Nick Tolomeo's feature on the Woodland Hills softball team:

"Five years ago when Woodland Hills softball coach Tony Paganico met with the sixth and seventh graders who were playing softball at the middle school level, he told the group they would be the ones to put the program back on the map.

That was in 2008 and the Wolverines had not qualified for the playoffs since 2002.

Paganico set the bar high for the sixth and seventh graders early because he knew of the talent on the team and because he did not want the group to wait until their senior year to leave their mark."

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Through her first three years of high school softball, Woodland Hills junior shortstop Kelsey Geyer has one of the most impressive stat lines in high school sports. Geyer has only committed two errors in her three-year career playing shortstop, a position that is one of the most tasking on the diamond.

In addition to that Geyer has never struck out once in three years of softball. She is also batting .500 this season with a .569 on-base percentage.

“She is to me a Division I player,” Woodland Hills coach Tony Paganico said. “She is like having another coach on the field.”

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Woodland Hills is in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Their prize for qualifying for the playoffs, a date with Shaler, a program who rarely misses the playoffs. The Wolverines (8-5) are relishing the challenge against No. 5 Shaler (12-5).

“Me personally, I am glad,” Woodland Hills coach Tony Paganico said of the matchup with the Titans. “You got to beat all the good ones anyway. I don’t have a problem with playing Shaler. Our thing is to be as competitive as we can. We want to be there at the end and know we left everything on the field. When Shaler walks off the field I want them to say that they were in a game.”

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Cara De Carlo's feature on Woodland Hills' Desiree Garland:

"Desiree Garland runs like a champion.

At the Butler Invitational on April 12, Garland, a senior at Woodland Hills High School, won the 200- and 400-meter dashes, defeating 50-plus sprinters spread over 29 teams.

Interestingly, Garland had never competed in track and field before last year. Garland commented on all of the "little things" she was still learning about the sport, like getting out of the starting blocks.

"It was awkward at states last year," she recalled. "Everyone was using blocks to start the 400, and I'm just standing there.""

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