January 2012 Archives

The Press-Telegram is planning special online package and live coverage of National Signing Day on Wednesday.

We will have live updates of lLong Beach area high school and JC athletes signing with colleges, and there will also be the latest news of USC and UCLA signees.

Starting at 7 a.m. there will be ticker of signings scrolling across the top of the home pages as soon as they are confirmed. We'll also have live blogs/tweets streaming into the sites

If you or your student athlete is signing on Wednesday, please send us an email as soon as possible so we can get it up on the Website and into Thursday's comprehensive Signing Day story.

Emails can be sent to dave.werstine@presstelegram.com

Boys
Ryan Hurst, Sr., Los Alamitos
The senior forward was on top of his game in two big victories for the Sunset League-leading Griffins last week. He scored a dozen points in a win over Fountain Valley, then came back with a team-high 17 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, in a victory over Edison.

Girls
Rachel Nagel, So., Whitney
The high-scoring Nagel put up some big numbers in three wins last week. She dropped 27 points on Rolling Hills Prep, had 26 points vs. Sage Hill and closed the week with a 32-point effort against Crean Lutheran. Nagel also averaged 7.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game.

Sophomosre Jordan Canada has 13 points, including a 3-pointer just the before the halftime buzzer, as Windward took a 31-27 lead over Poly after one half of play in Saturday's final game of the Real Run Classic at Long Beach City College.
Sophomore Arica Carter has nine points for Poly and Destiny King has eight.
Windward senior Imani Stafford, a 6-foot-7 center, was held to just two first-half points. The Texas signee picked up two first-quarter fouls and sat out the rest of the half.

St. Anthony fell behind by as many as 30 points in the second half and was beaten 74-57 by St. Bernard in Saturday's third game of the Real Run Classic at LBCC.
The Saints committed nearly 40 turnovers, including 18 in the first half.
Junior Kendall Cooper scored 20 points for the Saints (11-10) and sat out most of the second half nursing a hyperextended knee. Sophomore LaJahna Drummer scored 21 for the Vikings (18-6).[ep
St. Bernard is ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS Division IV-AA while St. Anthony is ranked No. 11 in the same division.

St. Anthony turned the ball over 18 times in the first half and trails St. Bernard 45-25 at halftime of Saturday's Real Run Classic game.
Sophomore post LaJahna Drummer had 17 first-half points for the Vikings, ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS Division IV-AA. Junior Kendall Cooper has 14 for the Saints (No. 11 Division IV-AA).

Despite 40 points from sophomore Rachel Nagel, Whitney was beaten in overtime by Palisades in the first game of Saturday's Real Run Classic, 66-64.
Nagel matched her season high in scoring. She torched the Dolphins for 25 first-half points, but Palisades played without starters Ashlie Bruner and Hannah Akwal, who had car issues and didn't arrive to the game until just before halftime. Nagel had fewer open looks in the second half and didn't make a 3-point shot after halftime.
Sophomore post Reyna Ta'amu added 24 points for the Wildcats (19-3, No. 4 CIF-SS Division IV-A) and was the only player other than Nagel to score for Whitney.
Palisades is ranked No. 1 in LA City Section Division II and improved its record to 18-5.

Whitney sophomore has scored 25 points through one half of the Wildcats' game against Palisades at the Real Run Classic.
Whitney holds a 31-20 lead after two quarters. Nagel scored the Wildcats' first 11 points and made two long-range 3-point shots in the first quarter. Sophomore post Reyna Ta'amu has scored five for Whitney.

Whitney High and Palisades are a little over 30 minutes from opening the Real Run Classic at Long Beach City College, a four-game girls basketball showcase that has gathered some Southern California's top talent.
At 4:30 p.m., Rolling Hills Prep faces Ridgeview of Bakersfield and St. Anthony plays St. Bernard at 6 p.m. The event will be capped when Poly faces Windward in a battle of USA Today top-25 teams.[ep
Windward is the defending State CIF Division V champion and is led by 6-foot-7 Imani Stafford, who has signed with Texas. Poly post Destiny King is drawing heavy recruiting interest as well.
St. Anthony junior Kendall Cooper is an ESPN top-10 player in her class, and St. Bernard's LaJahna Drummer holds the same status in the sophomore class.
Check back here for updated scores throughout the day.

Mater Dei made 12 3-point shots, including six from senior Katin Reinhardt, and topped host St. John Bosco 86-71 in Friday night's first-place showdown in the Trinity League.
The Monarchs (19-2, 6-0 Trinity League) made eight of 11 3-pointers in the first quarter and held a 32-11 lead after eight minutes. Reinhardt scored 17 points in the first and finished with 22.
Bosco (16-5, 5-1) clawed its way to within nine points (55-46) in the third but never got closer. Junior Isaac Hamilton was outstanding for the Braves, scoring 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor. His younger brother Daniel scored 13 and Darryl Matthews scored 10, including six in the third while SJB tried to get back into the game.
Senior forward Mark Uy scored seven - including a 3-pointer to open the second half - and grabbed six rebounds. His play helped spark the Braves' rally in the third quarter.
"He's really, really smart and he never does things he cannot do," said first-year Bosco coach Derrick Taylor. "He always plays within himself."
Bosco's gym was filled to capacity in anticipation of the game, a situation that is quite normal for the defending CIF State Division I champion Monarchs, but not so much for the Braves. Taylor called the atmosphere Mater Dei's "normal environment" while his squad suffered from "stage fright."
Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division I-AA and the state and is 16th in the country according to USA Today. Taylor knows he won't face a team of that caliber in Division III-A, where the Braves are ranked No. 2, and he was proud of how his team played hard throughout the game.
"We know we can play, we know we can compete," he said.

Good news for now ex-Centennial cfootball oach Jimmy Nolan - he's now the coach at LA City Section power Carson.

Nolan replaces Elijah Asante, who left for St. Paul after back-to-back L.A. City Section Final appearances.

Nolan spent the last two years at Centennial, where he went 14-10, turned a sub-par program into playoff contenders and spearheaded a number of ambitious fundraising efforts to help raise money for pads, uniforms and other football-related equipment.

Despite all his efforts at Centennial, Nolan ticked off school officials when he told his story of the impoverished program to the LA Times and felt some outside pressure at the end of this past season.

Nolan proved he deserves better, now he will get his chance.

Vince Nicholson has resigned as head coach of Mayfair High's girls basketball team, saying he needs to put his health and family ahead of coaching.
"My nose has been to the grindstone, to the detriment of my health," said Nicholson, who took over the program during the 2008-09 season. Nicholson never specified any particular illness, but said the recent deaths of coaching friends motivated him to take better care of himself. He will also now have more time to spend with his children.
Assistant coach Ronnie Grove and former assistant Ami Kodesh will coach the team on an interim basis, according to assistant principal Matt Eeles, for the remainder of the season. The Monsoons have a 10-7 overall record and are in first place in the Suburban League at 5-0. They travel to Artesia today for a 5 p.m. game.
In three-plus years, Nicholson turned Mayfair from an afterthought in the Suburban League to the team to beat. The Monsoons went 65-38 under Nicholson - 37-4 in league - and are the two-time defending league champions.
Mayfair went 5-21 the season before Nicholson arrived and finished last in the Suburban League at 2-10. Mayfair increased its victory total each year he coached and reached the CIF Southern Section playoffs three times.

Jordan High is hosting the 6th annual Lorie Lindahl Extravaganza on Saturday,

The three girls basketball games on tap are:

1 p.m.-St. Paul vs Paramount
2:30 p.m. - Katella vs Wilson
4 p.m. - Trabuco Hills vs Jordan

All proceeds go to the Lorie Lindahl Memorial Scholarship. Lindahl was a long-time teacher/coach/adviser/AD at Jordan. She passed away after a 16-year bout with cancer in 2005.

Athletes of the Week
Boys
Arnold Anderson, Sr., Dominguez
Anderson posted three double-doubles last week, leading the Dons to a pair of key SGVL victories. He had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a 70-66 win over Lynwood, 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 53-49 win over Warren and 13 points and 13 rebounds in a nonleague loss Legacy (Nev.).

Girls
Basha Brulee-Wills, Jr., Millikan
Brulee-Wills led the Rams to a pair of impressive Moore League victories last week. The forward scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 75-14 triumph over Jordan and followed that with a 26-point, 11-rebound effort in a 73-60 win over Wilson.

Poly had five players selected to the Pac-5 Division All-CIF football team when the list was released Tuesday. St. John Bosco had two and Lakewood one.
Three Jackrabbits made the defensive team. They were back Randall Goforth, lineman Alonzo Williams and linebacker Salamo Fiso. On offense, wide receiver/return man Richard Smith was selected, as was lineman Tomas Rivera.
For St. John Bosco, wide receiver Bryce Treggs and running back Royce Moore were picked on offense. As was Lakewood wide receiver Darius Powe.

Look who moved into the Top 10 after beating Downey last week... Gahr!!!

P-T TOP 10
Wrestling
1. St. John Bosco
2. Millikan
3. Los Alamitos
4. Warren
5. Paramount
6. Poly
7. Norwalk
8. Lakewood
9. Wilson
10. Gahr

The boys rankings got a slight juggle this week, but the top six teams stayed intact. That could change next week as Paramount-Warren, Artesia-Mayfair, Poly-Cabrillo and Poly-Millikan games on tap.

The girls rankings got a big shakeup. With Wilson losing to Poly and Los Alamitos just getting by, it was time to bring up a smooth-playing team from St. Joseph to No.1 and undefeated Millikan to No. 2. Millikan's stay will either be short-lived or cemented as the Rams face Poly and Wilson this week.

P-T TOP 10
Boys Soccer
1. Millikan
2. Artesia
3. Paramount
4. Warren
5. Cabrillo
6. Mayfair
7. Los Alamitos
8. Poly
9. Dominguez
10. St. John Bosco

Girls Soccer
1. St. Joseph
2. Millikan
3. Poly
4. Wilson
5. Los Alamitos
6. Valley Christian
7. Mayfair
8. La Mirada
9. Lakewood
10. Downey

The hoops Top 10s look pretty similar to last week. However, it could shake up a little next week as some ranked teams square off this week, Compton-Jordan and Dominguez-Downey on the boys side and Poly-Millikan, Lynwood-Warren and Gahr-Lynwood on the girls side.

P-T TOP 10
Boys Basketball
1. Poly
2. St. John Bosco
3. Jordan
4. Compton
5. Downey
6. Mayfair
7. Los Alamitos
8. Downey Calvary Chapel
9. Bellflower
10. Dominguez

Girls Basketball
1. Poly
2. Lynwood
3. Millikan
4. Gahr
5. St. Anthony
6. Warren
7. Wilson
8. Los Alamitos
9. Downey
10. Mayfair

St. Anthony High has a new football leader. On Friday, the Saints announced that Mario Morales has been named as their next head football coach.

Morales had been the coach at Wilson from 2004-2011. Prior to Wilson, Morales was the athletic director and offensive coordinator at Laguna Beach High.

"We are very excited to welcome such a high-caliber of coach as coach Morales to the growing St. Anthony High School community" stated Mike Schabert, St. Anthony's Principal in a statement. "Coach Morales brings a strong passion for football and shaping student-athletes on the field and in life."

St.Anthony AD Brian Walsh, who stepped down as football coach at the end of this last season, added: "We had many qualified candidates to choose from. coach Morales is a man of high integrity and is a perfect fit for the school. We are confident he will take St. Anthony football to the next level.".

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to coach football for Saint Anthony and looking forward to being involved with the rich tradition of this school" said Morales. "I'm excited to be involved with the plans for the growth of this program and its facilities. The team shows great promise for the future".

Athletes of the Week
Boys
Anthony Valencia, Fr., St. John Bosco
The fabulous 126-pound freshman claimed the title at the Doc Buchanan Tournament over the weekend. Valencia defeated last year's state runner-up in the semifinals, led the Braves to seventh place in the team standings and improved to 20-3 with 14 pins on the year.

Girls
Raquel Johnson, Sr., St. Anthony
The senior wing came through with a big-time double-double in a 54-42 win over Bishop Montgomery in battle of CIF-SS ranked teams. Johnson posted 17 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Earlier in the week, she netted 12 points and six rebounds in a loss to Serra.

New UCLA head football coach Jim Mora was at St. John Bosco High on Tuesday to offer junior offensive lineman Nico Falah a full-ride scholarship to play for the Bruins in 2013.

Falah, 6-6, 275-pound junior offensive tackle, started all 12 games for the Braves this past season and opened some big holes for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Royce Moore and Davonte Young.

P-T TOP 10
Wrestling
1. St. John Bosco
2. Los Alamitos
3. Millikan
4. Paramount
5. Lakewood
6. Wilson
7. Poly
8. Downey
9. Warren
10. Norwalk

P-T TOP 10
Boys Soccer
1. Millikan
2. Artesia
3. Paramount
4. Warren
5. Cabrillo
6. Dominguez
7. Poly
8. Los Alamitos
9. St. John Bosco
10. Mayfair

Girls Soccer
1. Wilson
2. Los Alamitos
3. St. Joseph
4. Millikan
5. Poly
6. La Mirada
7. Valley Christian
8. Lakewood
9. Mayfair
10. Warren

P-T TOP 10
Boys Basketball
1. Poly
2. Jordan
3. St. John Bosco
4. Compton
5. Downey
6. Mayfair
7. Gahr
8. Warren
9. Paramount
10. Bellflower

Girls Basketball
1. Poly
2. Lynwood
3. Millikan
4. Gahr
5. St. Anthony
6. Wilson
7. Warren
8. Los Alamitos
9. Downey
10. Mayfair

AJ McKee might be just 113 pounds, but the Poly High junior wrestler has grown substantially over the past year.

McKee added some length to his already lean and muscular frame, but it's arguably his maturity as a person that has helped him most on and off the mat.

McKee won the Tournament of Champions as the No. 5 seed over the weekend and did so by defeating two state champions and the No's 1 and 2 seeds in the process.

Last season, McKee didn't always represent Poly as well as coach Bart Roper would like, but it was all part of the growing process.

"AJ was a young, immature kid last year and we knew he was going to be a great wrestler, but I am most proud that he's becoming a good person," Roper said. "A lot of kids his age don't take instruction or advice well until they get older, but AJ has worked very hard at being someone who represents our program and school in a way that makes us all proud."

Instead of having an ego about the low seed at TOC, McKee let his work on the mat do all his talking.

"I just wanted to prove to people I am capable of wrestling with anyone in my weight class," he said. "I'm really glad people are beginning to see the new me that has grown up quite a bit and that all my hard work is really paying off right now."

-- Brian Reed-Baiotto

Athletes of the Week
Boys
Kaleahl Ferguson, Jr., Jordan
The junior guard saved his best game for last, scoring a game-high 18 points to lead Jordan to an 84-56 win over Lynwood in the title game of the Lynwood Christmas Challenge. Ferguson averaged 13.5 points per game over the four-game tournament.

Girls
Alex Loveless, Sr., Wilson
The senior standout had a solid tournament, leading the Bruins to 10th place in the very competitive Holiday Cup. Loveless netted 14 goals, assisted on 10 others, tallied 15 steals and made five blocks to lead Wilson in the four-game event.