September 2008 Archives

CaliforniaPreps.com will be co-sponsoring a showcase event Sunday October 26 at Van Nuys High featuring top seniors and juniors from all over Southern California.

The website will be evaluating and ranking all participants for recruiting and exposure purposes. The website will also provide stats and boxscores for each game, stories and photos.

For more information, contact Charles White at userwh327@aol.com

8-Man football is sometimes forgotten amongst all the big-time 11-man programs but four area schools are in the latest edition of the Southern Section Top-10 poll.

Faith Baptist of Canoga Park is top-ranked, Santa Clarita Christian of Canyon Country is No. 3, Montclair Prep of Van Nuys is No. 6 and Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth is No. 9.

Megan Norton had 44 kills for Harvard-Westlake in the Archbishop Mitty volleyball tournament over the weekend in San Jose.
Harvard-Westlake finished fourth in the tournament, downing Los Gatos and Cathedral Catholic of San Diego in the first two rounds, then losing to Archbishop Mitty in the semifinals and Marymount in the third-place game.
It was the second time this season Marymount has beaten Harvard-Westlake.
Danielle Salka had 30 kills for Harvard-Westlake in the two-day tournament. Krystle Higgins had 13 blocks and Alma Guevara had 12. Jillian McAndrews recorded 37 digs in the tournament.
Thousand Oaks also played in the tournament and won the consolation bracket.
Harvard-Westlake played in the Archbishop Mitty tournament last year.
"There is a lot of good competition up there," said Harvard-Westlake coach Adam Black. "It's a good test for us before we get going in the season."
Harvard-Westlake opens Mission League play against Louisville on Thursday.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 4
at El Camino Real HS
9 am Agoura 1 vs. Sierra Canyon
10 am Agoura 1 vs. Gametymers
11 am Burroughs 1 vs. Calabasas
12 pm Burroughs 2 vs. SCV Bulldogs
1 pm El Camino Real 2 vs. Birmingham
2 pm El Camino Real 1 vs. Oaks Christian

at Montclair Prep HS
10 am Montclair Prep vs. Valencia
11 am Van Nuys vs. Bell-Jeff
12 pm Channel Islands vs. Canyon
1 pm Agoura 4 vs. Sherman Oaks C.E.S. 2
2 pm Agoura 2 vs. Sherman Oaks C.E.S. 1
3 pm Agoura 3 vs. Oakwood

at Monroe HS
10 am Monroe vs. Buckley 1
11 am Panorama vs. Buckley 2
12 am Harvard Westlake vs. Chaminade 2
1 pm Saugus 1 vs. Chaminade 1
2 pm Saugus 1 vs. Eastside
3 pm Westlake vs. St. Francis
4 pm Community Charter vs. Golden Valley

Saturday October 4

Taft High School in Woodland Hills site-ALL GIRLS
10 am El Camino Real vs. Saugus
11 am Cleveland vs. Crescenta Valley
12 pm Taft vs. Southwest Mustangs Black
1 pm Oaks Christian vs. Granada Hills
2 pm Birmingham vs. Southwest Mustangs Black
3 pm 1000 Oaks vs. Burroughs
4 pm Chatsworth vs. Chaminade
5 pm Notre Dame vs. Westlake

I just got off the phone with Montclair Prep coach Greg Patterson and he said guard Daymond Cowlah received a scholarship offer from Loyola University in Maryland.

Cowlah, only 5'8, really came into his own this past spring and summer and was offered on Saturday while playing for the Mounties in the Valley Sports Foundation fall league at Montclair Prep.

Cowlah did not commit but will take an official visit to the school this winter.

"I think it is a great opportunity for Daymond," Patterson said. "He hit a $200,000 jackpot. It costs about $50,000 a year to go there."

Redlands East Valley made its debut in the Royal Classic girls volleyball tournament and won. Redlands plays in the Citrus Belt League in the Inland Empire and came in to the tournament ranked No. 1 in Div. II-AA.
"We wanted to get away from our area, play teams we don't normally see," Redlands coach Trish Vansant said.
What teams that play Redlands don't normally see our are five six-footers. Redlands sophomore Krista Vansant, the coach's daughter, is 6-foot-2 and was the MVP of the tournament.
Redlands defeated Arroyo Grande in the championship game, 25-15. Redlands knocked off La Canada in the semifinals, Flintridge Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals and Canyon of Canyon Country in the first round of playoffs.
La Canada made an impressive run in the tournament, downing La Reina in the quarterfinals and winning the third-place match against Quartz Hill.
Quartz Hill posted a couple impressive wins as well, downing Newbury Park in the first round and host Royal in the quarterfinals.
Simi Valley won the silver bracket portion of the tournament, defeating Agoura 25-17 in the consolation final.

With so much returning talent and momentum, the prospect of losing a football game never occurred to Crespi High of Encino.

But that's what happened Friday, as Crespi surrendered the first 31 points and was defeated 31-14 by St. Bonaventure of Ventura in a showdown between two of California's top programs at Ventura High.

Crespi (3-1), which advanced to the Pac-5 Division final last season, managed just 298 yards - nearly half of which was accumulated in the final five minutes as the Celts scored a couple of inconsequential touchdowns after the result was well in hand.

Crespi quarterback Bryan Bennett, who totaled seven touchdown passes over the first three games, completed just 9 of 26 for 76 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Bennett's final pass was intercepted by Kody Kurtz and returned 38 yards for touchdown to make it 31-0.

That was it for Bennett. He was replaced by Dusty Kramer, who orchestrated two touchdown drives over the final five minutes to make things a bit less disparaging.

The loss avenged a 25-9 victory last season by Crespi over the Seraphs, who lead the series 4-1.

USC-bound Patrick Hall rushed for 146 yards on four carries, scoring on runs of 53 and 82 yards. He also had an interception on defense, as defending Northern Divison champion and CIF State Div. III Bowl champion St. Bonaventure forced four turnovers.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Crespi got off to a shaky start, fumbling away a fair catch on its own 13 two minutes into the game that led to a Derek Kirk's 28-yard field goal.

The next time St. Bonaventure touched the ball, Patrick Hall scored on a 53-yard touchdown run, and just like that it was 10-0.

Crespi's next four possessions ended with a punt, an interception, then two more punts, as the Celts remained down by 10 at halftime.

Crespi totaled just 82 yards in the first half, as Bennett was 5 of 14 for 41 yards, including 2 completions and an interception over his final 11 attempts.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

...against Rosemead. It's 35-0 at the break, with Terhon O'Neal running eight times for 177 yards and two touchdowns - of 63 and 69 yards.

Starting tonight with the Hart-Westlake game, The Daily News will broadcast the Game of the Week live on the web.

To watch, just go to Dailynews.com/preps. The game is on your left hand side, about halfway down the page.

Well, here i am about 90 minutes before kickoff, getting ready for the Crespi-St. Bonaventure showdown at Ventura High.

This should be HUGE. We're talking two of California's best teams going head to head in a game that nobody has any idea who will win -- 'cept calpreps, of course, which favors Crespi by one point.

Lots of stars everywhere you look tonight. Crespi (3-0) has lots of returning talent such as quarterback Bryan Bennett, offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu and Ben Loth, receivers Kevin Cummings and Blake Stanton, linebacker Chris Carter, defensive back Mikio Island and kicker Christian Nastos.

St. Bonnie (3-0), which leads the series 3-1, has lots of talent, too, led by USC-bound all-purpose back Patrick Hall and quarterback Logan Meyer.

Should be a good one. I will update when I can. Probably at halftime and after the game, as I will again be furiously taking stats without the aid of my right-hand man, Dave Roghan.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

The Saugus girls volleyball team is off to a 10-0 start, including winning the Tri-City tournament on Saturday.
The team is ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Div. I-A poll and downed Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in three games on Wednesday night for its 10th straight win to start the season.
Saugus defeated Walnut in three games in the championship match of the Tri-City tournament on Saturday. Saugus also beat Immaculate Heart, Alverno, West Covina and Gabrielino in the tournament.
Senior outside hitter Katie Estes won the tournament MVP. She had 24 kills in the championship match against Walnut and 99 kills in five matches in the tournament. Freshman Jaclyn Clark had 19 kills in the match against Walnut.
Saugus hosts Chaminade on Wednesday night before heading to the Kennedy-La Palma tournament in Orange County on Oct. 4.

Bad news for Canyon High. High-profile transfer Antonio Bray, an Alemany transfer who is considered one of the area's top running backs, has been ruled ineligible for one year, Canyon athletic director Marlene Holomon said.

"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it has do with moving (residences)," Holomon said. "The paperwork wasn't signed or wasn't right. ... I'm not sure if he is staying at this school. If he does, he can eligible in one year."

Bray, a junior, scored seven touchdowns (two on kick returns) as an Alemany sophomore last year. In 2006, he averaged more than 200 yards per game for Canyon's JV team before transferring.

According to a source, Bray has made inquiries about transferring to Crespi.

Bray and Canyon coach Chris Varner could not be reached.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Saugus maintained its position as the top-ranked girls' cross country team in the California region following its dominant performance Saturday at the Woodbridge Classic, but the Centurions have some company in the latest top 10 poll.

Following a seventh-place effort in the girls' team sweepstakes race at Woodbridge, doing so while resting one of its top five runners, Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta ascended to No. 7 in the regional rankings.

For a full list of the regional rankings, click here:

The Falcons, ranked No. 3 in Southern Section Div. I, backed up their performance Saturday with a convincing victory over rival Arcadia in the first Pacific League meet Tuesday at Crescenta Valley Park.

Oak Park and West Ranch are listed among the bubble teams waiting to crack the top 10.

Although the Saugus girls' cross country team has already ascended to the top of the national rankings according to the Mile Split Network, the Centurions were waiting to see if their performances at the Seaside Invitational and Woodbridge Classic would propel them to similar heights in Marc Bloom's Super 25 rankings in the latest edition of Harrier Magazine.

Saugus did move up a spot from the preseason rankings, but only to No. 2, setting up a potential epic showdown between the Centurions and two-time national champion -- and current No. 1 -- Fayetteville-Manlius of New York on Dec. 6 in Portland, Ore., at the Nike Cross Nationals.

For the full national rankings, click here:

Saugus surged past previous Harrier No. 2 Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake of New York, which has struggled in the opening month of the season and fell to No. 8.

Fayetteville-Manlius competes in its first major invitational Saturday. Saugus doesn't race again until Oct. 4 at the Barnes/Staub Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park, The Centurions and several other area powers will then get a test run Oct. 11 at the Clovis Invitational on the state meet course at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Woodlands in Texas, which took second to Saugus at Saturday's Woodbridge Classic, moved from No. 23 to No. 21. Dana Hills of Dana Point, the top-ranked team in Southern Section Div. I, made its debut at No. 24 and was the only other California girls' team to be recognized by Bloom.

In honor of paying $11 to enter the campground and park at Castaic Lake for the first Foothill League cross country meet, here are 11 things that were worth the price of admission Thursday:

11. Natalie Malone's victory in 20:32 in the girls' junior varsity race, giving Saugus five individual winners in six races, including a sweep of all three female events. Canyon's Mason Bouchet (17:26) and Joe Pineda (17:26) denied the Centurions a sweep of the boys' races, winning the JV event ahead of Saugus' Zach McGraw (17:31).

10. Alex Ruther (16:55) and Logan Smith (17:08) finishing first and second in the boys' frosh/soph race for Saugus, leading the Centurions to an easy sweep in the team competition.

9. Keri Molt's sixth-place effort of 18:56 in the girls' varsity race, putting all five of Saugus' scoring runners under 19 minutes in their first race on the revised 3-mile course.

8. Saugus freshman Karis Frankian leading a Centurions sweep of the top five spots in the girls' frosh/soph race in 19:15.

7. The late surge by Saugus senior Courtney Wilson to finish fifth in the girls' varsity race in 18:47. At Saturday's Woodbridge Classic, Wilson was Saugus' No. 8 runner. On Thursday, she was the Centurions' No. 4 runner.

6. The ongoing battle between West Ranch and Canyon for second place in the girls' varsity division. West Ranch ran a faster team time than Canyon at the Seaside Invitational on Sept. 12 and recorded a 25-31 victory Thursday over the Cowboys, thanks to a fourth-place effort from junior Bailey Miller (18:39). West Ranch's varsity team time was 99:38 to Canyon's 101:22.

Some of the top teams in the area, including three of the Daily News top 10, will be competing in the Royal tournament on Saturday.
The 32-team tournament will be played at three locations with the championship rounds starting around 5 p.m. at Royal High School in Simi Valley.
No. 6 Flintridge Sacred Heart, No. 7 La Canada and No. 10 Quartz Hill are among the teams entered in the tournament.
Teams from the Pac 5 in San Luis Obispo to Granite Hills in San Diego are entered in the tournament.
Here's a look at the teams in the eight pools in the tournament:
Pool 1
Flintridge Sacred Heart, Oak Park, San Marcos, Calabasas
Pool 2
Arroyo Grande, Chaminade, Serrano, Highland
Pool 3
Royal, Canyon, Hueneme, Alemany
Games in pools 1, 2 and 3 will be played at Royal High School.

Pool 4
Nipomo, La Reina, Hart, Newbury Park
Pool 5
Granite Hills, Atascadero, Quartz Hill, Louisville
Pool 6
Oxnard, Simi Valley, San Luis Obispo, Mayfield
Games in pools 4, 5 and 6 will be played at Simi High School.

Pool 7
La Canada, Paso Robles, Ventura, Crescenta Valley
Pool 8
Arcadia, Redlands East Valley, Agoura, Rio Mesa
Games in pools 7 and 8 will be played at Sinaloa Middle School.

Campbell Hall of North Hollywood will once again be hosting its annual Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, December 2-6.

Eight teams are scheduled to participate including Campbell Hall, Palisades, Highland, Muir, Antelope Valley, Hoover, Poly of Sun Valley and Village Christian.

The pools and match-ups won't be released for a couple of weeks but here is the time breakdown.

Game times for Dec. 2-5 are:

4:30pm
6:00pm
7:30pm

Dec. 6 is the last day of the tournament and the schedule is as follows:

Championship: 7 p.m.
Third place: 5 p.m.
Fifth place: 3 p.m.
Seventh place: 1 p.m.

Congrats and farewell to former Daily News sports reporter Roman Veytsman, who is headed East for a dream job as a TV production assitant for ESPN in Bristol, Conn.

Of late, Veytsman has been working at the Signal, and his last day is today.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

"Second Chance Season," a documentary on former USC and Cleveland of Reseda star and current Washington Wizard Nick Young has been moved and will air at 7:30 tonight on ESPN2.

The movie was originally scheduled to air at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.

The documentary focuses on Young's life growing up, the hardships he endured including the killing of his brother, his transfer to Cleveland High and eventually making it to USC and the NBA.

A must see for everybody, not just basketball fans. If you liked Glory Road or Blue Chips or any other basketball movie, this will blow it away. A great story of perseverance, family, friends and always believing.

-- Jacob H. Pollon

Since moving to the Marmonte League in 2002, the Calabasas High girls' tennis team has not only boasted the most talent, but the deepest rosters of any group in the league.

With their most talented player, senior Sabrina Man-Son-Hing, missing Tuesday's match to attend to a family matter, the Coyotes again relied on their depth to extend one of the area's most impressive winning streaks.

Florence Hernandez and Emily Weissberg both swept in singles to lead host Calabasas to an 11-7 victory over upstart Simi Valley, increasing its league winning streak to 85 in a row.

"It's sad we didn't have Sabrina, but I'm really happy that we won," said senior Amy Rebhun, who teamed with Candace Goodman to win twice in doubles. "Hopefully this is the start of good things for us. We still need to pick it up in doubles, but I'm really happy about the win."

Krystal Hansard won twice in singles for Calabasas (2-2, 1-0). Lexi Daniels and Jessica Phan swept in doubles for Simi Valley (3-1, 0-1).

Senior Frank Hwang scored two goals and Paul Miernicki and Tim Perry added one apiece for La Canada, but the Spartans fell to Harvard-Westlake of Studio City 5-4 in a nonleague game between the top two teams in the Daily News rankings at Pasadena City College.

Harvard-Westlake (3-0), ranked No. 4 in the Southern Section Div. I, scored the decisive goal in a man-up situation after leading then being tied with La Canada throughout most of the game.

The Spartans (0-2), ranked No. 4 in Div. II, previously dropped their season opener to JSerra of San Juan Capistrano, 12-9, on Sept. 17.

Before edging La Canada, the Wolverines had beaten JSerra, 11-4, on Sept. 12 and topped Corona del Mar of Newport Beach 12-8, on Sept. 17. Corona del Mar is ranked third in Div. I.

-- Lauren Peterson

Keegan Hornbuckle, a top returning basketball player at Campbell Hall, has committed to Colorado.

"It's a great fit for him. it's perfect," Campbell Hall coach Terry Kelly said. "He picked Colorado over two or three Pac-10 schools because he fits in so well there."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Chris Reed, an All-Daily News preaseason defensive lineman from Canyon, has endured a tough week. On Friday, he was hospitalized in Riverside after injuring his neck in a 16-6 victory at Norco.

"I thought I was done (for the season)," Reed said.

Though Reed spent two nights in the hospital, he said the neck injury was not deemed serious. Then, on Monday he was hit a by car in front of Canyon, sending him back to the hospital overnight because of a knee injury.

"The driver was a mother of one of the students, I'm not sure who," Reed said. "It looks like I'm going to have an MRI because my knee is killing me. I'm hoping to be back (in three weeks) for the start of league."

Reed, a junior, is a Crespi transfer.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Sergio Sylvestre, a 6-foot-8, 385-pound offensive lineman who transferred from St. Bernard to Crespi this past summer, has been ruled ineligible because of undue influence, Southern Section spokesman Thom Simmons confirmed today.

Sylvestre, a senior, would have been the biggest player in Crespi history.

Crespi coach Jeremiah Ross does not think the ruling is fair.

"It's unfortunate because the kid didn't even play football last year, so how is that recruiting?" Ross said. "It is what it is. Nobody on my staff has been recruiting kids. It was ruled an outside influence. ... St. Bernard didn't do anything for the kid. They didn't even get equipment to fit him."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

The first CIF Southern Section coaches poll for girls volleyball was released Monday.
Harvard-Westlake opened at No. 5 in its new Div. I-AA. La Canada was No. 1 in the Div. II-A poll. Village Christian is on top of the Div. III-AA poll and Santa Clarita Christian is tops in the Div. V-AA poll.
Here's a look at the top 10s in each division:

Div. I-AA
1. Mira Costa
2. Wilson/LB
3. Los Alamitos
4. Lakewood
5. Harvard-Westlake
6. Newport Harbor
7. Thousand Oaks
8. Orange Lutheran
9. Rosary
10. Flintridge Sacred Heart

Div. I-A
1. Marymount
2. Santa Barbara
3. Dos Pueblos
4. El Dorado
5. El Toro
6. Upland
7. Notre Dame Academy
8. Saugus
9. Trabuco Hills
10. Valencia

Div. II-AA
1. Redlands East Valley
2. Bishop Montgomery
3. Corona del Mar
4. South Torrance
5. Walnut
6. Corona
7. Diamond Bar
8. South Hills
9. Poly/R
10. St Lucy's

Div. II-A
1. La Canada
2. Elsinore
3. Oak Park
4. Oaks Christian
5. La Reina
6. Oxnard
7. Cypress
8. California
9. La Habra
10. Santa Fe

Div. III-AA
1. Village Christian
2. Quartz Hill
3. Brentwood
4. Bonita
5. Santa Ynez
6. Los Altos
7. Warren
8. Valley Christian
9. La Quinta
10. Lancaster

Div. III-A
1. Mayfield
2. San Gabriel
3. Chadwick
4. Santa Monica
5. Gabrielino
6. Bell Gardens
7. San Dimas
8. Westridge
9. Cerritos
10. Ganesha

Div. IV-AA
1. Whittier Christian
2. Viewpoint
3. St Margaret's
4. Ontario Christian
5. Calvary Murrieta
6. Arrowhead Christian
7. Laguna Blanca
8. Woodcrest Christian
9. Mary Star of the Sea
10. Sage Hill

Div. IV-A
1. Notre Dame/Riverside
2. Big Bear
3. Bishop Conaty
4. Upland Christian
5. Nordhoff
6. Grace Brethren
7. Twentynine Palms
8. Desert Chapel
9. Baptist Christian
10. Desert Christian/BD

Div. V-A
1. Santa Clarita Christian
2. Milken Community
3. Connelly
4. Coastal Christian
5. Xavier Prep
6. Victor Valley Christian
7. Saddleback Valley Christian
8. Lighthouse Christian
9. Hesperia Christian
10. Hillcrest Christian/GH

Div V-A
1. Pacifica Christian
2. Wildwood
3. Marywood-Palm Valley
4. Cornerstone Chr/C
5. Lee Vining
6. Cornerstone Chr/W
7. Eastside Christian
8. Nuview Bridge
9. Calvary Baptist
10. Trinity Lutheran

The Oaks Christian girls volleyball team lost to Brentwood on Monday, the same day Oaks Christian had a memorial for Paul Long, an English teacher and advisor at the school who was killed in the Metrolink train crash on Sept. 12.
All of the girls on the Oaks Christian team went to the memorial at the Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks. Long was a teacher and advisor to some of the girls on the team.
Starting senior setter Glenna Roberts sat out the final two games of the match and coach George Hees used an unfamiliar lineup against Brentwood, which won the match in three games.
With junior Kim Koros setting the final two games of the match, Oaks Christian rallied in the third game. The team built a 17-12 lead at one point, but eventually lost 25-23.
"Kim played well," Hees said. "It was not a good day for volleyball."
Libero Brina Clark also played well, recording 13 digs and trying to keep her team focused on the match.
Hees used several of his sophomores in the match. Korri Noblett brought some much needed energy to the third game.
"We have a very deep team," Hees said. "It's just a matter of getting that experience. They all can start, it's just a matter of when."
Jeff Porter, the coach for Brentwood, said he knew about the memorial for Long and that the girls on the Oaks Christian team were in attendance.
"They had a lot on their plates, for sure," Porter said.

Valencia, which reached has reached the past three Southern Section Div. III championship matches, received the No. 1 ranking when the first division poll was released Monday.

For all the Southern Section girls' tennis rankings, click here:

The Vikings could meet up with another Valencia, located in Placentia, in this year's division final. Valencia of Placentia captured the Div. IV championship last season.

La Canada, a semifinalist the past two seasons in Div. III, is ranked No. 4. La Canada plays host Friday to Valencia at the La Canada Country Club.

Campbell Hall of North Hollywood, the defending Div. II champion, is No. 4 in its debut in the Div. I rankings. The Vikings play Wednesday against top-ranked Dana Hills of Dana Point -- the reigning champion -- at Laguna Niguel Racquet Center.

Rio Mesa of Oxnard, a quarterfinalist last year and semifinalist in 2006 in Div. IV, is ranked No. 7. If the Spartans can get junior Jessica Vizents -- sidelined with an injured ankle -- healthy in time for the playoffs, they could challenge top-ranked Sage Hill of Newport Beach and No. 2 Cerritos.

Viewpoint of Calabasas, the reigining Div. V champion, is ranked No. 1 and Liberty League rival Buckley of Sherman Oaks is No. 6.

Following a brilliant performance Saturday at the Mount Carmel Invitational in San Diego, where it recorded a 73-94 victory over the nation's No. 2-ranked team Dana Hills of Dana Point, Loyola of Los Angeles remained the top-ranked team in this week's Southern Section Div. II rankings, but could battle Buchanan of Clovis for the honor of the state's No. 1 team when the next poll is released.

For complete Southern Section rankings, click here:

Thousand Oaks, Saugus and Westlake occupy the Nos. 3 through 5 spots in the Div. II rankings behind Loyola and Redondo Union of Redondo Beach. Saugus took eighth in the boys' sweepstakes race Saturday at Woodbridge.

In Div. III, Agoura, La Canada and Golden Valley are ranked Nos. 7 through 9.

Following an impressive showing Thursday at the High Desert Classic in Palmdale, Paraclete of Lancaster is No. 4 in Div. IV, with Harvard-Westlake of Studio City (No. 5), L.A. Baptist of North Hills (No. 6) and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village (No. 8) also receiving recognition.

With a narrow victory over rival and third-ranked Pasadena Poly in the first Prep League meet, Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge is No. 2 in Div. V and Oakwood of North Hollywood is ranked ninth.

The Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta girls' cross country team reaped the benefits of a seventh-place showing in the sweepstakes race Saturday at the 28th annual Woodbridge Classic to move from No. 6 to No. 3 in this week's Southern Section Div. I rankings.

For complete rankings, click here:

Great Oak of Temecula, which finished third behind Saugus and The Woodlands of Texas, moved up to No. 2 behind Dana Hills of Dana Point, which competed Saturday in Hawaii.

Despite a strong showing Saturday at the Ojai Invitational, West Ranch -- 10th last week in Div. I -- was unranked this week.

Along with top-ranked Saugus in Div. II, Simi Valley is at No. 6, Newbury Park is No. 8 and Canyon is No. 9.

Oak Park remained at No. 3 in Div. III, with Agoura at No. 6.

La Reina of Thousand Oaks, which competed Saturday at the Mount Carmel Invitational in San Diego, remained the top-ranked team in Div. IV. Flintridge Sacred Heart of La Canada Flintridge is No. 4 and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village is No. 6.

Following a disappointing showing at the first Prep League meet, Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge is No. 4 in Div. V and Bell-Jeff of Burbank -- which hosts its annual invitational Saturday at Griffith Park -- is No. 6.

"Second Chance Season", a documentary on former USC and Cleveland of Reseda star and current Washington Wizard Nick Young will air on ESPN2 Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.

The documentary focuses on Young's life growing up, the hardships he endured including the killing of his brother, his transfer to Cleveland High and eventually making it to USC and the NBA.

A must see for everybody, not just basketball fans. If you liked Glory Road or Blue Chips or any other basketball movie, this will blow it away. A great story of perseverance, family, friends and always believing.

The Quartz Hill girls volleyball team won the Hesperia tournament over the weekend. The Rebels defeated host Hesperia, 2-1, in the championship match. They beat Burroughs of Ridgecrest in the semifinals.
Kara Sherrard, a senior outside hitter for Quartz Hill, was the MVP of the tournament. Senior setter Nicky Tracy was selected to the all-tournament team.
Quartz Hill -- ranked No. 2 in Southern Section Div. III-AA -- opened its season with a five-game loss to Serrano. Sherrard had 37 kills against Serrano in the loss.
The next match for Quartz Hill is the Golden League opener against Palmdale, followed by a nonleague game against Paraclete on Wednesday, another Golden League game against Lancaster on Thursday and finally the Royal Tournament in Simi Valley on Saturday.

The MaxPreps Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament features a star studded field this year.

Dominguez of Compton and Windward of Los Angeles are two of the many high profile teams signed up.

Five local teams will compete as well. They are Simi Valley, Alemany of Mission Hills, Van Nuys, Cleveland of Reseda and Reseda High.

Phil Torres has made a living off compiling scouting reports on opposing hitters and pitchers as a former semi-pro baseball player and the current varsity coach at Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta.

So, it only seems natural that his oldest son Zack has benefited from some research of his own on his way to becoming one of the state's top distance runners.

The information came in handy Saturday at the 28th annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, as Torres benefited from a smart race strategy to come on strong in the latter part of the 3-mile race to take second in 14 minutes, 26 seconds, trailing two-champion Mac Fleet (14:22) of University City of San Diego.

"I have notes at home on all these runners," Torres said. "I thought Mac ran an amazing race and it's a privilege to race against such a great competitor. Now I know what we all can do and I'll use that information the next time I race against him."

Torres, who has balanced running track and playing baseball for his dad during the spring, lowered his school record by 11 seconds on the Woodbridge course, but some modifications to the layout - namely the addition of a couple of sharp 90-degree turns - didn't allow him to go as fast as he would've liked.

"I was hoping for a better time, but they changed the course a little bit and we weren't able to maintain the type of speed we're used to," Torres said. "I couldn't kill myself (the first mile), but I knew had to push it to keep up with these guys. I had run this race a thousand times in my head and I knew that's what I had to do to beat them."

Torres closed the gap on Fleet by 16 seconds from last year's meeting, moving him into a tie for 13th all-time meet history. Fleet's 2007 mark of 14:17 is tied for third on the Woodbridge performance list.

"His dad (Dale) was a state champion in the two mile and my dad's a baseball coach," Torres said. "It's exciting to know that I'm running with the big dogs."

Valencia sophomore Christian Lopes represented himself well for Team USA in the Pan Am Games in Veracruz, Mexico, batting .367 (11 for 30) with one home run, 10 runs and nine RBIs as the Americans finished 8-0, including a 7-3 victory Sunday over host Mexico before a crowd of 3,200 in the championship game.

Lopes played every inning of every game, starting in left field and batting sixth.

At Valencia, Lopes hit 10 home runs and started at shortstop as a freshman.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Two runners in the top five. Four in the top 11. Five in the top 25. Eight in the top 50. Ten in the top 75 and 11 in the top 90.

Those are the incredible statistics produced by the Saugus girls' cross country team -- No. 1 in the country according to the Mile Split Network -- on the list of the top overall performers in all races at Saturday's 28th Woodbridge Classic in Irvine.

Here's the Centurions' breakdown on Saturday's list of the top 100 female performers:

4. Kaylin Mahoney 17:03, 5. Brianna Jauregui 17:11, 10. Karis Frankian 17:23, 11. Stephanie Bulder 17:25, 23. Amber Murakami 17:40, 32. Keri Molt 17:51, T36 Danielle Hernando 17:56, T49. Courtney Wilson 18:02, 74. Nicole Penick 18:17, 75. Alex Hampton 18;17, T 89. Anne Randall 18:22.

By comparison, from all of the rest of the teams in the area, only five runners placed in the top 100:

18. Liberty Miller (Simi Valley) 17:35, 31. Carlotta Pham (Crescenta Valley) 17:50, T40. Michelle Callister (Crescenta Valley) 17:57, T70. Grace Zamudio (Hart) 17:57, T89. Katie Klezek (Agoura) 18:22.