February 2012 Archives

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
ANAHEIM -- Of all the Bishop Amat girls basketball championship teams this might have been the most blue-collar, hardest working of them all.

Without anyone near 6-feet, third-seed Bishop Amat pushed, shoved, tugged and frustrated top-seed Oak Park in Wednesday's CIF-Southern Section Division 3A championship game at the Anaheim Arena, winning the school's fifth girls basketball title since 1999 and first since 2006 with a convincing 44-30 victory.

Bishop Amat, who finished fourth in the difficult Del Rey League, will continue in the state playoffs next week after improving to 21-11 while Oak Park finishes 21-9.

It's always difficult comparing championship teams, but this one seemed different than the others.

"Those other kids worked hard too, we didn't win on accident," Amat coach Richard Wiard explained in comparing his five champions. "But these kids have worked awful hard and they're physical and don't mind getting their nose dirty.

"They're not as tall as the other groups and maybe we don't have the division one players that we've had in past years, but that's okay. A lot of effort can overcome that." (To continue click thread).

Amat postgame celebration and trophy presentation

Not sure if Claremont or Bishop Amat enjoy having to go all the way to Mission Viejo High School instead of playing at nearby Warren High in Downey for Saturday's Division 3 girls soccer title. But it is what it is, CIF scheduled all the boys games at Warren and all the girls games at Mission Viejo, so deal with it. See you on Saturday at 5 p.m., it's a great matchup of the two best teams in the division. Amat's been scoring at a rapid pace and Claremont hasn't allowed a goal in the playoffs. Something has to give

Defending champion Bishop Amat's 4-1 victory over Chino Hills sets up a dream Division 3 final this weekend against Claremont, the third-ranked team in the country and 1-0 winner over St. Lucy's. After losing to St. Margaret's in last year's D-6 title game, San Dimas loses in semifinals to St. Margaret's again, 1-0

Game Story: The Nation's third-ranked Claremont Wolpack advance to meet Bishop Amat in finals with 1-0 win over St. Lucy's. Wolfpack haven't allowed a goal in the playoffs.

Game Story: San Dimas falls to St. Margaret's for second year in a row, losing in semifinals 1-0 after falling in title game to them last year.

Inland Insider Tom Kiss' highlight video and interviews from Amat's 3-1 win over Chino Hills.

Bishop Amat-Chino Hills photo gallery

By Fred J. Robledo
Chino Hills will have to settle for advancing to its first girls soccer semifinal in the school's history.

Defending champion and fourth-seed Bishop Amat, looking as dominant as ever, overcame an early deficit and overwhelmed the visiting Huskies 4-1 in Tuesday's CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals to advance to either Friday or Saturday's championship at a site to be determined against national power and second-seed Claremont, a 1-0 winner over St. Lucy's.

After Chino Hills' Dayna Garcia scored off an Amanda Bell assist in the 19th minute, Amat's reigning divisional player of the year and two-time area player of the year April Juarez went to work.

Juarez chested down a pass from Yazmin Montoya, turned and fired in the 21st minute to tie the game. Then Juarez took a long throw-in from freshman Natalie Tillman, and with her back to the goal, somehow freed herself to fire the go-ahead goal in the 28th minute for a 2-1 lead.

Juarez also set up the third goal just before half. She was tripped in the penalty area to set up a penalty kick and Nayeli Requejo stepped up and finished it in the 39th minute to go up, 3-1. (To continue click thread).

GIRLS SOCCER
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Division 3
Bishop Amat 4, Chino Hills 1
Claremont 1, St. Lucy's 0
Division 6
St. Margaret's 1, San Dimas 0

SOUTH HILLS LEADS TRIBUNE SOFTBALL TOP TEN PREVIEW

By Fred J. Robledo
November's early signing period was all the proof of what kind of high school softball season that awaits.

St. Lucy's and Chino Hills each had four players sign national letters of intent and the west Valley had 21 players in all announce their college intentions.

That doesn't include the wealth of talented underclassmen that have made verbal commitments to help make the annual San Gabriel Valley Tribune preseason top 10 rankings a tough list to crack, starting with the only team to advance to a divisional championship last year, South Hills. (To continue click thread)

Tribune Softball Preseason Top Ten
1. South Hills (21-8)
2. Chino Hills (25-6)
3. Bishop Amat (25-4)
4. St. Lucy's (16-13)
5. Bonita (23-5)
6. Glendora (17-7)
7. Northview (17-10-1)
8. Los Altos (14-8)
9. Charter Oak (11-14)
10. San Dimas (21-8)

It's a travesty. You put us all in the same division and we're like crabs in a bucket trying to get out. Then, when we finally get out, you put us at a time when everybody is at work. You don't put us on TV. You don't put us on prime time. It's like ... man ... it is what it is." -- Lutheran coach Eric Cooper on having to play at 4:45 p.m, on Thursday

Robledo's thoughts: In Lutheran's case, I understand CIF's thinking. I don't agree with it, but I get it. Even though Lutheran and Serra are two of the best teams in the Southern Section, Lutheran barely has a fan base and CIF doesn't want to lose money by showcasing them in primetime. They want a packed Arena for the marquee night games and not sure if Lutheran can deliver that for them. Amat, on the other hand, brings plenty of fans to the girls game. I don't care if you played that game at noon, the fans will come.

STORY: The thought of playing their respective CIF-Southern Section championship games on a weekday at 4:45 p.m. has to be somewhat of a buzz kill for fans of the Bishop Amat High School girls and La Verne Lutheran boys basketball teams.

Amat will play for the Division 3A championship against Oak Park at Anaheim Arena on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. Lutheran plays Serra in Division 4AA on Thursday at Anaheim Arena at 4:45 p.m.

CIF CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
GIRLS SOCCER
TUESDAY'S SEMIFINALS
Division 3
Chino Hills at Bishop Amat, 3 p.m.
St. Lucy's at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Division 6
St. Margaret's vs. San Dimas at Bonita, 5 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Division 3A
Oak Park vs. Bishop Amat, 4:45 p.m., Anaheim Arena

BOYS BASKETBALL
THURSDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Division 4AA
Serra vs. La Verne Lutheran at Anaheim Arena, 4:45 p.m.

Bishop Amat defense too much for Covina in 46-32 win: Defense has been what's taken the Bishop Amat High School girls basketball program to lofty levels. And it was defense on Saturday night that punched the Lancers ticket into next week's CIF-Southern Section Division 3A championship game at Anaheim Convention Center.

The Lancers got visiting Covina in a hole early, then used their defense to never allow the Colts to dig out. The 46-32 victory has Amat on the verge of winning its fifth Southern Section title under coach Richard Wiard.

Bonita can't keep up with Arroyo Grande, loses 46-30: There will be no repeat of last year's magical run to the CIF finals for the Bonita High School girls basketball team.

"The girls have a lot to be proud of," Bearcats coach Darren Baumunk said. "No one expected us to be back in the semis after losing what we did last year. It's tough right now but we defended our (Hacienda) league championship and had a really good run.

Diamond Ranch battled hard with No. 2 Alemany, but lost 46-34: The third-seeded Panthers (25-7) held a five-point halftime advantage and led 28-26 with two minutes left in the third quarter at No. 2 Alemany (29-2), but Diamond Ranch struggled down the stretch in the defeat.

Chelsea Barnes had 16 points to lead Diamond Ranch, which made only 2 of 15 field goals and committed five turnovers in the final 10 minutes.

Tyvette White added six points for the Panthers, who were outscored 27-10 in the second half, including being held scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes in the third and fourth quarters.

TEMECULA - It remains to be seen if the Northview High School wrestling team can win a CIF State championship.
But one thing is certain - the Vikings are the best in the CIF-Southern Section.
Northview flexed its muscle Saturday, qualifying a school-record seven for next weekend's state championships in Bakersfield and outdueling Corona Centennial for the team title, 101.5-98, during the CIF-SS Masters Meet at Temecula Valley High School.
Sophomore Bryan Salinas led the Vikings' charge with a second-place finish at 145pounds. Other Northview qualifiers were Vincent Parra (106, third), Eric Ochoa (113, eighth), Daniel Valles (136, third), Javier Arellano (152, ninth), Steven Lopez (160, eighth) and Eddie Bernal (182, eighth).
The Vikings' dominance capped the area performances that saw 14 competitors qualify for state, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
Chino Hills' Christian Martin, who beat Diamond Bar's Nathan Pike, 10-2, in the 113-pound final, was the area's only champion. Other local qualifiers were Pike, Walnut's Michael Sill (132, fourth), Rosemead's Alberto Flores (145, seventh), South Hills' Trevor Behr (152, fourth), West Covina's Brad Ojala (170, fifth) and Chino Hills' Brody Goens (182, sixth).
Northview assistant coach Bobby Bellamy: "This tournament's a meat-grinder. It's extremely difficult to get through this tournament and healthy to the next tournament. I'm just pleased we got seven guys to state. It's the most guys Northview has ever had. It's another milestone. We've never had seven state qualifiers. Hopefully, we can take them to Bakersfield and get them on the podium. I'm just so ecstatic. I'm overwhelmed with joy. I'm just so pleased with their effort. We have kids like Eric Ochoa, who placed fifth at (divisionals) and placed eighth here. Those kind of efforts ... it's just amazing."
Chino Hills Christian Martin: I thought I could get to the semifinals and finals. But to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure I could take it. After I saw who I had in the finals, I was confident I could beat him. I just went out there and wrestled smart."

The drama that unfolded Saturday at the Woollett Aquatic Center in the CIF-SS Division 5 girls water polo championship demands an acting analogy: If you showed Bonita the script beforehand, any one of the Bearcats would have been justified for chucking it to the ground in exasperation.

For the second straight year, Temescal Canyon stunned Bonita with a fourth-quarter comeback to capture the section title. This time, the Titans walked away with a 12-11 victory on Dannielle Wenzel's goal with 1.77 seconds left.

The Dicks Sporting Goods Preseason Baseball tournament began Friday with Bonita's 6-0 win over Damien and another gem pitcher by Bearcats super senior Justin Garza, who threw six shutout innings to with his 14th straight game dating back to last year. The rest of the Saturday's results are posted. You can also follow the tournament on the Dicks Sporting Goods preseason webpage. If you want me to tweet updates, send your final scores to sgvtribpreps@twitter and I will retweet them to our followers.

Dicks Sporting Goods Preseason Baseball Tournament
Pool A: Bonita, Covina, Arroyo, Damien, Tahquitz, Paloma Valley
Pool B: Northview, Claremont, Los Osos, Fullerton, West Covina, Keppel
Pool C: Orange Lutheran, Charter Oak, Los Altos, Alta Loma, La Puente
Pool D: South Hills, Crescenta Valley, Yucaipa, Chaffey, Rancho Cucamonga

Friday's results
Bonita 6, Damien 0
Saturday's games
Tahquitz6, Paloma Valley 2
Covina 20, Arroyo 1
West Covina 2, Claremont 1
Orange Lutheran 9, Alta Loma 1
Fullerton 13, Keppel 5
La Puente 10, Los Altos 1
South Hills 7, Crescenta Valley 3
Yucaipa vs. Charter Oak at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 27
Rancho Cucamonga vs. Chaffey at Cal Poly Pomona, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Alta Loma at Los Altos, 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Arroyo at Bonita, 5 p.m.
Tahquitz at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Paloma Valley at Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Claremont at Northview, 3:15 p.m.
Fulleton at Los Osos, 3:15 p.m.
Keppel at West Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Yucaipa vs. Crescenta Valley at Stengel Field, 6 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at South Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Cahffey at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Friday, March 2
Claremont vs. Los Osos at Chaffey College, 3:15 p.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. Los Altos at UC Riverside, 4 p.m.
South Hills vs. Yucaipa at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at Crescenta Valley, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Keppel vs. Northview at Littleton Field, 10 a.m.
West Covina vs. Fullerton at Littleton Field, 1 p.m.
La Puente vs. Charter Oak at Littleton Field, 4 p.m.
Covina vs. Bonita at Littleton Field, 7 p.m.
Arroyo at Tahquitz, 1 p.m.
Alta Loma at Chaffey, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 5
Paloma Valley vs. Damien at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.

Semifinals: Wednesday, March 7, at Bonita High, 3 and 7 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 10, at Bonita High, 7 p.m.

West Covina's undefeated Samantha Ortiz (118), Aleah LaFrancis (126) and Alyssa LaFrancis (154) all won state titles to help West Covina win the girls state wrestling title for the second straight year by beating Northview and avenging the CIF title it lost to the Vikings two weeks ago.

Bishop Amat scores three goals in final 15 minutes, and twice in last four minutes to beat Ayala 4-3

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The Bishop Amat girls soccer team has been part of some incredible comebacks over the years, but this may trump them all.

The Lancers needed all of their championship swagger and used the finishing touches of a little-known freshman to shock host Ayala, 4-3, in a wild comeback thriller in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals on Friday.

Amat, which beat Ayala in last year's title game, overcame a two- goal deficit with 15 minutes to play and scored twice in the final four minutes to pull off the stunner, getting the game-winner from freshman Jamie Peters on a cross from Miranda Joya in the 78th minute to send the Lancers (21-4-4) to Tuesday's semifinals, where they will host Chino Hills, a 5-1 winner over Bonita.

"Wow," were the first words out of Bishop Amat coach Ruben Gonzalez's mouth. "You got to believe in God and in miracles. You need luck when you make runs deep into the playoffs. It was one of those games and fortunately for us we were on the wining side." (To continue click thread).

Game Story: South Pasadena too much for Sierra Vista in quarterfinals, wins 4-0

Game Story: Claremont takes down visiting Diamond Bar in quarterfinals, 1-0

Game Story: Chino Hills continues postseason run with win over Bonita, 5-1

Game Story: St. Lucy's reaches the semis after beating Valencia, 2-1

Above: St. Lucy's celebrating 2-1 win over Placentia Valencia

Friday's Quarterfinal Results
Division 3
Chino Hills 5, Bonita 1
Bishop Amat 4, Ayala 3
Claremont 1, Diamond Bar 0
St. Lucy's 2, Placentia Valencia 1
Division 6
San Dimas 2, Loara 1
South Pasadena 4, Sierra Vista 0

La Verne Lutheran High School survived a last-second shot for the second consecutive game and moved into the CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA finals with a 51-49 semifinal win over Crespi at the University of La Verne on Friday night.

"It's been like that all season," Trojans coach Eric Cooper said. "We had a quadruple overtime and two double-overtimes. If that shot had gone in to go into overtime, I wouldn't have been fazed. That's the kind of season we've had."

Crespi missed a game-tying shot in the final seconds and La Verne Lutheran survived a scare for the second straight game to win 51-49. The Trojans advance to the CIF-SS Division 4AA title game against top seed Serra at the Anaheim Convention Center next week on a day to be determined. Watch the final seconds and Trojans coach Eric Cooper's reaction afterward.

Above: Northview's Vincent Parra, top, beating Arroyo's Jonathan Atherton in last week's 106-pound final in the CIF-SS Southern Division individual championships, is one of 11 Vikings qualifiers at this weekend's Masters Meet in Temecula. (Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer)

If Northview does well at this weekend's Masters, Vikings could have shot at school's first state title, and first since South Hills pulled the feat in 1981

By Steve Ramirez, staff writer
It's been 31 years since an area wrestling team won a CIF State championship.

Northview High School, trying to become the first since South Hills in 1981, could take a big step this weekend when the Vikings, fresh off two record-setting weekends, compete at the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet, scheduled for today and Friday at Temecula Valley High School.

Competition begins at 10 a.m. each day, with the final rounds slated for 2-5 p.m. on Saturday. The top nine in each of 14 weight classes advance to the CIF State championships, scheduled for next weekend at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

The story this weekend will be the Vikings, who with 11 qualifiers, six who won divisional titles last week, have a shot to compete for the state title if a bulk of the contingent, which includes No. 1 seeds Bryan Salinas (145 pounds) and Javier Arellano (152), advance. (To continue click thread)

"We are well aware of Grant. We will focus on him at practice. If we come out like we did tonight, it will be a close game. Our mentality is to hit the other team in the mouth before they hit us. We will come out intense and play good defense." -- Crespi point guard London Perrantes on facing Grant Jerrett and La Verne Lutheran.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
In the past four years the La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team has won two CIF-Southern Section divisional titles and back-to-back state championships in Division 5 and 3, respectively.

But what the second-seed Trojans (23-6) face in trying to win their third section title by advancing to tonight's CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA semifinal against Crespi (23-6) at the University of La Verne at 7 p.m., might be their most difficult challenge of all.

The Division 4AA bracket is arguably the toughest in the Southern Section, which includes top-seed Serra taking on fourth-seed Price in the other semifinal.
Crespi, a fourth-place team from the extremely difficult Mission League, knocked off third-seed Bishop Montgomery 73-67 in the quarterfinals and the Celts have impressive wins on the resume over Price, Alemany, Harvard-Westlake and Loyola.

"Look at some of teams already eliminated in our division too, Windward, Harvard-Westlake and Oaks Christian," Trojans coach Eric Cooper Sr., said. "There are a lot of teams that have won CIF championships the last few years in our division. It is what it is, you have to play great to win it." (To continue click thread).

BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS
TODAY'S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
Division 2
La Sierra 1, Claremont 0
Division 4
El Rancho 2, South Torrance 1
Division 5
Lakeside 1, Mountain View 0

The Dicks Sporting Goods Preseason Baseball tournament begins on Friday with a dozzy, Damien at Bonita at 5 p.m.. The rest of the schedule is posted here and I will update scores as soon as I can. You can also follow the tournament on the Dicks Sporting Goods preseason webpage. If you want me to tweet updates, send your final scores to sgvtribpreps@twitter and I will retweet them to our followers.

Dicks Sporting Goods Preseason Baseball Tournament
Pool A: Bonita, Covina, Arroyo, Damien, Tahquitz, Paloma Valley
Pool B: Northview, Claremont, Los Osos, Fullerton, West Covina, Keppel
Pool C: Orange Lutheran, Charter Oak, Los Altos, Alta Loma, La Puente
Pool D: South Hills, Crescenta Valley, Yucaipa, Chaffey, Rancho Cucamonga

Friday's game
Damien at Bonita, 5 p.m.
Saturday's games
Tahquitz vs. Paloma Valley at UC Riverside, Noon
Crescenta Valley vs. South Hills at UC Riverside, 3:30 p.m.
Yucaipa vs. Charter Oak at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
Covina at Arroyo, 1 p.m.
Claremont vs. West Covina at Citrus College, 10 a.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. Alta Loma at Citrus College, 1 p.m.
Fullerton at Keppel, 1 p.m.
Los Altos at La Puente, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 27
Rancho Cucamonga vs. Chaffey at Cal Poly Pomona, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Alta Loma at Los Altos, 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Arroyo at Bonita, 5 p.m.
Tahquitz at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Paloma Valley at Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Claremont at Northview, 3:15 p.m.
Fulleton at Los Osos, 3:15 p.m.
Keppel at West Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Yucaipa vs. Crescenta Valley at Stengel Field, 6 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at South Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Cahffey at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Friday, March 2
Claremont vs. Los Osos at Chaffey College, 3:15 p.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. Los Altos at UC Riverside, 4 p.m.
South Hills vs. Yucaipa at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at Crescenta Valley, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Keppel vs. Northview at Littleton Field, 10 a.m.
West Covina vs. Fullerton at Littleton Field, 1 p.m.
La Puente vs. Charter Oak at Littleton Field, 4 p.m.
Covina vs. Bonita at Littleton Field, 7 p.m.
Arroyo at Tahquitz, 1 p.m.
Alta Loma at Chaffey, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 5
Paloma Valley vs. Damien at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.

Semifinals: Wednesday, March 7, at Bonita High, 3 and 7 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 10, at Bonita High, 7 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday's Semifinals
Division 4AA
Crespi vs. La Verne Lutheran at University of La Verne, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Friday's Quarterfinals
Division 3
Bonita at Chino Hills, 3 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Ayala, 3 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Placentia Valencia vs. St. Lucy's at Damien, 3 p.m.
Division 6
San Dimas at Loara, 3 p.m.
Sierra Vista at South Pasadena, 5 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Saturday's Semifinals
Division 3AAA
Arroyo Grande at Bonita, 6 p.m.
Division 3AA
Diamond Ranch at Alemany, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Covina at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m.

GIRLS WATER POLO
Saturday's Championship at William Woollett, Irvine
Division 5
Bonita vs. Temescal Canyon, 11:40 a.m.

Division 5 Semifinals
Bonita 10, Redlands East Valley 9, sudden death overtime

For the second consecutive season Redlands East Valley's girls water polo team proved it was good enough to play for a CIF-Southern Section championship.

"It's a shame that only one of these teams gets to play for the championship," Bonita coach Andy Rosenberg said. "Redlands East Valley is a great team and they really deserve to play for the championship."

Division 3 Semifinals
Arroyo Grande 7, St. Lucy's 6
St. Lucy's Priory held a 4-0 lead in Wednesday's CIF-SS Division 3 girls water polo semifinals with 2:30 left in the first half at the William Woollett Aquatics Center.

Kelsey Docouto's deflected goal with 1:16 left in the game broke a tie and Arroyo Grande shocked St. Lucy's 7-6 to move on to Saturday's final against top-seeded Murrieta Valley.

Some of it was great defense and some of it was visiting La Canada missing open shot after open shot.

Covina (25-3), the second seed in the division, will face area juggernaut and third-seed Bishop Amat (19-11), a 54-30 winner over St. Joseph, at Bishop Amat in Saturday's semifinal at 7 p.m.

Game Story: What was trending like a game that may come down to the final possession turned into anything but that for the Bonita High School girls basketball team Wednesday night.
The Bearcats played arguably their best five-minute stretch of the season and it was enough to avoid the need for any late dramatics as they put away visiting Agoura with a 53-45 win in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA playoffs.

Game Story: The third-seeded Diamond Ranch High School girls basketball team advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive year with a 43-34 win over Palos Verdes in Wednesday's CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA quarterfinals.

Basketball Roundup leading with Amat's win: The Lancers (19-11), opening a first-quarter lead of 17-2, advanced behind the play of Leeah Powell, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Paulina Santana contributed 11 points and Janae Chamois had 10 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wednesday's second and quarterfinal results
Division 1A
Second round
Temecula Valley 57, Diamond Bar 33
Division 2AA
Second round
Ventura 62, Chino Hills 22
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Bonita 53, Agoura 45
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Diamond Ranch 43, Palos Verdes 34
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Oak Park 64, Charter Oak 29
Atascadero 60, St. Lucy's 55
Bishop Amat 54, Lakewood St. Joseph 30
Covina 51, La Canada 25

San Dimas Jeanette Jimenez enjoys playoff ride in Saints' 10-0 win

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
After scoring three goals in San Dimas' easy 10-0 victory over visiting Oxford Academy in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 girls soccer playoffs, senior midfielder Jeanette Jimenez walked off with an ice pack on her knee, a reminder that she wasn't part of the Saints team that reached the divisional final a year ago.

Jimenez, who will play at USC next fall, is magic in the midfield with the ball at her feet, but she hasn't been around to showcase her skills since arriving as a talented freshman.
Jimenez was injured in league as a sophomore and missed the playoffs, and tore her ACL last year, cheering her teammates on the sidelines as they were eliminated in the championship game.

"It's been a long time since I've got to experience this and I'm giving it 110 percent," Jimenez said. "This is it for a lot of us. We've got a lot of seniors and we're determined to get back to the championship and finish the job."

Inland Insider Highlights and Reaction: The Chino Hills Huskies defeated the La Mirada Matadors 4-1 in a CIF Division 3 Girls soccer game at Chino Hills. After taking an early 1-0 lead the Matadors held the Huskies till the 60th minute when a defensive mixup allowed Kara Tabita from CH give them a 2-0 lead. It got close, at 2-1 but Ashley Gonzales scored 2 goals in the final 8 minutes to help the Huskies move on into the Quarter finals.

GIRLS SOCCER
Wednesday's second round results
Division 3
Bonita 3, Granite Hills 2
Chino Hills 4, La Mirada 1
Ayala 2, Quartz Hill 0
Bishop Amat 3, Yorba Linda 1
Claremont 2, Pasadena Poly 0
Diamond Bar 2, Serrano 1
St. Lucy's 4, Mayfair 1
Division 6
Sierra Vista 5, Wilson 1
Segerstrom 4, Ganesha 0
San Dimas 10, Oxford Academy 0
Division 7
Citrus Valley 8, Arroyo 1
Firebaugh 3, Rosemead 3 (Firebaugh advances, 2-1 on penalties)

Division 3 Quarterfinals
Friday's matchups
Bonita at Chino Hills, 3 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Ayala, 3 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Placentia Valencia vs. St. Lucys at Damien, 3 p.m.

PREGAME: If there is anything to be learned from winter sports, it's that area girls soccer is the strongest of all. There is a really good chance of area domination in Division 3. I will not be surprised at all if area D-3 teams go 7-for-7, which would set up a wild quarterfinal and finish over the next two weeks. But then again, picking favorites in soccer is no gimmie when games are decided by one or two goals. But still, the area is in good shape and the Sierra League could send all four to the quarterfinals and if Bishop Amat wins too, you have a great quarterfinal match-up of Amat and Ayala, a rematch from last year's championship, on Friday. One of the intriguing area games today is Wilson hosting Sierra Vista in D-6 and last year's D-6 finalist San Dimas against Oxford Academy which will be played at Bonita. D-7 is so watered down that I love Rosemead and Arroyo's chances of going on a deep run, which is why girls soccer will appear so dominant. There is the potential for three CIF champions in the seven divisions. But today is crucial, we'll see what's left and I need all of your help, there are far too many games to cover. Send me your updates on sgvtribpreps@twitter so I can retweet scores and update the blog. And coaches, please, please, call us with your results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242 or email to scores @sgvn.com. Some parents have emailed wondering why we're not writing up certain games in the paper, the answer is as simple as we get no calls from head coaches. As you can see, there are lots of games today, so we need help. I have not seen San Dimas this year and will be at its game today tweeting updates. I also chose San Dimas for practical reasons, I need to cover La Canada-Covina girls basketball tonight, and this allows me to write my story, post scores and get to Covina in time for the game. For all other results, we need your help. By the quarterfinals, we should be able to cover most games. Good luck tonight.

"I never cursed in front of kids, I never threatened a referee. It's unbelievable how someone who feels threatened by you because we're in the same business, (basketball training) can create lies and it be released in the news...How can you have violated league rules and never received a technical foul?? How can you be suspended by the league, when the board is full of family and friends of the opposing coaches?? Not one of my parents complained, every complaint was from the board or a parent from the opposing team. What a joke the wcyl is, it's sad because this lack of professionalism and lack of basic basketball knowledge is seting our youth up for failure. they're kids depending on adults to teach them the correct way, the same as a first or second grade teacher. Because the leaders of the league, Carlos Ayon, and Tom Fraijo played middle school basketball. they have the responsibility of setting the foundation for the city of WC?? Ignorance is Bliss!" -- A comment from Jelani Gardner in the comment thread of this story, which is our number one read topic today, check it out.

You remember Jelani Gardner don't you? Bishop Amat and St. John Bosco phenom. Star at Cal Berkeley. He's also a resident of West Covina coaching 7 & 8 year olds in the West Covina Youth Basketball League.This is an interesting read, apparently Gardner has been suspended for one year for allegedly using profanity and arguing with referee's, yet he's never even received a technical in a game and denies the use of profanity. Is this parents over-reacting to an isolated incident?
Is this one or two parents of kids who probably aren't playing much making a bigger issue than this needs to be? Or is Gardner truly too much for 7 and 8 year olds? Gardner complains in the story about the league's rule of not allowing players to double team a star player, saying the league is teaching them the wrong way to play basketball, which I completely agree with. Who makes rules like that and for what reason? In any case, read the comments portion of the story, makes me believe this is another case of one or two trouble-making parents over-reacting more than a coach who is over-bearing. What I also found interesting was listening to our reporter who covered the recent board meeting related to Gardner. She said it was so passionate and loud it was frightening. Maybe the parents can set a better example by discussing instead of shouting because I'll tell you what, I've been to plenty of youth and high school games, and the people in the stands or sidelines are usually far worse than the coaches they complain about. Your thoughts?

By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer
It wasn't exactly shock and awe, but the Pasadena High School boys basketball team came close to it.

With precision, speed and execution, the second-seeded Bulldogs blitzed Bonita in the first quarter to end on a 15-3 run, en route to a 64-50 win Tuesday night in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA playoffs.

Pasadena (22-7) will host Beverly Hills (20-9) in Friday's semifinals at Muir.
Bonita (25-5) had no answer for the Bulldogs in the first quarter, succumbing to their pressure that resulted in nine first-quarter turnovers. The Bearcats finished with 19 turnovers.

Pasadena led 22-7 after the first, and although Bonita, which trailed by as many as 19, made a valiant second-half run it never closed the gap under 10. (To continue click thread)

TUESDAY'S BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS
Division 1A
Second Round
Capistrano Valley 58, Walnut 39
Vista Murrieta 69, Chino Hills 68
Division 2A
Second Round
Leuzinger 68, Glendora 59
Division 2AA
Second Round
Riverside Poly 44, Ayala 42
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Arroyo Grande 50, Damien 43
Pasadena 65, Bonita 50
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Alemany 68, Bishop Amat 37
St. John Bosco 68, Covina 35
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Yorba Linda 45, Charter Oak 28
Division 4AA
Quarterfinals
La Verne Lutheran 50, Oaks Christian 48

Friday's Division 4AA semifinal
Crespi vs. La Verne Lutheran at University of La Verne, 7 p.m.

Glendora can't match Leuzinger from distance
By Fred J. Robledo
Glendora shot the ball well from distance against visiting Leuzinger during Tuesday's CIF-Southern Section Division 2A second-round boys basketball playoff.

"With all the bad luck we had with injuries, we still won 20 games and we had a great group of guys that really played well together and got along," LeDuc said. "So, overall, it was a really good year considering everything. I'm really proud of them. We had some seniors step up and play well, that's all you can ask for."

Update on Quarterfinal Schedule
Thursday's games
Division 2
Claremont at La Sierra, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Mountain View at Lakeside, 3 p.m.

By Miguel A. Melendez Staff Writer
It's usually the La Cañada High School boys soccer team that keeps teams on its heels.

Mountain View flipped the script on Tuesday.

The visiting Vikings, mounting constant pressure, made a set piece and attack down the wing count in a 2-0 victory in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs.

Mountain View (13-4-5) lost the coin flip and will be on the road and face the Lakeside-Paso Robles winner.

La Cañada (14-6-5) bows out of the playoffs in the second round for the third consecutive season. The Spartans' season practically came in full circle. The teams previously tied 1-1 in the season opener. In that game, the Vikings also were dominant and finished with a 23-3 advantage in shots. (To continue click thread)

TUESDAY'S BOYS SOCCER RESULTS
Division 2
Claremont 3, Sunny Hills 0
Valley View 1, Damien 0, OT
Division 4
El Rancho 2, Diamond Ranch 1
Cathedral 3, La Puente 0
Crescenta Valley 1, Diamond Bar 0
Salesian 3, Sierra Vista 2
Division 5
Mountain View 2, La Canada 0

Great story by the L.A. Times' Eric Sondheimer on the the unfairness of the CIF-Southern Section boys and girls 4AA Division, where public schools are getting demolished by state powers. Glendora coach Mike LeDuc says the system is not perfect, but it's the best they can do.

Note: Softball Preview will run on Tuesday, Feb. 28

From left, Rio Ruiz, Daniel Zamora and Adam Alcantara help make Bishop Amat one of the top high school baseball teams in the Southland. (Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer)

Standout players, teams grace the San Gabriel Valley in this year's baseball preivew

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
It's just a start, but what a way to get the 2012 high school baseball season under way.
On March 1, at 6 p.m., defending CIF-Southern Section Division 4 champion Bishop Amat goes to Mater Dei to take on the Monarchs, Maxpreps' second-ranked team in the nation.

On Friday at 6, the second annual Dicks Sporting Goods tournament begins and features area heavyweights Damien and Bonita meeting at Bonita.

The Valley has been blessed over the years with superstar talents such as Michael Young (Bishop Amat), Jason Giambi (South Hills), Mark McGwire (Damien), Cecil Fielder (Nogales), Fred Lynn (El Monte), Rick Aguilera (Edgewood), Tom Brunansky (West Covina), Corey Lidle (South Hills) and many others who have gone on to play major league baseball.

Who's next?

Perhaps it will be Bishop Amat's Rio Ruiz, South Hills' C.J. Saylor and Los Altos' Joe Munoz, all of whom all ranked in Baseball America's list of top 100 seniors in 2012.

Or how about Bonita's Justin Garza, who recently was clocked with a 94 mph fastball and is back after one of the best high school baseball seasons in Southern Section history. He'll play for Cal State Fullerton next year.

Ruiz, the reigning CIF-SS Division 4 Player of the Year, ESPN California junior Player of the Year and Tribune Player of the Year, already has signed a national letter of intent with USC and is projected to be a first-round draft pack in this spring's Major League Baseball First-Year
Player Draft.

Saylor and Munoz have committed to San Diego State, more proof that this is one of the most highly anticipated baseball seasons in recent memory.

As always, we begin with The Tribune's annual top 10 preview. It's loaded with heavyweights, starting with the defending champion. (To continue reading, click thread)

San Gabriel Valley Tribune Baseball Top Ten
1. Bishop Amat (29-4)
2. South Hills (21-5)
3. Bonita (27-5)
4. Damien (17-13)
5. Covina (16-11)
6. Los Altos (18-10)
7. Glendora (17-7-1)
8. Diamond Bar (15-12)
9. San Dimas (19-9-1)
10. Charter Oak (10-14)

Note: Bishop Amat opens the baseball season at Mater Dei, ranked second in the nation by Maxpreps, at Mater Dei on Thursday March 1 at 6 p.m.

Dicks Sporting Goods Preseason Baseball Tournament
Pool A: Bonita, Covina, Arroyo, Damien, Tahquitz, Paloma Valley
Pool B: Northview, Claremont, Los Osos, Fullerton, West Covina, Keppel
Pool C: Orange Lutheran, Charter Oak, Los Altos, Alta Loma, La Puente
Pool D: South Hills, Crescenta Valley, Yucaipa, Chaffey, Rancho Cucamonga

Friday's game
Damien at Bonita, 5 p.m.
Saturday's games
Tahquitz vs. Paloma Valley at UC Riverside, Noon
Crescenta Valley vs. South Hills at UC Riverside, 3:30 p.m.
Yucaipa vs. Charter Oak at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
Covina at Arroyo, 1 p.m.
Claremont vs. West Covina at Citrus College, 10 a.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. Alta Loma at Citrus College, 1 p.m.
Fullerton at Keppel, 1 p.m.
Los Altos at La Puente, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 27
Rancho Cucamonga vs. Chaffey at Cal Poly Pomona, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Alta Loma at Los Altos, 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Arroyo at Bonita, 5 p.m.
Tahquitz at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Paloma Valley at Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Claremont at Northview, 3:15 p.m.
Fulleton at Los Osos, 3:15 p.m.
Keppel at West Covina, 3:15 p.m.
Yucaipa vs. Crescenta Valley at Stengel Field, 6 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at South Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Cahffey at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Friday, March 2
Claremont vs. Los Osos at Chaffey College, 3:15 p.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. Los Altos at UC Riverside, 4 p.m.
South Hills vs. Yucaipa at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.
Rancho Cucamonga at Crescenta Valley, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Keppel vs. Northview at Littleton Field, 10 a.m.
West Covina vs. Fullerton at Littleton Field, 1 p.m.
La Puente vs. Charter Oak at Littleton Field, 4 p.m.
Covina vs. Bonita at Littleton Field, 7 p.m.
Arroyo at Tahquitz, 1 p.m.
Alta Loma at Chaffey, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 5
Paloma Valley vs. Damien at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.

Semifinals: Wednesday, March 7, at Bonita High, 3 and 7 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 10, at Bonita High, 7 p.m.

The second week of the winter playoffs is one of my favorite's of season, especially with so many area teams still alive. I will continue to post scores as much as I can as quick as I can and I should have everything posted by 10:30 or 11 p.m., each night. Twitter has been great. Last week several of you sent me updates and final scores to sgvtribpreps@twitter, and I retweeted for all our Trib followers and will continue to do so, keep them coming. Also, we need coaches to call in results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233 or 2242, win or lose. We want your playoff results in the paper and on the prep scores blog, which is updated throughout the night. For Bonita boys hoops fans, listen and listen carefully. If you're going to Pasadena for Tuesday's quarterfinal game against the Bulldogs, GET THERE EARLY, at least a half hour or hour early. That place gets filled quick and they will lock the doors when they reach capacity. Once in, it's one of the best atmosphere's in high school basketball. That place is small and rockin, just get there early. You've been warned. By the way Bonita, I've got a food bet with the L.A. Times' Eric Sondheimer. He says you won't beat Pasadena. I said you will, don't let me down.

BIG TUESDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday's second round and quarterfinal games
Division 1A
Second Round
Walnut at Capistrano Valley, 7 p.m.
Vista Murrieta at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Second Round
Leuzinger at Glendora, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Second Round
Riverside Poly at Ayala, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Damien at Arroyo Grande, 7 p.m.
Bonita at Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Alemany at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m.
St. John Bosco at Covina, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Yorba Linda at Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Quarterfinals
La Verne Lutheran at Oaks Christian, 7 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday's second round schedule
Division 2
Sunny Hills at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Damien at Valley View, 3 p.m.
Division 4
El Rancho at Diamond Ranch, 3 p.m.
Cathedral at La Puente, 3 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Crescenta Valley, 3 p.m.
Salesian at Sierra Vista, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Mountain View at La Canada, 3 p.m.

BIG WEDNESDAY
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wednesday's second and quarterfinal rounds
Division 1A
Second round
Diamond Bar at Temecula Valley, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Second round
Chino Hills at Ventura, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Agoura at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Palos Verdes at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Oak Park at Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
St. Lucy's at Atascadero, 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Lakewood St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
La Canada at Covina, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Wednesday's second round games
Division 3
Bonita at Granite Hills, 3 p.m.
La Mirada at Chino Hills, 3 p.m.
Ayala at Quartz Hill, 3 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Yorba Linda, 3 p.m.
Claremont at Pasadena Poly, 3 p.m.
Serrano at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
Mayfair at St. Lucy's, 3 p.m.
Division 6
Sierra Vista at Wilson, 3 p.m.
Segrestrom at Ganehsa, 3 p.m.
Oxford Academy at San Dimas, 3 p.m.
Division 7
Arroyo at Citrus Valley, 3 p.m.
Firebaugh at Rosemead, 3 p.m.

GIRLS WATER POLO
WEDNESDAY'S SEMIFINALS
St. Lucy's vs. Arroyo Grande, 1:45 p.m., at William Woolet, Irvine
DIVISION 5
Redlands East Valley vs. Bonita, 7:30 p.m., at Mt. San Antonio College

Below: Northview's Carlos Garcia, left, beat Canyon's Jaime Nunez in the 126lb match during the CIF-SS Southern Division Individual wrestling championships at Brea Olinda High

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
BREA -- Excuse Northview assistant coach Bobby Bellamy if he confused the two-day CIF-Southern Section Southern Division wrestling championships as a dual meet.

On Saturday evening, the Vikings emerged with a breakout night, and a school record, winning six CIF-SS individual titles.

"Wow! Wow!" Bellamy said. "That pretty much sums it up. These kids performed at a level that exceeded my expectations."

Vincent Parra, Carlos Garcia, Daniel Valles, Bryan Salinas, Javier Arellano and Eddie Bernal all scored victories.

"The whole team has been working hard," Bernal said. "We stick together as a family and we work together. We are all connected and we all have one team goal and the coaches have made that very clear to us. They have high expectations and we embrace the challenge."

Of the 11 finals matches in which the Vikings had competitors, they won 10.

"The championship round, they just clinged together," Bellamy said. "It was amazing to win so many. The credit goes all to the kids. They really left everything on the mat."
The only Northview loss in the day's final matches was in the 160-pound championship match. Top seeded Steven Lopez fell to Arroyo Valley's Bryan Garcia, 8-6. (To continue click thread)

Charter Oak's Marissa Suarez scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the final six to lead the Chargers to a dramatic 47-46 victory over San Dimas in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A playoffs at Northview on Saturday night.
Charter Oak missed two free throws trailing by 3-points with just over a minute to play, but Suarez grabbed the rebound and scored. After San Dimas turned the ball over on the inbounds, Charter Oak fed Suarez under the basket, and she scored to put the Chargers in front, 45-44. After San Dimas scored, Suarez came back and scored again with 14 seconds left, scoring the final six points for the Chargers to go back up, 47-46. San Dimas had a chance to win on the final possession, but a lay-up at the buzzer rimmed out. Check the for story and reaction in tomorrow's paper.

SATURDAY'S GIRLS BASKETBALL RESULTS
Division 1A
First round
Diamond Bar 32, La Sierra 26
Division 2AA
First round
Royal 84, Ayala 55
Thousand Oaks 53, West Covina 34
Chino Hills 52, Redlands East Valley 44
Division 2A
First-round
Saugus 57, Claremont 29
Division 3AAA
Second round
Arroyo Grande 62, Arroyo 36
Bonita 49, Los Amigos 35
Division 3AA
Second round
Antelope Valley 73, Rosemead 43
Diamond Ranch 61, Hawthorne 41
Irvine 58, Wilson 36
Division 3A
Second round
Charter Oak 47, San Dimas 46
Atascadero 66, Azusa 20
St. Lucy's 65, Ocean View 34
Bishop Amat 65, Hesperia 34
Covina 58, Ganesha 20
Division 4A
Second round
Windward 115, Workman 46
Oaks Christian 59, Duarte 47

Wednesday's second and quarterfinal rounds
Division 1A
Second round
Diamond Bar at Temecula Valley, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Second round
Chino Hills at Ventura, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Agoura at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Palos Verdes at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Oak Park at Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
St. Lucy's at Atascadero, 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Lakewood St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
La Canada at Covina, 7 p.m.

GIRLS' WATER POLO PLAYOFFS RESULTS AND UPDATES

DIVISION 3
Saturday's Results
Murrieta Valley 15, South Pasadena 6
La Serna 10, Charter Oak 6
Arroyo Grande 11, Vista Murrieta 8
St. Lucy's 15, Rio Mesa 8
Wednesday's semifinals at Heritage Park (Irvine)
St. Lucy's vs. Arroyo Grande, 1:45 p.m.
La Serna vs. Murrieta Valley, 3 p.m.

DIVISION 5
Saturday's Results
Bonita 13, Pasadena 5
Redlands East Valley 10, Burbank Burroughs 5
Crescenta Valley 14, Los Altos 13 (OT)
Temescal Canyon 13, Walnut 4
Wednesday's Semifinals at Mt. San Antonio College
Crescenta Valley vs. Temescal Canyon, 6 p.m.
Redlands East Valley vs. Bonita, 7:30 p.m.

La Verne Lutheran played its first game without Arizona-bound junior Eric Cooper Jr., who suffered a broken finger in Lutheran's CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA first-round win over Marshall.

Cooper's broken finger will eventually require surgery and he's doubtful for the rest of the playoffs, but the Trojans' other Arizona-bound player, McDonalds All-American senior forward/center Grant Jerrett, is still what makes the Trojans go and he had another monster game in Saturday's 68-52 second-round win over Big Bear at the University of La Verne.

Jerrett finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and had eight dunks to help the second-seed Trojans (20-6) advance to Tuesday's second-round, where they will be on the road at Oaks Christian (22-5).

Lutheran's game with Big Bear was postponed until Saturday because of snowy conditions in Big Bear that forced the Bears to wait until Friday to beat Banning in the first round.

Lutheran raced to a 14-0 lead, but couldn't put away the feisty Bears, who knocked in 12 3-pointers and closed to within nine points in the fourth quarter, but that's as close as they got, finishing the season 21-3.

Lutheran's McKay Anderson also had a big game, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Cameron Osorno gave the Trojans three players in double figures, finishing with 10 points and five assists.

Listen to postgame reaction from Trojans coach Eric Cooper, who explains the challenge of trying to win a divisional title without Cooper Jr., and the chances of his return in the playoffs.

Bishop Amat wins in overtime, 66-61: Bishop Amat's unbelievable finish against visiting Wilson in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A boys basketball playoffs Friday night was worth every comeback cliche imaginable.

Game Story: Glendora Senior guard Kyle Gordon scored 26 points and the Tartans held host Whittier to 25 percent shooting as the Tartans won its first CIF-Southern Section playoff game in three seasons with a 57-37 victory over the Cardinals in a Division 2A game at Perry Gym.
Game Story: No. 1-seed Damien made such quick work of visiting Citrus Valley in a 54-31 victory in the Division 3AAA second round, that coach Matt Dunn found himself emptying his bench much to the delight of a rowdy student section that itself probably played a role in the Blackhawks' demise.
Game Story: The Bonita High School boys basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 59-44 win over Brea Olinda in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA second-round playoff game at Sonora High on Friday night.

FRIDAY'S BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS

Division 1A
First-round games
Glendale 56, Diamond Bar 49
Chino Hills 57, Burbank 45
Walnut 73, Yucaipa 61
Division 2A
First-round
Don Lugo 40, Rowland 38
Glendora 57, Whittier 37
Leuzinger 80, Baldwin Park 39
Division 2AA
First-round
Ayala 46, Kaiser 32
Division 3AAA
Second round
Damien 54, Citrus Valley 31
Bonita 59, Brea Olinda 44
Pasadena 68, Beaumont 40
Division 3AA
Second-round
South Torrance 68, Los Altos 44
Charter Oak 48, San Marcos 45
Division 3A
Second round
Alemany 90, Azusa 45
Bishop Amat 66, Wilson 61, OT
Atascadero 60, Northview 51
Covina 50, St. Francis 41
Division 4AA
Second round
Serra 75, Workman 24
Saturday
Big-Bear-Banning winner vs. La Verne Lutheran at University of La Verne, 1 p.m.
The Inland Insider was at Chino Hills 57-45 win over Burbank. The Sierra League went 4-0 in the first round.

Tuesday's second round and quarterfinal games
Division 1A
Second Round
Walnut at Capistrano Valley, 7 p.m.
Vista Murrieta at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Second Round
Leuzinger at Glendora, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Second Round
Riverside Poly at Ayala, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Quarterfinals
Damien at Arroyo Grande, 7 p.m.
Bonita at Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Quarterfinals
Alemany at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m.
St. John Bosco at Covina, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Quarterfinals
Yorba Linda at Charter Oak, 7 p.m.

By Fred J. Robledo
Walnut girls soccer coach Lorraine Hansen had a few choice words about the officiating and Bishop Amat attacking midfielder April Juarez had a few words about the chippiness following the Lancers' 3-1 victory over the Mustangs in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 girls soccer playoffs.

It was the second straight year the defending champion Lancers ended the Mustangs' season in the first round. It got physical and there were even a pair of players yellow carded after getting tangled and throwing punches.

Juarez, who had a pair of goals and was part of creating the game-clinching goal late, laughed it off.

"They're fun to play against because they get mad at us because we're winning and they want to hit us and stuff," Juarez said of facing Walnut. "It just cracks me up." (To continue click thread)

Amat--Walnut girls soccer photo gallery

Friday's First Round Girls Soccer Playoff Results
Division 3
Bonita 4, Oak Hills 1
Chino Hills 1, Flintridge Prep1, Chino Hills advances on PKs
Ayala 3, Sultana 0
Bishop Amat 3, Walnlut 1
Claremont 3, Bishop Montgomery 0
Diamond Bar 2, Arroyo Grande 1
St. Lucy's 2, St. Joseph 1, OT
Division 6
Garden Grove 5, Duarte 0
Ocean View 7, Nogales 2
Sierra Vista 1, Beaumont 0
Wilson 1, Cate 0
Segerstrom 6, Baldwin Park 0
Loara 1,La Puente 0
Division 7
Rosemead 1, Montebello 1, Rosemead advances on PKs
Arroyo 3, Animo Leadership 0
Viewpoint 5, South El Monte 0

Wednesday's second round games
Division 3
Bonita at Granite Hills, 3 p.m.
La Mirada at Chino Hills, 3 p.m.
Ayala at Quartz Hill, 3 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Yorba Linda, 3 p.m.
Claremont at Pasadena Poly, 3 p.m.
Serrano at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
Mayfair at St. Lucy's, 3 p.m.
Division 6
Sierra Vista at Wilson, 3 p.m.
Segrestrom at Ganehsa, 3 p.m.
Oxford Academy at San Dimas, 3 p.m.
Division 7
Arroyo at Citrus Valley, 3 p.m.
Firebaugh at Rosemead, 3 p.m.

The Inland Insider was at Ayala's 3-0 win over Sultana, check it out

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Fresh off of its second consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division 2 team championship, things will get progressively more difficult this weekend for the Northview High School wrestling team at the Southern Section individual championships.

The Vikings qualified all 14 members of their weight classes, but just how many win titles and/or advance to next week's Masters meet figures to dwindle sharply, thanks to the strength of the Southern Division.

"These guys have won Five Counties, they've had an outstanding season, so they're one of the best teams we've had here," Northview coach David Ochoa said. "I'm going to really honest, the division we're in is very tough.

"We're going to have to have really great tournaments or a lot of these guys won't be wrestling next weekend. It's a really competitive division."

By Fred J. Robledo
Bonita High School sophomore Nikki Wheatley makes the game look so easy with her ball-handling and quickness that you forget the Bearcats have a 6-foot-3 senior center named Brianna Kennedy who is on her way to Loyola Marymount University.
Offensively, Kennedy didn't do much this year. Not because she couldn't, she didn't need to with the speedy Wheatley scoring so much in transition and the Bearcats cruising to the Hacienda League title to earn the second-seed in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA playoffs.
But if Bonita has serious intentions of returning to the divisional championship game for a second straight season, Kennedy will have to be a force, especially in the later rounds against teams with more depth.
That's why it was especially pleasing for Bonita coach Darren Baumunk to watch Kennedy finish with a game-high 19 points and eight blocks in Bonita's easy 62-29 first-round victory over neighboring South Hills on Thursday.

Game Story: Wilson girls hangs on for win over La Mirada
Game Story: San Dimas no match for South Pasadena in 59-37 loss.
Game Story: Charter Oak takes care of El Monte in first-round girls hoops win

TONIGHT'S GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Division 3A
Charter Oak 46, El Monte 35
Azusa 25, Estancia 21
Bishop Amat 67, Santa Paula 32
Artesia 52, Gladstone 40
Division 3AAA
Gahr 71, Baldwin Park 27
South Torrance 55, Rowland 44
Arroyo 54, Fullerton 31
Los Amigos 53, Glendora 33
Bonita 62, South Hills 29
Division 3AA
Jurupa Valley 69, Sierra Vista 32
Rosemead 41, West Valley 34
Diamond Ranch 69, El Modena 18
Wilson 49, La Mirada 40
Division 4AA
Harvard-Westlake at Rowland, 7 p.m.
Duarte 70, San Marino 27
Workman 83, Harvard-Westlake 64

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
Division 1A
First round
La Sierra at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
First round
Ayala at Royal, 7 p.m.
West Covina at Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m.
Redlands East Valley at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
First-round
Claremont at Saugus, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Second round
Arroyo Grande at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
Bonita at Los Amigos, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Second round
Rosemead at Antelope Valley, 7 p.m.
Diamond Ranch at Hawthorne, 7 p.m.
Wilson at Irvine, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Second round
Charter Oak vs. San Dimas at Northview, 7 p.m.
Azusa at Atascadero, 7 p.m.
Ocean View at St. Lucy's, 7 p.m.
Hesperia at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m.
Ganesha at Covina, 7 p.m.
Division 4A
Second round
Windward at Workman, 7 p.m.
Oaks Christian at Duarte, 7 p.m.

Wilson-La Cañada highlights from Star-News staffer Miguel Melendez...

Game Story: La Canada beats Wilson, will host Mountain View on Tuesday in highly anticipated second-round match.
Game Story: Duarte hangs tough with champion El Rancho before falling, 1-0

THURSDAY'S BOYS SOCCER FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
Division 2
Claremont 2, Tustin 1
Indio 3, South Hills 1
Damien 2, Esperanza 0
Division 4
El Rancho 1, Duarte 0
Diamond Ranch 2, St. Genevieve 1
Santa Monica 4, Bonita 0
La Puente 3, Serrano 1
Sierra Vista 2, Beverly Hills 1, OT
Diamond Bar 2, Whittier 1
Oaks Hills 3, Ganesha 2, 2OT
Division 5
Monrovia 1, Baldwin Park 0
Santa Paula 3, South El Monte 2
Mountain View 4, Santiago 3, 2OT
La Canada 3, Wilson 0
Colton 4, Pomona 1

TUESDAY'S SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE
Division 2
Sunny Hills at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Damien at Valley View, 3 p.m.
Division 4
El Rancho at Diamond Ranch, 3 p.m.
Cathedral at La Puente, 3 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Crescenta Valley, 3 p.m.
Salesian at Sierra Vista, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Mountain View at La Canada, 3 p.m.

The Charter Oak girls basketball team is the ninth seed in the watered-down Division 3A basketball playoffs. Bishop Amat is the third seed. Amat advancing to the championship is a huge possibility while the Chargers are a longshot, but not impossible. But here's the problem, Richard Wiard is both the athletic director at Charter Oak and the girls basketball coach at Bishop Amat. I don't mind Wiard having both duties, he's a coaching legend in these parts and is someone with great character, but this is a tough spot for him to be in. A meeting in the final would be a disaster for Wiard and raise a huge conflict of interest question. Fortunately for Wiard, Charter Oak is on the opposite side of the Division 3A bracket. Wiard can thank CIF for doing so, it would have been a P.R., disaster for Wiard if Amat had to meet Charter Oak in the first or second round. How would that look? There are no CIF rules preventing Wiard from being the AD at one school and a coach at another, but there are always the ethical issues of what happens if they meet, especially in the playoffs, or in this case, the championship. Good scheduling can prevent the two from meeting in a non-league or tournament, but CIF is CIF, Wiard has no control once the brackets are released.

Where is Gary Vitti when you need him? La Verne Lutheran junior Eric Cooper, Jr., who averages 16 points for the two-time defending state champion Trojans, dislocated and broke the index finger on his right hand (his shooting hand) in the Trojans' 72-28 win over Marshall and is listed as doubtful for the Trojans' second-round Division 4 playoff game. "If it was just a dislocation he could play," Trojans coach Eric Cooper said. "But a break is a different thing. He's got a splint on it now and we're going to see a specialist. He wants to play but he hasn't even caught a ball yet. He's day to day, we'll see how it goes."
Lutheran is scheduled to play the winner of tonight's first-round game between host Big Bear and Banning on Friday at the University of La Verne at 7 p.m. The Big Bear-Banning game was postponed Wednesday because of snowy conditions and La Verne just got word that tonight's game might be postponed again until Friday, which would push Lutheran's second-round game to Saturday. If that happens, Cooper said the Trojans would host the winner at 1 p.m., at the University of La Verne. We'll keep you posted

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
COVINA HANGS ON: After scoring just one field goal in the second quarter and clinging to a one-point halftime lead, Covina High School boys basketball coach Will Bissman spoke with his point guard and floor leader Mike Peters and told him to go to work.

That's exactly what Peters did, scoring eight of his game-high 19 points in the third to lead Covina to a 63-58 victory over visiting Pioneer in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A playoffs on Wednesday.

Peters scored the Colts' first four points in the third quarter, then set up Matt Hicks for an easy bucket, then found Nino Harrell open for a corner 3-pointer to go up 41-32 midway through the third to extend the lead. (To continue click thread)

Game Stories
Damien routs El Dorado 57-37
Los Altos holds on to beat Gabrielino 63-61
South Pasadena routs hapless San Dimas, 59-37

WEDNESDAY'S BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS

Division 3AAA
Damien 57, El Dorado 37
Beverly Hills 61, Arroyo 38
Esperanza 73, South Hills 47
Bonita 80, Cerritos 28
Division 3AA
Agoura 67, Diamond Ranch 66
Torrance 67, Rosemead 48
Los Altos 63, Gabrielino 61
Charter Oak 60, Temescal Canyon 51
Division 3A
Azusa 62, Tahquitz 60
Bishop Amat 50, Santa Paula 36
Wilson 84, Rubidoux 55
South Pasadena 59, San Dimas 37
Santa Margarita 65, La Puente 35
Estancia 44, Gladstone 43 (OT)
Northview 85, Yucca Valley 71
St. Francis 66, Mountain View 33
Division 4AA
Workman 75, Bosco Tech 38
La Verne Lutheran 72, Marshall 29

LUTHERAN UPDATE ...
La Verne Lutheran's University of Arizona bound forward Grant Jerrett scored a game-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks to lead the second-seed Trojans to a 72-29 first round win over Marshall
The Trojans' Cameron Osorno added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists and McKay Anderson had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The news wasn't all good for the Trojans. Junior Eric Cooper Jr., left the game with a dislocated finger after scoring nine points with four assists and seven rebounds. Cooper will be re-evaluated for the next round.

FRIDAY'S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF LINEUP
Division 1A
First-round games
Diamond Bar at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Burbank at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Yucaipa at Walnut, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
First-round games
Rowland at Don Lugo, 7 p.m.
Glendora at Whittier, 7 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Leuzinger, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Second round games
Citrus Valley at Damien, 7 p.m.
Bonita at Brea Olina, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Second-round games
South Torrance at Los Altos, 7 p.m.
San Marcos at Charter Oak, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Second round games
Alemany at Azusa, 7 p.m.
Wilson at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m.
Northview at Atascadero, 7 p.m.
Covina at St. Francis, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Second round games
Workman at Serra, 7 p.m.
Big-Bear-Banning winner vs. La Verne Lutheran at University of La Verne, 7 p.m.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The rain and poor field conditions didn't do St. Lucy's or host Los Altos any favors during Wednesday's CIF-Southern Section Division 3 girls soccer wild-card game.
Neither team could muster much through the run of play, both struggling to push through puddles of water to earn clean shots on goal.
St. Lucy's senior Shannon Kent, known more for her speedy runs and finishes around the goal, took advantage of one of the Regents' few opportunities in the dying seconds of the first half.
With a loose ball rolling in front of her 20 yards away, Kent drove a right-footed shot that dipped under the crossbar in the 40th minute for the lone goal, giving St. Lucy's a 1-0 victory. (To continue click thread).

Game Story: Rosemead makes a splash with 2-0 win over Kern Valley.

TODAY'S GIRLS SOCCER RESULTS
Division 3
St. Lucy 1, Los Altos 0
Walnut 4, Cerritos 0
Division 7
South El Monte 4, Cantwell Sacred Heart 0
Rosemead 2, Kern Valley 0
Rolling Hills Prep 1, Gabrielino 0

WE NEED RESULTS: We will post results immediately on the new Prep Scores Results Blog as soon as coaches or representatives from teams call them in. If you look at the Tribune prep sports webpage, you'll see the blog in the top right corner which will be updated throughout the evening as soon as results are called in or emailed to us. You can call in results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233, 2242 or email results to scores@sgvn.com. I will also post the final scores and update as much as I can throughout the entire playoffs.

FRIDAY'S GIRLS SOCCER FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
Division 3
Oak Hills at Bonita, 3 p.m.
Chino Hills at Flintridge Prep, 3 p.m.
Sultana at Ayala, 3 p.m.
Walnlut at Bishop Amat, 3 p.m.
Bishop Montgomery at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Arroyo Grande at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
St. Lucy's at St. Joseph, 3 p.m.
Division 6
Duarte at Garden Grove, 3 p.m.
Nogales at Ocean View, 3 p.m.
Beaumont at Sierra Vista, 3 p.m.
Cate at Wilson, 3 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Segerstrom, 3 p.m.
Loara at La Puente, 3 p.m.
Division 7
Rosemead at Montebello, 7 p.m.
Animo Leadership at Arroyo, 3 p.m.
South El Monte at Viewpoint, 3 p.m.

Los Altos falls to Pasadena, 1-0: Every time the Los Altos High School boys soccer team had an opportunity, there stood pesky Pasadena in the way Tuesday afternoon.
Whether it was clearing goals - twice, no less - in the mouth of the goal or scoring on a counter in the second half just before playing a man down nearly the entire second half because of a red-card ejection, the Bulldogs put on quite the tease before making it official with a 2-1 win over the Conquerors in the wild-card round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 playoffs.

TODAY'S BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFF GAMES
Tuesday's Wild Card results
Division 2
Garden Grove Pacifica 2, Chino Hills 0
Division 4
Duarte 1, Bishop Montgomery 0
Bonita 5, Burbank 1
Pasadena 2, Los Altos 1
Division 5
Arroyo Grande 1, Arroyo 0
Santa Paula 1, Nogales 0
Wilson 0, Malibu 0, Wilson advances on PKs

Boys soccer wild card games kick-off the winter playoff season with Bonita, Arroyo and Nogales all at home, and Chino Hills, Duarte, Los Altos and Wilson on the road. We will post results immediately on the new Prep Scores Results Blog as soon as coaches or representatives from teams call them in. If you look at the Tribune prep sports webpage, you'll see the blog in the top right corner which will be updated throughout the evening as soon as results are called in or emailed to us. You can call in results to 626-962-8811, ext. 2233, 2242 or email results to scores@sgvn.com. I will also post the final scores and update as much as I can throughout the entire playoffs.

Tom Kiss was at Chino Hills' 2-0 loss at Pacifica. Check out his highlights and postgame interviews.

THURSDAY'S FIRST-ROUND UPDATED
Division 2
Tustin at Claremont, 3 p.m.
South Hills at Indio, 3 p.m.
Esperanza at Damien, 3 p.m.
Division 4
Duarte at El Rancho, 3 p.m.
St. Genevieve at Diamond Ranch, 3 p.m.
Bonita at Santa Monica, 3 p.m.
Serrano at La Puente, 3 p.m.
Sierra Vista at Beverly Hills, 3 p.m.
Whittier at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
Ganesha at Oak Hills, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Baldwin Park at Monrovia, 4:30 p.m.
Santa Paula at South El Monte, 3 p.m.
Santiago at Mountain View, 3 p.m.
Wilson at La Canada, 3 p.m.
Colton at Pomona, 3 p.m.

Aram reporting that ... Los Altos' Dale Ziola (East) and San Gabriel's Jude Oliva (West) have been selected as the head coaches for the 2011 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame All-Star Game to be played June 22 at West Covina High School.

Ayala High School senior striker Makenzy Doniak, arguably one of the best attacking players in Southern California on her way to the University of Virginia, will not be with the team in Ayala's Division 3 first-round game at home against Sultana on Friday, Bulldogs coach Jeff Allen said.

Doniak's sister Kylie Doniak, a senior soccer player at the University of Texas and former Ayala standout, was injured in a hit-and-run car accident while crossing the street near the Texas campus earlier this month.

Kylie Doniak remains in intensive care while battling brain swelling and broken bones, but recently opened her eyes and is moving her fingers, her family said.

Makenzy Doniak left to be with her sister soon after the accident and returned to school on Monday. But Allen said she will return to Texas on Friday to be at her sister's side.

"It's obviously been a very difficult time for her and all of us," Allen said. "She said she might play next week (if Ayala advances), but soccer isn't as important as the life issues she's dealing with. I think she's the best player in California but being with her sister and family is more important. It's a lot more important than soccer."

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
On the same day the Northview High School boys wrestling team won the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 dual team title, the Northview girls were making history of its own, edging rival West Covina to capture the CIF-Southern California Girls Wrestling Regional at Beaumont High School on Saturday.

Northview's Vanessa Gomez (103 pounds) was the only individual champion for the Vikings, who won the team title with 242 points to hold off second-place West Covina with 235.
Even though West Covina beat Northview head-to-head in two different finals, it wasn't enough to lift the Bulldogs past the Vikings in the team competition. (To continue click thread)

Below: Charter Oak junior Savanna Barr, who won the 114 pound division, receiving her medal.

Nearly everyone I spoke with doesn't remember Alex Morgan's playing days at Diamond Bar High School, which is kind of shocking considering she's become the face (and body) of women's soccer. She graduated in 2007 with a Brahmas girls soccer team that was very average, which is shocking watching her play today. We have a reporter in our office that played at Diamond Bar and graduated a few years before Morgan's playing days and when I asked about Morgan, she said, "She was not a star at all," at Diamond Bar. Even Diamond Bar AD Kurt Davies had a difficult time explaining her soccer contributions with the Brahmas, so anyone that remembers her high school playing days, please feel free to share your comments. But hey, look at her now, she's one of the rising stars on the U.S. National team and in today's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. In the name of local news, here's her swimsuit shot. Don't get righteous with me for showing it, it's on virtually every sports website imaginable. Now, will someone get me a one-on-one, someone needs to do a Q&A on our local star. C'mon Davies, get to work on this, obviously you've got the connections with this prized picture below....

Damien excited about the No. 1 rankings in Division 3AAA. Will they cash it in for the school's first title?

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Jeremy Hemsley (25) is one of the key players on a Damien team that is seeded No. 1 in the upcoming CIF-SS Division 3AAA playoffs. (Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer)
After winning 24 of 26 games and sweeping the Sierra League this year, the Damien High School boys basketball team sits atop the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA bracket as the No. 1 seed.

The Spartans now have to hope their play over the next few weeks can justify the lofty seeding.

Damien (24-2) will get started at doing just that in Wednesday's first round when it hosts at-large entry El Dorado (11-16) at 7 p.m.

"We're ecstatic to be the

No. 1 seed," Damien coach Matt Dunn said. "I think that's a great accomplishment in itself and really shows you we're consistent throughout the regular season. But to then play a team from a really good league like we do is always a little bit scary."

Division 1A
Friday's first-round games
Diamond Bar at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Burbank at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Yucaipa at Walnut, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Friday's first-round games
Rowland at Don Lugo, 7 p.m.
Glendora at Whittier, 7 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Leuzinger, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Wednesday's first-round games
El Dorado at Damien, 7 p.m.
Beverly Hills at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
South Hills at Esperanza, 7 p.m.
Cerritos at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Wednesday's first-round games
Diamond Ranch at Agoura, 7 p.m.
Rosemead at Torrance, 7 p.m.
Los Altos at Gabrielino, 7 p.m.
Charter Oak at Temescal Canyon, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Wednesday's first round games
Tahquitz at Azusa, 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Santa Paula, 7 p.m.
Rubidoux at Wilson, 7 p.m.
San Dimas at South Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Santa Margarita at La Puente, 7 p.m.
Gladstone at Estancia, 7 p.m.
Yucca Valley at Northview, 7 p.m.
Pioneer at Covina, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Wednesday's first-round games
Bosco Tech at Workman, 7 p.m.
La Verne Lutheran at Marshall, 7 p.m.

Bishop Amat girls are the No. 3 seed but will be on the road in the first round. How does that happen?

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
It's not often you see a No. 3 seed playing on the road in the first round of the playoffs. But that's exactly what the Bishop Amat High School girls basketball team will be doing Thursday when the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A postseason gets under way.

Amat, which finished out of the money in the difficult Del Rey League, needed an at-large berth to get into the field of 32. But once in, the Lancers' overall body of work, strength of schedule and maybe a little history resulted in the No. 3 seed.

However, because first-, second- or third-place teams always get the home court over an at-large team, the Lancers (16-11) find themselves at Santa Paula (12-12) on Thursday.

"I think people recognized that we played a pretty tough schedule," Amat coach Richard Wiard said. "The lowest-ranked team that we lost to, when I looked it up the other day, was ranked 37th in the state.

"We took it on the chin in league a few times, but I think in terms of our strength of schedule, that's why we were able to get seeded third."

Division 1A
Saturday's first-round games
La Sierra at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Saturday's first-round games
Ayala at Royal, 7 p.m.
West Covina at Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m.
Redlands East Valley at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Saturday's first-round games
Claremont at Saugus, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Thursday's first-round games
Charter Oak at El Monte, 7 p.m.
San Dimas bye
Azusa at Estancia, 7 p.m.
St. Lucy's bye
Bishop Amat at Santa Paula, 7 p.m.
Gladstone at Artesia, 7 p.m.
Covina bye.
Division 3AAA
Thursday's first-round
Baldwin Park at Gahr, 7 p.m.
Rowland at South Torrance, 7 p.m.
Fullerton at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
Glendora at Los Amigos, 7 p.m.
South Hills at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Thursday's first round
Jurupua Valley at Sierra Vista, 7 p.m.
West Valley at Rosemead, 7 p.m.
El Modena at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
La Mirada at Wilson, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Thursday's first-round
Harvard-Westlake at Workman, 7 p.m.
San Marino at Duarte, 7 p.m.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Nearly all of the Tribune's top-ranked girls soccer teams compete in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs, creating a wild race to the finish over the next few weeks.

The Southern Section girls soccer pairings were released on Monday with defending Division 3 champion Bishop Amat seeded fourth and Sierra League champion Claremont seeded third.

All wild card games are Wednesday and the first round on Friday. All games are scheduled to start at 3 p.m., unless a different time is agreed by both schools.

Bishop Amat will open defense of its title by facing the wild-card winner between host Walnut and Cerritos.

Claremont will face the wild-card winner between Atascadero and Bishop Montgomery.
Hacienda League champion Diamond Bar won its first league title since 2004 and will open the playoffs at home against Pac-7 third-place entry Arroyo Grande.
Bonita finished second to Diamond Bar in the Hacienda and will be at home in the first round against Oak Hills. (To continue click thread)

GIRLS SOCCER PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Wednesday's wild card games
Division 3
St. Lucy's at Los Altos, 3 p.m.
Cerritos at Walnut, 3 p.m.
Division 7
South El Monte at Cantwell Sacred Heart, 3 p.m.
Kern Valley at Rosemead, 3 p.m.
Gabrielino at Wildwood, 3 p.m.

Friday's first round
Division 3
Oak Hills at Bonita, 3 p.m.
Chino Hills at Flintridge Prep, 3 p.m.
Sultana at Ayala, 3 p.m.
WC winner at Bishop Amat, 3 p.m.
WC winner at Claremont, 3 p.m.
Arroyo Grande at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
Division 6
Duarte at Garden Grove, 3 p.m.
Nogales at Ocean View, 3 p.m.
Beaumont at Sierra Vista, 3 p.m.
Cate at Wilson, 3 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Segerstrom, 3 p.m.
Loara at La Puente, 3 p.m.
San Dimas bye
Division 7
WC winner at Arroyo, 3 p.m.

Diamond Bar girls soccer celebrating the Hacienda League title.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Defending CIF-Southern Section Division 2 boys soccer champion Claremont picked up where it left off, earning the top seed in Division 2 following Monday's Southern Section pairings announcements.

Claremont will open the first round at home on Thursday against the winner of today's wild card between Palm Springs and Tustin.

Damien finished second to Claremont in the Sierra League and will be home in the first round against Century third-place Esperanza.

The Sierra League sent four teams to the playoffs.

South Hills finished third and will be at Desert Valley League champion Indio in the first round. (To continue click thread)

BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Tuesday's Wild Card games
Division 2
Chino Hills at Garden Grove Pacifica, 3 p.m.
Division 4
Duarte at Bishop Montgomery, 3 p.m.
Burbank at Bonita, 3 p.m.
Los Altos at Pasadena, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Arroyo Grande at Arroyo, 3 p.m.
Santa Paula at Nogales, 3 p.m.
Wilson at Malibu

Thursday's first-round
Division 2
WC at Claremont, 3 p.m.
South Hills at Indio, 3 p.m.
Esperanza at Damien, 3 p.m.
Division 4
St. Genevieve at Diamond Ranch, 3 p.m.
Serrano at La Puente, 3 p.m.
Whittier at Diamond Bar, 3 p.m.
Division 5
Baldwin Park at Monrovia, 3 p.m.
WC winner at South El Monte, 3 p.m.
Santiago at Mountain View, 3 p.m.
Colton at Pomona, 3 p.m.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
The chase begins for Damien and La Verne Lutheran's boys basketball teams after receiving favorable seeds following Sunday's CIF-Southern Section boys basketball pairings, with the Spartans earning the top seed in Division 3AAA and the two-time defending state champion Trojans seeded second in Division 4AA.

Glendora could make some noise in Division 2A and Covina, Northview and Wilson are hoping for deep playoff runs in Division 3A.

Lutheran, the area's top-ranked team all season, 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, an at-large that competed as a freelance team after leaving the Arrowhead League, will open Wednesday's first-round game on the road at Delphic League third-place Marshall. That actually could pay off for Lutheran, who could have more home games the rest of the way.

Montview League champion Workman is home against Don Bosco Tech on Wednesday with the winner likely meeting top-ranked Serra in the second round.

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.

CIF-Southern Section Boys Basketball playoff Schedule
Division 1A
Friday's first-round games
Diamond Bar at Glendale, 7 p.m.
Burbank at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Yucaipa at Walnut, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Friday's first-round games
Rowland at Don Lugo, 7 p.m.
Glendora at Whittier, 7 p.m.
Baldwin Park at Leuzinger, 7 p.m.
Division 3AAA
Wednesday's first-round games
El Dorado at Damien, 7 p.m.
Beverly Hills at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
South Hills at Esperanza, 7 p.m.
Cerritos at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Wednesday's first-round games
Diamond Ranch at Agoura, 7 p.m.
Rosemead at Torrance, 7 p.m.
Los Altos at Gabrielino, 7 p.m.
Charter Oak at Temescal Canyon, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Wednesday's first round games
Tahquitz at Azusa, 7 p.m.
Bishop Amat at Santa Paula, 7 p.m.
Rubidoux at Wilson, 7 p.m.
San Dimas at South Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Santa Margarita at La Puente, 7 p.m.
Gladstone at Estancia, 7 p.m.
Yucca Valley at Northview, 7 p.m.
Pioneer at Covina, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Wednesday's first-round games
Bosco Tech at Workman, 7 p.m.
La Verne Lutheran at Marshall, 7 p.m.

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.

CIF-Southern Section Girls Basketball playoff Schedule

Division 1A
Saturday's first-round games
La Sierra at Diamond Bar, 7 p.m.
Division 2AA
Saturday's first-round games
Ayala at Royal, 7 p.m.
West Covina at Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m.
Redlands East Valley at Chino Hills, 7 p.m.
Division 2A
Saturday's first-round games
Claremont at Saugus, 7 p.m.
Division 3A
Thursday's first-round games
Charter Oak at El Monte, 7 p.m.
San Dimas bye
Azusa at Estancia, 7 p.m.
St. Lucy's bye
Bishop Amat at Santa Paula, 7 p.m.
Gladstone at Artesia, 7 p.m.
Covina bye.
Division 3AAA
Thursday's first-round
Baldwin Park at Gahr, 7 p.m.
Rowland at South Torrance, 7 p.m.
Fullerton at Arroyo, 7 p.m.
Glendora at Los Amigos, 7 p.m.
South Hills at Bonita, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Thursday's first round
Jurupua Valley at Sierra Vista, 7 p.m.
West Valley at Rosemead, 7 p.m.
El Modena at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
La Mirada at Wilson, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Thursday's first-round
Harvard-Westlake at Rowland, 7 p.m.
San Marino at Duarte, 7 p.m.

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.