October 2011 Archives

The San Bernardino Valley College men's soccer team blanked Chaffey 3-0 this afternoon to secure the first Foothill Conference championship in history.

The title is all the more noteworthy given that the Wolverines won just three games a year ago.

All say team chemistry and lack of work ethic were the major issues that held back what looked to be a talented team, at least on paper.

SBVC got first half goals from Ricardo Sigala and Daniel Topete with Stephen Campos adding an insurance goal in the second half.

Sophomore Daniel Angulo was the usual rock in goal. He collected 12 saves, one of them coming on a penalty kick by Edgar Llamas in the second half. It was his 10th shutout of the season.

There were a few congratulatory handshakes and the obligatory pictures but the celebration was pretty low-key, especially considering it was a first for the team. But that goes to show that this team has more than just a conference title in mind.

Chaffey has a quality team as well. It won the conference title last year and had a lot of those players back. So the Panthers could give other teams a run if they make the field for the playoffs as an at-large qualifier.

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team remained No. 3 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll but there was a change at the top.

Reigning champion Concordia-St. Paul lost a conference match to formerly No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth 3-2. It dropped to No. 4 with Duluth moving to No. 2 and Tampa, Fla., moving to 1 from 2.

Cal State Athletic Director Kevin Hatcher said his school is putting the finishing touches on the bid it will submit to host both the NCAA Division II West Region and national tournaments. Paperwork is due on Sunday.

The hosting rights for regionals typically go to the No. 1 team in each region but there are four guidelines that go into the national selection. A West Region representative has not hosted the Elite Eight since Cal State did so in 2003.

Here is the top 25 rundown:

1. Tampa, Fla. 23-0

2. Minnesota-Duluth 23-0

3. Cal State San Bernardino 20-0

4. Concordia-St. Paul 22-1

5. Washburn, Kan. 22-1

6. Nebraska-Kearney 23-1

7. Hillsdale, Mich. 21-2

8. Central Missouri 19-4

9. Southwest Minnesota State 17-6

10. Metro State, Col. 19-4

11. Ferris State, Mich. 19-2

12. West Texas A&M 25-2

13. Wayne State, Neb. 17-6

14. Northern Kentucky 20-3

15. Wingate, N.C. 23-0

16. Armstrong Atlantic, Ga. 28-0

17. Angelo State, Tex. 25-2

18. UC San Diego 15-4

19. Minnesota State 15-7

20. Lewis, Ill. 18-5

21. Colorado School of Mines 17-6

22. Sonoma State 18-3

23. Indianapolis 15-6

24. Seattle Pacific 16-5

25. Regis, Col. 19-6.

The San Bernardino Valley College men's soccer team can secure its first Foothill Conference championship in the sport with a win in Tuesday's 3 p.m. home game against defending champion and local rival Chaffey (9-3-4, 2-2-2).

The Wolverines (13-1-2, 5-0-0) have three games left and a two-game lead over Rio Hondo (7-7-5, 3-2-1) which has just two games remaining.

"Our guys are hungry," SBVC coach Josh Brown said. "They really want this and they're playing like it."

SBVC has already set a school-record for wins in a season and reached double digits in the win column for just the fourth time since the program's inception in 1990. The programs best finishes in the conference were second-place showings in 1991, 1994 and 2003.

SBVC has a nonconference game at Palomar on Friday and rounds out the regular season against Rio Hondo on Nov. 1.

Former Pomona-Pitzer quarterback Jake Caron has signed with the Utah Flash of the Arena Football League.

Caron, 21, finished his eligibility after the 2010 season. This season he has been serving as a quarterbacks coach for the Sagehens, coached by father Roger.

As a player Caron set school records for career total yardage (9,225), passing yardage (8,408) and completions (651). As a senior, he earned the Daley Award which recognizes outstanding athletic achievement. He ended his career as the number 10 ranked passer in NCAA Division III football.

Caron, a Claremont resident, said the NFL lockout made it difficult to pursue professional opportunities. He had planned on playing with the Hartford entry of the United Football League but that team folded a week before he was to leave.

"I'm excited about the opportunity. I'm in great shape so I am ready top go," he said. "Obviously it is different, being a shorter field in a confined space, things happen a lot quicker."

Caron will leave for training camp in February with the season starting a month later.

Each week the Sun and Daily Bulletin newspapers run student-athlete profiles as part of a Tuesday local colleges packages. It's a fun Q & A with one girl and one boy recommended by their coaches or athletic directors. Last Tuesday the girl feature was cross country standout Micaela Castillo of University of La Verne.

On the question "Person you would most like to meet" she listed Louis Zamperini, a former American distance runner and WW2 Prisoner of War survivor. That's the nice thing about athletes from the SCIAC schools. There is usually some depth to their answers.

So I come into the office on Thursday and have a message from Steve Wallace, a marketing rep for the Plane of Fame Museum in Chino. Turns out Zamperini is going to be a guest speaker at a fund-rasier the group is having on Saturday in Chino. Wallace talked to Zamperini and told him about Castillo and he was willing to spend some time with her.

So after a few phone calls the meet and greet has been set up for an hour before the event on Saturday. I'm sure it will go well. Zamperini has to be flattered that a young athlete know hims and wants to meet him and Castillo has to be thrilled with the opportunity.

I like to think we helped!

University of Redlands women's basketball senior guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort earned a spot on the 2012 D3hoops.com Preseason All-America Honorable Mention list.

Barbetti-Cort was the lone representative from the SCIAC and joins George Fox University's Hannah Munger and Keisha Gordon, as well as Lewis and Clark College's Kristina Williams, as members from the West Coast.

Last season, Barbetti-Cort put up a team-high 13.6 points per game while shooting 51.8% from the field. She grabbed a team-leading 220 rebounds for 8.8 per game and dished out the most assists with 102. In addition, this well-rounded contributor nabbed 37 steals to lead the team and denied 21 opponent shots.

During the 2010-11 campaign, Barbetti-Cort registered eight double-doubles and sat one assist shy of a triple-double on Jan. 11 when she scored 14 points, pulled in 11 rebounds and distributed nine assists against Chapman University.

The heart and soul of the Bulldogs, she led the squad to a second-place finish in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

Barbetti-Cort's most recent honor complements her previous accolades of All-America Honorable Mention from Women's DIII News, the Monthly Newsletter of Division III Women's Basketball, D3hoops.com Second-Team All-Region, and First-Team All-Conference honors as the SCIAC Player of the Year.

The D3hoops.com Preseason All-America team is chosen from previous year's All-America and All-Region nominations and is voted upon by a panel of coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country.

Cal State San Bernardino goalkeeper Chelsey Jones has been named the Wilson/California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Soccer Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10-16.

Jones, a sophomore from Hesperia, was solid in goal while helping the Coyotes to a pair of wins over southern California rivals Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A.

In 180 minutes in front of the net, Jones posted a pair of shutouts while totaling seven saves. The weekend performance marked her third straight blanking of an opponent and brought her season shutout total 4.5.

Cal State San Bernardino, which has won a school-record six consecutive matches, returns to the pitch on Friday when it hosts CCAA North Division leader Sonoma State beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Wilson/CCAA Women's Soccer Player of the Week:
Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Lisa Ohberg (Cal State L.A.)

Sept. 5-11: Tiffany Hollis (Cal State Dominguez Hills)

Sept. 12-18: Cassie Callahan (UC San Diego)

Sept. 19-25: Nicole Vanni (San Francisco State);

Sept. 26 - Sept. 2: Kasey Wall (Chico State)

Oct. 3-9: Casey Hirsch (Cal State San Bernardino);

Oct. 10-16: Chelsey Jones (Cal State San Bernardino).

Former Etiwanda high School standout Marquis Mora, now a junior at Cal State Los Angeles, has been named Molten/California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 3-9.

Mora led Cal State L.A. to a pair of CCAA wins over Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. In eight sets, she totaled 45 kills, eight digs, 13 total blocks and 53 points (6.6 per set), while posting a .567 hitting percentage.

Mora had a career-high 28 kills and a hitting percentage of .765 to lead the Golden Eagles to a four-set win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday. Her 28 kills are tied for the conference single-match high this season and are tied for eighth on Cal State L.A.'s all-time list. Her .765 hitting percentage is second all-time in program history (minimum of 15 attacks) and the highest ever for a player with more than 20 kills and 30 attacks. She also had seven blocks and totaled 32.5 points (8.1 per set) in the game.

On Saturday, Mora had 17 kills and six blocks to lead the Golden Eagles past Cal State East Bay. She hit at a .364 clip and her final two kills got the Golden Eagles to match point and then ended the contest. She had 20.5 points in the match.

Cal State L.A. returns to action on Friday when it travels to UC San Diego for a 7 p.m. contest.

Molten CCAA Women's Volleyball Player of the Week:
Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 5-11: Keala Peterson (Sonoma State)

Sept. 12-18: Taylor Krenwinkel (Sonoma State)

Sept. 19-25: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Jessica Leek (Chico State)

Oct. 3-9: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Oct. 10-16: Marquis Mora (Cal State L.A.).

San Bernardino Valley College boasted all three American Division Mountain Conference football honors last week.

Freshman running back Damar Sowell was the Offensive Player of the Week. The Riverside Patriot alumn had his best game of the season with 97 yards on 18 carries.

Sophomore defensive back Kingdwayne Solomon took defensive honors with 11 tackles, seven of them solo. He laso had a kickoff return for 47 yards.

Sophomore Jamal Anderson, a graduate of Summit High School, earned special teams honors with a 50-yard fumble return for a touchdown. He also returned four kicks for a total of 103 yards,

SBVC (1-4) opens conference play on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Mt. San Jacinto.

The 2,000 or so folks on hand for the SCIAC showdown between Pomona-Pitzer and the University of Redlands at Ted Runner Stadium on Saturday were disappointed that junior tailback Luke Sweeney of the Sagehens remained on the sideline instead of seeing game action.

Sweeney came into that game leading the nation in rushing, averaging 182 yards per game despite being on a team that was 0-3. He ran for a lot of yardage against average opponents so this was going to be the first time he was to be challenged by a tough defense.

But it didn't happen.

Sagehens coach Roger Caron said his player was "banged up" and not able to go. Sweeney is just 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds and had carried the ball 116 times in those three games. Caron said he made the decision to hold Sweeney out after the pregame warmup, although Sweeney wanted to go. But he had also missed practice all week.

Not only was Sweeney out, Caron said a total of eight starters missed the game. He expects two, possible three back for this week's game against Occidental.

"For any team that's tough to overcome but especially for us because we only have 35 to start with," Caron said on Monday.

Not surprisingly, Redlands won the game 61-20.

Caron added that Sweeney will probably play this week but who knows if that is even a real teest since Occidental lost to La Verne. After Occidental, the Sagehens get Cal Lutheran.

Cal Poly Pomona sophomore Ryan Carrell was named the CCAA Male Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of Oct. 3-9.

Carrell took top honors at the Triton Classic Invitational in La Jolla on Saturday, completing the 10-kilometer race in a time of 32:44.9 to help the Broncos to a third place finish.
It was the second weekly honor for Carrell who was also named for his performance the week of Sept. 12-18.

Cal Poly Pomona is next in action on Oct. 22 when it participates in the CCAA Championships hosted by Sonoma State at Spring Lakes Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

CCAA Male Runners of the Week:

Aug. 29 -Sept. 4: Ernesto Rodriguez (San Francisco State)

Sept. 5-11: Anthony Costales (Chico State)

Sept. 12-18: Ryan Carrell (Cal Poly Pomona)

Sept. 19-25: Adrian Sherrod (Chico State)

Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Isaac Chavez (Chico State)

Oct. 3-9: Ryan Carrell (Cal Poly Pomona).

Cal State San Bernardino senior middle blocker Samantha Middleborn has been named Molten/California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 3-9. It marks the third time this season she has been honored.

Middleborn, of Rialto, led the No. 3 Coyotes to a road sweep at Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay over the weekend. The two victories helped Cal State San Bernardino conclude the first half of CCAA play with an 11-0 conference mark and 16-0 overall record.

In seven sets, Middleborn tallied 32 kills in 52 attempts, with just five errors, collected four service aces, eight digs and eight block assists while recording a .519 hitting percentage. The 2010 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year, totaled 19 kills and posted a .720 attack mark during a four-set win over Cal State East Bay and concluded the week with 13 kills, three service aces, five digs and a .333 hitting percentage at Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.

Cal State San Bernardino returns to action on Friday when it travels to Cal Poly Pomona for a 7 p.m. contest.

Molten CCAA Women's Volleyball Player of the Week:

Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 5-11: Keala Peterson (Sonoma State)

Sept. 12-18: Taylor Krenwinkel (Sonoma State)

Sept. 19-25: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Jessica Leek (Chico State)

Oct. 3-9: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino).

Pomona-Pitzer junior running back Luke Sweeney is now the leading rusher in all of college football (all divisions) after his 185 yards last week against Chapman, according to the new NCAA stats released today.

Sweeney currently averages 182.7 yards per game on the ground, a comfortable 13.7 yards per game lead in the NCAA Division III leaders (over Jeremy Murray of Mt. Union). The second leading rusher in all of college football is Jonas Randoph of Mars Hill at the NCAA Division II level, who averages 180.0 yards per game.

Sweeney has been remarkably consistent in the early going this season, rushing for 176 yards in the opener against Whitworth, then 187 yards against Lewis & Clark (with four touchdowns) and 185 yards against Chapman. Those are the second, third, and fourth highest rushing totals of his career, as he had a personal-best 220 yards last year against Occidental.

Sweeney has also reached his lofty totals efficiently, as his longest run from scrimmage through the first three games has been only 25 yards. Only five other running backs in all of NCAA Division III average over 150 yards per game, giving him a comfortable lead over most of the competition heading into a difficult road test at nationally ranked Redlands this weekend.

In addition to his high ranking in rushing, Sweeney is also second in the country in Division III in all-purpose yardage at 238.3 per game, trailing only Trey Fairchild of Otterbein, a wide receiver/kick returner.

The offensive line that has paved the way for Sweeney's big numbers this season has included left tackle Tim Stapenhorst, left guard Kevin Ludlum, center Jack Horstmann, right guard James Lambert and right tackle Garret Bell, along with tight end Peter Ferrin and fullback Zack Tannous. Not only did that unit block effectively for Sweeney last weekend, they also prevented quarterback Luke Ferguson from being sacked a single time in 38 pass attempts.

The Pomona-Pitzer game at Redlands on Saturday will take place at 7 p.m., before the Sagehens return home the following weekend for a 7 p.m. game against Occidental.

Cal State San Bernardino remained third in the NCAA Division II poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association released on Monday.

Reigning champion Concordia-St. Paul (15-0) remains first with Tampa, Fla. (14-0) in second. The top six places are the same as last week. The Bears received all 32 first-place votes.

The Coyotes (13-0) are one of three CCAA teams mentioned. UC San Diego (10-2), whom the Coyotes will play on Wednesday, dropped from 12th to 16th after a loss to Sonoma State on Saturday. Chico State (12-3) moved into the poll at No. 24.

Sonoma State was in the receiving votes category. 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps chalked up a 20-17 win over University of La Verne in the SCIAC opener for both teams on Saturday. But it wasn't without a cost as senior quarterback Patrick Rooney sustained a broken leg and it lost for the season.

Coach Kyle Sweeney said the injury occured in the first quarter when a La Verne played jumped offside and slammed into his quarterback before the offical blew the whistle.

The Stags have used two quarterbacks the last three years with Rooney noted as the batter passer and junior Peter Kimmey more of a weapon in the rushing attack.

Ironically, Rooney was also hurt last year which left Kimmey as the sole signal-caller for the last four games. The Stags should be able to draw upon that experience and proceed the same way.

"They won games with him so he can do the job," Sweeney said.

CMS will play at Chapman at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Cal Lutheran unveiled its new $5 million stadium on Saturday and it was only appropriate that the University of Redlands was the opponent on the big occasion, given the competitive games the two have had in recent years.

It was another dagger through the heart as Redlands played a flawless first half and led 24-0, only to give up 28 unanswered points and lose 28-24 when the Kingsmen drove 98 yards in the last three minutes.

As far as the stadium goes, I was underwhelmed. For that amount of money, it could have been better. Yes, turf fields always looked spiffy and this one did indeed look good from a field standpoint. Redlands players had trouble on their first drive with footing which may or may not have had anything to do with the new field.

It seats about 2,500, which seems rather small. The announced crowd was 3,051 which sounds about right because every seat was filled and peole were two and three deep standing behind the fence one end zone. If you're building something new why not make it a bit bigger. Granted the school probably doesn't draw that well for every game and no visiting school brings in a bigger crowd than Redlands.

The seating is metal bleachers. Ugh!

There is also no room beyond the back of the end zone. The back end line is just a couple feet from a wall on one and end and the fence on the other.

Other logistics left a lot to be desired. It is an absolute nightmare for the press. Yes, I know accommodating the press isn't a priority. There is just a small area for the press, maybe about three or four feet by the time you accommodate the crew working the game.

Well right in the middle of that 3-4 feet area is a huge light standard. So in that little press area, you can't see anything between the 40's. And the floor is level with the last row of the bleachers so when people are standing up again, you have trouble seeing the section on the field.

There were tables in back of the press box on which to put a laptop, notes. But who wants to be sitting facing the wall, away from the field of play. The only option was to put the laptop on a ledge behind the light standard and lean from side or keep getting up.

Sitting on a folding chair hunched over for a laptop on a ledge for that length of time took a toll on my recently surgically repaired neck.  I was hurting by the time I got back in the car to make the drive home.

There are other booths that are still empty and I thought maybe plans were to put a press area in one of those when all the final touches have been completed. But after asking around, that doesn't seem to be the case.

It is certainly an improvement over the facility the school previously used. But it isn't better, and certainly not as practical and laid out at well as Ted Runner Stadium!