Keepin' it Real

Event winners at the San Andreas League track meet Wednesday night.

SAN ANDREAS LEAGUE
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS
100m: Travell Washington (Colton) 11.27;
200: Dewayne Booker (San Bernardino) 22.19;
400: Dewayne Booker (San Bernardino) 50.29;
800: Jimi Alade-Chester (San Gorgonio) 2:02.19;
1,600: Hector Gomez (Arroyo Valley) 4:41.06;
3,200: Hector Gomez (Arroyo Valley) 10:13.04;
110 hurdles: Marcus Williams (San Gorgonio) 14.88;
300 hurdles: Cameron Stepney (San Gorgonio) 39.08;
4x100 relay: San Bernardino 43.48;
4 x 400 relay: San Bernardino 3:28.08;
LJ: Andre Warren (Colton) 22-6 ½;
SP: Ray Wilburn (Cajon) 53-6;
Discus: Johnny Gonzalez (Colton) 144-7;
HJ: Reggie Jackson (San Gorgonio) 6-8;
TJ: Edgar Panford (Cajon) 44-6.

100m: Jasmine Johnson (San Gorgonio) 12.45;
200: Tyra Crawford (San Gorgonio) 25.12;
400: Daquiva Winslett (San Gorgonio) 58.79; 800: Nicole Chesnut (Cajon) 2:28.92;
1,600: Nicole Chesnut (Cajon) 5:36.69;
3,200: Danae Vartanian (Arroyo Valley) 12:23.5;
100 hurdles: Rayven Williams (San Gorgonio) 16.67;
300 hurdles: Tyra Crawford (San Gorgonio) 45.86;
4 x 100 relay: San Gorgonio 48.39;
4 x 400 relay: San Gorgonio 3:57.48;
LJ: Denae Molo (San Gorgonio) 17-11;
Discus: Monique Armon (San Gorgonio) 129-10;
SP: Ashley Sumling (San Gorgonio) 36-2;
HJ: Chanda Penney (San Gorgonio) 5-0;
TJ: Stephanie Scott (San Gorgonio) 36-3.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Due to some technical problems at the paper, I'm not sure how much of this story is getting in. Here's the story in its entirety.

By T.J. Berka
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO - San Bernardino High School senior Dewayne Booker has
only run track for a year-and-a-half.
After getting four wins at Wednesday's San Andreas League track meet
at San Gorgonio High School, it makes one shudder to think of how
good Booker would be with more extensive training.
The training that Booker has had was good enough Wednesday, as he won
the 200 and 400-meter dashes and anchored the Cardinals' meet-winning
400 and mile relays.
Winning first-place four times was exhausting for Booker, who had to
leap up on the first-place block on the medal stand three times in a
row at one point. But it was well worth it, as Booker will be
traveling to the Division II CIF preliminaries next Saturday in
Moorpark.
"I just have the will to win," Booker said. "I work hard and I don't
quit. I wanted to win a couple of events but I didn't think I'd do
anything like this."
Booker's signature race came in the 200 against Colton's Travell
Washington, the winner of the 100 meters. After going through the
first 100 in a dead heat, Booker pulled away to win in 22.19 seconds,
.69 seconds ahead of Washington.
Booker, with his aerodynamic sunglasses, was also one of the more
stylish athletes at the SAL meet. But he wasn't the only person to
win multiple events on Wednesday.
Joining Booker on the awards stand in multiple indivdual events were
Arroyo Valley junior Hector Gomez - who won the 1,600 and 3,200 -
Cajon senior Nicole Chesnut - who prevailed in the 800 and 1,600 -
and San Gorgonio sophomore Tyra Crawford - who won the 200 and the
300 hurdles.
Gomez, Crawford and Chesnut will be heading to the Division I CIF
preliminaries at Trabuco Hills. For Chesnut, a senior who has never
advanced past the league meet level, Wednesday was a day of
celebration.
"This is an awesome feeling," said Chesnut, who will run for Cal
State San Bernardino next year. "I was just hoping to come in, place
and get some PRs (personal records.)."
San Gorgonio dominated the rest of the way in the girls' events,
winning a whopping 12 of 15 events, easily surpassing the school
record of nine. The Spartans ended the night in style, setting the
league-meet record in the mile relay with a time of 3:57.48.
"We got our goal," San Gorgonio coach Ed Clark said. "I really feel
that this girls team is the best one we've had in the 11 years I've
coached here. I am ecstatic about their potential, and about the boys
team as well."
The Spartans won four individual boys events and qualified several
other athletes who finished second and third.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upland quarterback Josh Nunes, ranked No. 151 in the Rivals national top 250, is up to 15 Division I scholarship offers, with Texas Tech and Nebraska becoming the most recent suitors according to Rivlas.com. Defensive back Osahon Irabor got his fourth D-I offer last week, as Oregon offered its services.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Division I recruiters are no stranger to Colton High School, as the Yellowjackets have had their share of Division I recruits under Harold Strauss. Cornerback Nat Berhe, a 5-foot-9, 170 incoming senior, has three Division I offers, as New Mexico offered him last week, according to Scout.com. Berhe, who had 44 tackles and five interceptions for Colton last season, as also received scholarship offers from San Diego State and Minnesota.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Richard Brehaut isn't the only Los Osos player getting attention on the recruiting front. Tailback Arby Fields also fielded a Division I offer, as Northwestern offered Fields a scholarship last Friday. Fields, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back, ran for 1,444 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Baseline League co-champions last season.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The recruiting process, which started slow for Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut, seems to be heating up. The junior signalcaller, ranked No. 160 in Rivals.com's Top 250, received scholarship offers today from Arizona and Washington State according to Scout.com. On top of a recent offer from Colorado, Brehaut now is now up to five Division I offers.

Posted by TJ Berka at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For a while today, it looked like USC cornerback Terrell Thomas was going to have to wait until Sunday to hear his name called in the NFL Draft. For the Rancho Cucamonga graduate, a three-year starter with the Trojans, it was almost too much to stomach.
"There were guys out there getting picked that I know I'm better than," Thomas said. "Sometimes people put too much stock into a combine workout or injury history instead of game tape. If they watch the game tape, they'll see I'm good."
The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants liked Thomas' tapes enough, as they made him the final selection of the second round Saturday - therefore, the final selection of the day. So Thomas can sleep tonight not having to worry about his fate.
As for the Giants, they have themselves a physical cornerback who at 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, could possibly move to safety at some point of his NFL career. At this point though, Thomas gives the Giants a third cover guy to go along with recent high draft picks Corey Webster and Aaron Ross. In a division with Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, that can't be bad.

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eisenhower High School has a right to puff out its chest today, as 2004 graduate Ryan Clady was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of today's NFL Draft. Clady, an offensive tackle at Boise State, joins pretty elite company, as he was the first Ike graduate to be drafted in the first round since Ronnie Lott, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. Clady wasn't quite picked as high as Lott, going No. 12 to the Hall of Fame safety's No. 8, but Denver could be the perfect place for him.

Clady has been lauded for his athletic ability throughout the draft process, and he certainly passes the eye test. I was at his draft party today at the LAX Hilton and he is impressive. Although he is 310-315 pounds, Clady doesn't seem heavy at all - in fact, he seems pretty streamlined. And in the Denver zone blocking scheme, where movement and blocking in space is emphasized over one-on-one combat with the defender in front of you, Clady's quick feet will come into play.

It was a playful atmosphere at the LAX Hilton, marking a great rise from being a lightly-recruited defensive tackle from Ike to the first first-round draft pick in Boise State history. At least 100, likely more, people came through to be part of the festivities, which included a sweet ice sculpture of the Lombardi Trophy that was dedicated to Ryan. Clady's family from Carson, Los Angeles and San Diego all took part in the day, with Clady working the room and seeing more relaxed than I could have been.

I had never been to a Draft party and from what I have seen on TV over the years, I expected Clady to be quiet, nervous and focused. But Clady strolled in a half-hour after the draft started and barely gave the television much attention, instead soaking in the adoration of his loving family. It was pretty cool to see and be a party of.

Posted by TJ Berka at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Two of Miller's main weapons in their run to a second consecutive CIF-SS Division II-AA title, Lola Wells and Briana Hall, signed letters of intent recently. Wells, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, signed with Providence College while Hall, a 5-6 guard, signed to play for Azusa Pacific.

Wells, a second-team all-County and first-team all-CIF selection, visited UCLA and Princeton, among other schools, before deciding to commit to Providence, a member of the Big East. Wells averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 steals per game.

Hall was a first-team all-County and first-team all-CIF selection and averaged 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game.

Posted by TJ Berka at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The offer count for Upland quarterback Josh Nunes keeps rising, as an offer by Louisville puts him up to 12 overall. He also took a comprehensive road trip with his family to prospective schools such as Boise State, Utah, BYU and Colorado over spring break, along with attending Cal's junior day. There's an article from calhisports.com about Nunes' journey that can be read here.

But Nunes isn't the only Highlander receiving interest. Incoming senior Osahon Irabor, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback, is starting to rack up the offers, as Arizona, Arizona State and California have all offered scholarships. Irabor had three interceptions and 49 tackles for Upland last year, along with catching 16 passees for 325 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new Rivals top 100 has a distinct San Andreas League flavor, as Arroyo Valley offensive tackle Michael Philipp is rated No. 75 and Cajon defensive back Marlon Pollard clocks in at No. 84.

Philipp was at the USC Nike Camp in Los Angeles this weekend (which you can read about more on the Prepdog's blog) and has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington, as well as Colorado. Pollard, a transfer from Valencia, is verbally committed to UCLA.

Posted by TJ Berka at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, maybe not yet. But the Rancho Cucamonga graduate, who is going to enter his second year as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions, does have an online offseason diary going on the Lions' website. Today he has an entry detailed the newly-released NFL schedule, along with outlining his Madden video game preferences. It's a pretty interesting read and you can access it here.

Posted by TJ Berka at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upland quarterback Josh Nunes and Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut received new offers last week, as Boise State made their prosposal to the incoming seniors.

Nunes' offer puts him up to 10 overall, with Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Colorado, Hawaii, San Diego State, Stanford and Utah having already offered scholarships. Brehaut's offer is his second, as San Diego State has also made its pitch.

Both players are in Rivals' national top 250, with Nunes clocking in at No. 45 and Brehaut being rated No. 241.

Posted by TJ Berka at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While covering the inaugural Sparta Relays Saturday at San Gorgonio High School, I ran into Miller senior basketball standout Lola Wells, who told me that she is taking a visit to Providence University this weekend.

This will be Wells' second visit to the East Coast, as she has already visited Princeton. Wells has also made a visit close to home, touring UCLA. Wells, a 5-foot-6 guard, averaged 9.7 points, 3.8 steals, 3.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds for the Rebels - who won the CIF-SS Division II-AA championship. Wells earned first-team all-Citrus Belt League and first-team all-CIF honors for her efforts.

Posted by TJ Berka at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)