TRIBUNE CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
JEFF KIRWIN, GLENDORA, JUNIOR

By Stephen Ramirez
The 2013 boys cross country season began with heartache for Glendora High School, which tied to move on after long-time coach Don Sumner died in June.
Junior Jeff Kirwin honored his coach by putting of the performance of his career down the stretch to top all local runners and qualifying for the CIF State championships.
For his efforts, Kirwin is Tribune Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“We tried to honor him throughout the season,” Kirwin said. “I was happy with (the season). It went well all. I was stoked to finish like I did and how the team progressed throughout the season.
“I went to state as a freshman and we didn’t go last year. I didn’t want to experience what happened last year when we didn’t make it. I remembered that the entire season.”

Continue reading “ALL-AREA BOYS CROSS COUNTRY: Glendora’s Jeff Kirwin and coach Steve Sumner take top honors” »

Arroyo Girls Basketball’s 19th Annual Gary Houston Memorial Christmas Classic
POOL A: Arcadia/Oak Hills/Temple City
POOL B: El Monte/La Canada/South Torrance
POOL C: Azusa/Bishop Amat/San Marino
POOL D: Arroyo/Cantwell/Sonora

Monday’s results
Arcadia 50, Temple City 29
Cantwell 58, Sonora 48
Bishop Amat 64, San Marino 24
La Canada 45, El Monte 34
Tuesday’s results
Azusa 56, San Marino 35
Sonora 37, Arroyo 27
Oak Hills 50, Temple City 30
South Torrance 47, El Monte 22
Wednesday’s games
Oak Hills 47, Arcadia 40
South Torrance 47, La Canada 41
Cantwell 53, Arroyo 39
Bishop Amat 53, Azusa 19

Friday’s semifinals
Oak Hills vs. South Torrance, 6 p.m.
Cantwell vs. Bishop Amat, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s finals
Third place, 6 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p

By Steve Ramirez
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
SAN DIMAS — San Dimas High School girls basketball coach Gary Jackson figured the Saints would have a rough December, but could figure it out and be a challenger in the Valle Vista League come January.
But it’s hard to imagine he thought the start to the season would be this tough.
Chloe Werling scored 11 points and Morgan Allen had 10 and Chino Hills added to San Dimas’ woes with a 54-12 victory over the Saints in a San Dimas Sherise Edmonds Memorial Tournament pool-play game at San Dimas High School.
The Huskies scored 24 of the first 26 points and forced 26 turnovers to improve to 3-3.
Aunisha Leffridge scored six points for the Saints, who slipped to 0-6. San Dimas was 1 of 17 from the floor and had 13 turnovers in the first half.
San Dimas coach Gary Jackson: “It’s been our downfall all year. We’ve been battling some injuries and we seem to get off to slow starts. When we dig a hole that deep, (the opposition) sees blood, and its hard to fight back from the that.”

San Dimas Girls Basketball Tournament
Pool A: Gladstone, Claremont, Lakeside
Pool B: West Covina, Vista Murrieta, Upland
Pool C: Chino Hills, Diamond Ranch, San Dimas

Monday’s round-robin results
Claremont 57, Gladstone 17
Vista Murrieta 66, West Covina 26
Diamond Ranch 32, Chino hills 21
Tuesday’s round-robin results
Vista Murrieta 67, Upland 23
Lakeside 56, Claremont 34
Diamond Ranch 53, San Dimas 37
Wednesday’s round-robin results
Chino Hills 54, San Dimas 12
Lakeside 93, Gladstone 25
Upland 60, West Covina 43
Friday’s semifinals
Vista Murietta vs Chino Hills, 6 p.m.
Diamond Ranch vs Lakeside, 7:30 p.m.

By Stephen Ramirez
@steverramirez on twitter
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE — Bonita High School has fielded one of the more-consistent boys basketball teams in the area in recent years, and that has changed this season
Kyle Gray and Russell Hernandez scored 14 points each and Bonita outscored South Hills, 23-4 in the third quarter as it won for the fourth time in five games with a 59-33 victory over the Huskies in a La Canada Holiday Classic pool play game at La Canada High School.
Dane Hollar had 12 points for Bonita, which improved to 4-1. The Bearcats also forced 26 turnovers.
Darius Scott had nine points and Darik Pradia had eight for the Huskies, who slipped to 4-4.
Bonita, which was 7 of 27 from the floor in the first half and 21 of 56 for the game, limited South Hills to just two field goals and four shots in the third quarter. The Bearcats forced 10 turnovers in the quarter and outscored the Huskies, 23-4 for a 42-23 lead before cruising in the fourth quarter.
Bonita coach Greg Eckler: “Overall, the intensity for this team has been really good. The second half today was really good. We still have a long way to go as a team. The big change (Tuesday) was in the second half. We kind of cranked up the defense and shot the ball better.”
South Hills coach Marc Hart: “We had more turnovers than shots in that third quarter. Their zone pressure caused us a lot of problems.
“We were a totally different team in the second half. The first half I thought we played really well.”

FROM CNN: To Sam McNair, a 17-year-old high school senior in Duluth, Georgia, it was an innocent hug. “You never know what someone’s going through,” McNair told CNN affiliate WGCL in Atlanta. “A hug might help.”
It didn’t in this case because after McNair hugged a teacher, he ended up with a year-long suspension from Duluth High School, putting his college plans in jeopardy. “He’s a senior; he plays football. He was getting ready for lacrosse season, and you are stripping him of the opportunity to even get a full scholarship for athletics for college,” April McNair, Sam’s mother, told WGCL.

In other news, what’s going on at Mater Dei, where a boys basketball player left the program over alleged “bullying” according to OC weekly. The allegations are chilling.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune sports historian Jim McConnell put together a list of the best football teams in San Gabriel Valley history a couple years ago. With football season winding down with the state championships on Saturday, it’s fun to look back at who McConnell thought was the best of the best. In subsequent articles, he called the 1992 Bishop Amat team the best ever. Look at all the teams on his list, did he get it right? Click on the link and you decide….

Continue reading “Was the 1992 Bishop Amat football team the best in San Gabriel Valley history?” »

Baldwin Park football coach Chris Williams, who guided the Braves football team to a 7-4 record after going 0-10 in his first season, resigned over the weekend citing philosophical differences with the school’s administration. Williams, a walk-on coach who subbed in the district, felt he wasn’t getting the support he needed from the school. “I thought we improved a lot and were doing good things, but I wasn’t getting the support I needed and felt the school didn’t appreciate the progress we made, that’s the frustrating part for me. My athletic director (Carlos Aparicio) was great, but the administration and I just didn’t see eye-to-eye.”
Williams said he will return to school to work on his teaching credential.
“That’s what I’ve got to do,” Williams said. “The best thing for me and my family is for me to get my credential and work toward the future.”