Apparently the Division 3 No. 1 seed and defending CIF champion didn’t suffer the biggest upset of the day. The Bonita baseball team’s 3-1 first-round loss to Los Angeles Cathedral, the third-place team from the Del Rey League, qualifies as the most glaring shocker in the Inland Valley. But Mater Dei, MaxPreps.com’s No. 1 team in the country, went down in the first round too. In fact, three of the four No. 1 seeds in the baseball playoffs that played Thursday made early exits from the postseason.

BASEBALL
DIVISION 1
Lakewood 5, El Modena 0
El Dorado 1, Long Beach Poly 0
Thousand Oaks 9, Anaheim Canyon 4
Los Alamitos 6, West Ranch 5
DIVISION 3
Cathedral 3, Bonita 1
Peninsula 9, Carter 0
La Quinta 4, San Gorgonio 0
Lakewood 5, El Modena 0
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Ayala athletic director Warren Reed made one last plea with five proposals remaining at Monday’s Mt. SAC area releaguing meeting, only one of which included his school in the Baseline League. Apparently it fell on deaf ears.

Ayala and Chino Hills joined Etiwanda, Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland in perhaps the closest thing we’ve seen to a super-league in the Inland Valley in the last 10 years. There is no doubt in my mind Ayala ended up in the absolute worst situation of any school in the Inland Valley, joining a league where the other five schools have an enrollment of at least 3,000 to Ayala’s 2,500. Those other five school’s however, will be fascinating to watch as Chino Hills brings strong football, basketball, baseball, softball and soccer programs.

Alta Loma was the big winner, moving to a Mt. Baldy League that is now weaker sans Chino, a two-time football league champion in the last three years. Bonita knew it was leaving the Hacienda League, but was thrilled to land in the Sierra as opposed to the Baseline, where two of the last five remaining proposals placed the Bearcats.

Here is a look at all the new leagues in the Mt. SAC area beginning in the fall of 2014:

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Could there be fewer teams in the playoffs in the future? CIF-SS Commissioner Rob Wigod, in his regular message on cifss.org, indicated that maybe it’s time for a change.

Wigod wrote that many of those at-large teams which gain entry into the playoffs result in long travel distances and lopsided scores.

“At a time when standards are being raised every year, in relation to high school test scores and college admissions, CIF Southern Section Rule 3214.1 does the opposite, as it lowers the standards for participation in our playoffs,” Wigod said. “I wonder what message that is sending to all involved.”

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For the fourth time in 5 years, the Inland Valley failed to produce a medalist at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.

Two wrestlers, Chino Hills senior Garrick Gurney, and Los Osos senior Jon Solano, both made the top 12, but lost their first matches Saturday and were eliminated from medal contention.

It was the third straight year Solano reached the state meet and finished in the top 12.

The Inland Valley brought 8 wrestlers to the CIF State Championships.

Here’s a look at how they did:
Still alive: but needing to win their first match Saturday to clinch a top eight spot:

No. 6 Jon Solano, Los Osos (170). He won his first two, lost to the No. 5 wrestler, then won twice more in consolation. He faces No. 4 Bryan Salinas of Covina Northview in the first round of consolation. Salinas beat Solano 5-3 in CIF-SS Masters semifinals last week.

No 13 Garrick Gurney, Chino Hills (170). He won his first match, lost 6-4, then won twice in consolation. He will face No. 11 Harlan Kistler of Riverside King the CIF-SS Masters runner-up, in the next round of consolation.

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The Etiwanda High School boys basketball team settled one score by defeating Long Beach Poly Tuesday night after two consecutive semifinal losses to its postseason nemesis. Now it’s time to settle another. Three years ago – after a semifinal win over guess who? Long Beach Poly – Mater Dei won the CIF championship over Etiwanda following this outrageous no-call in the final seconds on the potential game-tying 3-point attempt from Evan Jenkins in the video below.

Boys Basketball Championship schedule
Saturday, Anaheim Arena
10:00 a.m. – Division 3A – St. John Bosco vs. Chaminade
12:00 p.m. – Division 4AA – La Verne Lutheran vs. Serra
2:00 p.m. – Division 2A – Westlake vs. Redondo Union
4:00 p.m. – Division 2AA – J.W. North vs. Villa Park
6:00 p.m. – Division 1A – El Toro vs. Santa Monica
8:30 p.m. – Division 1AA – Mater Dei vs. Etiwanda
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