By Fred J. Robledo
In terms of history, the 57th annual Covina Christmas Tournament has it all.
Legendary Bill Walton was named the tournament MVP for Helix High in 1969 and other tournament MVPs have included Byron Scott (Morningside 1979), Mike Smith (Los Altos, 1982), Stacey Augmon (Muir, 1985), and two-time winner Cameron Murray (Glendora, 1993-94). (To continue, click thread).
Above: Walnut’s Bryan Gholar fights for the rebound with Damien Spartans’ J P Chakbazof
Covina Tournament semifinals: Bonita High School overwhelmed Bishop Amat on Wednesday night to easily advance to the championship game of the 57th Covina Christmas Tournament, 64-37. In tonight’s title game, the Bearcats (12-2) will take on Chino Hills, a 61-53 winner over Rowland.
Other scores of note …
Beach Ball Classic: C.J. Cooper and Grant Jerrett scored 14 points each, but it wasn’t enough against power Prestonwood Christian, losing in the second round at Myrtle Beach, 76-63.
Century Tournament: Glendora lost for the first time this season, falling to Valencia 53-36 in the third round of the Century Tournament to drop to 12-1.
Ontario Christian Tournament: Baldwin Park is playing for its third straight Ontario Christian title. They will face Village Christian in tonight’s championship at 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Nike Tournament of Champions, AZ.: . — Bonita’s Madison Zylstra scored a team-high 22 points, but it wasn’t enough. The Bearcats fell to Arizona’s Apollo, 67-65 in the semifinals of the Tournament of champions. It was the ‘Cats’ first loss, they drop to 11-1
Ayala Lady Hoops tournament: Bishop Amat advances to the semifinals with a 59-58 quarterfinal win over Rialto, and will now face powerful Etiwanda in the semifinals tonight.
Rowland Tournament: Wilson and West Covina survived round-robin play and will meet in tonight’s championship at 8 p.m.
Girls Soccer: Glendora has moved into the semifinals of the North Orange County Tournament at Sunny Hills by defeating Los Altos, 0-0 (won 5-3 on PKs) and a 1-0 win over Brea Olinda.
Tonight’s championships
Covina Tournament
Bonita vs. Chino Hills, 8:30 p.m.
Rowland Tournament
Damien vs. Don Lugo, 8 p.m.
FOR WEDNESDAY BOXSCORES, CLICK THREAD
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Above: Northview’s Treavon Francis, 15, covers his head after he misses the final shot to beat Rowland at the end of the game during the quarterfinals of the Covina boys basketball tournament
Boys Basketball: Glendora continues its magic, improves to 12-0 with a 49-44 victory over Tustin in the second round of the Century Tournament, Nick Colletta the leading scorer again with 20 points. Rowland’s Sharif Watson scored 18 points in a 46-45 victory over Northview to advance to the semifinals of the Covina tournament.
Girls Basketball: Bishop Amat and Bonita are on a torrid pace. Leticia Gallarza scored 24 points to lead the Lancers to a 56-53 win over Rancho Cucamonga in the second round of the Ayala tournament. Bonita, meanwhile, remained undefeated in the Nike Tournament of champions in Arizona. Nikki Wheatley scored a team-high 21 points in a 59-37 second-round win over Oakridge.
Boys Basketball
Nogales Tournament Quarterfinals
Damien 62, La Serna 45
Walnut 55, Cathedral 52
Diamond Ranch 71, Claremont 60
Don Lugo 67, Nogales 58
Wednesday’s semifinals
Damien vs. Walnut, 6:30 p.m.
Diamond Ranch vs. Don Lugo, 8 p.m.
Covina Tournament semifinals
Wednesday’s semifinals
Rowland (3) vs. Chino Hills (2), 7 p.m.
Bonita (1) vs. Bishop Amat (4), 8:30 p.m.
FOR TUESDAY’S BOXSCORES, CLICK THREAD
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Lutheran wins: After returning five starters that won the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA and state Division 5 championship, the La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team searched for the best tournaments it could find, leaving after Christmas for the prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Trojans (2-0) opened the tournament on Tuesday in survive-and-advance fashion, edging Illinois’ St. Rita 73-71 behind a huge effort from Loyola Marymount-bound senior Bruce English. (To continue click thread)
The defending California Division 5 state champion La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team is in South Carolina for its opening game in the Beach Ball Classic against St. Rita of Illinois this afternoon at 2:15 p.m. in the first round.
For those who want to watch the game, it is available on a live stream from the tournament by clicking here.
For a look at the tournament bracket, click here.
The Tribune all-area teams for the fall are set and ready to go next week with the exception of football, which will be published later this month in our first-ever PrepXtra Magazine edition. We had planned on running the football all-area on Jan. 6, but that date has been pushed back to accommodate our advertisers. We do not have a date finalized as of yet, but it will be later this month. I will let you know when I get a firm publication date.
TUESDAY, JAN. 4
Girls Volleyball
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5
Boys Water Polo
THURSDAY, JAN. 6
Cross Country
FRIDAY, JAN. 7
Girls Tennis
Above: Let’s just say the Tribune football magazine is on rain delay …
For your daily dose of results for boys and girls soccer, basketball, wrestling and girls water polo box scores, this is for you. During the week I will post box scores emailed or phoned into us the previous night. For you results to appear in the newspaper and on the blog, call your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email them to scores@sgvn.com. For Monday’s boxscores, click thread.
TONIGHT’S NOGALES BOYS BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Top Bracket
Damien vs. La Serna, 6:30 p.m.
Cathedral vs. Walnut, 3:30 p.m.
Bottom Bracket
Claremont vs. Diamond Ranch, 5 p.m.
Don Lugo vs. Nogales, 8 p.m.
Check out this high school dunk contest, you won’t be disappointed. It’s from last week’s City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. It’s one of the best you will ever see.
Covina High School boys basketball tournament
Sierra Vista 65, Los Altos 54: “After three days off, that was great on our part,” Sierra Vista coach Herman Flores said. “I wasn’t sure how the kids were going to play. They tell me we’re the team to beat in league. I don’t know if that’s right, but we’ll be ready.”
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
Upper bracket
Northview vs. Rowland (3), 4 p.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Chino Hills (2), 5:30 p.m.
Lower bracket
Charter Oak vs. Bonita (1), 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat (4) vs. Covina, 8:30 p.m.
Consolation games
Lou Dantzler vs. Chaffey, 10 a.m.
Los Altos vs. Wilson, 11:30 a.m.
California vs. Arroyo, 1 p.m.
South Hills vs. Alta Loma, 2:30 p.m.
Hope everyone enjoys Christmas and the weekend with their families. And a special thanks to all of you for contributing to the blogs and making the San Gabriel Valley a fun high school sports experience. I will be back on Monday reporting from the Covina High Christmas tournament. Until then, can we get a Lakers win on Christmas?
The Tribune’s PrepXtra 2010 All-Area football team will be published on Jan. 6. In the meantime, here are some bests from 2010, including the top three teams in the final top ten poll that will be released later, to the projected top three in 2011.
Below: You haven’t seen this, 15 minutes of raw footage of West Covina’s 37-33 win over Bonita for the Southeast title
Best teams
1. West Covina (13-1) - After the Bulldogs beat Rowland 41-17, coach Maggiore said after this should have been the season they took on Bishop Amat. He certainly had the athletes, and they were clutch when they needed to be, rallying to beat Bonita in the championship to claim the Southeast title, finishing the season with 13 straight wins. Don’t know if they could have beaten Amat or Chino Hills, but they were certainly capable.
2. Chino Hills (10-3) – The Huskies were the top choice on Maxpreps, beating Tesoro (the same Tesoro that beat Amat in the playoffs), Redlands East Valley, Etiwanda and winning the Sierra League. But their best game came in a 42-23 loss to Centennial in the Inland semifinals that was much closer than the score indicated.
3. Bishop Amat (9-2) — Far and away the top team after starting 9-0, but losing the Serra League title game to Alemany and falling in the first-round of the Pac-5 playoffs as a fourth-seed was the worst two weeks in the coach Hagerty era.
Most improved
1. Bonita – Biggest winner, going from 3-8 to 12-2 and a spot in the Southeast title game.
2. Covina – Won the Valle Vista League in a year most thought Baldwin Park and San Dimas would fight for the title. The Colts finished 10-2 and beat West Covina … not bad after going 5-6 the year before.
3. Claremont — They were neck and neck with both above after starting 7-1 a year after finishing 5-5. But they lost their last three games to finish 7-4.
Biggest disappointments
1. South Hills - They were in trouble before they got to the Sierra League, losing to West Covina, Monrovia and others. They finish 3-8 and miss the playoffs a year after winning the San Antonio League and finishing 10-3.
2. Rowland – With QB Michael Ball back his senior year, many thought the Raiders would contend for the Hacienda League and Southeast title after going 8-3 the year before. But they finished 4-6, missing the playoffs entirely.
3. Baldwin Park - You thought a team with two division one signees on defense would do better than 5-6. They underachieved all season, losing in the first round of the Mid-Valley playoffs.
Most surprising players
1. Vinny Venegas, Covina — On a team that surprised many, Venegas was the biggest surprise of all, turning into one of the area’s best all-around players. Not just a threat at wide receiver, but he can do everything, and should be one of the most exciting players returning in 2011.
2. Jalen Moore, Bishop Amat — The biggest pressure spot in the Valley is not at QB at Bishop Amat, it’s at running back, where you follow in the footsteps of Bienemy, McCutcheon, Brown, Wagner, McCleskey, Sermons, etc. The junior was the Lancers’ best playmaker, earning Serra first-team honors.
3. Matt Fregoso, Rosmead – The running back was among the section leaders, rushing for 2,458 yards and 22 touchdowns, an average of 204 yards a game to lead the Valley.
Biggest upsets
1. Covina 27, West Covina 20 — The Bulldogs dominated for 3 1/2 quarters, but the last five minutes of the opening game of 2010 proved to be the one blemish on a 13-1 record for the Bulldogs. Each week Covina’s upset grew more impressive, all the way to the Bulldogs’ title game. People are still wondering how the Colts did it.
2. Village Christian 31, Azusa 24 – Statistically, the Aztecs finished one of the most dominating 10-0 campaigns in history, boasting six shutouts and allowing just 30 points all season, earning the top seed in the Mid-Valley Division playoffs, then losing in the first round.
3. Tesoro 31, Bishop Amat 21 — Considering the Lancers were the fourth seed and hadn’t lost a home game at Kiefer since 2007, it was shocking to see Tesoro win a playoff game at Amat in front of another enormous crowd.
Best teams to watch for in 2011.
1. Bishop Amat — With Rio Ruiz at QB and Zach Shay and Jalen Moore in the backfield, you have the core back on a team that averaged 35 points. The road game at Servite in week two should give us a sneak previews of things to come.
2. West Covina – Chris Solomon, the MVP of the Hacienda League, is back along with several returners. They do have to replace George Johnson at quarterback, but West Covina has more athletes than any other public school.
3. Charter Oak – With Aaren Vaughs and Kurt Scoby in the backfield and a year more mature, look for the Chargers to go back to pounding the ball like the championship years. With Travis Santiago back at QB, they should be favored to win the Sierra League.
And finally, best agony of defeat shot …
This is for the bloggers who say I post too much Amat stuff .. Shay was awesome before he sat out the last five games with an ankle sprain … Yeah, he left a big what if?
MaxPreps doesn’t have a widget for soccer, so I created our own MaxPreps made easy, but coaches need to update MaxPreps — too many are not doing so. I will resume top ten rankings in January and plan on covering plenty of league games
Todd Scoring watch: Northview’s Khalalah Todd leads the area in scoring once again, and is the East San Gabriel Valley’s all-time scoring champion. Todd scored 30 goals as a freshman, seven during an injury riddled sophomore season and 47 as a junior. She has 19 goals this season for a total of 103 career goals. Todd needs 33 more to crack the Southern Section all-time top ten list.
Fred’s note: What you must understand is that most of the records happened during the 1980s and 90s when there was much less parity. Since the 2000 season, or the modern high school girls soccer era, only two players have scored more than 136 goals or more in a career.
CIF-SS CAREER SCORING LEADERS
No. Player/School Years
288 Erin Martin, Temple City 1989-93
225 Carin Jennings, Palos Verdes 1979-83
191 Shannon Maddock, Torrance 1983-87
182 Traci Arkenberg, Peninsula 1991-94
165 Ruth Van’t Land, Ontario Christian 1993-97
163 Stephanie Lemburg, Frazier Mountain 1997-00
140 Yvonne Vasquez, Santa Fe 2001-05
137 Delores Browning, Mayfair 1991-95
136 Kristin Harkins, La Quinta/Westminster 1983-87
136 Gina Longo, St. Anthony 1997-00
Boys Top Scoers
1. Josh Luevanos, Glendora, 10 goals, 9 games
2. Leonardo Grigg, Bonita, 7 goals, 9 games
3. Neil Ignacio, Diamond Bar, 6 goals, 4 games
4. Jimmy Camarena, Northview, 5 goals, 8 games
5t. Erick Hernandez, Bassett, 4 goals, 2 games
5t. Hugo Lepe, Claremont, 4 goals, 7 games
Girls Top Scorers
1. Khalalah Todd, Northview, 19 goals, 9 games
2. April Juarez, Bishop Amat, 17 goals, 12 games
3. Amie Jepsen, Glendora, 11 goals, 8 games
4. Kathleen Zamora, Bishop Amat, 8 goals, 11 games
5. Jessica Lopez, Sierra Vista, 8 goals, 9 games
Boys Soccer standings, schedules, leaders
Baseline League
Del Rey League
Hacienda League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League
Girls Soccer standings, schedules, leaders
Baseline League
Del Rey League
Hacienda League
Mission Valley League
Montview League
Sierra League
Valle Vista League
This is your MaxPreps made easy for Tribune area boys and girls basketball teams. This is an easy way to look at records, roster and to compare area leaders. In January, we will return to our own weekly rankings.
The Covina High School Boys Christmas Tournament begins on Monday, here are the first-round pairings.
Monday’s games
Northview vs. Douglass, 10 a.m.
Chaffey vs. Rowland, 11:30 a.m.
Sierra Vista vs. Los Altos, 1 p.m.
Wilson vs. Chino Hills, 2:30 p.m.
Charter Oak vs. California, 4 p.m.
Bonita vs. Arroyo, 5:30 p.m.
Bishop Amat vs. South Hills, 7 p.m.
Alta Loma vs. Covina, 8:30 p.m.
Boys leading scorers
1. Daniel Rodriguez, Bishop Amat, 19.9 ppg
2. Tyler Hill, Bishop Amat, 17.8 ppg
3. John Yang, El Monte, 17.0 ppg
4. Bruce English, La Verne Lutheran, 17.0
5. C.J. Cooper, La Verne Lutheran, 17.0
6. Chris Reyes, Damien, 16.7 ppg
7. Bryan Gholar, Walnut, 16.6 ppg
8. Sharif Watson, Rowland, 16.3 ppg
9. Mark Roche, Arroyo, 16.0 ppg
10. Danny Villalobos, Rosemead, 15.3
Girls leading scorers
1. Evelyn Herrera, Workman, 24.0 ppg
2. Essence Pineda, Workman, 19.2 ppg
3. Imari Brown, Duarte, 16.8 ppg
4. Taylor Jackson, San Dimas, 15.0 ppg
5. Shereese Cox, Duarte, 14.0 ppg
6. Jessica Mora, Workman, 13.5 ppg
7. Mikayla Tickey, Duarte, 13.0 ppg
8. Kristi Sakamoto, Ayala, 12.5 ppg
9. Nnenna Abaeze, Walnut 12.5
10. Tricia Choy, Walnut, 12.0
The Baldwin Park High School alumni quarterbacks club does a great job raising funds for the Braves’ football program, but on this Christmas the group is giving back to needy families in Baldwin Park. Members of the quarterbacks club are handing out 50 toys to eight families at the Baldwin Park Church of the Redeemer at 3739 N. Monterrey Ave., on Thursday from 2-3 p.m.
Mother nature was too much for the all-weather surface again. The championship of the Walnut girls soccer tournament was postponed tonight, negating an intriguing match-up between host Walnut (3-2) and Glendora (6-1-1). Just as well, you want to watch this in better conditions. Mustangs coach Lorraine Hansen said they’re working on a reschedule date. Glendora has been dominant in the tourney, outscoring their opponents 18-1 behind junior scorers Amie Jepsen (11 goals, 6 assiss) and Ally Wilson (7 goals, 15 assists).
What a great recruiting tool, “Go to Notre Dame and win a free trip to Ireland in 2012.” If they’re taking reporters, I’m transferring to the Daily News. Get your passports ready, because Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will open its 2012 football season with a game in Dublin, Ireland, Coach Kevin Rooney confirmed on Monday.
Once again, Aram didn’t mince words after watching this weekends state football championships from his cushy couch, which is how most of us enjoyed it while the rain continued to pour at Home Depot Center.
Aram’s analysis on Centennial straight to the point: The Corona Centennial coaching staff, whose biggest clutch decision this year has been what time to get off the bus, blew it on Friday night at the worst possible time.
Aram, tell us what you really think? Yes, I know, Southern Section football sucks. It really does right now. No two ways about it. Do I love it? Yes. But as a whole, the Southland is going through a rut in terms of talent and it showed over the weekend. Our all-everything offensive juggernaut Corona Centennial got held to 13 points, for crying out loud.
You know what’s great about this news, I didn’t hear about it until today. I didn’t hear a word from from the Angels or South Hills promoting the fact that Angels manager Mike Scioscia visited South Hills last week for an impromptu coaching lesson that was set up by former Mt. SAC coaching legend Art Mazmanian, who has been helping Huskies coach Kevin Smith in recent years. Scioscia was there to work with junior catcher C.J. Saylor, one of the best age-group catchers in the country. He worked with Saylor for about 45 minutes, then when sixth period began and the rest of the team started crowding around Scioscia asked Smith if he could speak to the rest of the team, and continued on for another 45 minutes. That’s my kind of guy.
With so many speculative comments on Los Altos softball standout Courtney Gano’s expected transfer from Los Altos to Bonita at semester, this is what I can share with you to clear the air. Her father, Greg Gano, also the coach of Damien High School’s football team, is in the process of moving. He is finishing up the sale of his house in West Covina and is moving to La Verne by the beginning of February, according to Gano. Courtney Gano, who already has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Washington, is still at Los Altos and will decide along with her father whether to enroll at Bonita or continue making the long trek across town to Los Altos once the move is finalized.
West Covina boys basketball championship
Damien 69, Bishop Amat 62 — Damien High School held on late to defeat Bishop Amat, 69-62, for its second straight West Covina boys basketball tournament title.
La Canada boys basketball championship
La Canada 63, Bonita 51 — La Caada High School’s early 15-point lead had dwindled to three points late in the third quarter against visiting Bonita in the championship game of the 20th annual La Caada Holiday Classic on Saturday night.
Arroyo girls basketball championship
Bishop Amat 45, Sonora 33 — Sparked by a 15-point performance by Leticia Galarza, which included three 3-pointers, the Bishop Amat girls basketball team defeated Sonora, 45-33, to claim the 16th annual Christmas Classic Tournament title at Arroyo High School on Saturday night.
West Covina boys basketball tournament
Tonight’s championship
Bishop Amat vs. Damien, 7 p.m.
Consolation games
Nogales vs. West Covina, 4 p.m.
Don Lugo vs. Charter Oak, 5:30 p.m.
Arroyo girls basketball tournament
Friday’s semifinals
Bishop Amat 57, Monrovia 26
Sonora 72, Arcadia 50
Tonight’s Championship
Bishop Amat vs Sonora, 7:30 p.m.
By Tyler Drohan, Correspondent
In a game of runs, an early spurt propelled the Covina boys basketball team to the Azusa Tournament championship with a 59-53 victory over Chino on Friday.
With a tenuous three-point lead, junior Nino Harrell hit a critical 3-pointer to push the Covina advantage to 55-49 with 36 seconds to play in the game. Up to that point, Chino had staged a furious 21-5 run that had the Cowboys as close as they had been since late in the first quarter. Chino trailed 57-53 but missed a late attempt, and Covina (7-3) senior Kyle Chiu made a layup as time expired. (to continue, click thread)
Above: Covina’s Mike Peters driving for two