui led the offense for the Grizzlies with 12 kills, senior setter Ava Jacobs guided the offense with 34 assists, while senior libero Jayjen Capuz dug up 14 balls.

Pretty typical PAL Ocean Division score line. But here’s the interesting tidbit: Jefferson’s win snapped a 47-match PAL losing streak. The Grizzlies’ last win against a PAL opponent came in 2021 when they also beat South City in four sets.

Thanks, Simi!

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Ashlyn Johnson, the Daily Journal’s Girls’ Golfer of the Year in 2022 and 2023, is in her freshman season playing for NCAA Division III George Fox University-Oregon and is off to a strong start.

Her first collegiate round, playing in the National Fall Preview at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert the second weekend of September, was one to forget as she shot a 10-over. But she quickly got over those jitters in the second round, as she fired a 2-over 74 to finish in 53rd place to help the Bruins to a seventh-place team finish.

She kept up her hot play earlier this week. Playing in the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Dupont, Washington, she opened with 3-over 75, including 2-under on the front nine and was in 13th place after the first of the two-round tournament.

On Day 2 she opened some eyes as she stormed up the leaderboard, eventually finishing second with a second round of 2-under after notching three birdies on the back nine. She finished the two-day tournament at 1-over, finishing one shot back of champion Kiersten Saludares of University of Hawaii-Hilo.

George Fox finished seventh as a team in the 14-team tournament for the second straight time.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.