Pacifica Christian High School athletic program took big steps in first five years

Houston Mallette (No. 31) and Judah Brown of Pacifica Christian head to the bench to talk to Coach Jeffrey Berokoff in a game this past season. (File photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Students, coaches, athletes and officials at Pacifica Christian High School this week celebrated the five-year anniversary of the private school in Newport Beach with a graduation ceremony at Mariners Church in Irvine for the class of 2020, which included social distancing measures.

The athletic program has made big strides since opening in the fall of 2015, according to Athletic Director Brandon Gonzalez.

School officials expect an enrollment of about 250 students in the fall, Gonzalez said.

“We initially were anticipating an incoming freshmen class of 55, but we opened it up to 72 students,” Gonzalez said.

“We are very excited about the growth of our school and are even more excited to get our new campus opened up in the near future.”

The campus is at 883 West 15th St. The new campus is located about 500 feet away at 1499 Monrovia Ave.

“The new campus will be our Academic Campus, with the ultimate goal of being able to educate 400 students in that building,” Gonzalez said. “Our current campus will then become our Athletic Campus.

“Our future looks bright. We currently have 20 varsity programs, four head varsity coaches working on campus, and are launching our 21st varsity program this coming fall in girls tennis.”

There have been a number of highlights. Coach Jeffrey Berokoff’s boys basketball team has been to the CIF finals twice in four years during the 2016-17 season and the 2018-19 seasons.

“The first time, during the 2016-2017 season, was the program’s first year of varsity competition and started four freshmen on the floor in that final,” Gonzalez said.

In addition, the girls soccer team has qualified for four consecutive CIF-SS postseason appearances and has posted an overall record of 60-19-1 in four years of varsity competition. 

The girls volleyball team has qualified for three straight CIF-SS postseason appearances, reaching the quarterfinals twice and the CIF-SS Division 9 final in 2018.

The cross country program has qualified for three straight CIF-SS prelims. 

There have also been a number of improvements to the Triton Athletic Center, Gonzalez said, including new paint and decals on the gymnasium walls, a new scoretable and gym chairs, a new scoreboard, an electronic score table and a new shot clock system.

Pacifica Christian’s athletic program, like others around the state, has been on hold since the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic. Gonzales said he is waiting for final approval from the head of the the school before announcing a date for summer and fall sports.

“I can’t give you the start date of fall sports/summer programs …. But what I can tell you is it will be very soon,” he said. “We are working and following the guidelines of the CDC, NFHS, and their Sports Medicine Advisory Committee as well as local health care agencies to ensure that we return to play in the safest and most effective way possible. Student-athlete and coaches’ safety is our number one priority.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com