2013 All-Valley girls soccer team includes a member of a national team

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tanya Samarzich, Upland, Senior, Forward
Given the myriad levels of the soccer Olympic development program, there is often confusion when discussing membership of a “national team.” Particularly when the member is a high school senior. The case of Upland forward Tanya Samarzich is easily simplified. “Oh yeah, she’s on the actual Mexican National Team,” Upland coach Bo Whieldon said. “You don’t find many her age that are because usually they’re on the under-20 national team. It’s kind of a big deal.” Samarzich, 18, a dual citizen, didn’t play a full season at Upland until this year because of her required presence in Mexico or elsewhere around the globe. Her senior year netted her All-Valley Player of the Year honors after a 26-goal, 11-assist season during which she led her team to an outright Baseline League championship.

COACH OF THE YEAR: George Duran, San Dimas
After a winning just one of its first six games, Duran led San Dimas on a run that ended in the CIF-SS Division 6 semifinals. Following the rocky start, San Dimas went on a 16-game winning streak that included 12 Valle Vista League victories good for an undefeated run through league, earning the Saints a second consecutive league championship. The Saints reached the CIF-SS Division 6 semifinal for the second straight season and held a one-goal lead with eight minutes to play before eventual CIF champion Citrus Valley rallied for a 3-2 win.

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Chino football coach resigns after just three years, two league championships

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Matt McCain resigned Friday after three years as Chino’s head football coach, ending a tenure that included two league championships and one undefeated regular season.

The Chino alumnus will remain a physical education teacher and work experience coordinator at the school, but ends a football coaching career that began at Chino in 1995.

“I’ve continued my education and at this point in my career I want to pursue other professional opportunities,” McCain said. “Chino football has been a big part of my life and always will be, but this was a logical time for me to step down.”

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2013 All-Valley boys soccer team: Ontario rewarded for historic season

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Adrien Perez, Ontario, Senior, Forward
Take your pick: 23 goals, 12 assists, a CIF championship, a second consecutive league MVP. There were plenty of reasons to choose Perez (pictured above) as the Player of the Year, but what sealed the deal was the fact that he completed the last portion of a historic season playing through a debilitating knee injury. The Loyola Marymount-bound senior was the leader of a team that authored a legendary run through the Division 4 playoffs to claim the program’s first ever CIF championship and the second of any kind in the history of Ontario High School. Penalty kicks and overtime were how the final two games of the season ended for Ontario, but Perez was holding up a plaque when it was all said and done.

COACHES OF THE YEAR: Vince Mangione and Moses Venegas, Ontario
The co-coaches led Ontario to the school’s first ever soccer CIF championship and the second CIF title of any kind. The unseeded Jaguars defeated the No. 2 seed before winning a semifinal on penalty kicks over the No. 3 seed and ultimately claiming the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in overtime on March 1. Of course, Ontario had to win its final five regular season games to claim a share of the Mt. Baldy League championship and begin the greatest postseason run in school history.

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Damien pitcher selected to Under Armour All-America game in Chicago

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Damien pitcher Grant Hockin was selected on Tuesday to be one of 36 players in the Under Armour All-America baseball game Aug. 24 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The junior right-hander committed to UCLA will participate in four days worth of events, including a formal workout for Major League Baseball scouts. The game will be televised live by the MLB Network at 11:30 a.m. on the last of the four days.

2013 All-Valley girls basketball team: Etiwanda makes it a clean sweep

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Amy Okonkwo, Etiwanda, Junior, Forward
The first time I saw Amy Okonkwo play this season, I was convinced she was the Player of the Year. Of course, I didn’t see her play until she dropped 27 points on the No. 1 team in the country to lead Etiwanda to a one-point overtime win in the semifinals of the CIF playoffs. Etiwanda’s victory over then-undefeated Santa Ana Mater Dei was certainly the defining moment of the season, but the Eagles had a quarterfinal win over eventual state champion Long Beach Poly and played in the first CIF final in the program’s history, among other accomplishments. It wasn’t a coincidence that this happened in Okonkwo’s first season at Etiwanda.

By all accounts, the junior transfer from Los Osos was just one piece of the puzzle. Her averages of 15.7 points and 9.5 rebounds are modest by some standards. Though the 6-foot-1 forward had range that easily extended beyond the 3-point line, she rarely dominated the ball, taking over only when needed. For example, with Etiwanda trailing by nine, Okonkwo scored 10 of her 27 against Mater Dei in the fourth quarter. By the way, the Eagles graduate just two players in the rotation, neither of which were starters.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Anders Anderson, Etiwanda
The fourth-year head coach not only led the Eagles past the quarterfinal barrier for the first time, but to the first CIF final in school history. Etiwanda beat eventual state champion Long Beach Poly in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1AA playoffs, then handed a Santa Ana Mater Dei team ranked No. 1 in the country at the time its first loss of the season in the semifinals. The best season in school history ended with a 28-4 record as Etiwanda fell to Corona Santiago in the CIF championship game and Long Beach Poly in the state tournament.
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Bonita baseball team has a problem, one most would love to have

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The Bonita High School baseball team’s pitching staff was deep before the season began. It has only gotten deeper. The depth of talent perhaps is best illustrated by a pitcher committed to Cal State Fullerton beginning the season in the bullpen.

But Damien transfer Grant Hockin has been so good John Knott, coach of the defending CIF champion Bearcats, moved him into a starting rotation that now includes four pitchers. Well, all four don’t actually rotate. Hockin (4-0, 1.44 ERA) and senior Sam Stavang (3-2, 2.80 ERA) rotate as the third starter behind Parker Merritt (5-0, 0.71 ERA) and Jon Reid (5-0, 1.75 ERA).

“There’s a lot of internal competition right now, but it’s going to be really tough to choose when we get to the playoffs and there’s only two games a week,” Knott said.

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2013 All-Valley boys basketball team: CIF champ Etiwanda sweeps awards

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jordan McLaughlin, Etiwanda, Junior, Point Guard
It was hard to imagine Jordan McLaughlin entering his senior year without having won a Player of the Year award – similar to how it’s hard to believe Kobe has only won one NBA MVP in 17 seasons – but Jeremy Hemsley and Malcolm Drumwright were certainly viable candidates for the 2013 All-Valley Player of the Year award. Hemsley led Damien to the first CIF championship in school history and Drumwright was an easy direct comparison after his Rancho Cucamonga team defeated Etiwanda in their final meeting to share the Baseline League title.

McLaughlin was edged for the award last season by La Verne Lutheran’s Grant Jerrett, a Freshman at Arizona this season who was not only the All-Valley POY, but the California Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012. Etiwanda’s point guard, who already has a plethora of scholarship offers, didn’t have any gaudy statistics this season (15.6 ppg) but his team’s defensive style doesn’t lend itself to such things. McLaughlin ended any debate, however, by leading his team to the CIF-SS Division 1AA championship by defeating a Mater Dei team that would go on to win its third straight state title.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Dave Kleckner, Etiwanda
His 17th season at Etiwanda was arguably the finest coaching job of Kleckner’s career as the Eagles claimed their first CIF championship in eight years and second in the program’s history. Perhaps the best defensive team ever fielded at Etiwanda held teams to 42 points per game in capturing the CIF-SS Division 1AA title as the sixth-seeded Eagles defeated No. 1 seed Mater Dei, 54-51. Etiwanda finished with a 28-3 record and made the school’s second ever trip to the semifinals of the CIF state tournament before falling in a rematch with eventual state champion Mater Dei.

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Daily Bulletin baseball, softball rankings: Los Osos No. 3 despite loss

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BASEBALL
1. Bonita (16-2-1) Bounced back from loss, tie to win two 1-run games
2. Kaiser (16-3) Cats have scored double-digit runs in four strait games
3. Los Osos (13-4) Fell into a tie for first after 5-run loss to Etiwanda
4. San Dimas (16-5) Smooth sailing until season-ending series with Northview
5. Diamond Bar (15-3) Building to two-game series with Bonita to end season
6. Carter (12-5) Next up for 1st-place Lions: 2nd-place San G and 3rd-place Rialto
7. Montclair (14-5) One-game lead on hard-charging Chino with five to play
8. Don Lugo (15-6) Followed loss to Monrovia with big win over Diamond Bar
9. Damien (11-7) Race for 2nd in Sierra League promises to be interesting
10. Chino (11-7) Can pull into first-place tie with win over Montclair Tuesday

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Etiwanda’s McLaughlin deemed one of country’s top juniors by MaxPreps

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The awards seem to keep rolling in for Etiwanda point guard Jordan McLaughlin. After leading the Eagles to the CIF-SS Division 1AA championship, the lastest honor is a spot on MaxPreps.com’s Junior All-American fourth team.

The honors, exclusively for juniors, included one other player from the CIF-SS. Stanley Johnson of Mater Dei, the team Etiwanda defeated in the CIF-SS championship game, was selected to the first team and named the National Player of the Year.

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Upland rallies past Rancho Cucamonga, 5-4

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Unlike the first two games of the Battle of the Baseline, the last game was up against my deadline and I am sorry I don’t have any highlight or interview video.

But suffice to say that Upland took advantage of Rancho Cucamonga mistakes to tie and win the game in the seventh. The tying run scoring on a throwing error with two outs, and a wild pitch scored the game-winner.

In the bottom of the seventh, there was drama immediately when the Rancho Cucamonga first base coach was ejected when Dakota Oberhauser was ruled out at second after trying to advance on an overthrow to first. But with two outs and no one on, a single and a double put the tying an winning runs in scoring position before Michael Gomez struck out the final batter to end the game.