Author Archives: Michelle Gardner

ABCA/Rawlings Division III All-West Baseball Region

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Players from all four local SCIAC schools made the cut, impressive  considering the size and quality of the West Region. A total of 21 players from the SCIAC were selected.

FIRST TEAM

DH Philip Windham, East Texas Baptistl; C Josh Rapacz, George Fox (Ore.); 1B Nick Boggan, Cal Lutheran; 2B Tim Wilson, Linfield (Ore.); 3B Nicho Della Valle, Cal Lutheran; SS Trevor Koons, Cal Lutheran; SS Christian Muscarello, Trinity (Tex.); OF Pat Hirschberg, Trinity (Tex.); OF Jake Wylie, Linfield (Ore.); OF Nick Gentili, Pomona-Pitzer; UT Jake Peterson, Cal Lutheran; RHP Chris Haddelandm Linfield (Ore.); LHP Ryan Lucero, Trinity (Tex).; Rellief RHP Aaron Roth, Cal Lutheran; Relief LHP Sean Kistler, Texas Lutheran.

SECOND TEAM

DH Johnathan Brooks, Occidental; C Stephen Zavala, Whittier; 1B Derek Dixon, George Fox (Ore.); 2B Jason Henning, Redlands; 3B Kevin Francke, Trinity (Tex.); SS Jordan Dresner, Redlands; OF Erik Munzer, Pomona-Pitzer; OF Nick Fisher, Linfield (Ore.); OF Kramer Lindell, Linfield (Ore.); OF Timothy Williams, George Fox (Ore.); UT Jake Bruml, Pomona-Pitzer; UT Scott, Hong, Occidental; Relief RHP Derek Miller, Texas-Tyler; RHP Zack Speer, Trinity (Tex.); RHP Matt Delegato, Pacific (Ore.); RHP Aaron Thomasson, Linfield (Ore.); RHP Kevin Knight, La Verne; RHP Jeff Spillane, Texas Lutheran.

THIRD TEAM

C Chase Caldez, Schriener (Tex.); 1B Chris Whitehead, Schreiner (Tex.); 1B Trevor Keele, Dallas; 2B Marcus Uechi, Hardin-Simmons (Tex.); 2B Garrett Smith, Cal Lutheran; 3B Julian Barzili, Whittier; SS Logan Allen, Occidental; SS Scott Witte, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; OF Collin Radack, Hendrix (Tex.); OF Tyler Pfeffer, Whitworth (Wash.); OF Tyler Bates, East Texas Baptist; OF Alex Scheiwe, Redlands; UT Carlton Brown, Howard Payne (Tex.); LHP Scott Peters, Cal Lutheran; Relief RHP Tyler Brunnemann, Hardin-Simmons (Tex.); Relief RHP Taber watson, Chapman; RHP Curt Copeland, LeTourneau (Tex.).

 

Cal Poly alumn makes great strides

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Former Cal Poly Pomona baseball standout Travis Taijeron has really hit his stride.

The former Bronco center fielder is playing left field for the New York Mets High-A entry at Port St. Lucie (Fla.) and claimed Florida State League Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.

On the week he went 9 for 18 with three doubles, four home runs and five RBI. That boosted his season totals to .303 with 20 doubles, eight home runs, 26 RBI and 32 runs scored.

Good for him. He turned 24 in January and that’s an age where you want to be knocking on the Double-A door.

Taijeron, an 18th round selection in 2011, split last year between Low-A Savannah of the South Atlantic League and Port St. Lucie. But he hit just .203 in 48 games in St. Lucie last year. So he appears to have figured out that level. Hopefully he’ll get a promotion to Double-A soon and be on his way.

 

Alexander, Smith take top athletic honors at Cal State San Bernardino

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2012_13_student athlete honors night

Senior basketball All-American Kwame Alexander and two-time senior volleyball All-American Camille Smith were named Male and Female Athletes of the Year, during the Coyotes’ annual student-athlete banquet Thursday night at the Santos Manuel Events Center.

Alexander led the California Collegiate Athletic Association in points (16.7) and rebounds (8.8) for the Coyotes, who reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons. The Moreno Valley native became the first player in seven seasons to lead the conference in both categories and was honored as just the fifth player in school history as an All-American.

Smith earned Honorable Mention All-America honors for the Coyotes, who reached the NCAA regional finals for the 13th consecutive season. The Norco native became the only player in Coyotes history to have more than 3,000 assists (3,121) and 1,000 digs (1,115) in a career and helped her team win four CCAA titles, four NCAA tourney berths, three NCAA regional titles and one NCAA runner-up finish. Individually, she was a three-time All-CCAA choice and two-time All-American.

Junior Lee Nishanian (soccer) and Chelsey Jones (soccer) were named Scholar-Athletes of the Year, while Brenna McIntosh (volleyball) and Ricardo Velasco (soccer) earned Pups of the Year honors, awarded to the top first-year Coyotes’ student-athletes.

Earning the CCAA Hal Charnofsky Awards were Johnny Bell (basketball) and Shayna Stuart (basketball).

On the season, 16 student-athletes earned All-CCAA honors with water polo’s Misty Vu receiving all-WWPA honors. Nine earned all-region honors with five teams (volleyball, cross country, men’s basketball, golf and water polo) represented in postseason play.

Jimenez a great choice to head Cal State women’s basketball program

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Head Coach Renee Jimenez

The vacancy directing the Cal State San Bernardino women’s basketball program has been filled with the appointment of Renee Jimenez, who had headed Cal State Monterey Bay the last five years.

She is the perfect choice. She took over an Otters program that was just transitioning to Division II and turned it into a contender pretty much over night. The team was 3-24 the year before she took over and won a conference title in her third year. Her record there was 97-46.

That was despite having the second-lowest budget of the 12 teams in the CCAA and one of the three of four worst facilities. It also isn’t an easy place in which to recruit players. Now put her in a place where she has a top-notch facility and a talent pool within a 30-40 mile radius  that is second to none. The rest of the CCAA should be afraid, very afraid!

Her teams play hard, play together and play unselfishly. Their trademark has always been defense. I saw them play when they were here to play the Coyotes and Cal Poly Pomona but also covered them for the Monterey paper when Cal Poly hosted the women’s regional a few years back. I was impressed. They got to the semifinal without a player on the team averaging double figures. That says a lot.

Better yet is her 100% graduation rate.

It seemingly took about five minutes to fill the position. Well, it’s probably three weeks from the time the resignation of the former coach was announced to the appointment. That’s moving the process along pretty quickly, Athletic Director Kevin Hatcher knew who he wanted.

The pool of candidates was strong, featuring many with Division I experience but this was the perfect choice.

 

 

 

Top 10 college athletes of 2012-2013

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Well the college sports season is officially over. So in celebration of some great accomplishments, I’m counting down the top 10 individual performances of the last season. There were a lot of candidates and narrowing it down to 10 wasn’t easy.

10. Camille Smith, Sr., Cal State San Bernardino volleyball

Was the  veteran leader and setter on an otherwise very young Coyotes volleyball team that managed to keep its CCAA title streak in tact. If nobody beat them out for a title this year, that may not happen for awhile. For good measure the Coyotes advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II West Region final, AGAIN!

9. Lenore Moreno, Sr., University of La Verne track/cross country

Was named Division III Cross Country West Region Female Athlete of the Year after placing first place at the West Region Championships, becoming the first-ever Leopard to win a regional championship meet. In track she set school records in two events.  Her season best of 17:09.70 in the 5,000 meters established a new La Verne record.  In addition, she set both a school and SCIAC record in the 10,000 meters (35:00.43) and placed eighth at nationals in the 10,000.

8. Vainayaki Sivagi, Sr., University of Redlands track

Won SCIAC titles in the 200 and 400 and contributed to a winning relay, earning conference Athlete of the Year honors. She went on to place second nationally in the 400 meters.

7. Khallifah Rosser, Chaffey College track

Won a state championship in the 400m hurdles with a time of 52:08 seconds and contributed to a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 relay. Next month he is headed to the U.S. Junior Championships.

6.Chandra Lukes, Soph., University of Redlands swimming

Became the school’s first female national champion with a win in the 100 free. She also placed fourth in the 50 free (23.31), an event in which she entered the competition seeded 16th.

5. Mitchel Anderson, Sr., Cal Poly Pomona basketball

He was the CCAA Player of the Year and an NABC All-American and the leader of the best team in the conference by far.  Ranked in among conference leaders in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (8.1), steals (1.9). He’s not flashy but he’s consistent and reliable. Would probably av erage more for another team but the Broncos style of play doesn’t lend itself to huge numbers.

4. Kwame Alexander, Cal State San Bernardino basketball

Led the CCAA in both scoring (16.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), also earning NABC All-American honors. That’s pretty tough to do in a conference with great depth of talent in teams and individuals. He’s also high on the list because we was such great fun to watch.

3. Kristen Lim, Sr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tennis

Went undefeated in the regular season and was ranked No. 1 individually much of the year. Finished as national runner-up in singles and teamed with Caroline Ward for a runner-up finish in doubles as well.

2. Jeff Depew, Soph., University of Redlands swimming

It’s hard enough to win a national title but it’s probably even tougher defending it the next year and Depew did that, winning the 400 individual medley. He also gets props for winning an IM which means he’s good at every stroke which is the biggest compliment you can give a swimmer. He goes for a three-peat next year. He also placed 10th in the 100 back.

1. Brad Shigezawa, Jr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps golf

Not much can trump a national championship and he was the best in all of Division III. In thinking about it, winning a national title in golf might be THE toughest sport to win one. No disrespect to say track or swimming. But in those sports you qualify, then have a prelim and a final. In golf you have to be the best over the course of four days – 72 holes. It doesn’t get tougher than that.

Bradley Shigezawa (Photo by Jack Hancock)

Former Sagehen playing in High Desert

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David Colvin was one of the top Division III pitchers in the country when he competed for Pomona-Pitzer, graduating in 2011. Now he’s trying to chart a path at the professional level.

Colvin, 24, was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 27th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Now he’s coming out of the bullpen for the High Desert Mavericks. He has thrown 28 and two-third innings and given up 31 hits, seven walks and 10 earned runs with 30 strikeouts. He has a 2-0 record and an  ERA of 3.14. Those are legitimate stats for playing in such a hitter-friendly venue.

He went two innings and got the win in a 7-6 11-inning win over \Lake Elsinore on Monday.

Colvin spent the 2012 season with the Mariners Low-A team in Clinton (Iowa) of the Midwest League where he went 5-3, with a 3.15 ERA in 32 appearances.

 

Citrus names new water polo coach

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Former Owl Kenny Clements has been named the new Head Coach of the Citrus College Men's Water Polo Program.

Former Owl Kenny Clements had been named the new Citrus College men’s water polo coach. Clements played two seasons for Citrus from 1995-1996, earning All-American honors in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns as well as being named the 1996 Foothill Conference Player of the Year and Southern California Player of the Year, the last time an Owl earned such an honor.

“The Citrus College Men’s Water Polo program has a storied history which I am proud to say I was a part of in the mid 90′s,” Clements said. “It has always been a goal of mine to be the head coach of this program. My long term goal here is to build a premiere water polo program that competes at the championship level.”

After Citrus, Clements went on to play two seasons for nearby the University of La Verne. Clements continued his storied playing career for the Leopards earning All-American honors as both a junior and senior. As a senior, Clements helped lead La Verne to its first ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, and was named the Division III Player of the Year by the Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association.

Clements was inducted into the University of La Verne Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. Clements was also a decorated high school athlete. Clements prepped for Rowland High School, where he was an All-American and CIF Division VI High School Player of the Year in 1994.

Clements has spent the last eight years as the Head Coach at Montebello High School where he also teaches.

 

 

 

Top 10 jobs by local college coaches

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As always it was a banner year for local college programs. None won a national title but there were many in the running. Today’s countdown, the top 10 coaching jobs of the school year. Heavy emphasis placed on teams that won conference titles or were close.

10. Kristin Dowling, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s basketball

Gets major props for how far her team came in the course of a season. She got the job so late admissions were closed so she was left with whatever players remained. She had to get a tennis player and another who had never played before just to round out a roster of eight. The Athenas lost a lot of games early but were competitive by the end of the season. Can’t imagine how well she will do given a full year and chance to recruit.

9. Kristen Hauge, San Bernardino Valley College women’s soccer

The Wolverines (14-3-5) regained their Foothill Conference title and did so with a freshmen-laden roster. Some of the sophomores she did have, were ones with limited experience. Some minor injuries along the way also proved problematic but the Wolverines made their usual run deep into the playoffs. She also plays a difficult schedule and does a wonderful job of moving players on to the next level.

8. Bill Mierzwik, San Bernardino Valley College baseball

The Wolverines won their first Foothill Conference title since 2004 and they did it without a Pitcher of the Year or Player of the Year as those went to athletes from other schools. He might have been higher on the list it weren’t for a quicker than expected departure from the playoffs.

7. Chris Krich, University of La Verne football

The Leopards went 4-5, which was a repeat of the previous season. But it was a much better looking and more competitive 4-5. Let’s not forget how bad this program was when he took over three years ago. Numbers were down, interest was down. This should be the year the Leopards really turn the corner and make a significant impact.

6. Ben Cooper, Chaffey College men’s soccer

The Panthers went 16-5-2 overall, won the Foothill Conference and won three playoff games before falling to favored Golden West 3-1. The Panthers did it without a what you would call a “dominant” player. This is definitely a program on the rise.

5. Greg Kamansky, Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball

Another one that is going to be on the list every year. The Broncos (28-3) won what is one of the toughest conferences in the country by a whopping four games and they advanced to the West Regional semifinal. Kamansky did it with two experienced players in Mitchel Anderson and Terrence Drisdom. After that, Kamansky had a bunch of unproven role players. Yet the beat goes on for the Broncos.

4. Frank Pericolosi, Pomona-Pitzer baseball

The Sagehens (29-16) finished second in the SCIAC to Cal Lutheran and were given at at-large berth in the NCAA Division III regional. We have come to expect good things from the Sagehens because they have always delivered. But this year’s team  exceeded expectations. Pericolosi lost three pitchers and a catcher for a good portion of the year with injuries. One of the pitchers also plays first so it was like losing two players. Let’s not forget the high academic standards which  can make it tough to contend. Bonus points for playing a strong schedule that included three games against No. 1 Linfield (Ore.)

3. Laurie Nevarez, University of Redlands softball

The Bulldogs lost their All-American and career home run leader Amanda Lievanos to a knee injury before the season started and they didn’t have an experienced pitcher after workhorse Kayla Uphold. Still the Bulldogs won a ninth straight SCIAC title and came within one game of playing for the regional final and their 36 wins equals a program record.

2. Kim Cherniss, Cal State San Bernardino volleyball

Yes, she could collect a Coach of the Year honor pretty much every year. But this year was one of her best jobs. Maybe the Coyotes didn’t make it to nationals like they had done the previous four seasons but they did make it to the West region final, despite having graduated seven seniors. So this year’s run came with a senior setter and a boatload of freshmen yet the still won the CCAA by three games. If someone else didn’t win this year, they may never win. An absolute travesty that a coach with a sub-.500 record got Coach of the Year honors this season in the CCAA

1. Jeff Klein, Chaffey College men’s basketball

The Panthers (27-7) had the best season in school history, making it all the way to the state title game before falling to Mt. SAC 102-88. Most impressive was an 87-85 win over previously unbeaten San Francisco in the state semifinal. The Panthers had a solid, united core of sophomores that were the foundation for that success. They played hard, they played together, played with poise and were not in awe of their surroundings no matter what the situation. That’s a reflection of the coach and his staff.

Jeff Klein

 

CMS tennis coach sends message

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The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s tennis team is ranked No. 1 in the country. All indicators were pointing to this finally being the year the Stags get over the hump and win that elusive national title.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to that championship tournament in Kalamazoo, Mich. Sophomore Warren Wood, the team’s No. 1 player, was left home for something coach Paul Settles called an “internal team matter.”

Whoops!

That has to be a tough call for a coach whose team is so close to the ultimate reward. Give him credit for having the guts to do it. You would like to think they all would make the same call. But that is not the case.

Who knows what Wood did? But it doesn’t matter. Star athletes get star treatment too much of the time. It’s nice to know some coaches still have standards.

If any team has the depth to still pull this off, it’s the Stags (28-3), Claremont native Alex Lane has been playing No. 4 all year. Two years ago he was playing No. 1. That’s how deep this team is.

The team got behind on Monday, trailing Middlebury 2-1 after doubles. But the first four singles matches completed all went the Stags way. They won 5-2. Now it’s on to the semifinal on Tuesday. Settles has already sent a message. If his team pulls it off and wins it all anyway. Well. now that’s REALLY sending a message.

 

Redlands golfer gets national honor

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The University of Redlands men’s golf narrowly missed the cut the NCAA Divsion III national meet but the Bulldogs do have something to celebrate.

John McCord has been named recipient of the Phil Mickelson Award, presented annually to the most outstanding freshman in NCAA Division III.  It marks the first time in school history that a Bulldog men’s golfer has received the prestigious honor.

The Phil Mickelson Award dates back to 1992 when the inaugural award was given out.  For McCord, it follows a number of other accolades during the 2013 season, including landing on the All-West Region First Team and receiving the Ken Sherman Freshman of the Year honor for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

McCord compiled an impressive 19-round average of 75.9.

His best round in a Bulldog uniform came at the West Cup where he tallied a 67.  On the season, he racked up nine rounds of 75 or lower.