Two locals garner SCIAC honor

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Athletes from two area SCIAC schools earned top honors for their performance in the last week.

Senior sprinter Vainayaki Sivaji of the University of Redlands track & field program garnered her first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Week honor.

Sivaji captured three SCIAC titles and contributed to a record-setting relay during the recent SCIAC Track & Field Championships.  In the 400 Meters, she uncorked a new school-record time of 55.70 to take first place, while in the 200 Meters, she ran another career-best mark of 25.10 seconds to capture the gold and the third-fastest time in school history.  Her 400 Meters time is the fourth-fastest mark in the NCAA Division III this season, while the 200 Meters time is the 14th fastest.

She garnered her third championship as a member of the 4×400 Relay, which completed the race five seconds faster than the competition in a time of 3:53.93.  In addition, the Bulldog foursome boasts the 13th-fastset time among the NCAA Division III this season.  Additionally, Sivaji anchored the 4×100 Relay that clocked in a new school-record time of 48.30 for second place at the meet.

Junior golfer Brad Shigezawa of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges was named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week.

Shigezawa won the SCIAC Championships by three strokes with a 54-hole total of 212 (-4). He was one shot down after 36 holes and tied for the low round of the tournament on the final 18 with a 68. He was one of only three players to break par.

Shigezawa also won SCIAC #1 (69) and SCIAC #2 (149).

 

All-Orange Empire selections for softball announced

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All-Orange Empire Conference Women’s Softball Teams
Coach of the Year – Lisa Camarco, Santiago Canyon
Most Valuable Player – Natalie Barrios, Riverside
Most Valuable Pitcher – Chelsea Ponce, Riverside
First Team
Nicole Nobbe, Cypress
Natalie Barrios, Riverside
Katherine Macias, Riverside
Chelsea Ponce, Riverside
Terry-Lee Rahe, Santiago Canyon
Stephanie Luhmann, Cypress
Alexandria Perkins, Santa Ana
Gina Grijalva, Riverside City
Hannah Romanski, Santiago Canyon
Sarah Craig, Golden West
McCrae Cayton, Saddleback
Courtney Brown, Riverside
 
Second Team
Sabrina Perez, Santa Ana
Josie Tucker, Santiago Canyon
Alyssia Palamino, Cypress
Faith Brinnon, Santiago Canyon
Mallory Campbell, Cypress
Nicole Chapman, Fullerton
Kelsey Hodge, Saddleback
Danielle Hernandez, Santa Ana
Ciera Henson, Golden West
Desiree Broussard, Riverside
Sydney Abounassar, Saddleback


JC baseball pairings announced

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San Bernardino Valley College has received the No. 4 seed for the community college playoffs which start on Saturday. The Wolverines (28-8) claimed their first Foothill Conference title since 2004 and have won 17 of their last 18 games.

Here’s the rundown:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Tuesday (single elimination) No. 17 Santa Barbara (20-16) at No. 16 E Camino-Compton Center (21-15); No. 18 East Los Angeles (24-12) at No. 15 Rio Hondo (23-12).

Friday (Game 1, best-of-three series)

Compton-Santa Barbara winner at No. 1 Fullerton (25-11); No. 9 Cypress (23-13) at No. 8 Cuesta (21-15); No. 12 Mt. San Jacinto (24-12) at No. 5. Mt. SAC (26-10); No. 13 Canyons (22-14) at No. 4 San Bernardino Valley (28-8); No. 14 Bakersfield (24-12) at No. 3 Saddleback (25-11); No. 11 Orange Coast (22-14) at No. 6 Palomar (24-11); No. 10 Grossmont (26-10) at No. 7 Glendale (25-11); Rio Hondo-East LA winner at No. 2 Riverside (24-12).

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Tuesday (single elimination) – No. 17 Sequoias (19-17) at No. 16 Modesto (18-17); No. 18 Los Medano (18-18) at No. 15. Mission (22-13).

Friday, Game 1 (Best-of-three) – Modesto-Sequoias winner at No. 1 Santa Rosa (28-6-1); No. 9 San Mateo at No. 8 Cabrillo (18-18); No. 12 Sacramento (18-18) at No. 5 Chabot (24-12); No. 13 Laney (21-14) at No. 4 Fresno (26-10); No. 14 Solano (21-13) at No. 3 Marin (28-8); No. 11 Monterey Peninsula (23-13) at No. 6 San Joaquin Delta (24-12); No. 10 Merced (22-14) at No. 7 Feather River (24-12); Mission-Los Medano winner at No. 2 Sierra (29-7).

It’s a great day for local athletes in many sports

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It was a great day for a lot of athletes who made names for themselves in the Inland Empire and continued to do so on a bigger stage.

First, there was the NFL draft where two locals were chosen in the seventh round. Southern Utah quarterback Brad Sorensen (Colton HS/SBVC) was chosen by the San Diego Chargers with the 221st overall pick.

He played on some great teams at Colton with the likes of Allan Bradford and Shareece Wright, who is also with the Chargers.

Going later in the round, Nebraska safety Daimion Stafford (Norco HS/Chaffey College). Stafford was second on the team with 96 tackles, including 51 solo stops. He made at least seven tackles in 10 of 14 games, including a season-high 11 stops at Michigan State. Stafford racked up 176 tackles in his two seasons with the Cornhuskers, the fourth-best total in school history among two-year players.

In baseball, third baseman Jermaine Curtis (Miller HS/UCLA) made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance.

In 17 games at Triple-A Memphis Redbirds (Pacific Coast League) this season he hit .292 with 17 RBI.

Then there’s one of the fastest-rising stars in the United States when it comes to track. Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga HS/UC Riverside) participated in the Penn Relays, running a leg for the victorious Red team in the 4×800 USA vs. the World Relay. Martinez ran a second leg of 2:00.6. The only faster leg was that of Alysia Montano who ran a 1:58.6 anchor for the same quartet.

In NBA action, Ivan Johnson (Cal State San Bernardino) helped the Atlanta Hawks to a 90-69 playoff win over the Indiana Pacers. In 26 minutes off the bench Johnson, who played for the Coyotes in 2007, contributed 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.

 

JC softball playoff pairings unveiled

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Here’s the playoff draw for the CCCAA softball championships. Even throwing in the North for those that REALLY care. All series are best of three, with the first games next Saturday.

SOUTH

No. 16 Ventura (20-17) at No. 1. Riverside (36-3); No. 9 College of the Desert (29-8) at No. 8 Santa Ana (26-14); No. 13 Moorpark (24-12-1) at No. 4 Palomar (25-11); No. 12 Saddleback (22-14) at No. 5 Canyons (20-8-2); No. 14 Citrus (24-12) at No. 3 Cypress (33-7); No. 11 Grossmont (24-13) at No. 6 Santiago Canyon (30-9); No. 10 Cerritos (29-10) at No. 7 San Diego Mesa (30-8); No. 15 Chaffey (25-15) at No. 2 Mt. SAC (35-4)

NORTH

No. 16 Feather River (22-16) at No. 1 College of San Mateo (36-4); No. 9 Fresno (29-9) at No. 8 San Jose (28-12); No. 13 Solano (26-13) at No. 4 West Valley (28-10-1); No. 12 San Joaquin Delta (23-17) at No. 5 Hartnell (31-7); No. 14 De Anza (21-14) at No. 3 Sacramento (31-5); No. 11 Sequoias (28-9) at No. 6 Cabrillo (30-8); No. 10 Monterey Peninsula (27-12) at No. 7 Sierra (27-10-1); No. 15 Napa Valley (29-11) at No. 2 Shasta (34-6).

Redlands, CMS in DIII Top 25

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NFCA Division III Top 25 poll – April 24, 2013

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll is voted on by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. 2013 records are shown. First place votes are in parentheses.

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Montclair State (5) 33-1 195 1
Texas-Tyler (3) 38-2 195 2
3 Salisbury 32-2 183 4
4 Trine 29-3 174 5
5 Emory 39-3 169 3
6 Linfield 36-6 159 7
7 Tufts 28-3 148 6
8 Redlands 32-8 144 8
9 Rowan 32-4 137 11
10 Coe 28-4 128 13
11 St. Thomas (Minnesota) 23-5 111 15
12 East Texas Baptist 30-10 108 14
13 Wisconsin-Whitewater 22-3 94 10
14 Central (Iowa) 26-7 91 19
15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 29-11 79 17
16 Christopher Newport 32-11 76 21
17 Virginia Wesleyan 34-6 71 22
18 Illinois Wesleyan 26-7 70
19 Lynchburg 30-9 56 16
20 Texas Lutheran 32-8 38 24
21 Carthage 21-7 27 25
22 Randolph-Macon 33-7 26
23 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 18-3 24
24 Luther 23-7 22 9
25 North Central (Illinois) 27-3 18 18

Others receiving votes:

Lebanon Valley (16), Simpson (13), Roanoke (10), Capital (6), Wesleyan (4), Eastern Connecticut (3), John Carroll (2), Utica (2) and Penn State Berks (1).

Dropped out:

The team experiencing the largest drop in this week’s poll was Roanoke (29-10) who fell from No. 12 last week to receiving just 10 points this week to land unranked. Previously ranked No. 20 the College of New Jersey and No. 23, Chapman fell in the poll to be unranked this week as well.

U of La Verne runner saluted

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Lenore Moreno

University of La Verne senior Lenore Moreno has once again captured SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Moreno was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the week of April 15-21 after lowering her school and conference record in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.  She posted an all-time conference best of 35:00.43 in her race to shave nearly three seconds off her previous best set a month ago.

Her time of 35:00.43 in the 10,000 set at the Mt. SAC Relays currently stands as the fastest in Division III.

An All-American in cross country this season, Moreno has garnered SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week accolades five times during the 2012-13 academic year.  She earned the honor on three occasions during the cross country season and earlier received the Athlete of the Week award in track & field after running 35:03.39 on March 15.at the Occidental Distance Carnival to set the previous conference record.

Cal Baptist pitcher honored

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For the second time this season, Cal Baptist senior Jon Bengard has been named Pac West Conference Pitcher of the Week. hHe is honored this time for his showing the week of  April 15-21.

In his lone start of the week, Bengard was stellar in a 5-1 win over No. 15 Grand Canyon. He went the distance for the third time this year, striking out a career-high 11 batters and allowing just one run. It was his fourth straight start allowing one run or less.

This season, Bengard, the reigning PacWest Pitcher of the Year, is 9-0 with a 1.76 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 81.2 innings. He leads the PacWest in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

The Lancers (28-14, 21-7) are just one game behind Grand Canyon in the race for the conference title with eight games to play. CBU travels to Dixie State for a four game set this weekend.

SBVC clinches first Foothill baseball title since 2004

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San Bernardino Valley clinched its first Foothill Conference title since 2004 with a 5-4 win over local rival Chaffey on Thursday. Word of Mt. San Jacinto’s loss to College of the Desert trickled over just as the Wolverines were recording the last out. That made it official.

Of course it was just a matter of time. SBVC’s last three-game series is against last place Victor Valley so it’s not like it was going to lose multiple games to the Rams.

It’s one of the better teams coach Bill Mierzwik has had in his more than two decades. The Wolverines (24-8, 16-4) don’t do anything fancy. They had eight hits in their most recent game. That’s OK, but it’s not overwhelming.

They get good pitching, play solid defense and do a good job with situational hitting. That’s what it takes, particularly come playoff time when hits are harder to come by.

It’s also a matter of minimizing the damage. Don’t let an opponent put up a big inning. All four of Chaffey’s runs came in different innings as pitchers Tyler Rich and Kurtis Sargent were able to work out of trouble when Chaffey did threaten.

It is the 13th conference title in he history of the baseball program and the sixth that has come in the Foothill. It’s the best record the Wolverines have had since the 28-9 overall (22-5 in conference) of the 2004 team.

Chaffey has had a stellar program but the Panthers are young this year, with a freshmen-laden roster. So it’s the Wolverines time! Hopefully the squad make a run in the postseason and represent the Foothill Conference.

 

Uphold tops of week in SCIAC

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Kayla Uphold

Senior pitcher Kayla Uphold of the No. 7 University of Redlands softball team garnered Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Uphold, a native of Fontana, stepped up in a big way for the Bulldogs, helping Redlands to a 4-0 week with doubleheader sweeps of Cal Lutheran and No. 21 Chapman to remain in first place.

She threw 23 innings without giving up a run en route to three shut-out victories.  The final game of the week was a 3-0 triumph in 10 innings, during which she went the distance.

Uphold held opponents to a .185 average, struck out nine, and walked only two.  Uphold also helped herself from the plate, ranking second on the team for the pair of twin bills with a .417 average on a 5-for-12 effort.

She leads the SCIAC with an ERA of 1.08 while tying for the most number of wins at 20.