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Talented brother-sister act will be tough to follow at new Otay Ranch High School

By Phillip Brents
Posted May 27, 2003

When Otay Ranch High School accepts its first class of students next month, the new Mustangs’ ranch should be populated by a diverse and multi-talented student body if the sibling tandem of Andrew and Jeanette Arnold is any indicator.

Andrew is finishing up his freshman year at Eastlake High School while Jeanette is concluding her studies at Rancho del Rey Middle School. Andrew will enter Otay Ranch as one of its “senior” student leaders as a sophomore while Jeanette will help comprise the school’s first freshman class.

Both will be reunited in the band room after a year of separation. Andrew also hopes to continue his exploits on the sporting field, though in new school colors.

The opening of the new high school will also make it easier on mother JoDee, who can now concentrate on following her children’s activities at one school instead of trying to coordinate two separate schedules at different schools.

“He’s my brother. I want to be at the same school again,” said Jeanette, an honors student at Rancho del Rey Middle School where she was recently selected the school’s Student of the Month.

Andrew’s first sport of choice in high school was water polo where he served as the Titans’ junior varsity goalie. He had played youth baseball and soccer before taking the plunge into the pool. “I always liked swimming. This was really the first sport I liked,” he said.

Eastlake finished third in the Metro Conference JV standings at 4-2. “We had an OK season. I did OK. I was kind of an outpaced player in the field. When I switched to goalie, I did a lot better.”

If Otay Ranch does not offer water polo this season, there is a possibility that Andrew will be allowed to continue to compete for Eastlake until the Mustangs field a program.
This was also Andrew’s first competitive season in lacrosse, though he had known about the contact sport since the sixth grade. “This was the first chance I really got to play,” he said. “I like the finesse of the game. The challenge is preventing injuries.”

Despite the physical nature of lacrosse, Andrew said water polo was actually the most difficult of the two sports to play. “You have to be in better condition to play water polo. It’s an extreme cardiovascular workout. You have to have both lower and upper body strength. You have to be able to tread water and be able to breathe without drowning at the same time,” he said.

Both siblings look to have demanding extracurricular schedules.

Andrew got his start in his music career in the fifth grade with the trombone. He moved to the baritone in the seventh grade and then the tuba in the eighth grade. He played tuba his freshman year at Eastlake but may switch back to the baritone his sophomore season.

Jeanette got her start in music at the same time. Her specialty instrument is the French horn. She served as the drum major this past season at Rancho del Rey Middle School while attending accelerated classes at the school (both siblings are in the GATE program). She also helped keep score at Andrew’s lacrosse games along with her mother and both were also regular spectators at Andrew’s water polo games.

“They’re both brilliant but each one applies it in different ways.” JoDee Arnold said.