March 2009 Archives

Alan Eberhart, a former long-time coach at Crescenta Valley before stepping down in 2006, has been named head coach at Glendale, his alma mater.

"This kind of gets me back in the game, and I'm happy about it. I missed it," said Eberhart, 52. "I missed the games, and I missed the times with the kids and the practices."

Eberhart replaces Rafik Thorossian, whom Eberhart said left by mutual agreement.

"Rafik was a walk-on coach, and I think he wanted to do other things," Eberhart said.

Eberhart is bringing in defensive coordinator Bill Irace, who held the same position under Eberhart at Crescenta Valley. Irace replaces defensive coordinator Jerry Chou, the former Eagle Rock head coach who joined the staff last season and helped Glendale improve from 1-8-1 in 2007 to 6-4 last season.

Eberhart met the team for the first time today.

"I'm really just getting started, and I think we've got enough kids coming back that we'll be OK," Eberhart said. "I'm trying to give the program some continuity. I think I'm the ninth or 10th coach at Glendale in 15 years."

Eberhart was 89-58-1 with five league titles during his 14 seasons at Crescenta Valley.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Michael Avery hasn't completed his freshman year at Crespi of Encino yet, but he's already experienced the firing of his college basketball coach.

If that sounds a bit confusing, welcome to the strange new world of college recruiting.

See, Avery committed to play basketball at Kentucky University last May as an eighth grader, the latest in a growing trend of youngsters making verbal commitments before reaching high school.

The problem, of course, is a lot can happen between verbally agreeing to play ball somewhere and actually showing up on campus. Avery got a first-hand taste of this over the weekend when Billy Gillispie, the coach he committed to, was fired at Kentucky.

Gillispie was reportedly replaced by Memphis coach John Calipari Tuesday, leaving Avery to wonder about his status.

Avery, who averaged 10 points per game for Crespi this year as a ninth-grader, is monitoring the situation.

"On our part, we're just evaluating things at the moment," said Avery's father, Harold. "We'll see where things goes from here."

Harold Avery said the latest development is a continuation of the learning experience he, Michael and the rest of the family have gone through since Michael committed. The good news is Avery doesn't sign a binding letter-of-intent for another three years, so he's free to re-open the recruitment process if he so chooses.

"There is no harm done if he doesn't end up going to Kentucky," Harold Avery said.

The region was well represented when All-CIF teams were announced Monday.

Thirty players were chosen to one of the two teams for 12 separate divisions.

Four players were named players of the year and four coaches were also named coach of the year.

Not bad for the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

Here is the list.

Division II-AA
Coach of the Year, Rich Endres (Thousand Oaks)
Player of the Year, Alex Tiffin (Thousand Oaks)

First team, Antonio Lopez, Thousand Oaks
Second team, Andre Alexandrian, Burbank

Division II-A
First team, Brad Lewis, Simi Valley

Division III-AA
First team, Brad Wyche, Hart
Second team, Parker Dominguez, Hart
Second team, Keegan Hornbuckle, Campbell Hall
Second team, Clarke Anderson, La Canada

Division III-A
Coach of the Year, Greg Hilliard, Harvard-Westlake
Players of the Year, Erik Swoope and Damiene Cain, Harvard-Westlake
First team, Maverick Ahanmisi, Golden Valley
First team, Evan Smith, Calabasas
Second team, Austin Kelley, Harvard-Westlake
Second team, Steven Thornton, Golden Valley

Division IV-A
Coach of the Year, Todd Wolfson, Chaminade
Player of the Year, Jules Montgomery, Chaminade
First team, Blake Stanton, Crespi
First team, Tyler McGrath, Oaks Christian
First team, Daymond Cowlah, Montclair Prep
Second team, Jamal McClerkin, Chaminade
Second team, Gabe Borboa, Crespi

Division V-AA
First team, Bak Bak, Village Christian
First team, Edmund Chow, Flintridge Prep

Division V-A
Coach of the Year, Mike Hamilton, Buckley
First team, Andrew farhadi, Buckley
First team, Nick de Bonfilhs, Buckley
Second team, Michael Cohen, Sierra Canyon
Second team, Jacob Wolfarth, Valley Torah
Second team, Synjin Hipolito, Faith Baptist

Division VI-AA
Second team, Davion Cotterell, Santa Clarita Christian

Division VI-A
First team, Medrick Bell, Antelope Valley Christian
Second team, Josiah Broadway, Antelope Valley Christian

After four seasons as Harvard-Westlake's boys' water polo coach and a decade with the girls' water poio program, Larry Felix has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

"I really enjoyed my time at Harvard-Westlake," Felix said. "From my first year as an assistant under Rich Corso, I have learned a lot about myself and coaching the game of water polo. I enjoyed the unique opportunity of working with both the boys and the girls programs. I want to thank (school president) Tom Hudnut and coach Corso for giving me the opportunity to coach at Harvard-Westlake. I wish the athletes in both programs all the best and I will continue to root for their success."

The Wolverines went 81-33 during Felix's tenure as boys' coach, advancing to the Div. I semifinals in 2006. Harvard-Westlake won the Mission League championship three consecutive years (2005-07) and had an overall league record of 30-2 under Felix.

Felix also guided the girls' water polo team since 2000. The Wolverines went 23-3 in 2008, advancing to the Div. IV final before losing to Arroyo Grande.

"We'd like to thank coach Felix for his service to the school," said Audrius Barzdukas, Harvard-Westlake's Head of Athletics. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

The school will begin a search for his replacement immediately. Felix's replacement will coach both the boys and the girls programs.

Oaks Christian quarterback Nick Montana just received his 13th DI offer (from Arizona State), a staggering number considering it's only March and the season does not start until September.

Here is the list: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina andTennessee,

Noticeably missing is USC and UCLA. But, like we said, it's still early.

-- Gerry Gittelson

USC-bound tailback D.J. Morgan will get plenty of opportunities to show off his skills next season.

Taft of Woodland Hills has put together a nonleague schedule of Washington Prep of Los Angeles, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, Alemany of Mission Hills, Saugus and Serra of Gardena.

City Section schools besides Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the past couple years usually don't play too many Southern Section schools each year so this will be a treat for football fans across the region.

Games to watch for the week of march 30

Mon. March 30
West Ranch at Crescenta Valley
El Camno Real at Chatsworth
Granada Hills at Cleveland

Tue. March 31
Burroughs at Crescenta Valley
El Modena at Valencia
Pacifica at Camarillo
Westlake at Thousand Oaks
St. Bonavenutre at Oaks Christian
Calabasas at Royal

Wed. April 1
Dos Pueblos at Camarillo
Birmingham at Granada Hills

Thu. April 2
Thousand Oaks at Simi Valley

Games to watch from the region for the week of March 30

Tue. March 31
St. Francis at Crespi
Temple City at La Canada
Crescenta Valley at Burroughs

Wed. April 1
Simi Valley at Newbury Park
Royal at Moorpark
Palmdale at Quartz Hill
Taft at El Camino Real

Fri. April 3
Thousand Oaks at Royal

Golden League
MVP - Arvin Garcia -Palmdale (12)

All Golden League
Michael Johnson -Palmdale (12)
Darryl Haley -Palmdale (11)
Jorge Epley -Palmdale (12)
Monzaigo Williams -AV (12)
Chris Glass -Highland (10)
Derrick Chambers -QH (12)
Matt Trabold -Lancaster (12)
Javion Garner -Lancaster (12)
Chris Shaw -Knight (12)
Ryan Small -Knight (10)
Aaron Washington -Knight (12)
Quincy Moore -Eastside (11)

The Hart of Newhall girls' swim team waited more than a decade to capture its first title last year at the Southern Section Relays at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

But the Indians showed they were back for more Saturday night, capturing back-to-back championships to establish themselves as legitimate contenders for the Div. I title in May.

Hart placed in the top five in all seven relays en route to a wire-to-wire victory with 222 points, ahead of University High of Irvine (212) and Edison of Huntington Beach (206), which relied on Cindy Tran to win four events and set three meet records. Fountain Valley and Glendora also won races.

Canyon took seventh with 120 points, winning the 200-yard butterfly relay, taking second in the 200 backstroke relay and finished third in the 200 medley relay.

Kearsten Livingstone, Milena Lopez, Adria Morales and Kirsten Justice won the 200 butterfly relay in 1:47.17.

Maggie Hanson, Nicole Antoniuk, Chelsea Griffiths and Jordan Danny won the 4 x 100 individual medley relay for Hart in 4:00.33, more than six seconds ahead of University.

Hart took second to Edison (1:45.18) in the 200 medley relay in 1:45.73 and finished third in the 200 breaststroke relay (2:06.18).

Chase Bloch has won Southern Section individual titles, competed on record-setting relay teams and is a central figure in one of the most dominant swimming dynasties in area history.

But even by Oaks Christian of Westlake Village's lofty standards and Bloch's impressive resume, the junior's performances Saturday at the 37th annual TYR/Mission Viejo Invitational were nothing short of exceptional.

Despite being seeded seventh in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly entering the morning prelims, Bloch won both events in convincing fashion, helping Oaks Christian to a sixth-place finish with 189 points at Marguerite Aquatic Complex. Campolindo of Moraga defended its championship with 287 points, ahead of Loyola of Los Angeles (217).

Bloch won the 200 free in 1 minute, 39.95 seconds and followed with another All-American effort of 49.80 in the 100 butterfly -- below his mark of 50.16 at last year's Southern Section Masters meet -- in addition to anchoring the Lions to a victory in the 200 free relay (1:30.35), just ahead of Carlsbad (1:30.40) and Loyola (1:30.52). Bloch's final effort was another impressive anchor leg to help Oaks Christian place third in the 400 free relay (3:18.17), trailing host Mission Viejo (3:18.01) and Yucaipa (3:12.34).

Collin Baratte took third in the 100 backstroke (54.45) and led off Oaks Christian's 200 medley relay (1:40.86), which finished fifth. Nick Steadman Kevin Fleming and Cole Baratte teamed with Bloch on the victorious 200 free relay team and Dylan Duimovich joined Collin Baratte, Steadman and Bloch on the 400 free relay.

Hayley Shillington took second in the girls' 200 free (1:53.48) and 500 free (5:01.17) to help Oaks Christian place 10th with 83 points. Campolindo captured the title with 379 1/2 points and Clovis West was second with 289.

Shillington also led off the Lions' 200 medley relay, teaming with Taylor Amstutz, Kelsey Koon and Diana Safa to finish sixth (1:54.55).

Madeline Talt took fifth (5:10.90) and Emily Carideo was seventh (5:12.88) in the 500 for Flintridge Sacred Heart of La Canada Flintridge, which placed 12th with 53 points.

Forgive me in advance because I'm sure there's more out there, but this just based on the information I've received through Saturday night.

Here's a look at some of the outstanding double (and perhaps triple) event efforts put forth Saturday by our local track and field stars:

GIRLS

Anne Randall, Saugus, Sr. -- won the girls' invitational 1,600 at the APU Distance Meet of Champions in 4:59.46, then came back to take second (10:39.30) to Oak Park's Melissa Skiba (10:37.7) in the invitational 3,200 under the lights.

Valexsia Droughn, Rio Mesa, Soph. -- won the girls' 100 in a wind-legal 11.92 seconds -- No. 2 in the state -- at the ASICS/Mt. Carmel Invitational in San Diego and added a second-place effort in the 200 in 24.85.

Jennifer Owen, West Ranch, Jr. -- won the girls' invitational 1,600 at the 66th Pasadena Games at Pasadena City College in 5:03.89, then ran a strong leg on the Wildcats' 4 x 800 relay team that won in 9:38.29, the No. 3 time in the state.

Sarah Pearson, La Reina, Jr. -- battled West Ranch's Jennifer Owen in the 1,600 at Pasadena Games, taking second in a personal-best 5:04.89. Returned to win the 3,000 in 10:45.37, followed by running a leg on the Regents' 1,600 relay team (4:08.67).

Ashley Woodford, Paraclete, Sr. -- captured the 100-meter dash in a wind-legal 12.10 at Pasadena Games, then took second in the 200 in 25.04 and ran a leg on the Spirits' 1,600 relay team (4:04.26).

Tayler Johnson, Oak Park, Jr. -- took second in the girls' invitational 100 hurdles (15.09) at Pasadena Games (third-fastest time overall), then added a fourth-place effort in loaded girls' long jump with an effort of 17-4 1/2.

Daniela Pollard, Glendale, Sr. -- captured the triple jump at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays at Santa Barbara City College with an effort of 36-3 1/4 and took third in the long jump with a leap of 16-5.

Liberty Miller, Simi Valley, Jr. -- prevailed in girls' 3,000 at Santa Barbara Easter Relays (10:13.93), then ran legs on second-place 4 x 800 relay (10:09.98) and runner-up distance medley relay (13:08.23).

BOYS

Daniel Swarbrick, Saugus, Sr. -- won the shot put in 59 feet at the Surf City Invitational in Huntington Beach, then took second (186-11) in the discus throw by less than a foot behind Newport Harbor of Newport Beach's Cecil Whiteside.

David Selma, Cleveland, Sr. -- took second in the long jump and triple jump at the fifth annual Percy Knox Invitational at College of the Canyons, producing efforts of 22-11 1/4 and 45-3 1/4.

D.J. Morgan, Taft, Jr. -- clocked wind-legal, state-leading 14.46 to set meet record in 110 hurdles at Percy Knox Invitational, then returned with strong 21.81 in 200 to take second to Crenshaw's De'Anthony Thomas (21.69).

James Flynn, Notre Dame, Sr. -- won invitational 400 in 49.37 seconds at 66th Pasadena Games at Pasadena City College, also contributed to Knights' runner-up effort in 400 relay (42.27) trailing Randall Carroll-led Cathedral team (41.89).

Steven Richards, Rio Mesa, Jr. -- was victorious in his 400 heat (50.76) at the ASICS/Mt. Carmel Invitational in San Diego, then took second in 200 (22.41) behind teammate Jamison Jordan (22.40).

Marcellus Golliday, Eastside, Sr. -- won triple jump at Pasadena Games with an effort of 45-2 1/2 and took third in the long jump, leaping 21-9 3/4.

Travis Edwards, Royal, Jr. -- took second in 1,500 at Santa Barbara Easter Relays at Santa Barbara City College in 4:02.31 and anchored Highlanders to runner-up effort in distance medley relay (10:54.62).

Steven Semler, Simi Valley, Sr. -- helped Pioneers win distance medley relay (10:46.88) at Santa Barbara Easter Relays, in addition to running a leg on runner-up 4 x 800 relay (8:09.70) and fourth-place 1,600 relay (3:28.78).

The two best teams in the Foothill League were supposed to play each other Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in a consolation game at the Nike Faster to First tournament in Huntington Beach.

Luckily, tournament organizers changed things up so the teams didn't have to play an essentially meaningless game before what should be two great league games next month and in May.

After both teams played to nearly 10 p.m. Friday night they had to be back down in Huntington Beach for 9 a.m. contests Saturday.

Hart beat Sunrise Mountain of Arizona 3-2 in eight innings but lost to Ayala of Chino Hills 5-4 in its 1 p.m. final game of the tournament.

Valencia lost 3-2 to El Toro of Lake Forest in the morning but came back to beat Pacifica of Garden Grove 2-1 in the afternoon.

Hart is now 12-2 and has 16 days off until league play begins.

Valencia is 11-3 and is headed for the Michelle Carew Classic, another top tournament with great competition.

After a steller freshman season that saw Valencia's Christian Lopes hit 10 home runs and earn All-Daily News honors, the young shortstop is picking up right where he left off.

Through seven games, Lopes has at least one hit in every game, and he is batting .458 with four home runs and nine RBIs.

Dating back to last season, Lopes has 12 home runs over the past 19 games -- against elite competition.

Of course, none of this is a big surprise. As a 10-year old, Lopes led a local youth team to the Pony Mustang World Series in Texas, and by the time he was 12 Lopes was ranked as the No. 1 player in the nation for his age group and could already hit a baseball 400 feet.

He might have been the area's most hyped player of all-time before he took a single swing, and you've got the give Lopes credit for living up to all the build-up.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Well, here is one you don't see every day:

Hart's Josh Wagner, emerging as one of the area's top right-handers, was pitching a gem Friday against visiting Saugus when he was accidently elbowed by a teammate in the dugout in the 6th inning and was knocked out for more than a minute, according to reports.

So what happened next?

Wagner, a junior who had already thrown more than 100 pitches, staggered to his feet, wobbled his way to the mound, then held off the Centurions in the final inning to secure a 3-2 complete-game victory.

"It was one of the more gutsy performances I've seen on a Hart diamond," said Mike Gaber, the school's long-time statisician.

Wagner fininished with seven strikeouts and seven hits allowed while giving up two unearned runs, outpitching Saugus left-hander Kyle Hooper, whom scouts had lined up to see perform.

Wagner, who is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA, is the son of Jim Wagner, a former Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game pitcher from Providence High of Burbank who played college baseball at Arizona and Cal State Northridge.

-- Gerry Gittelson

I was scouring through MaxPreps.com catching up on baseball scores and softball scores from last week when I came across something I couldn't believe.

Beaumont 31, Knight 15.

Yes, in baseball.

Apparently Beaumont had three players with five hits and two home runs each.

Yes, each.

Knight had three players hit one home run each.

beaumont scored 11 runs in two different innings.

The wind must have been blowing out last Saturday.

Fri. Sept. 4 at Alemany 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Sept. 11 vs. Muir 7 p.m.
Fri. Sept. 18 vs. Skyline in state of Washington Time T.B.A.
Fri. Oct. 2 at Venice 7 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 9 vs. Long Beach Jordan 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 16 vs. Bishop Diego 7:30 p.m.*
Fri. Oct. 23 at Carpinteria 7:30 p.m.*
Fri. Oct. 30 vs. Oak Park 7:30 p.m.*
Fri. Nov. 6 at Santa Clara 7:30 p.m.*
Fri. Nov. 13 at Nordhoff 7:30 p.m.*

* Denotes Tri-Valley League contest

Sat. Sept. 9 at Webb 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Sept. 17 at Viewpoint 4 p.m.
Sat. Sept. 26 vs. Pasadena Poly 7 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 3 vs. Kilpatrick 7 p.m.*
Fri. or Sat. Oct. 9 or 10 at Brentwood Time T.B.A.*
Sat. Oct. 17 vs. Montclair Prep 7 p.m.*
Fri. Oct. 23 vs. Calvary Chapel Downey 7 p.m.*
Fri. Oct. 30 at Maranatha 7 p.m.*
Fri. Nov. 6 vs. Campbell Hall 7 p.m.*
Thu. Nov. 12 at Marshall 7 p.m.*

* Denotes Alpha League contest

Home games played at Granada Hills High

From the Santa Clarita Valley to Ventura County, some of the area's top track and field rivalries took place Thursday, with Saugus sweeping Valencia, Canyon sweeping West Ranch, Rio Mesa sweeping Camarillo and Oaks Christian's girls defeating Oak Park for the first time in program history.

Expect most, if not all these individuals, to return to action Saturday as there are several invitationals going on from Santa Barbara to College of the Canyons to Pasadena City College to Mt. San Antonio College to San Diego.

But topping the list Thursday was the double turned in by Valencia's Aly Drake, who lowered her own program record in winning the 800 in 2:14.80 -- defeating Saugus' Amber Murakami (2:18.30) and Anne Randall (2:19.33) -- on the heels of winning the 400 in 58.68, just off her personal best of 58.03.

Off course, Valencia teammate Jasmine Hall was impressive as well, winning the 200 (25.30), long jump (16-6) and high jump (5-0), while running a leg on the victorious 1,600 relay (4:06.92).

Reports from Canyon have Taylor Thomas also winning four events, capturing the 100 (13.5), the 100 hurdles (16.6), the 300 hurdles (51.2) and running on the triumphant 400 relay (49.8).

Saugus' Ashley Kramer should have quite a showdown next Thursday with Thomas after winning the 100 hurdles in 15.67 and the 300 hurdles in 48.96. Kramer also ran on the Centurions' 400 relay team that prevailed in 50.64. Amber White also ran on the relay, in addition to winning the 100 (13.08) and taking second in the 200 (26.14).

Canyon freshman Tiffini Stone doubled in the long jump (16-11) and triple jump (33-0), which should make for an interesting battle next week with Saugus' Erin Ortega (15-8, 32-9) and Christie Edwards (33-2 1/2).

Rio Mesa had a pair of three-event winners, as sophomore sprinter Valexsia Droughn ran hand-timed marks of 11.5 in the 100, 24.2 in the 200 and helped the Spartans run 49.6 in the 400 relay, without the services of No. 2 runner Mariyah Lee, who is nursing a sore hamstring.

Riley Nizdil swept the long jump (16- 1/2), triple jump (34-3) and high jump (5-2) for Rio Mesa.

Oaks Christian sophomore Ally Courtnall won the 100, 200 and ran a sub 60-second lap for the Lions on the 1,600 relay in the victory at Oak Park. Lauren Anderson led sweeps in the triple jump and high jump for Oaks Christian.

Top performances from the male standouts came from Valencia's Falco DiGiallonardo, who doubled in the 800 (2:00.90) and 1,600 (4:40.42) and contributed to the Vikings' victorious 1,600 relay (3:30.90).

Saugus' Daniel Swarbrick continued an impressive first month of throwing, winning the shot put in 59-5 1/2 and the discus in 175-1.

Canyon's Harrison Hall went 20-11 in the long jump and 41-5 in the triple jump, while Jabari Howard doubled for Valencia in 20-1 and 40-1.

Saugus' Shahan Khalighi swept the 110 and 300 hurdles in 16.17 and 41.34.

Three of Saugus' top female distance runners returned to the track after long breaks from competition Thursday against Valencia and the results were significant for the Centurions.

Although Danielle Hernando competed at the JV level after rehabilitating a sore hip, she was one of the stars of the meet, winning the 800 in a personal-best 2:26.01, the 1,600 in 5:27.17 and anchoring the victorious 1,600 relay with a split of around 63 seconds.

Following Hernando in the 800 was fellow sophomore Kaylin Mahoney, who took second in 2:28.02 in her first race since Dec. 6 at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. Mahoney was on crutches for a lengthy period after suffering a stress reaction in her left leg late in the cross country season. She had been rehabilitating with a steady schedule of bike riding and swimming before recently returning to track workouts.

Brianna Jauregui, who like twin brother Brandon, has been slowed by a nagging Achilles' injury, took to the track for the first time since competing March 12 against Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta. The senior separated herself from the pack of the girls' varsity 3,200 just past the midway point and went on to win in 11:43.36, ahead of teammates Amber Murakami (11:45.30) and Stephanie Bulder (11:45.77).

All three athletes are scheduled to compete again Saturday in the Distance Meet of Champions at Mt. San Antonio College.

Robbie Robinson, formerly Wayne Robinson when he played at Village Christian of Sun Valley back in 2007 has committed to Cal St. Fullerton.

Robinson just completed his sophomore year at Riverside Community College.

Robinson led Riverside to the state championship averaging 16 points and seven rebounds per contest.

Robinson was named to the all-tournament team at the state finals and was a first team all-league selection.

Golden Valley boys' basketball coach Chris Printz, by far the school's most successful coach in any sport after finishing 27-4 and winning the Foothill League championship and advancing to the Div.III-A semifinals, has resigned.

Printz. citing family reasons, made the announcement Wednesday at the team banquet, according to a source.

CANYON COUNTRY - Andy Campbell, the new head football coach at Golden Valley High of Canyon Country, is the first to admit he has a big to-do list. The 29-year-old is taking over one of the area's losingest programs, as Golden Valley is 7-33 all-time heading into its fifth season, including a three-year record of 0-14 in the Foothill League - with all of the league losses by 21 points or more.

"I'm up for the challenge," Campbell said. "Any coach can walk into a winning situation, win a few more games, then call himself a winner without doing an overhaul," Campbell said. "At Golden Valley, we know it's going to be a process that's not going to take just one season. But I'm really looking forward to the situation."

Campbell has proved he can help turn a program around. Three years ago, he found his first coaching job as a defensive coordinator at Silver Valley High in Yermo, which had lost 17 in a row prior to his arrival. The team won three games in Campbell's first year before he was promoted to head coach, going 4-6 in his first season at the helm in 2007 and 7-5 last year, advancing to the Southern Section Div. XIII quarterfinals.

"At Silver Valley, wins were very few and far between when I first got there, but we ended up establishing ourselves," Campbell said.

Campbell's offensive philosophy should fit right in the Foothill League, as he likes a spread offense - just like Hart of Newhall, Valencia and Canyon of Canyon Country - and he also prefers an aggressive, blitzing defense.

"Coming from where I've been, this is the next logical step. Everything to date has prepared me for coming here," Campbell said.

It will not be a snap. He is still trying to build a coaching staff with no plans to bring any Silver Valley assistants with him and no solid commitments from past Golden Valley varsity assistants. He has met the players and reviewed game film from last year - not that it was pretty considering the Grizzlies were outscored by an average of more than 40 points in its five league losses.

"At this point, every position is wide open, and I told the kids that when I met them last week," Campbell said. "I know they've had a very rough go, and I know about the 90-0 loss (to Canyon in 2006). I believe those days are done. But I will say this: We're going to be competitive in the fourth quarter this season. That's our first goal."

-- Gerry Gittelson

I just got off the phone with Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth football coach Jon Ellinghouse and he was brimming with excitement about the Trailblazers.

Sierra Canyon is making the switch to 11-man after winning the 8-man Omega League championship last year.

Ellinghouse said 6'5, 225 pound lineman Duncan Laliberte; 6'3, 170 pound WR Shane Harrison; and 5'11, 170 pound FB/LB Caleb Nickels will be counted on heavily next year.

The team is working out everyday and the buzz around campus is swelling.

Sierra Canyon will play in the revamped 8-team Alpha League along with Montclair Prep of Panorama City.

The Tarilblazers will play all home games at Granada Hills High.

Two new coaches have been added to the staff.

Line coach Ray Gerena comes over from Thousand Oaks and Dean Allison is the new defensive coordiantor from Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood.

Gerena is well respected in local football circles and has had stints at Crespi of Encino and Westlake.

Just got a call from longtime Glendale College boys basketball coach Brian Beauchminn.

Beauchminn relayed that sophomore Markus Monroe from Monrovia High was an all-state selection.

Monroe becomes Glendale's 10th all-state selection overall and first since Durwin Williams in 2005.

Monroe, a 6'2 guard, was the Western States Conference leading scorer at 22 ppg and is being recruited by Division II power Kentucky Wesleyan.

Week 1
March 28th

El Camino Real
10:00am Alemany vs. Valencia
11:00am Agoura 1b vs. Northridge Acad.
12:00pm Agoura 1a vs. LA Baptist
1:00pm St. Bonaventure vs. Calabasas
2:00pm El Camino Real vs. Gametymers

Cleveland HS
9:00am Alemany 2 vs. L.A. Baptist 2
10:00am Chatsworth 2 vs. SOCES 2
11:00am Chatsworth 1 vs. SOCES 1
12:00pm La Canada 2 vs. Chaminade 2
1:00pm La Canada 1 vs. Chaminade 1
2:00pm Agoura 2 vs. Moorpark 2b
3:00pm Agoura 1c vs. Saugus
4:00pm St. Francis 2 vs. Moorpark 2c
5:00pm St. Francis 1 vs. Canoga Park

Van Nuys HS
9:00am Harvard Westlake 2 vs. Buckley 2
10:00am Harvard Westlake 1 vs. Buckley 1
11:00am Notre Dame 2 vs. Desert Chr. 2
12:00pm Notre Dame 1 vs. Desert Chr. 1
1:00pm Van Nuys 2b vs. Moorpark 2a
2:00pm Van Nuys 1b vs. Moorpark 1b
3:00pm Van Nuys 2a vs. Birmingham 2
4:00pm Van Nuys 1a vs. Moorpark 1a
BYE Arleta, Renaissance Acad., Cal. 2a, Cal. 2b

Week 2
April 4th

El Camino Real HS
10:00am Northridge Acad. vs. Canoga Park
11:00am Arleta vs. Saugus
12:00pm Gametymers vs. St. Bonaventure
1:00pm LA Baptist vs. Agoura 1b
2:00pm El Camino Real vs. Agoura 1a

Cleveland HS
9:00am Chatsworth 1 vs. Moorpark 1b
10:00am Chatsworth 2 vs. Moorpark 2a
11:00am Agoura 2 vs. Moorpark 1a
12:00pm Agoura 1c vs. L.A. Baptist 2
1:00pm Calabasas 2b vs. Moorpark 2b
2:00pm Calabasas 2a vs. Moorpark 2c
3:00pm Calabasas 1 vs. Alemany 1
4:00pm Birmingham 2 vs. Alemany 2
5:00pm Valencia vs. Renaissance Acad.

Van Nuys HS
9:00am Notre Dame 2 vs. SOCES 2
10:00am Notre Dame 1 vs. SOCES 1
11:00am Harvard Westlake 2 vs. La Canada 2
12:00pm Harvard Westlake 1 vs. La Canada 1
1:00pm Desert Chr. 2 vs. St. Francis 2
2:00pm Desert Chr. 1 vs. St. Francis 1
3:00pm Buckley 2 vs. Chaminade 2
4:00pm Buckley 1 vs. Chaminade 1
BYE Van Nuys 1a, Van Nuys 1b, Van Nuys 2a, Van Nuys 2b

Week 3
April 11th

Chatsworth HS
10:00am Canoga Park vs. LA Baptist
11:00am Birmingham 2 vs. L.A. Baptist 2
12:00pm Agoura 1b vs. Alemany
1:00pm Agoura 1a vs. Valencia
2:00pm El Camino Real vs. Northridge Acad.

Cleveland HS
9:00am Moorpark 2b vs. St. Francis 2
10:00am Saugus vs. St. Francis 1
11:00am Moorpark 2c vs. Chaminade 2
12:00pm Calabasas 1 vs. Chaminade 1
1:00pm Desert Chr. 2 vs. Calabasas 2b
2:00pm Desert Chr. 1 vs. Arleta
3:00pm Buckley 2 vs. Calabasas 2a
4:00pm Buckley 1 vs. Moorpark 1a
5:00pm Renaissance Acad. vs. Moorpark 1b

Van Nuys HS
9:00am Harvard Westlake 2 vs. Chatsworth 2
10:00am Harvard Westlake 1 vs. Chatsworth 1
11:00am Notre Dame 2 vs. Agoura 2
12:00pm Notre Dame 1 vs. Agoura 1c
1:00pm Moorpark 2a vs. Alemany 2
2:00pm SOCES 2 vs. Van Nuys 2b
3:00pm SOCES 1 vs. Van Nuys 1b
4:00pm La Canada 2 vs. Van Nuys 2a
5:00pm La Canada 1 vs. Van Nuys 1a

Plenty of openings. Not a lot of news.

Campbell Hall of North Hollywood's position remains open. Tom Lewis, Derrick Taylor, Jarvis Turner, Charles White and several others have applied. Taylor even interviewed but the school has not made a decision and is not expected to announce a hiring until late April possibly.

Meanwhile, former coach Terry Kelly said he does not have anything lined up and is exploring many options which include basketball and some that don't include basketball.

Kelly also will not rule out a move out of state.

Other openings in the region include Monroe, Newbury Park, L.A. Baptist and Malibu.

Oaks Christian beat Cate of Carpinteria 9-1 in Condor League lacrosse today. Its the first time that the Lions have beaten the Rams in lacrosse.

Oaks Christian's scoring breaks down like this:
Kyle Stanich, 2 goals, 2 assists
Robbie Thomson, 2 goals, 1 assist
Loren Klein, 2 goals
Seth Catanese, 1 goal
Brenan Monro, 1 goal
Mike Johnson,1 goal

Cate only got 17 shots on goal

Oaks Christian is now 3-3 overall and 2-0 in league.

For seven innings, Notre Dame right-hander Josh Goossen-Brown battled Tuesday, allowing at least one runner on base every inning but doing his best to fend off Crespi of Encino.

He allowed just one earned run but was doomed by a key error in a 2-1 complete-game loss to the Celts at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.

It comes as no surprise that Goossen-Brown is such a fighter considering he comes from a boxing family that includes his uncle, Dan Goossen, one of the world's most successful boxing promoters, along with his father Tom Brown, a top matchmaker, and another uncle, Larry Goossen, a top trainer, plus cousin P.J. Goossen, a former middleweight in the late 1990s who finished with a record of 19-3 including losses to Hector "Macho" Camacho and Roberto Duran in his final two fights.

In the Notre Dame loss, Goossen-Brown also impressed at the plate, finishing 1 for 2 with a booming ground-rule double. He also got aboard on an error and was hit by a pitch.

Goossen-Brown also plays football as a long-snap specialist -- an important job considering Notre Dame always prides itself on its kicking game.

-- Gerry Gittelson

With two of the San Fernando Valley's top right-handers going head to head Tuesday night, it was old-fashioned pitchers duel between Crespi High of Encino's Ryon Healy and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks' Josh Goossen-Brown in a Mission League showdown at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.

Healy had more support from his defense, and that was the difference in a 2-1 victory, as the junior right-hander improved to 4-0, allowing one earned run on six hits and striking out four in six innings, as Crespi (8-2, 3-0) committed just one error compared to three for Notre Dame (7-2, 0-1).

"It's always close whenever we play Notre Dame, and our defense played really well," Healy said. "Our bats were kind of quiet, but we'll pick things up. I can't complain."

Crespi's Josh Mason pitched a hitless seventh inning for his third save, as defending Southern Section Div. III champion Notre Dame's winning streak was snapped at five games. The teams meet again Friday at Notre Dame.

It was a hard-luck loss for Goossen-Brown (2-2), who pitched six strong innings and frequently worked his way out of jams, as Notre Dame had at least one baserunner in every inning.

"It's tough, especially tough to lose to our rival," Goossen-Brown said. "Friday we have to come out and even the series for sure. We need to set the tone."

A year ago, Crespi and Notre Dame played its two-game series in the final week of the season, and Crespi won twice to come from one game back to win the league title. But Notre Dame had the last word by winning the section championship.

"It's the first league game for us, and it was a tough one to face Crespi right out of the shoot," Notre Dame coach Tom Dill said. "I thought we battled and I liked what we saw. I figured it would be a close game."

Crespi's Michael Hubbard scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning when he singled and scored all the way from first on an infield error. Earlier, Crespi scored when Healy doubled, advanced on Sean McIntyre's singled and scored on Mason's long sacrifice fly.

Notre Dame was scoreless for four innings before Ranny Lowe singled and eventually scored scored on Kelly Dugan's double. The Knights then looked to add a run when Nick LaFace was intentionally walked and two batters later Goossen-Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Healy induced a groundout to end the threat, and Notre Dame was held hitless over the ensuing two innings.

"I thought we played really well as a team," Mason said. "We wouldn't be as good as we are without such good chemistry."

== Gerry Gittelson

With two of the area's best pitchers going head to head , it's no surprise there has not been much scoring tonight in a Mission League opener between Crespi and Notre Dame at Birmingham High.

Crespi's Ryon Healy and N.D.'s Josh Goossen-Brown both look sharp.

Crespi leads 1-0, scoring Josh Mason's sacrifice deep to left field that scored Ryon Healy (who had doubled) in the second inning.

-- Gerry Gittelson

There is a buzz in the air, as two of the San Fernando Valley's top prep sports programs, Crespi of Encino and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, square off in a Mission League opener here at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.

A year ago, these two arch rivals played each other in the final week of the season, and this year the two-game series picks up right where it left off: Crespi won both games over the Knights in 2008 to come from one game back in the standings to win the league title, but Notre Dame had the last word -- big-time -- by winning the Southern Section Div. III championship at Dodger Stadium.

Both teams are hot once again. Crespi is 7-2 (5-0 on the road) and Notre Dame is 7-1. Ace pitchers Ryon Healy (3-0) of Crespi and Josh Goossen-Brown (2-1) of Notre Dame go head to head, so this should be a good one. Stay tuned.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Andy Campbell is the new coach at Golden Valley of Canyon Country, and the former coach from Silver Valley High of Yermo has a big to-do list, starting with winning at least one Foothill League game -- something predecessor Steve Pinkston failed to do during Golden Valley three-year stint in the league.

Campbell coached two seasons at Silver Valley, finishing with an 11-11 career record, including 7-5 last season.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Joshua Shaw, a top junior defensive back/receiver at Palmdale, has been offered by Washington and San Diego State, according to scout.com.

Washington could have the inside track because Shaw's brother, Kenny, played there.

-- Gerry Gittelson

The Nike Faster to First softball tournament stats Thursday and runs through Saturday at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

Hart, Valencia, Simi Valley and Camarillo are entered from the area.

The tournament, hosted by Canyon of Anaheim always features some of the best teams from the state and country.

The first week of the Valley Sports Foundation spring league for boys and girls basketball teams is this upcoming weekend.

The boys league is at three different sites. The girls league is at Taft high.

Boys games will be played at El Camino Real, Cleveland and Van Nuys.

Many top teams from the area are involved.

games typically run from 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. all the way until 6 p.m. most Saturdays.

Championship games for Division I and Division II of the High Desert Classic take place today.

Foothill league rivals Golden Valley and West Ranch square off in the Division II championship at 5 p.m. and Crescenta Valley plays Fullerton in the Division I finale at 5:30 p.m.

Baillie Kirker of Crescenta Valley will try and add to her state career home run record of 47.

Two big games in the area on Tuesday.

El Camino Real at Chatsworth at 3 p.m. in West Valley League play.

Crespi vs. Notre Dame at Birmingham at 7 p.m. in Mission League play.

Winners of both games have the inside trck to league championships

Miguel Gallegos won the Frosh/Soph State Championships at 130 pounds on Sunday for San Fernando, as the team won it all for the fourth year in a row. The Championship was held in Fresno City College.

Gallegos finished this sophomore season with a 43-8 record. He finished First at the BIV Tournament, First at Sam DeJohn, First at the Cal High Duals, second at the Camarillo Duals, third at the Newbury Park Tournament, seventh at the Tournament of Champions TOC. then in the postseason he finished First at Regionals and second at City C.I.F

Here is a photo of him in the Finals Match at the Best in The Valley (BIV) Tournament at Chaminade High. He won it when he beat Kyle Taketa of West Torrance.

Just touched base with the always quotable Lucky Radley, and the Agoura High junior running back/linebacker happily reports San Diego State has offered a scholarship -- and that Washington probably will offer, too.

"I'm not leaning toward anyone ... but Washington is about to pull the trigger," Radley said. "I am looking for academics and where I'll best fit in as far as making an impact early."

Radley, 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, projects as a strong safety in college, but after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring 19 touchdowns in just nine games last season, he could fit in at running back.

"I just ran a 4.4 40-yard dash, and that's pretty good for a running back," Radley said. "San Diego State offered me as an athlete, and they say they'll give me every opportunity to play running back."

San Diego has a great climate, but Radley said that's not a deciding factor.

"Weather doesn't matter because if I get to the NFL I'll have to play in all kinds of weather," he said.

-- Gerry Gittelson

Chaminade's game against Brentwood that was scheduled for today was postponed and Loyola, the top team in the Mission League, defeated Crespi 13-1.

The Wolverines scored six goals in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to dominate the Normans in nonleague lacrosse at Beverly Hills High.
Charlie Weintraub, Connor O'Toole and Dan Edelstein scored the first four goals for Harvard-Westlake (4-1) in the first half.
After changing the offensive scheme at halftime, the Wolverines came out in the third quarter and went crazy - scoring on their first three possessions - including within the first nine seconds. O'Toole, Craig Myerson, Joey Edwards, Tyler Wallace and Rex Richardson all scored in the third quarter, while the defense held Normans to four shots on the goal the whole second half.

Here are some photos from the game. Weintraub (#5), O'Toole (8), Edelstein (19), Edwards (23), Wallace (11) and Richardson (4) are all pictured.

With the high school hoop season all but over it is now time to see who will be transferring in the coming months.

Already there is speculation sophomore Lonnie Jackson of Valencia could be on the move and another sophomore Austin McBroom might leave Campbell Hall if he is not happy with the choice for new basketball coach.

We will just have to wait and see.

Stay tuned.........

The Valley Sports Foundation is hosting the 2009 Battle of the Valley Senior All-Star Games May 2nd at CSUN.

The girls game is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the boys game will tip-off at 7 p.m.

Many top players are scheduled to participate including UCLA-bound Tyler Honeycutt of Sylmar, Cleveland of Reseda's Prince Obasi, UNLV-bound Justin Hawkins of Taft of Woodland Hills, CSUN-bound Terran Carter of Taft, Michael Williams of Taft and sevral others.

The coaches will be Osiris Nalls of Cleveland and Chris Printz of Golden Valley of Santa Clarita.

Coaches for the girls game will be Chatsworth's Michelle Chevalier and a selection to be announced.

Rosters will be released April 18.

According to multiple sources, Viewpoint of Calabasas has named J.J. Prince head boys basketball coach.

Prince graduated from Montclair Prep in 1999 and has been an assistant at Campbell Hall of North Hollywood and Crespi of Encino.

Former Saugus infielder Tiffany Huff is absolutely tearing it up at Tennessee, one of the top programs in the USA and 24-3 this season. Huff, a junior, is batting .507 with six home runs, 48 RBIs and a .904 slugging percentage.

Teammate Jessica Spigner, a true freshman from Valencia, is also putting up big numbers. Spigner is batting .384 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs.

Photographer and lacrosse parent David Jackson supplied these photos from Thursday nights game.

It's not official, but Golden Valley is expected to name Andy Campbell as the school's new football coach, replacing Steve Pinkston.

Campbell has coached the past two seasons at Silver Valley High in Yermo, compiling an 11-11 record, including 7-5 last season.

Scholarship offers from country's most respected college programs continue to pour in for junior Dietrich Riley, a multi-purpose standout from St. Francis.

So far, USC and UCLA have offered, along with Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

A top football and baseball player at West Ranch, Jake Bernards signed a San Diego State football scholarship as a quarterback.

But instead of bailing on his baseball teammates once the football scholarship was finalized as other quarterbacks have done through the years -- Hart's Matt Moore and Tyler Lyon come to mind -- Bernards said there was no way he could turn his back.

"Yeah, a lot of guys have quit (baseball) once they get a football scholarship, but I just couldn't because I've been committed to the baseball team for so long that it just wouldn't feel right," Bernards said. "I've grown up with all these guys. I would never leave them hanging."

Bernards is off to a good start in baseball. He hit his third home run of the season Thursday -- a line shot over the right-field fence -- in an 8-0 victory over visiting Hart.

USC-bound Cade Kreuter, a Hart outfielder who dislocated his shoulder in the first game of the season, was hoping to eventually make it back but is now out for the year because he must undergo surgery.

"I'm pretty mad and pretty peeved off," Kreuter said Thursday during an 8-0 loss at West Ranch. "As it turns out, I've got a torn labrum, too.

Kreuter, son of USC coach and former Major League catcher Chad Kreuter, has not had the best luck in the world during his high school career, which has included stops at three Foothill League schools -- Hart, Valencia and West Ranch.

He missed his freshman season at West Ranch because of an elbow injury, then played one season at Valencia before transferring to Hart, where he was forced to sit out his junior season because of transfer restrictions.

He is wearing a sling but continues to support his Hart teammates on a daily basis.

"I never even thought about leaving my teammates behind. This is the best team I've ever been on," Kreuter said.

After finishing no better than fourth and failing to make to the playoffs in each of its first two Foothill League baseball seasons, West Ranch High of Stevenson Ranch took a big step Friday.

The Wildcats opened league competition with an 8-0 victory over visiting Hart of Newhall, scoring a win over the high-powered Indians for the first time in seven meetings.

"We've never beat them, so it's a real good feeling and means a lot to this team," said winner Trevor Fredrickson (2-1), who pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up four hits while striking out nine and not allowing a runner past second.

It was an impressive performance, as Jake Bernards hit his third home run of the season and West Ranch (5-1, 1-0) played errorless defense.

"It feels great to get the first one out of the way. It was a great team effort," Bernards said. "You could not ask for more. We've kind of always been the new school, so everyone has looked past us. But I think we have a good shot.

"No one likes to lose, and finishing in fourth or fifth place is no fun. This feels a lot better."

Hart's Devin Rodriguez's 29-game hitting streak dating back to last season ended, as the first baseman finished 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.

"It was one of those days. West Ranch outhustled us and outplayed us," Rodriguez said. "They came out and showed intensity from the start. I've got to give it to them."

With 14 league games remaining, Rodriguez made it clear Hart (3-4-1, 0-1) is not ready to call it a day.

"We just have to play more as a team and not make mistakes," Rodriguez said. "If we play together, we'll get some wins. This one is over. It's time to move on."

Next up for West Ranch on Wednesday is Saugus - another Foothill opponent (along with Valencia) that the Wildcats have yet to defeat.

"For us, winning today was a big deal. We're trying to get better as a team," West Ranch coach Casey Burrill said. "If you ask me if I'd rather win than lose, I'd definitely say yes on that one. But it's just one win, and we're not going to get complacent. We'll be right back here for morning practice."

Fredrickson is part of a hungry group of seniors who want to leave their stamp.

"We're looking to finish in first place. Anything else is not our goal," Fredrickson said.

West Ranch's Rico Rusconi was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a double, Bernards finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs, and Cody Howard was 2 for 4 with a run, and he pitched the final 1 2/3 innings without allowing a runner to reach base.

Hart's Trevor Brown was 3 for 3 with a double, but the bottom six hitters in the lineup were a combined 1 for 16 with 10 strikeouts. Garrett Gooding (1-2) took the loss.

Bellarmine-Jefferson 54, Pinewood 47
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Shelley Gupilan scored 22 points as Bellarmine-Jefferson of
Burbank completed a near-perfect season with an 54-47 win over Pinewood of Los
Altos Hills in the Div. V girls' state championship at Arco Arena on Friday.
Gupilan's cousin Margeaux added 13 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the first that extended Bell-Jeff's lead to 31-20 at the break.
Though Pinewood rallied in the fourth quarter, the final margin was the closest the
Panthers could get.
Lindsay Nickel scored 16 points for Pinewood (31-5) and Hailie Eackles had 15 to go along with 10 rebounds.
The Panthers have won three previous state championships -- 1999, 2005 and 2006 -- but could never get comfortable against Bell-Jeff's full-court pressure. Pinewood turned the ball over 22 times and shot just 28 percent and made only 6 of 28 three-pointers.
The Guards' only loss of their 34-1 season was to Montclair Prep on Dec. 30,
by a score of 63-62, and they finished the season on a 20-game winning streak.

Bell-Jeff defeated Pinewood of Los Altos Hills 55-47 Friday afternoon at Arco Arena in Sacramento to claim the girls' Div. V state basketball championship.

Bell-Jeff leads Pinewood 31-20 at halftime in the girls' basketball Div. V state championship game at Arco Arena in Sacramento. Bell-Jeff closed the half with an 11-0 run to take the lead.

Here are more photos from last night's game that Chaminade won 10-7.

The first several is Michael Spagnoli (#3) scoring his - and Chaminade's - first goal of the game.
Ben Mahony is #2, Spagnoli #3, Anthony Daniels is #6 and David Ma is #7

Last night, Chaminade hosted Culver City in lacrosse and the Eagles got goals from four different players and came away with the 10-7 nonleague win.

The combination of Ben Mahony, Michael Spagnoli and Anthony Daniels proved to be too much for the Centaurs - with each of them scoring from all over the place all game. Mahony finished the game with four goals, while Spagnoli had three and Daniels had two. Long stick defenseman Craig Seidenglanz - who plays defense and nothing else most of the time - got a ahold of the ball late in the game, quickly drove through the crowd and scored his first career goal.. A player in his position rarely crosses the midway point of the field and therefore is never in a position to take a shot, let alone score.

Here are some photos from last nights' action. Daniels is #6, Mahony is #2 and Spagnoli is #3 and Seidenglanz is #1

More photos later....also photos from a parent......to be continued........

Notre Dame (5-1) traveled to Inglewood and Morningside High for a single game on Wednesday afternoon, coming away with an 8-0 victory. Senior right hander Josh Goossen-Brown (2-1) pitched a complete game for the shut out victory, behind 9 Knight hits, and one error. Goossen-Brown managed 5 strikeouts, giving up 5 hits, and no walks. Five of the Nine Knight hits were extra bases, two doubles (Walbridge & Aldape) two triples (Lowe & Dohs) and a two run homer (Reigel). For Morningside Southpaw Johnny Davila also pitched a complete game, using 130 pitches in a losing effort. The Monarchs scattered five singles in support of Davila. Notre Dame will play a double header at Canyon on Saturday, March 21st, first game at 10am.

The box score came in slightly too late to make the paper, but Oaks Christian beat Malibu 10-6 in the first Condor League game of the season for both teams.

Kyle Stannich had five goals for the Lions - now 2-2, 1-0 in league - while Robbie Thomson had three and Brennan Munro and Michael Cerios each scored once.

Giorgio Valenzuela had 17 saves for the Lions, who play at Mission Viejo on Friday night at 6:30pm.

The Condor League consists of Oaks Christian, Malibu, CATE and Thacher while the Mission League lacrosse teams are Chaminade, Crespi, Harvard-Westlake, Brentwood and Loyola (Windward used to be a part of that league, but their program dissolved between last year and this year)

Thursday night action includes Chaminade at home against Culver City at 6:30. Harvard-Westlake plays at Beverly Hills on Saturday at 1pm.

Taft High in Woodland Hills will be the site for the Big - 10 Summer League.

The league will run from June 15th through August 3rd on Monday nights. there won't be any games on June 22nd due to the War on the Floor Summer tournament.

Teams scheduled to participate include:

Taft, Harvard-Westlake, Crespi, Simi Valley, Agoura, Golden Valley, Birmingham, El Camino Real and Buckley.

Hart and Campbell Hall might be added at a later date.

All League Performers 2008-09 from the Foothill League

Player of the year
Maverick Ahanmisi GV

1st Team
Lonnie Jackson VHS
Stevie Thornton GV
Hakeem Bradley WR
Parker Dominguez Hart
Brad Wyche Hart
Noel Mansour SHS

2nd Team
David Franklin WR
Mike Edwards CHS
Trevor Wiseman GV
Mark Watanabe SHS
Emanuel Anumba VHS
Patrick Abbott Hart

Honorable Mention
Ben Kimble Hart
Cory Otavka VHS
Khatari Price GV
Beau Martin WR
Brandon Perry CHS
Joey Fredrick SHS

In last nights action:

Crespi beat St John Bosco 9-1 with freshman Kyle Randenberg scoring four goals and Tony Kratz, Greg Briggs Jr., Dom Abat, Connor Doyle and John Silva scoring a goal apiece.

Also in Mission League action, Loyola of Los Angeles beat Chaminade 9-4. It's the first overall loss for the Eagles this season as well as their first league loss.

The high school lacrosse season has started. The sport has gained popularity over the last several years and now includes teams in the San Fernando Valley.

Chaminade has had a team for several years now as do Crespi, Harvard-Westlake, Loyola, Brentwood - which compile the Mission League competitors.

Last year, Chaminade won the Mission League in lacrosse while Crespi came in second. They played for the first time this season on Saturday, with Chaminade winning 5-3. Anthony Daniels (Chaminade #6) had three goals for the Eagles and Ben Mahony added two during the game that saw Crespi come back to tie it at three in the third period, after being down 3-1 at halftime.

Here are some photos from Saturday's action.

In the last two - that is a penalty on Crespi.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 20-21 at Arco Arena (Sacramento)

Friday, March 20
Boys Division V: Windward (28-6) vs. Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame (26-8), 1:30 p.m.
Girls Division V: Bell-Jeff (33-1) vs. Los Altos Hills Pinewood (31-4), 3:30 p.m.
Girls Division II: Brea Olinda (32-2) vs. Concord Carondelet (29-3), 6 p.m.
Boys Division II: Eisenhower (31-3) vs. Rocklin (32-2), 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 21
Girls Division IV: Chula Vista Mater Dei (29-3) vs. Modesto Christian (27-7), 9:30 a.m.
Boys Division IV: Bishop Montgomery (28-4) vs. Richmond Salesian (30-4), 11:15 a.m.
Girls Division III: Inglewood (18-16) vs. Stockton St. Mary's (30-3), 1 p.m.
Boys Division III: Ocean View (27-7) vs. San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral (28-4), 2:45 p.m.
Girls Division I: Long Beach Poly (31-3) vs. Danville Monte Vista (29-2), 6 p.m.
Boys Division I: Westchester (34-2) vs. Oakland McClymonds (29-1), 8 p.m.

Bell-Jeff leads 49-46 with 5:30 remaining at Cal St. Fullerton

The Guards led by as many as 13 in the first half but a 7-0 run by View Park Prep has made it close.

Bell-Jeff lead View Park Prep 18-12 late in the first quarter.

Shelley Gupilan has nine points for the Guards.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday at UCLA (Pauley Pavilion)

Girls Division III: Marlborough (23-10) vs. #3 Inglewood (17-16), 10 a.m.
Boys Division III: #1 Harvard-Westlake (28-6) vs. #2 Ocean View (26-7), noon
Girls Division II: #1 Mater Dei (32-0) vs. #2 Brea Olinda (31-2), 2 p.m.
Boys Division II: Loyola (26-6) vs. #2 Eisenhower (30-3), 4 p.m.
Girls Division I: #4 Colony (31-3) vs. #2 Long Beach Poly (30-3), 6 p.m.
Boys Division I: #1 King (30-2) vs. #2 Westchester (33-2), 8 p.m.

Six hundred of the best youth gymnasts in the country will be in town this weekend for the Malibu Coast Challenge at at the Gilbert Sports Arena on the Cal Lutheran campus in Thousand Oaks.

Monarchs National Gymnastics is hosting the event, which features Level 4-International Elite level gymnasts.

For more information contact Monarchs training center at 805-375-4663

Loyola at Thousand Oaks tonight 7 p.m.

Game is now at Westlake High

: All-City boys' basketball 2009

: : Selected by panel of sportswriters

: : First team

: : Dominique O'Connor, Westchester, Sr.

: : Jordin Mayes, Westchester, Jr.

: : Michael Williams, Taft, Sr.

: : Justin Hawkins, Taft, Sr.

: : Terran Carter, Taft, Sr.

: : Renardo Sidney, Fairfax, Sr.

: : Solomon Hill, Fairfax, Sr.

: : Tyler Honeycutt, Sylmar, Sr.

: : Prince Obasi, Cleveland, Sr.

: : Tony Freeland, Fremont, Sr.

: : Raynaul Baker, Crenshaw, Jr.

: : James Boyd, Jordan, Sr.

: : Second team

: : Ryan Watkins, Reseda, Sr.

: : David Nwaba, University, So.

: : Dwayne Polee, Westchester, Jr.

: : Sean Butler, LACES, Sr.

: : Joshua DeLaTorre, Washington, Sr.

: : Quentin Towns, San Pedro, Sr.

: : Cameron Broomi, Van Nuys, Sr.

: : Donnell Pifer, Narbonne, Sr.

: : Randall Harris, Reseda, Sr.

: : Gaellan Bewernick, Manual Arts, Sr.

: : Jordan Mackie, Dorsey, Sr.

: : Sean Boston, Banning, Sr.

: : Player of the year_Dominique O'Connor

ALL-CONFERENCE: They finally announced the All-Foothill Conference teams, and it was pretty much what one would expect. Named to the first team were Rod Singleton (PG, 5-10, 185, Fr, Los Angeles (Fairfax '07)) who led the Marauders in scoring and Kyisean Reed (F, 6-7, 190, Fr, Palmdale (Highland '08)) who led the Marauders in rebounds and blocks while setting the game block record with six in three games.
Named to the honorable mention squad was the two sophomores, Raymond Cody (G, 6-5, 185, So, Lancaster (Antelope Valley '07)) and Jerome Moton (F, 6-8, 210, So, Palmdale (Pete Knight '07)).

First Team All Conference 2009

MVP - Melvin Goins Mt. San Jacinto So.

Dwight Gordon Victor Valley So.

Orlando Brazier San Bernardino Valley Fr.

Nate Roth San Bernardino Valley Fr.

Mark Williams Mt. San Jacinto So.

Jeffrey West Mt. San Jacinto Fr.

Winston Robinson Chaffey So.

Nicklas Turner Chaffey So.

Rod Singleton Antelope Valley Fr.

Maurice McGee San Bernardino Valley Fr.

Maurice Cole Rio Hondo Fr.

Kyisean Reed Antelope Valley Fr.

Coach of the Year

Quincy Brewer San Bernardino Valley

Honorable Mention

Galander Abdelrahman Barstow Fr.

Warren Fuselier San Bernardino Valley So.

Aaron Edwards San Bernardino Valley Fr.

Darryl Alexander Rio Hondo Fr.

Dusty Simcox Rio Hondo So.

Curtis Bush Mt. San Jacinto So.

Terrance Williams Mt. San Jacinto Fr.

Anthony Cammon Chaffey Fr.

Lamar Williams Chaffey So.

Jerome Moton Antelope Valley So.

Raymond Cody Antelope Valley So.

Deanard Crouch Victor Valley So.

Tory Dudgeon Victor Valley So.

Andrew Avalos Desert So.

Patrick Rochell Desert So.

I'm planning on making a graphic arts piece (or pieces) with as many area wrestlers as possible. If anyone has good photos (of either headshot types or 'in action' ones...even full team ones) of LA City Champions, League Champions (or Runners-up), CIF, Masters and State Qualfying wrestlers, please send them along with the photographers name and I'll make something with them all.
I can even use school logos (as a .jpg file), photos of wrestlers jackets with their name on it...anything like that.

Send any you can to john.wareham@dailynews.com. I'm especially lacking in Golden League wrestlers, if anyone has any of those guys (particularly Luis Favela of Littlerock)

thanks

Below are the selections for the Los Angeles City Section's West Valley League MVP and All-League.

MVP - Michael Williams - Senior - Taft HS

First Team All-League:
1)Prince Obasi - Senior - Cleveland HS
2)Justin Hawkins - Senior - Taft HS
3)Anthony Montoya - Senior - El Camino Real HS
4)Jordan Friedman - Senior - Birmingham HS
5)Jason Johnson - Junior - Cleveland HS
6)Terran Carter - Senior - Taft HS
7)Gregory Haskett - Senior - Granada Hills HS
7)Shayan Edrisavi - Senior - El Camino Real HS

Second Team All-League:
1)Frankie Flores - Sophomore - Chatsworth HS
2)Renee Reyes - Junior - Birmingham HS
3)Brian Powell - Senior - Birmingham HS
3)Dagem Asfaw - Senior - Cleveland HS
5)Trevor Medina - Junior - Granada Hills HS
6)DeSean Johnson - Senior - Taft HS
6)David Selma - Senior - Cleveland HS
6)Eric Dawson - Junior - Birmingham HS

Honorable Mention All-League:
1)Kevin Williams - Senior - Chatsworth HS
2)Sahdi Odu - Junior - Birmingham HS
3)Ryan Tomita - Senior - Granada Hills HS
4)Derrick Hector - Sophomore - Chatsworth HS
4)Tim Kolodny - Senior - El Camino Real HS
6)Keith Dawkins - Junior - El Camino Real HS
7)Robert Rivadeneira - Junior - Chatsworth
8)Alex Reyes - Senior - El Camino Real HS

Reseda coach Keith Higgins might want to think about a phone call or letter to Taft coach Derrick Taylor.

Reseda recently won the City Section Division II championship and will play at top-seeded Thousand Oaks Tuesday in a Division II state Southern Regional game.

Reseda is 23-7 overall and has done it with the help of eight players who attended Taft before transferring to the Regents.

The players are: Randall Harris, Rasheem Harris, Ryan Watkins, Leon Fowler, Josh Durousseau, Filip Shaposhnik, Avri Clavelle and Josh Gorokhovsky.

After his three game run scoring 82 points against the likes of Fairfax, Westchester and Ventura, Taft's Michael Williams is garnering much more interest now than ever before.

Williams, who had no scholarship offers until this a month ago, now has several to choose from.

Williams has been offered by UC Santa Barbara, Montana St, Cal St. Fullerton and New Mexico St.

Schools that came out to watch him on Monday against Ventura included USC, Cal St. Northridge, Cal St. Fullerton and a host of junior colleges.

After his three game run scoring 82 points against the likes of Fairfax, Westchester and Ventura, Taft's Michael Williams is garnering much more interest now than ever before.

Williams, who had no scholarship offers until this a month ago, now has several to choose from.

Williams has been offered by UC Santa Barbara, Montana St, Cal St. Fullerton and New Mexico St.

Schools that came out to watch him on Monday against Ventura included USC, Cal St. Northridge, Cal St. Fullerton and a host of junior colleges.

Boys

Division I
Dominguez of Compton at Taft of Woodland Hills, 7 p.m.

Division II
Reseda at Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m.

Division III
Ridgeview of Bakersfield at Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood, 8 p.m.

Division IV
Chaminade of West Hills at Bakersfield Christian, 7 p.m.

GIRLS
Division I
Chatsworth at Colony of Ontario, 7 p.m.

Division IV
Kingsburg at Harvard-Westlake, 6 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista at Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 7 p.m.

Division V
Sierra Canyon at Bell-Jeff, 7 p.m.

Jonathan Urango of Camarillo ends up with the only state medal among the 23 local wrestlers who went to state. He finished fifth at state today after losing his first two matches of the day and winning his final two. He lost his first to the #1 ranked Stephen West of Buchanan and with that, Urango missed his opportunity to avenge his Masters loss to Patrick Martinez of Temecula Valley, who then beat the previously unbeaten West in the Finals - in 3 OT.

Saul Garcia of Moorpark and Matt Hickman of Camarillo both competed in Day Two of the state tournament, but lost their opening matches of the day and were eliminated early.

The one of the first state champions crowned today was Alex Cisneros of Selma. The significance of his win was that he is a freshman, went 47-0 in the regular season and is the brother of Joe Cisneros, who also won the state championship - also as a freshman.

There are only three local wrestlers left in the state tournament.

Jonathan Urango (160) Camarillo

Saul Garcia (125) Moorpark

Urango is the only one of the three still in the championship bracket and guaranteed to medal. He is in the semi-finals and faces #1 ranked Steven West of Buchanan of Clovis next. If he wins that, he could have a rematch with Temecula Valley rival Patrick Martinez - who beat him last week to win the Masters Meet.

The remaining four wrestlers at 160 pounds are the top four ranked guys in the state. (West is #1, Martinez #2, James Cook is #3 and Urango #4) Interestingly, Urango placed fourth at last year's state tournament at 145 pounds, while Cook won state at 152 pounds, but at Clovis West (now he is at Madera). Also last year, Martinez beat West in the quarterfinals last year at state then West blew through the rest of the consolation bracket and finished third while Martinez lost twice more and finished sixth.

Now they all meet tomorrow.

Garcia is the surprise of the three, after finishing sixth at Master's. Hickman and Urango both finished second at Masters - and both could have rematches with their Masters opponents tomorrow.

three rounds of championship brackets and three of consolation brackets have narrowed the local field of wrestlers to five guys who are still alive.

Saul Garcia (125) Moorpark
Sergio Cortez (152) Royal
Matt Hickman of Camarillo and Brandon Stotomayor of Granada Hills (both 140) - but one will be eliminated next, since they wrestle each other.

Jonathan Urango (160) Camarillo

Two early losses and the wrestler is out and goes home. Here are where the local guys are as of now.

Adam Ali, ECR - out

Luis Favela (hvwt) of Littlerock is also out.

Adam Ali of El Camino Real lost for the second time and is out

Luis Favela of Littlerock lost his second match and is out

In the second round, here are the results

Benito Mendez of San Fernando lost (his first loss of the tournament)
Edward Ruiz of Royal lost his first match
Mike Le of San Fernando lost his second match, now he is 1-1
Saul Garcia of Moorpark won his first match, in the second round.

Jonathan Urango of Camarillo won 20-4 - his second win of the day.

Michael Rojas of Sylmar lost his first match.

Combs has a tough road ahead, having to beat two state-ranked guys to get to the Finals. If he can get by Urquizo, he then has to face Tigran Adzhemyan of Calvary Chapel - who beat him and Sergio Cortez to win the Masters.

Here are some of the results of the early round matches that involve local guys. In the tournament, two losses usually means you're out of it - unless they come late in the brackets. One's first loss bounces them down to the consolation bracket to compete for either 3rd place, 5th, 7th or 9th. So one loss doesn't mean you're out of it.. However two....

In first round action so far.

Adam Ali, El Camino Real, 103 pounds - lost his first match 5-2
Craig Seidenglanz of Chaminade got pinned
Behdod Katebian of Thousand Oaks lost 18-5 (both Seidenglanz and Behdod are 119)
Mike Le of San Fernando (125) won by pin (Saul Garcia of Moorpark advances also because of a bye)
Gary Espinosa (130) of Alemany lost 6-2
Mike Dumelle (145) of Royal won by pin
Sergio Perez of Birmingham (152) lost 5-1
John Combs of Agoura won 18-2
Josh Dulaney of Granada Hills lost 14-6
Jonathan Urango of Camarillo pinned CJ Berry of Chico - in 43 seconds.
Luis Favela of Littlerock lost by pin.
the other participants have first round byes.

more to come.............

I'll blog about the local area guys at state throughout the day as the results come in.

so keep an eye out...

In case you're not aware, the State Meet for wrestling will be this coming Friday and Saturday - all day at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, 1001 Truxtun Ave.

23 local area wrestlers - a combination of Southern Section and the City Section schools - will be competing there on either or both days.

The list of the area wrestlers is the following:

Adam Ali, El Camino Real, 103 pounds

Luis Davela, Littlerock, Hvywt

San Fernando is one of the teams that has multiple participants, as do perennial wrestling powerhouse schools of Clovis, Clovis North, Clovis West, Clovis East, Poway, Bakersfield, Santa Fe and Calvary Chapel, among others.

Any wrestler who finishes in the Top 8 of their respective weight class gets a medal and bragging rights that they were one of the eight best wrestlers in the entire state of California in their class. Although now, all of these guys can say that they are one of the 40 best in the state - which is also fantastic.

Here are photos of some of the State-Qualifers from the area.

Gary Espinosa of Alemany (in white) getting turned onto his head. Gary finished 8th at 130 pounds.

Sergio Cortez of Royal (in the back) in his semifinals match, which he won - as indicated.

Jonathan Urango of Camarillo (in blue) wins his semifinal match.

John Combs of Agoura (in white and blue, with two-toned hair) loses the semifinal match. He finished 4th in the tournament.

Craig Seidenglanz of Chaminade wins the match against Michael Duparque of Ventura to wrestle for the ninth place - which he wins and finishes 9th.

Behdod Katebian of Thousand Oaks (in black and dark green) battles Eddie Ruiz of Royal (in white) for the 7th and 8th spots. Katebian won the match and they both are going to state in the 119 pound class - along with Seidenglanz.

Saul Garcia of Moorpark (in green) wins the match to finish 8th.

Cortez of Royal again - in the finals match, which he lost.

Combs of Agoura again - this time winning the 4th place match.

Urango and Patrick Martinez of Temecula Valley grappling for the championship of the 160 pound class. Martinez won.

30 local wrestlers went to the Masters Tournament this past weekend. Here are the results of everyone who went.

First, all of the State Qualifiers and where they finished:

Behdod Katebian, 119, Thousand Oaks (placed 7th)
Eddie Ruiz, 119, Royal (placed 8th)
Craig Seidenglanz, 119, Chaminade (placed 9th)
Saul Garcia, 125, Moorpark (placed 7th)
Gary Espinosa, 130, Alemany (placed 8th)
Matt Hickman, 140, Camarillo (placed 2nd)
Mike Dumelle, 145, Royal (placed 8th)
Sergio Cortez, 152, Royal (placed 2nd)
John Combs, 152, Agoura (placed 4th)
Jonathan Urango, 160, Camarillo (placed 2nd)
Luis Favela, Heavyweight, Littlerock (placed 6th)

Now, for the other participants, who were out of the tournament after two or three losses - depending on when they lost:

Jared Ricker, 103, Quartz Hill (lost his first match, won his second, lost his third)
Peter Ceniceros, 112, Knight (won his first match, lost to the eventual 112 pound champion Kenny Mai, then lost to Kogan from Harvard-Westlake)
Ben Kogan, 112, Harvard-Westlake (lost his first match, won his next two, lost his fourth)
Jason Villaviscencio, 112, Westlake (lost his first two matches)
Tyler Burton, 125, Highland (lost his first two)
Donovan Baker, 130, Palmdale (lost his first two)
Trevor Devestern, 130, Littlerock (lost his first, won his second, lost his third)
Spencer Friedman, 135, Harvard-Westlake (won his first, lost his next two)
Ben Wolhaupter, 135, Agoura (lost his first two)
Matt Tao, 140, Rio Mesa (lost to the eventual champion Kyle Chene in the first round, lost to Moorpark's Collin Bedwell in the second)
Blake Ginsburg, 140, Royal (won his first two, lost to Hickman of Camarillo in the third round which bounced him down to battle for 3rd place. He then lost again and got bounced down to wrestle for 9th place with three other guys and then lost in the first round there and was done.)
Bronson Labato, 140, Thousand Oaks (lost his first two)
Collin Bedwell, 140, Moorpark (lost his first one, won his next two - including a win over Tao, then lost his second match and was done)
John Moore, 152, Simi Valley (won his first one, then lost his next two. One of his losses was to Ramon Estrada, who Sergio Cortez of Royal then beat)
Randy Horowitz, 160, Calabasas (lost his first, won the second, lost the third)
Thomas Mejia, 160, Littlerock (lost his first, won the second, lost the third)
Matt Rulon, 171, Royal (had the flu at Masters and lost his first two matches)
Brandon Jansen, 189, Thousand Oaks (lost his first two)
Anthony Espinosa, 189, Alemany (lost his first, won his second, lost his third match)