Division 1A, 1AA: In Division 1A first-round games, Chino Hills is the seventh seed after finishing third in the Sierra and will host Burbank, a fourth-place finisher from the Pacific in Friday's first round. Walnut, seeded 15th, is home against Citrus Belt at-large Yucaipa. Hacienda third-place entry Diamond Bar will be on the road at 16th-seed Glendale.

Division 2A, 2AA: Glendora earned an at-large in the Division 2A playoffs but was still awarded a 13th seed. However, the Tartans will be on the road at Del Rio league runner-up Whittier in Friday's first-round. Also in 2A, Baldwin Park will travel to fourth seed Luezinger and Hacienda League runner-up Rowland is at eighth seed Don Lugo.

Division 3A, 3AA, 3AAA: As expected, Damien earned the top-seed in Division 3AAA and will be home in the first round on Wednesday at Century at-large El Dorado.
Hacienda League champ Bonita was seeded seventh in 3AAA and will host Cerritos in the first round.
Sierra league at-large South Hills is at sixth-seed Esperanza and Mission Valley League runner-up Arroyo is home against 14th-seed Beverly Hills.
In Division 3AA, Los Altos was seeded 11th but will be on the road in Wednesday's first-round at Mission Valley League champion Gabrielino.
Charter Oak was awarded a 15th seed at will be at Temescal Canyon while Rosemead is at fifth-seed Torrance.
Valle Vista league champion Covina leads Division 3A. The Colts earned the eighth seed and will host Del Rio at-large Pioneer in Wednesday's first-round.
Northview, seeded seventh, is also at home in the first round against Yucca Valley.
Azusa and La Puente, both from the Montview League, also have first-round home games in 3A. Azusa will host 15th-seed Taquitz and La Puente will host powerful Trinity at-large Santa Margarita.
Del Rey league at-large Bishop Amat was given an 11th seed and will be at Santa Paula. Wilson is hosting Rubidoux and Gladstone is on the road at 14th seed Estancia.

Division 4A, 4AA -- The area's top-ranked team all season, La Verne Lutheran, earned the second seed in Division 4AA and more importantly is on the opposite side of the draw behind top-ranked Serra and fourth-seed Price.
Lutheran opens Wednesday's first-round at home against Delphic League third-place Marshall. Montview League champion Workman is home against Don Bosco Tech on Wednesday with the winner likely meeting top-ranked Serra in the second round.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The CIF-Southern Section girls basketball playoff pairings were announced on Sunday and usual heavyweights Bonita, Diamond Ranch and Bishop Amat are in prime position to make deep playoff runs. St. Lucy's, Covina and San Dimas could be surprises too after receiving favorable playoff draws.

Bonita is looking for a Division 3AAA title and is seeded second after winning the Hacienda League. The Bearcats will face a familiar foe in Sierra League at-large South Hills in Thursday's first round.

Mission Valley League runner-up Arroyo is seeded 14th and will host Fullerton in the first round. Baseline at-large Glendora will host Garden Grove league champion Los Amigos in the first round while Hacienda at-large Rowland is at 12th-seed South Torrance and Baldwin Park at fifth-seed Gahr.

Covina, San Dimas and St. Lucy's received bye's to the second round in Division 3A.
Covina earned the second seed and will host the winner of Thursday's first-round game between Ganesha and Rubidoux in Saturday's first-round.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The Bonita High School girls water polo team cruised to the Hacienda League title and was on top of the Division 5 poll most of the season.

That didn't change at Sunday's CIF-Southern Section pairings draw with the Bearcats awarded the top seed and the only bye to the second round.
Bonita will face the winner of Wednesday's first round game between Pasadena and Arlington in Saturday's second round at home.

CIF Southern Section boys and girls basketball pairings released from 1 p.m., to 2:40 p.m. I will post the area matchups later.

Northview's wrestling team wins its second straight Dual Wrestling title:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto
It wasn't that Alta Loma fell short in Saturday's 39-18 semifinal loss at the CIF-SS Division 2 team duals at La Quinta High School. It was Northview was just too good.

The Braves trailed just 19-15 after nine of 14 matches, but Northview went on to win four of the last five matches and then easily defeated

St. John Bosco in the finals round, 42-21, for the Vikings' second consecutive CIF championship and the school's 13th.

Michael Rodriguez (132) got Alta Loma out to a 3-0 team lead when he defeated Tony Arellano 9-4, and Jacob Leon (138) earned a 4-2 decision over Daniel Valles to give the Braves a 6-0 lead.

Junior guard Jared Dizon had 20 points and Chris Reyes had 14 for the Spartans, who head into the playoffs 24-2 after going 10-0 in the Sierra League.

You can find the prep sports results blog on the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News and Whittier Daily News prep websites. We want to get results to you as soon as they're called in or emailed to us, so we created the prep sports results blog. You can't comment on it, it's strictly to provide up-to-minute results with quick info on the games. When a score is called or emailed in, our sports clerks will post it immediately, so check throughout the evening for scores. We're getting ready for the playoffs next week, so everyone can help by calling in results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233, 2242 or emailing results to scores@sgvn.com. This could be a great thing, please share your results so we can share with everyone.

Championship results: Bishop Amat girls beat St. Joseph 2-0 to share the Del Rey League title and Diamond Bar girls beat Los Altos 1-0 to claim the Hacienda league title.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Usually celebrations like this are reserved for winning CIF-Southern Section titles, but listening to South El Monte boys soccer coach Nelson Rodriguez explain it, winning the Mission Valley League title over three-time league champ Mountain View is as good as it gets after knocking on the door so many times.

All South El Monte needed in Thursday's league finale was a tie, and it got it, surviving a late goal from Mountain View and holding on in the final minutes to preserve a 1-1 draw.
South El Monte, which ended Mountain View's 37-game league unbeaten streak in its previous match with the Vikings, finished 11-2-2 and 9-0-1 in league with the Vikings second at 11-4-5 and 8-1-1.

"We've been chasing them for three years," said Rodriguez, who picked himself up after the players piled on top of him afterward. "We finished second every time to them and we suffered a lot. It was an uphill battle but we earned it. We earned it because we worked hard and put in the extra hours." (To continue click thread)

Today's Soccer Schedule
Boys Soccer
Hacienda League
Los Altos at Diamond Bar, 5:30 p.m.
Rowland at Bonita, 3:30 p.m.
West Covina at Diamond Ranch, 3:30 p.m.
Mission Valley League
Mountain View at South El Monte, 3:15 p.m.
Gabrielino at Arroyo, 3:15 p.m.
Rosemead at El Monte, 3:15 p.m.
Montview League
Azusa at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Sierra Vista at Duarte, 3:15 p.m.
Workman at Gladstone, 3:15 p.m.
Ganesha at Bassett, 5 p.m.
Sierra League
Claremont vs. South Hills at CDF, 5:30 p.m.
Damien at Ayala, 5:30 p.m.
Chino Hills at Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer
Del Rey League
Bishop Amat at St. Joseph's, 3:30 p.m.
Hacienda League
Diamond Bar at Los Altos, 3:30 p.m.
Bonita at Rowland, 3:30 p.m.
Diamond Ranch at West Covina, 3:30 p.m.
Mission Valley League
South El Monte at Mountain View, 3:15 p.m.
Arroyo at Gabrielino, 3:15 p.m.
El Monte at Rosemead, 3:15 p.m.
Montview League
La Puente at Azusa, 3:15 p.m.
Duarte at Sierra Vista, 3:15 p.m.
Gladstone at Workman, 3:15 p.m.
Bassett at Ganesha, 3:15 p.m.
Sierra League
South Hills at Claremont, 5:30 p.m.
Ayala vs. St. Lucy's at Damien, 5:30 p.m.
Charter Oak at Chino Hills, 5:30 p.m.

La Verne Lutheran's Grant Jerrett is one of 12 high school seniors selected to participate on the West Squad for the 2012 McDonalds All-American basketball game at Chicago's United Center on March 28 at 5:30 p.m. The McDonalds game is the most prestigious high school all-star game in the country.

For the CIF-Southern Section Wrestling Dual Meet pairings, visit the CIF-Southern Section website. Pairings already posted.

SATURDAY'S CIF-SS DUAL FINALS LOCATIONS
Note: All Divisions begins at 11 a.m., and conclude that evening.

Division 1 at South Hills HS
Division 2 at La Quinta HS
Division 3 at Santa Fe HS
Division 4 at Quartz Hill HS
Division 5 at Irvine HS
Division 6 at Downey HS

By Fred J. Robledo, staff writer
Wrestling Preview: Northview High School has done just about everything under longtime coach David Ochoa. But even Ochoa was surprised after the Vikings won all 14 weight classes at last week's Valle Vista league finals, which paved the way for the Vikings to earn the top seed when the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Dual Meet pairings were announced on Thursday. (To continue click thread).

Preview: Thanks to Baldwin Park's 54-48 upset over Wilson, the Valle Vista League could end in a three-way tie for first tonight.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Thursday's schedule
Baseline League
Los Osos at Glendora, 6:30 p.m.
Sierra League
Damien at Ayala, 6:30 p.m.
Chino Hills at Charter Oak, 6:30 p.m.
Claremont at South Hills, 6:30 p.m.
Valle Vista League
Covina at Pomona, 6:30 p.m.
Wilson at Nogales, 6:30 p.m.
San Dimas at Baldwin Park, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday's schedule
Baseline League
Los Osos at Glendora, 5 p.m.
Sierra League
Ayala at St.Lucy's, 4:45 p.m.
Chino Hills at Charter Oak, 4:45 p.m.
Claremont at South Hills, 4:45 p.m.
Valle Vista League
Covina at Pomona, 4:45 p.m.
Wilson at Nogales, 4:45 p.m.
San Dimas at Baldwin Park, 6:30 p.m.

Charter Oak's Travis Santiago is heading to Azusa Pacific to play football? Will more big-time area players do the same?: Azusa Pacific University's bump up to Division II has created quite a buzz around Southern California and led to an impressive recruiting haul for its football program.

As head coach Victor Santa Cruz and his staff put the finishing touches on this year's commitments, he can't help but be impressed.

"It's a huge opening door that this school has not had access to," Santa Cruz said about APU leaving the NAIA for Division II starting in the fall. "Now you have the stage of NCAA Division II combined with the market of Los Angeles.

"It's a recipe for a lot of success and a lot of influence." (To continue click thread)

Wednesday's High School Sports Roundup
BOYS BASKETBALL
Hacienda League
Rowland 73, West Covina 47
Rowland (19-8, 8-3) clinched second place in league behind first-place Bonita. "We played an outstanding defensive game tonight," coach Gordon Hamlow said. "Chris Arzadon is our team's defensive specialist and he demonstrated that tonight and that transitioned to our offense which we ran very effectively." Rowland led 40-23 at halftime and was not challenged in the second half. Rowland was led by junior guard Joe Dionision with a team-high 14 points, which included four 3-pointers. Senior guard Derrick Marr added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
West Covina (4-22, 0-11) was led by Jared Valdiviez who scored a game-high 15 points that included five 3-pointers and Jonah Mendoza who added 10 points.

Mission Valley League
Arroyo 47, South El Monte 35
In a must-win game for both teams and to at least share the league title, Primitivo Gomez led Arroyo (14-11, 7-2) with 27 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Edgar Lupercio contributed nine points and four rebounds. Jordan Villela scored 13 points for the Eagles.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Hacienda League
Bonita 55, Diamond Bar 30
Nikki Wheatley scored 15 points for Bonita to go along with three rebounds and two steals.
Ariana Abo contributed 13 points and had three 3-pointers for the Bearcats. Sarah Jackson chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds. Bonita (23-3, 11-0) opened up a 29-14 halftime lead and never was threatened. Yewande Alabi led Diamond Bar (16-9, 6-5) with 10 points.

Montview League
Duarte 100, La Puente 28
Duarte left no doubt as to who rules the league.
The Falcons (20-1, 13-0) led 21-6 after one quarter and 52-20 at halftime before cruising to victory in the second half. Duarte was led in scoring by Mikayla Tickey, who scored a game-high 30 points. Also playing well was Sheree Cox and Yasmine Wilson, who each scored 19 points.

BOYS SOCCER
Valle Vista League
Baldwin Park 4, Nogales 0
Heading into Wednesday's game against Nogales, Baldwin Park knew what as at stake - sole possession of second place in the league standings and a probable first-round home game in next week's CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs.
The Braves (13-6-2, 9-3-0) used goals from four players to secure second place and now look forward to the start of next week's playoffs in their quest to defend their division title. Junior midfielder Kevin Sandoval got things going in the 20th minute for the Braves with an unassisted goal. That was followed in the 50th minute when senior midfielder Erik Solano found himself alone in front of the Nobles' net and tapped in a rebound.
Ten minutes later senior forward Chris Morales scored unassisted. Junior forward Josue Flores closed out the scoring for the Braves in the 70th minute. Junior goalie Dakyer Villalobos had eight saves to preserve the win.

GIRLS SOCCER
Valle Vista League
San Dimas 2, Covina 0
Daisy Duran scored the game-winner for the Saints (22-2, 12-0) in the 52nd minute with an assist from Jeanette Jimenez.
Maribel Duran scored the Saints' final goal on an assist from her sister, Daisy.
San Dimas took a total of 14 shots and got four saves from Britain Chaputa.
San Dimas kept up the solid defense with the shutout. The Saints have allowed only four goals in league play all season.

Wilson 3, Pomona 0
Allison Kung scored two goals for the Wildcats on assists from Sara Martinez as the Wildcats rolled. Christina Flores scored the final goal for Wilson with an assist from Kung.
Wilson took 14 shots on goal to Pomona's seven.
Kaylin Richard had five saves for Wilson and Pomona goalie Laura Al kept the game close with 10 saves.

St. Lucy's girls basketball wins first league title since 1994: The long wait is finally over for the St. Lucy's girls basketball team.

"These girls want to win. We started talking about this in summertime and wanting to get it done. And in order to get it done, everybody had to show up and we had to be a family."

TUESDAY'S PREP HOOPS ROUNDUP
BOYS BASKETBALL
Baseline League
Upland 55, Glendora 53
Glendora (18-9, 4-5) led 36-23 at halftime but could not hold on against Upland (12-6, 6-3). Walter Carson had a game-high 25 points for Upland. Alfred Brown added 13 points. Kyle Gordon led Glendora with 15 points and added three rebounds and two assists. Kevin Blayney also added 15 points for Glendora.

Montview League
Azusa 50, Sierra Vista 43
Jordan Blackburn scored 17 points to lead Azusa (16-9, 11-1), while Kevin Perez added 10 points. Sierra Vista was led by Antonio Solis with 14 points, and Karlo Villamoore scored nine points.

Valle Vista League
Baldwin Park 54, Wilson 48
The Braves (15-12, 6-5) took over in the second half after the game was tied 24-24 at halftime. Baldwin Park was led by Alex Delgado, who scored 17 points. Danny Lopez added 14 points for the Braves. Matt Kato led Wilson (16-9, 8-3) with 16 points.
Covina 56, San Dimas 40
Mike Peters led Covina with 14 points and Edgardo Campos and Chris Sotelo each scored 13 points. Ni o Harrel scored 12 points for the Colts.

Sierra League
Ayala 67, Claremont 42
Josh Ramirez's game-high 20 points paced the Bulldogs to a road win over the Wolfpack. Jared Ponce had 18 points, Sean McMullen had eight rebounds and Matthew Ponce had five assists for Ayala (18-7, 7-2), which hosts Damien on Thursday.

Girls Basketball
Sierra League
Chino Hills 62, South Hills 39
Lauren Cody led with 12 points and four rebounds as Chino Hills (12-14, 5-4) won each quarter to defeat South Hills (13-10, 4-5). Melanie Henderson added nine points for Chino Hills, which will play at Charter Oak on Thursday.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Diamond Bar High School's 2-0 girls soccer victory over Bonita on Tuesday to move into a share of first in the Hacienda League couldn't of been scripted any better for the Brahmas.
They got the early goal, bunkered up, then sucked all the life out of the host Bearcats after Brahmas junior Tatum Lockett delivered a long-range dagger in the 50th minute.
"With a team as good as Bonita you want to get an early goal on them to kind of get the momentum going in your favor, especially on the road," Diamond Bar coach Matt Brummett said.
Diamond Bar's Tyler Hunt took advantage of a Bonita mishap in front of the goal in the 11th minute to go up 1-0 -- scoring from a couple yards out after Bonita failed to clear it away. The ball practically rolled right in front of Hunt unmarked in front of the goal.

(To continue click thread).

SIERRA UPDATE: Watch Tom Kiss' video highlights of Claremont's 2-0 girls soccer win over Ayala for the Sierra League title. Also, Chino Hills and South Hills went back and forth before settling on a 4-4 tie after 80 minutes and two overtimes....

Inland Insider highlights on Claremont's league title clinching performance...

Reaction from South Hills and Chino Hills' wild 4-4 tie ..

Today's games: I'm covering Diamond Bar at Bonita girls soccer this afternoon and we also will have Ayala at Claremont girls soccer covered. Both games with league title implications.

If you ask who has the best chance of winning a boys soccer title, I'm still going with South El Monte or Mountain View, and wouldn't rule out Pomona -- all in D-5. Claremont is the defending champ and No. 2 in D-2, but that's such a tough division to repeat in. There parity is ridiculous, but then again, they're experienced and will be a tough out. In girls soccer, the area's top teams are in D-3, which includes defending champ Amat along with Claremont, Ayala, Bonita and others like Diamond Bar, Walnut, South Hills and St. Lucy's, but the team with the best chance of winning a title is San Dimas in D-6. The Saints advanced to the semi's last year and have a veteran team to get it done.

FINAL CIF SOCCER POLLS
Boys Soccer Polls
Division 2: 1. Valley View, 2. Claremont, 3. Riverside Poly, 4. Santa Ana, 5. Kennedy, 6. Placentia Valencia, 7. ML King, 8. Damien, 9. Indio, 10. La Habra.
Division 4: 1. El Rancho, 2. Artesia, 3. Crescenta Valley, 4. Cathedral, 5. Oak Hills, 6. Santa Monica, 7. La Salle, 8. Salesian, 9. Beverly Hills, 10. Los Altos.
Division 5: 1. Cajon, 2. San Luis Obispo, 3. Carter, Granite Hills, 5. La Canada, 6. South El Monte, 7. Animo Leadership, 8. Silverado, 9. Mountain View, 10t. Carpinteria, 10t. Pomona.

Girls Soccer Polls
Division 3: 1. Granite Hills, 2. Lakewood St. Joseph, 3. Bishop Amat, 4. Quartz Hills, 5. Claremont, 6. Serrano, 7. Flintridge Prep, 8. Righetti, 8. Ayala, 10. Bonita.
Division 6: 1. Hemet, 2. San Dimas, 3. St. Margaret's, 4. South Pasadena, 5. Ocean View, 6. Sierra Vista, 7. Segerstrom, 8. Crean Lutheran, 9. La Canada, 10t. Loara, 10t. Wilson.

The final CIF polls heading into Sunday's CIF-Southern Section pairings are in these are all that matter. The tournament season and league is virtually meaningless because everyone goes there separate ways in the playoffs with huge advantages for private schools, where enrollment plays a much larger role than competitive equity, despite what anyone says. In boys, Damien is right where it should be, leading 3AAA with Bonita at No. 8. Two-time state champion Lutheran is No. 2 in 4AA, and Glendora slipped all the way to No. 12 in 2AA. But don't count the Tartans out, they're in a winnable division. Other teams like Covina, Northview, Wilson, Azusa, Walnut and Chino Hills, all of whom had solid seasons, virtually have no shot in the postseason because of their divisions. Speaking of which, the Bishop Amat girls are still No. 1 in Division 3A despite a 16-9 record and 2-4 mark in the Del Rey. Like I mentioned, league play is meaningless. Bonita is No. 2 in 3AAA and Diamond Ranch is No. 3 in 3AA. Those three are the only teams with a realistic shot at titles. You want to know why basketball playoffs smell of unfairness? While Amat is No. 1 in an easy division with public schools that can't compete, Duarte and Workman have no chance of doing anything in Division 4AA with teams like Serra and St. Bernard -- the teams that beat up on Amat in the Del Rey. Will someone explain how this is fair?

CIF-Southern Section Polls presented by Ford
Boys Basketball
Division 1A: 1. Capistrano Valley, 2. Mission Viejo, 3. Orange Lutheran, 4. El Toro, 5. Crescenta Valley, 6. Chino Hills, 7. Aliso Niguel, 8. Edison, 9. Vista Murrieta, 10. Corona ... 15. Walnut.
Division 2A: 1. Compton, 2. Mayfair, 3. Murrieta Valley, 4. Leuzinger, 5. Elsinore, 6. Righetti, 7. Colony, 8. North Torrance, 9. Don Lugo, 10. Westlake...12. Glendora.
Division 3AAA: 1. Damien, 2. Pasadena, 3. Palm Springs, 4. Palm Desert, 5. Tustin, 6. Esperanza, 7. West Torrance, 8. Bonita, 9. Arroyo Grande, 10. Woodbridge
Division 3AA: 1. Calabasas, 2. South Torrance, 3. Torrance, 4. La Canada, 5. San Marcos, 6. Servite, 7. Rancho Alamitos, 8. Bellflower, 9. West Valley, 10. Lakeside .... 13. Los Altos, 14, Charter Oak.
Division 3A: 1. Alemany, 2. St. John Bosco, 3. Oak Park, 4. Santa Margarita, 5. Corona del Mar, 6. Atascadero, 7. Northview, 8. St. Francis, 9. Wilson, 10. Covina, 11. Bishop Amat....14. Azusa.
Division 4AA: 1. Serra, 2. La Verne Lutheran, 3. Bishop Montgomery, 4. Price, 5. Muir, 6. Windward, 7. Crespi, 8. Oaks Christian, 9. Harvard Westlake, 10. Chaminade.

Girls Basketball Polls:
Division 1A: 1. Summit, 2. El Toro, 3. Huntington Beach, 4. Centennial Corona, 5. Riverside Poly, 6. Villa Park, 7. Diamond Bar, 8. Downey, 9. Highland, 10. Katella
Division 3AAA: 1. West Torrance, 2. Bonita, 3. Arroyo Grande, 4. Rio Mesa, 5. Gahr, 6. Kennedy, 7. Sonora, 8. Agoura, 9. Esperanza, 10. Torrance.....14. Arroyo.
Division 3AA: 1. Yorba Linda, 2. Alemany, 3. Diamond Ranch, 4. Laguna Hills, 5. Antelope Valley, 6. Palos Verdes, 7. Irvine, 8. Jurupa Valley, 9. Yucca Valley, 10. Wilson...14. Rosemead.
Division 3A: 1. Bishop Amat, 2. Oak Park, 3. Covina, 4. Atascadero, 5. St. Joseph, 6. La Canada, 7. St. Lucy's, 8. San Dimas, 9. Charter Oak, 10. Corona del Mar.
Division 4AA: 1. Windward, 2. Oaks Christian, 3. Chaminade, 4. St. Bernard, 5. Serra, 6. JSerra, 7. Muir, 8. Bell-Jeff, 9. Bishop Montgomery, 10. Rosary .... 15. Duarte, 16. Workman.

FINAL TRIBUNE RANKINGS BEFORE PLAYOFFS
BOYS BASKETBALL
1. La Verne Lutheran (18-6) -- Loss to Mater Dei, Price next
2. Damien (22-2) -- Ready for playoff run?
3. Bonita (21-4) - Dominated Hacienda
4. Glendora (18-8) -- Solid third in Baseline
5. Ayala (17-7) -- Second best in Sierra
6. Wilson (16-8) -- Area's biggest surprise
7. Covina (17-8) -- Couldn't handle Wilson
8. Rowland (18-8) -- Competed all year
9. Northview (19-8) -- Better than this
10. Chino Hills (15-9) -- Struggled down the stretch

GIRLS BASKETBALL
1. Bonita (22-3) -- Undefeated in Hacienda
2. Diamond Ranch (20-6) -- Can play with anyone
3. Covina (19-3) -- Valle Vista champs
4. Duarte (19-1) -- In area's toughest playoff division
5. Bishop Amat (16-9) -- Oh well, No. 1 in 3A
6. St. Lucy's (16-6) -- Nearing Sierra league title
7. Wilson (18-6) -- Solid second in VVL
8. Workman (19-5) -- Two losses to Duarte
9. Rosemead (17-7) -- Another MVL title
10. Diamond Bar (16-8) -- Third in Hacienda is good

Boys Hoops Notebook: Can Northview still win the Valle Vista ... It's going to take a difficult set of circumstances this week for the Northview High School boys basketball team to back into a share of the Valle Vista League championship.

If Northview beats Nogales (9-17, 5-5), the Vikings must hope Wilson (16-8, 8-2) loses one or both of its games to either be co-league champions or own the title outright.

MONDAY'S HOOPS ROUNDUP
BOYS BASKETBALL
Mission Valley League
Arroyo 57, Rosemead 46
In their rivalry rematch, the Knights found their offense early and kept the momentum throughout the game to defeat the Panthers.
Junior forward Primitivo Gomez carried the Knights with a career-high 45 points. Gomez also pulled down 13 rebounds, while shooting 17-of- 19 from the free throw line. "Since I've been coaching (for the past seven years) I can say that's been the best performance I've ever seen," said Arroyo coach Carlos Barajas. Peter Aholoka supported Gomez's performance with 7 points and 7 rebounds. Danny Villalobos led all Panthers' scorers with 13. Rosemead falls to 3-5 in league while the Knights climb to 6-2. Next up for Arroyo is South El Monte on Wednesday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Baseline League
Glendora 54, Alta Loma 38
Glendora was down 25-21 at halftime but came out in the third quarter and outscored Alta Loma 14-5 to take 35-30 lead heading into the fourth. The Tartans (13-12, 2-5) continue their scoring output by outscoring the Braves 19-8 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Glendora junior guard Casie Lowden led all scorers with 15 points. Lowden also pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore guard Leah Bolton chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds for the Tartans. Alta Loma was led by Amari Terry with 14 points and Le'lani Mamea with 13 points.

Hacienda League
Bonita 63, Los Altos 38
The Bearcats were on point early in the game and proved too much for the Conquerors to handle.
Bonita closed the first quarter with a 24-8 advantage, helped along by five steals by Nikki Wheatley. Bonita's Brianna Kennedy led all scorers with 16 points while also grabbing 13 boards and swatting four blocks. Wheatley finished the game with 12 points, three assists and nine steals. Bearcats teammate Sarah Jackson scored 12 points and had eight rebounds.
Bianca Bosancic had 13 points for the Conquerors. Bonita stays perfect in league at 9-0. Los Altos falls to 1-7 in league.

Sierra League
Charter Oak 36,
Claremont 31
In a lackluster offensive game, the Chargers out- scrapped the Wolfpack to pull off the win.
The Chargers' Merrissa Fuarez led all scorers with 16 points. Teammate Tiffany Villaruz added six points. Reena Williams scored 10 points to lead Claremont, which falls to 1-7 in league. Charter Oak improves to 10-14 and 5-3 in league. They will host St. Lucy's (16-6, 6-2) tonight at 4:45 p.m. in hopes of moving into a first-place tie.
South Hills 47, Ayala 45
The Huskies pulled off the victory in a tightly contested matchup against the Bulldogs.
Vanessa Garcia had a game- high 13 points, while teammate Imani Payton registered a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points.
Ayala's offense was led by Jackie Ricketson's 12 points. Both South Hills and Ayala even their Sierra League records at 4-4.

Let's face it, baseball is what the San Gabriel Valley does best. It's the sport that we can honestly say we stack up well against any region in California. Every year it seems there is at least one CIF champion and sometimes two. Since 2007 Northview, San Dimas, Bishop Amat, Glendora, South Hills and Charter Oak all have won titles, and this has the potential to be another multi-championship season. Haven't been this excited since Murphy and Nieto bumped chests in the 2008 Glendora tournament final, won by the Vikings in front of more than a 1,000 at Henderson. It's going to be that type of year. With Rio Ruiz and Daniel Zamora back at Amat, super pitcher Justin Garza back at Bonita and South Hills' dynamite tandem of C.J. Saylor and Ty France, the race for player of the year will be ridiculous. But already, picking No. 1 is hard. Between Amat, South Hills, Damien and Bonita, you have four who can clearly can make an argument for the top spot. The first official rankings come out the last week of February, but for now, make your case for No. 1

The Orange County Register's Steve Fryer wrote that ... "The CIF-Southern Section Council on Thursday passed a proposal that aims to eliminate the wording "athletically motivated" from rules regarding athletic eligibility of transfers. The "athletically motivated" wording was incorporated at the state level in recent years to different parts of the CIF Constitution and By-Laws, the "Blue Book," including in CIF Rule 207 regarding transfer eligibility, and in Rule 510 regarding undue influence, pre-enrollment contact and athletically motivated transfers. The L.A. times' Eric Sondheimer wrote if the changes are implemented ... There's a good chance for some major changes taking place in CIF transfer rules that would go into effect this fall. A proposal is expected to be considered by the State Federated Council in May.

Kylie Doniak, who graduated at Ayala High School in 2008 and is currently a senior and standout soccer player at the University of Texas, was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the street near school on Friday and remains in critical condition at the intensive care unit at the Brackenridge Medical Center in Texas. The hit and run incident took place at 2 a.m. on Friday at the intersection of Eighth and San Jacinto streets. The suspect was taken into police custody after he was pursued and tackled by witness Sisto Perez, according to reports. For updates on Kylie visit the family website. Kylie's sister Makenzie Doniak is a senior at Ayala and one of the best players in Southern California. Doniak is with her sister in Texas and will likely not be with Ayala's team this week.

Tribune Girls Soccer Rankings
1. Claremont (20-1-4) -- From start to finish have been the best team all year, just one loss and 60 goals with just 13 against. But the Wolfpack still haven't won the Sierra League title, that will be decided on Tuesday in a battle for first against resurgent Ayala.

2. Bishop Amat (14-4-1) -- Huge 3-2 loss to St. Joseph on Friday for first in the Del Rey league, which could mean a tougher than expected first-round playoff game. To share the league title, Amat has to win at St. Joe's on Thursday.

3. San Dimas (19-2-2) -- The Saints have won the Valle Vista league title and are closing in on a 100 goals for the season. They lead the area with 93 goals scored, and the way they're scoring in the VVL, they will have a 100 before the playoffs start. And before you say their ranking is to high and they haven't beaten anyone, don't forget the 5-0 win over Bonita, currently undefeated in the Hacienda.

4. Ayala (9-7-4) -- The Bulldogs may or may not have super player Makenzie Doniak for Tuesday's huge game against Claremont. Doniak's older sister was in a car accident in Texas, and the last we heard she was with the family. Let's hope this turns out alright for the Doniak family.

5. Bonita (11-7-3) - This newspaper, which means me, have slept on the Bearcats and all they've done is go unbeaten in the Hacienda, with a chance to win the title outright at home against Diamond Bar on Tuesday. First, they play Walnut tonight.

6. South Hills (9-4-7) -- If South Hills wins out this week against Chino Hills and Claremont, they finish at least third and make the playoffs. If they should stumble, and beating Claremont is obviously no easy task, St. Lucy's could slip in and steal the playoff spot from them.

7. St. Lucy's (13-7-2) - Who would have though the Regents, after knocking off then No. 1 in the nation FSHA in December and climbing to the No. 1 ranking here, would sit in fourth place and a point behind third South Hills going into the final week. St. Lucy's needs to beat Ayala and Charter Oak this week, and hope that South Hills loses at least once to make the playoffs. What an unbelievable turn of events.

8. Diamond Bar (13-5-4) -- Got a big win 1-0 win over Walnut last week to stay in the Hacienda title hunt. Before Diamond Bar faces Bonita, it faces Rowland today while Bonita heads to Walnut -- two games that could have a huge impact before they lineup tomorrow.

9. Chino Hills (14-4-5) - The Huskies currently sit in fifth place in the Sierra, but are no completely out of the playoff picture. They need to win out and hope that other scenario's unfold for them to get in.

10. Sierra Vista (16-2-2) -- Like San Dimas, simply too good for the Montview, already 12-0 and waiting for the playoffs to arrive.

Inland Insider Tom Kiss' highlights of Ayala's 3-0 win over South Hills on Friday, which kept the Bulldogs in the Sierra League title hunt.

TRIBUNE BOYS SOCCER RANKINGS
1. Claremont (18-2-2) - The defending CIF champs have wrapped up at least a share of the Sierra and can win it outright with a win over Ayala or South Hills this week. Of course they would like to win both, go undefeated in league and grab one of the top seeds for next week's D-2 playoffs.

2. South El Monte (10-2-1) -- The biggest surprise of the year is closing in on ending Mountain View's four straight MVL titles. The Eagles beat Mountain View 1-0 earlier in the season and can win the title outright when they meet again on Thursday at South.

3. Mountain View (10-4-4) -- The Vikings can still claim a piece of their fifth straight MVL title, but to do it they have to avenge a 1-0 loss to South El Monte on the road Thursday. The Vikings haven't forgotten how South celebrated their 1-0 win on their field a few weeks back. Will they return the favor?

4. Damien (11-7-2) - The Spartans sit in second in the Sierra and have a favorable close-out schedule with games against Ayala and Charter Oak.

5. Pomona (10-3-1) -- Clearly the best in the Valle Vista. With Baldwin Park struggling, the VVL was down this year, but give the Red Devils credit for clinching at least a share of the title.

6. South Hills (13-5-2) -- If you told the Huskies before the season they would finish third in the Sierra ahead of Chino Hills and Ayala, they would have taken it. By all accounts, it was a very good season. They're a game behind second-place Damien, but they have a tougher schedule closing against Claremont on Thursday.

7. La Puente (10-5-4) - Need a win this week to clinch the Montview League title, a wonderful accomplishment considering how much parity there is with Azusa, Ganesha and Sierra Vista. In fact, Sierra Vista may not make the playoffs, needing a big final week to get third.

8. Baldwin Park (9-6-2) - Will finish second in the Valle Vista and don't count them out once the playoffs arrive. Something tells me they checked out mentally in league, but the playoffs are different and they're the defending champs.

9. Arroyo (10-8-1) - Finishing third in the Mission Valley was no easy task this year. The Knights are a scary team that no league champion will want to face in the first round of the playoffs.

10. Diamond Bar (8-9-1) - Have been reluctant to include Diamond Bar in the top ten because of its overall record, but the fact is they're about to win the Hacienda league title and deserve to be here. That is if they don't stumble against Rowland, Bonita and Los Altos in the final week.

Bishop Amat Football Schedule
Aug. 24 Servite, 7:00 pm
Aug. 31 at Chino Hills, 7:00 pm
Sept. 7 at La Mirada, 7:00 pm
Sept. 14 at Charter Oak, 7:00 pm
Sept. 21 St. Paul, 7:00 pm
Sept. 28 Culver City, 7:00 pm
Oct. 12 at Alemany, 7:00 pm
Oct. 19 Crespi, 7:00 pm
Oct. 26 at Loyola, LA Valley College, 7:00 pm
Nov. 12 Notre Dame, 7:00 pm

By Aram Tolegian
Staff Writer

Call it blind faith or just a hunch, but Charter Oak High School receiver Chris Gilchrist is headed to Boca Raton, Fla., next season to play for Florida Atlantic, a school Gilchrist did not visit during the recruiting process and began courting him very late in the game.

Gilchrist decided late Tuesday he would attend Florida Atlantic and made it official on Wednesday morning by signing his letter of intent.

"They showed the most interest, even though it was late," Gilchrist said.

"I talked to them every night. They have a whole new coaching staff, so it's a fresh start for me and them.

"It was nice to know that somebody wanted me to go play football for them.

"It's just a feeling you get when somebody puts a lot of effort into talking to you, trying to get to know you and wanting to meet you."

Gilchrist was far from the only local athlete to make his or her college destination official on Wednesday.

At West Covina, 2010 Tribune Player of the Year Chris Solomon ended a long recruiting process by choosing to play for Nevada over Colorado.

Pomona's Gerrad Kough picked Colorado long ago and stuck with that decision Wednesday.

Bishop Amat saw football standouts Ajee Montes (SMU) and Jalen Moore (Eastern Washington) make their plans official. For Moore, the decision came down to where he would get the earliest opportunity for playing time, and that meant Eastern Washington instead of Colorado.

"Too many running backs," Moore said of Colorado. "When I was on my trip (at Eastern Washington), they made me feel like I was at home."

Montes is headed to play for well-known coach June Jone at SMU. He will play defensive back for the Mustangs.

"I have a chance to play early," Montes said. "What I liked a lot about June Jones is that he's consistent. He's had winning seasons and three back-to-back-to-back bowls."

Diamond Ranch saw four members of its football team sign on Wednesday and their destinations were quite impressive. Receiver Andrew Fischer (Harvard) and linebacker Jacob Ardron (Columbia) will play in the Ivy League.

Offensive tackle Blake Benjamin will play for the Navy and aim for medical school.

Defensive back Chris Miller will make it easy for local fans to follow his career by playing in the Pac-12 at Oregon State.

"It's a college town and everybody in the town is friendly," Miller said of Corvallis, Ore., where Oregon State is located. "Being in the PAC-12, that's a competitive conference.

"Any school that would've given me an offer, I would've taken it. Oregon State gave me the offer and I hopped on it."

The Wilson duo of J.R. Nelson (Montana) and Keith Hawk (Yale) made their choices official. Nelson will play cornerback for the Grizzlies after making a name for himself as an one of the area's most dangerous offensive players.

"I chose Montana because it's a great school and I just felt like it was a great place for me," Nelson said. "I loved the mountains and the snow. It's cold, but you have to love that snow. It's something we don't get in Southern California."

Glendora running back Corey Victoria became the first of probably many local standouts to choose Azusa Pacific University, which will begin play in Division 2 next season. For Victoria, the chance to stay local and play in front of family and friends was too good to pass up.

The signings did not stop at football. Several of the area's top girls also made their college plans official.

The soccer signings were as follows: Shavonn Johnson (Bonita) signed with Lamar. Shannon Kent (St. Lucy's) signed with Loyola Marymount. Alyssa Cabral (Bishop Amat) signed with Cal-State Dominguez Hills. Amber Marani (Walnut) signed with UC Riverside and Mayra Almazan (South Hills) is heading to

UC Santa Barbara.

Bishop Amat saw a pair of volleyball players sign in Rachel Seals (Seattle University) and Megan Bowcock (Great Falls).

Glendora field hockey standout Leah Cofer signed with Pacific.

Softball signees were as follows: Kellie McCleve (Glendora) Salt Lake College. Jeovanna Rios (Bishop Amat) Fort Lewis College. Sumer Knight (West Covina) La Sierra. Tayler Castro (West Covina) Cal Baptist. Alexzandra Blanco (West Covina) Central Arizona and Taylor Miller (Glendora) La Sierra.

Rowland track and cross country standout Nick Rivera signed with Texas Tech.

Duarte went on a late run to put Workman away in what amounted to the Montview League title game. Duarte's Imari Brown scored 25 points. Workman's Evelyn Herrera had 22. John "Nuttin Honey" Honell was there and will have a story later tonight.

For a photo gallery, click HERE.

I am very happy to announce that San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group has entered into the world of gambling as it pertains to horse racing, sports betting and poker.

In doing so, we have launched the BET IT AND SWEAT IT blog. There you will find constant updates, insights, opinion and interaction between those of us who like to partake in horse racing, sports betting and poker, be it as a hobby or a serious endeavor.

I'm quite certain you will find this blog VERY ENTERTAINING and VERY INFORMATIVE.

You can start by reading my Super Bowl prediction column. And then be back on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. for a webcast that will feature Covers.com handicapper Dave Malinsky, FOXSports.com's assistant managing editor Zack Pierce live from Indy and Pro Football Weekly's Editor and handicapping columnist Mike Wilkening.
You can start by reading my Super Bowl prediction column. And then be back on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. for a webcast that will feature Covers.com handicapper Dave Malinsky, FOXSports.com's assistant managing editor Zack Pierce live from Indy and Pro Football Weekly's Editor and handicapping columnist Mike Wilkening.

... IF YOU DID NOT ATTEND OUR FALL SIGNING DAY PHOTO SHOOT.

So any athletes who did not attend that shoot back in Oct. or Nov. (I don't remember the date) and are signing a letter of intent WEDNESDAY, FEB. 1, please contact me at aram.tolegian@sgvn.com

I have spoken to most of the football players and athletes from other sports who are signing. If I missed anybody or you simply want to confirm tomorrow's photo shoot, please email me.

Remember, the photo shoot is 2:30 p.m. at the Tribune and you need to be wearing SOMETHING representing the college you are signing with.

IMPORTANT: Tommy Kiss, aka Chino Hills Tom, aka The Inland Insider, will be putting together a nice video package of the football signers.

By John "Nuttin Honey" Honell

COVINA - Games between crosstown rivals Covina and Northview high schools are some of the most intense in the Valley.

With second place in the Valle Vista League and a high CIF-SS postseason seed on the line, the standing room-only crowd almost could feel the electricity in the air.

The Covina boys basketball team, which defeated Northview last Wednesday, outscored the Vikings 16-1 in a four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to knock off the defending league champions 47-41 Monday night.

There are currently 1,459 forms of the flu virus on Fred's mouse. Blet.

Anyway, it's good to be back in the saddle again (not really). The suggestions Fred left this week for the Tribune coverage plan wreaked of soccer. Which is nice, but don't expect The Fat Man to stick to it word-for-word. We've got Signing Day on Wednesday and that's gonna be huge. If you know of any athletes signing a letter of intent on Wednesday, please contact me at aram.tolegian@sgvn.com to let me know.

As for the Top 10s, I will be handling those as well. With Glendora and Damien both losing to Etiwanda last week, and La Verne Lutheran losing to Westchester, we've got some decisions to be made. Wilson No. 1, anybody? Also, Amat's girls team is slip-sliding away.

And this week is The Rematch: Workman at Duarte (girls).

Follow me on Twitter @ChemicalAT