CIF-SS softball playoffs: San Bernardino County matchups

Here are CIF-SS softball playoff wild-card and first-round games involving San Bernardino County teams, organized for your convenience (all games 3:15 p.m.)

Tuesday 5/17’s Wild-card games:
Division 3

Kaiser at Tesoro
Harvard-Westlake at Montclair
Division 4
San Gorgonio at Paloma Valley
Ontario Christian at Ocean View
Indio at Rialto
Riverside Notre Dame at Apple Valley
Palm Desert at Aquinas
Sultana at Temple City
Division 5
Granite Hills at Garden Grove Santiago
Division 7
AAE at Temecula Prep

Thursday’s first-round games
Division 1

ML King at Etiwanda
Rosary at Chino
Vista Murrieta at Chino Hills
Division 2
Canyon Springs at Redlands East Valley
Redlands at Valley View
Carter at Oaks Christian
Ayala at Oxnard
San Luis Obispo at Yucaipa
Division 3
Northwood/Peninsula winner at Grand Terrace
Cerritos/Crescenta Valley winner at Don Lugo
Summit at Glendale
Chaffey at California
Division 4
Gabrielino/Patriot winner at Oak Hills
South El Monte/Highland winner at Jurupa Hills
Division 5
Estancia/Moreno Valley winner at Silverado
Banning at Barstow
Division 6
Twentynine Palms at Bloomington Christian
Mesa Grande Academy at Yucca Valley
Division 7
Calvary Murrieta at Upland Christian Academy
Moreno Valley Calvary Chapel at Public Safety Academy
University Prep at Lucerne Valley
Hesperia Christian at ACE

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CIF-SS Girls Swimming Championships Preview

High school athletes from the CIF Southern Section will jump into the pool throughout the week at Riverside City College for the 2016 swim finals.

On the Division 2 girls side, Ayala’s Kenisha Liu and Redlands’ Melissa Pepper return with the hope of capping off their high school careers on top.

Continue reading “CIF-SS Girls Swimming Championships Preview” »

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No real winners in Division 6 girls soccer debacle

The CIF-SS record book will read that Grand Terrace won the CIF-SS Division 6 girls soccer championship this year, by forfeit over a team that will not be named because the runner-up finish will be vacated.

But truthfully, there were no winners when Grand Terrace was awarded the win prior to playing league and district rival Bloomington for the title last Friday.
Bloomington was penalized when it was brought to the Bruins’ attention that they had been using a player that was academically ineligible. Bloomington confirmed the error earlier on Friday, but it wasn’t until the teams were warming up before the 5:00 scheduled start that the forfeit was announced.

Here’s who lost in the whole process:
1. Bloomington. Of course, the Bruins missed a chance to win a CIF-SS title. And Bloomington was seeded No. 1 and had beaten Grand Terrace in two regular season meetings. How much difference did the ineligible player make? I’m not sure. Because Bloomington won’t have the chance to prove it either way.
2. The fans. With official word not coming until about a half an hour before game time, fans were already on their way. CIF-SS Commissioner Rob Wigod said no tickets had been purchased, so no refunds were necessary. But fans missed out on watching what should have been a great game for both communities. Outside of wrestling, Bloomington sports have struggled for years and this was supposed to be a bright spot. Grand Terrace is too new of a school for it to feel like a drought but the fans didn’t get to enjoy playing in a CIF-SS championship game.
3. Santa Ana Century, South El Monte, Pasadena Maranatha, Montebello Schurr. Those are the four teams Bloomington defeated en route to the championship game. We know that the ineligible player played in at least all of the playoff games. So, who’s to say one of those teams shouldn’t have advanced instead and who would’ve come out of that half of the bracket? Bloomington outscored those four opponents 10-0, with only one game (vs. Maranatha) by a 1-0 score. It’s not known how much the player helped, but regardless, a team playing by the rules should have advanced.
When asked if CIF-SS could’ve put Schurr in the finals, because that was the team that lost to Bloomington in the semifinals, it was said that it wasn’t that easy. Because, technically, Century should’ve advanced to play South El Monte, with the winner advancing to play Maranatha, with the winner of that facing Schurr. You can’t do all of that before the finals.
4. Grand Terrace. Sure, Grand Terrace was awarded a CIF-SS title. But there is a lot that the Titans didn’t get. Grand Terrace didn’t get a chance to play in a CIF-SS championship game. Coach Ryan Pacheco said players were reluctant to want to take a picture in front of the scoreboard after earning the forfeit. How much can you rejoice after winning a game you didn’t play?
Not only that, but fans would say that Bloomington would’ve won had the two teams played. While its true that Bloomington was the favorite, the first two games were 1-0 and Grand Terrace might have won anyway. We’ll never know. People will always wonder if Grand Terrace was the best team in the division.
Don’t take Grand Terrace’s result in the CIF SoCal Girls Soccer Division V Regional as proof or not proof as to Grand Terrace’s legitimacy for the title. Most teams don’t place the same emphasis on the regional as they do for the CIF-SS playoffs.

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CIF-SS cross country finals: times for locals

The CIF-SS cross country Finals at Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. Top 7 teams plus up to 5 individuals advance to CIF State Championships.

Here are race times with San Bernardino County teams entered:

Race 1: Division 3 girls, 7:45 a.m.
Granite Hills
Stefani Gaskell, Sultana (won heat last week)

Race 2: Division 4 girls, 8:05 a.m.
Big Bear

Race 3: Division 3 boys, 8:25 a.m.
Bloomington (Ranked No. 8 in CIF-SS)
Colony
Sultana (No. 12 in CIF-SS)

Race 4: Division 4 boys, 8:45 a.m.
Big Bear
Yucca Valley (No. 8 in CIF-SS)
Spencer Walton, Twentynine Palms

Race 5: Division 5 girls, 9:05 a.m.
Arrowhead Christian
Mikayla Mays, Upland Christian

Race 6: Division 1 boys, 9:25 a.m.
Rancho Cucamonga (No. 13 in CIF-SS)
Yucaipa
Peter Torres, Chino Hills

Race 7: Division 2 girls, 9:45 a.m.
Ayala
Serrano (No. 2 in CIF-SS)
Claire Graves, Citrus Valley (won Prelims heat last week)

Race 8: Division 5 boys, 10:05 a.m.
AAE
Ontario Christian
Western Christian (No. 13 in CIF-SS)

Race 9: Division 1 girls, 10:25 a.m.
Rancho Cucamonga
Yucaipa (No. 4 in CIF-SS)
Sarah Holloway, Los Osos
Jennifer Sandoval, Summit (No. 3 in her Prelims heat last week)

Race 10: Division 2 boys, 10:45 a.m.
Steven Khan, Ayala

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CIF-SS proposes new playoff format with mixed opinions

CIF-SS Commissioner Rob Wigod proposed a new playoff format for many of its sports including football.
It would be playoff divisions by competitive equity and not by league.
For instance, a school such as defending state champion Redlands East Valley would likely be placed into a higher CIF-SS division than the other schools in the Citrus Belt League.
Cajon coach Nick Rogers is one of those coaches who likes the idea.
“I look at our league and four of the top 10 teams in CIF are in our league,” Rogers said. “Theoretically, the fourth team might not get in (the playoffs), but this would help. I think we’re in a strong league right now.”
Rogers said he feels for the Big VIII League, which is in the Pac-5 Division largely based on the success of Corona Centennial.
This would enable Corona Centennial to be in a higher division than some of the other schools.
“I couldn’t imagine being in that league, but we have REV, the top program around,” Rogers said. “I’d be all for it (the proposal).”
In the proposal, the previous two years of playoff data would be used to determine playoff divisions. Like it is now for basketball, divisions would be set prior to each season.
The problem for football is that brackets can only be 16 teams. Byes will be filled with an at-large process. In theory, four- and five-team leagues would get two guaranteed entries, leagues of 6-8 teams would be guaranteed three, while leagues of nine or more would get four.
But, if more than 16 teams qualify in a division, via the “guaranteed” process, then teams would have to be cut using the same at-large criteria used to fill byes. So guaranteed entries would be a misnomer.
Serrano coach Ray Maholchic is one coach who doesn’t like the idea.
“We focus on trying to win league,” he said. “When you win league, you’re accomplishing something, you should be rewarded. With competitive equity, it’s almost like you’re punishing teams that are winning … or you’re rewarding teams that have mediocrity.”
Maholchic also said many playoff opponents have developed rivalries, and that would be gone under a new format.

My take: I”m not sure if this is a good idea for football. It might be good for other sports, but football is already the No. 1 component in releaguing. And schools should know whether they are automatically in the playoffs before it comes to the committee. Does third place get in or not? I think in many sports, it’s a good idea. But in football, I’d say no.

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