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Former Orangewood Academy girls basketball coach Leslie Aragon watched from the stands last month as Fountain Valley’s Victoria Om dazzled in leading the Barons to a key victory in the Sunset League. The coach and senior guard, who played three seasons for Aragon at Orangewood Academy, later shared an emotional postgame reunion.
In many ways, Aragon wasn’t sure how to feel that night.
Now the co-coach at Rosary with Richard Yoon, Aragon was again in a visiting gymnasium to support one of his former players from his once powerhouse girls program at Orangewood Academy.
This season, he made similar visits to watch former Orangewood Academy players Maria Mejia of Fairmont Prep, Vivian Grenald of JSerra, Kennedy Wood of El Dorado and Alissa Belen of Pioneer.
The players, along with Om and and former Orangewood Academy post Ndeye Astou Ndiaye, have all thrived with their new schools this season.
“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry or celebrate or go to the corner and pound the wall,” Aragon said of his visits. “It’s bittersweet because it’s real. It’s just based on what happened at the school (Orangewood Academy).”
“They were my girls,” he added, “and I (feel) partially responsible for their well-being.”
All six players were expected to be key returners at Orangewood Academy this season until Aragon’s controversial resignation. Last February, Orangewood Academy announced a “mutually agreed separation” with Aragon amid the Spartans’ competition in the CIF-SS Open Division.
Aragon, who also served as the school’s athletic director, coached the team through the SoCal regional playoffs before departing.
He later stated that he was questioned about the program’s finances and encountered “philosophical differences” at Orangewood Academy, his alma mater.
The small, Seventh-day Adventist school has since shuttered its athletics program and entered a multi-school agreement with Bethel Baptist in Santa Ana. The agreement allows high schools without athletics to join a CIF-SS member to participate in sports.
While Aragon has helped Rosary advance to Wednesday’s CIF-SS Division 2A quarterfinals at Notre Dame Academy, he takes pride in the success of his former players at Orangewood Academy.
Om led Fountain Valley to a share of the Sunset League title and scored 22 points in a 48-46 playoff win against Alemany in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs.
Mejia, a senior who plays point guard, helps lead Fairmont Prep into its Open Division clash at Mater Dei on Wednesday. She averages about 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists for a team that reached the Open for the first time since 2017.
Grenald, a sophomore post, helped power JSerra to second place in the Trinity League and the second round in Division 1.
Wood, a junior, played point guard for the Golden Hawks, who placed second in the Crestview League and reached the Division 1 playoffs.
Belen, a senior guard, averages a team-high 15.8 points for a Pioneer squad that plays host to top-seeded Burroughs of Burbank in the Division 2A quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Ndiaye, a senior post, now attends Academy of Central Florida, Aragon said.
“The fact that they played this year is a victory in itself,” the coach said. “And in a couple of instances, I think they were the missing piece to put (their teams) over the top.”
NOTES
Fairmont Prep junior Adyra Rajan has made 144 3-pointers, which is a single-season Orange County record based on available records. She has made 144 of 375 attempts (38 percent) from beyond the arc. …
Mater Dei will honor Addison Deal and Kaeli Wynn for reaching 2,000 and 1,000 career points, respectively, before their Open Division playoff game against Fairmont Prep on Wednesday at 7 p.m. …
Capistrano Valley Christian senior Cayla Mercadel, who helped the school claim a section title in 2022, suffered a knee injury in a 42-21 loss to Costa Mesa in a Division 5AA second round game. She netted 35 points in a 37-35 win against Hamilton in the first round. …
Savanna and Loara, seeded No. 1 in Division 4AA and Division 5AA, respectively, have advanced to the quarterfinals.
In Savanna’s 46-29 win against Laguna Beach in the second round, Camaila Carigma scored 25 points.
In Loara’s 51-45 victory against San Gabriel Academy, Sophia Rangel had 26 points and 17 rebounds for the Saxons.
The quarterfinal stage on Wednesday is critical because the winners also advance to the SoCal regional playoffs for being semifinalists.
On Wednesday, Loara plays host to Hillcrest while Savanna plays host to Heritage Christian.
In Division 1 through Division 5A, there are 18 O.C. teams in the quarterfinals. There are two all-county games: Santa Ana at Rancho Alamitos in Division 5AA and Kennedy at Oxford Academy in Division 4A.
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