San Dimas and Bonita, a Rivalry that began in 1972, has started a new tradition that will go down in history for 2024. Girls Flag Football has been an upcoming electrifying event where girls from both schools have been able to showcase their remarkable skills. Several athletes are known for having another main sport, but jumped at the chance to make history in their own schools. San Dimas Saint, Ashley Sandmark, was one of many that joined this team and showcased not only her ability but remarkable leadership for our school. Born with the same leadership, Bonita Bearcat Breanna Sandmark was ecstatic to begin a new tradition in her school. Both sisters went face to face in the first Smudge Crown game October 9th at the Covina District Field.
Growing up Ashley and Breanna played for the same soccer teams, but they always had their own forms of competition between themselves. Breanna is the fast twin but Ashley is the strong twin. Ashley describes Breanna as an “elegant” athlete and herself as a “gritty” athlete. Competition drove the two sisters to become better athletes, Ashley explains, “We always loved to compete even if we got in fights we always made up.” Smudge Crown was their first extreme competition that went down in history.
Being the first Smudge Crown ever, tensions were high, the spotlight being on both sisters made the tension higher, regardless both sisters rose to the occasion and performed to the best of their abilities. All the publicity didn’t make Ashley timid, she expressed, “it honestly just hyped me up even more.” However Breanna said, “I started feeling overwhelmed because I kept getting pulled to do an interview in the middle of our warm up which started to mess with my focus”. Going into the game both sisters had their worries about the game, but were eased by the reminder of all the hard work their teammates put into this game and all the games before. Regardless of the circumstances, Breanna expressed her confidence in her team when she stated, “I just kept telling myself to relax and that we were going to win this game as a team!”
In the end, Bonita won the first annual Smudge Crown 19-14, but San Dimas did not go down without a fight. Regardless of the outcome, Ashley expressed, “I am so glad I took the time to just enjoy it and all the emotions I felt.” On the other side of the field, Breanna celebrates the first Smudge Crown victory with her teammates. Breanna expressed her confidence in her team when she said, “In the beginning I had a feeling we were going to win and thought Bonita is going to smoke SD just based off of what I saw of them and how we have been playing, but once the game started and I noticed how close of a game it was I started getting really nervous,” Breanna continued to explain,” We knew we had to play for each other and as a team in order to win that game”. Bonita’s following generations now have a high standard to live up to and San Dimas’s following generations are determined to cut Bonita’s legacy short.
In the end the Sandmark sisters congratulate one another on the thrilling game they were able to be a part of. Both sisters expressed their gratitude for their teammates for their effort and hard work. However, this competition will not be the last we will see of the Sandmark twins, as they face each other again in the Smudgepot Soccer game this winter.
