CIF. Many hear or say the acronym, but most do not know its meaning or its connection to high school sports. Senior Joanna Welnick said, “I have no idea. Central Intelligence for Football?”

CIF stands for California Interscholastic Federation. By definition, it is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California.

To go to CIF playoffs, a team must follow CIF guidelines and perform well enough in their league to qualify.

Mr. Alex Boshaw, the athletic director, said, “After your league season is over, all of the teams are ranked by how good they are and each sport has divisions … You get an automatic entry into CIF if you’ve won your league and if you have a pretty good record, you might be in second place, but still be able to move onto the CIF playoffs. CIF has a power ranking system for each division. When you make playoffs, you’re matched up against teams that are in your division.”

All four fall sports teams qualified for CIF playoffs.

The varsity volleyball team won their first playoff game, but lost in the quarterfinals.

Boys varsity water polo also won their first round game and lost their second round game.

The varsity football team won their first league game against Tri-City Christian and advanced to their second round game.

Cross country competed in their league championships last week. Seven female runners and seven male runners qualified for and advanced to the CIF finals.

The sports teams’ performances this season have been phenomenal. Boshaw said, “This has been by far the most successful season that I’ve ever seen. I’ve been an athletic director for seven years and I have not seen a season like this one, where all four of the teams go to the playoffs and win games and keep advancing. I’m so proud of our athletes. They’ve done a fantastic job this year.”