Prep talk: La Mirada's new baseball field is ready to be unveiled
La Mirada High's $20-million baseball field is ready to be unveiled.
The Matadores will play their first official game in their new stadium on Saturday against Etiwanda.
Coach Jimmy Zurn, whose team had to wait two years for the stadium to be completed, can't wait to show off the new facility to fans and visiting teams. …
St. John Bosco's new baseball field won't open until April 1 at the earliest, athletic director Vince Brown said. Dugout construction needs to be completed. …
The Southern Section MastersMeet that decides state qualifiers for wrestling will be held Saturday at Sonora High. Here's the link for tickets.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
07-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
CdM's Max Douglass races to school record in 1,600 meters at state meet
The weather was a hot topic of discussion heading into the CIF State track and field championships, but in many cases, it was the athletes that brought the heat last weekend. Corona del Mar coach Bill Sumner looked at the temperature and saw it was a scorching 101 degrees when Max Douglass — the Sea Kings' distance running star — toed the starting line at Clovis Buchanan High on Saturday. Douglass had dug in during the state preliminaries on Friday to secure the school record in the boys' 1,600 meters. It could have been the last four laps of an illustrious high school career. That qualifying effort earned the Notre Dame commit a spot in the state final, a chance he took advantage of to drop his time to 4 minutes 7.65 seconds in a sixth-place, medal-winning performance. Sumner shared that he resorted to a trip to the hardware store to drive home race strategy during the postseason. He first utilized traffic cones and then string to make Douglass exercise patience in picking his desired spot on the field from the start. 'I put a string from the cut-in mark to the 200 lane one,' Sumner said. 'And I said, 'Max, you cannot cut in. You have to stay on the right side of that string for the whole workout.' … Sumner said that Douglass noticed a difference right away. The message was clicking. 'I said, 'That way, you get to pick your spot of where you want to be,'' Sumner recalled. 'When you get to the end of the first 180 [meters], you're going to say, OK, let me run there, and then you go there.' He's a strong enough kid, he gets to do that if he's fast enough. 'We practiced that for three weeks, I had put a string out, and he would not cross over that string. … Not the last meet, but the two meets before it, he stayed out there, came over, got third place or second place, whatever he wanted, and just tried to stay there as long as he could.' Douglass shed nearly two full seconds off his time from the day prior, creating separation between himself and Jim Robbins, who had held the CdM record in the event at 4:10.74 since setting the standard in the Southern Section Masters Meet in 1988. Sumner added that both Robbins and Brian Hunsaker, the Sea Kings' record-holder in the 3,200 at 8:53.7 since 1975, reached out to Douglass after the race. Douglass received an invitation into the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. 'If you would have told me he was done Sunday morning, I was fine,' Sumner said. 'Every goal that he set, we reached — every single one. Everything that he wrote down, we did. It's like, 'You've got nothing to prove, you got the school record, you got a 1:53 [in the] 800, you got a sub-nine-minute two-mile [time].' That's it. That's a lot of stuff, but he still wants to give it one more try, man. One more try before he goes on to be a big college guy.' Ocean View's Jack Paavola also closed his career on the podium, claiming eighth in the boys' discus throw with a mark of 174 feet, 4 inches. The Seahawks senior's state performance was just half a foot off his career-best throw at the Masters Meet. Paavola has committed to Harvey Mudd.
Los Angeles Times
31-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Servite's ‘Fab Four' show their blazing speed at state track and field prelims
CLOVIS, Calif. — Call them the 'Fab Four.' Servite's boys' 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of freshmen Jace Wells, Jaelen Hunter, Kamil Pelovello and Jorden Wells got Friday's CIF State Track and Field Championships off to a blazing start by winning the first heat in 40.28 seconds and earning the top qualifying time — not bad for the foursome's first go around the oval. Robert Gardner ran the anchor leg behind Jace Wells, Hunter and Pelovello six days earlier when the Friars clocked 40.40 to win the Southern Section Masters Meet and fellow sophomore Benjamin Harris joined Jorden Wells, Hunter and Gardner when Servite set a state and meet record at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Friday was all about the 'youth movement.' They left Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High believing that they could return Saturday to break the state meet record of 40.24 set by Hawthorne in 1989. 'This is the first time that all four of us have been in the same relay,' Hunter said. 'We're going after the record tomorrow.' Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won Heat 2 in 40.83, the second-fastest time. Hunter showed why he's the fastest freshman in the country one hour later when he looked like he was saving his energy for the finals even while winning his 400-meter heat in 47.43, the third-fastest prelims time behind Temecula Valley senior Jack Stadlman (46.99) and Culver City's Duaine Mayrant (47.38). Jace Wells clocked a personal-best to win his 200 meters heat in 21.03 while Stadlman (21 flat), Antrell Harris (21.14) and Leo Francis (21.16) from Santa Margarita also advanced to the finals ahead of USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga, who raced Nicolas Obimga of Torrance head-to-head at 11 p.m. for the last qualifying spot after they tied to the thousandth of a second for ninth. Sermons won by 20 hundredths in 21.11 with the stadium empty to secure his spot in the finals. 'I've never been in a run-off before,' Sermons said, shaking his head. 'I had a bad start the first time. No one to blame but me.' Servite capped its impressive day by winning its 4x400 meters heat in 3 minutes 10.94 seconds, holding off Cathedral (3:11.13) for the second-fastest qualifying time behind Long Beach Poly (3:10.70). Maintenance crews will be working overnight trying remove the scorch marks on the track after the boys' 100 meters. All nine sprinters to advance to Saturday's finals clocked 10.51 or under led by De La Salle junior Jaden Jefferson, whose wind-legal 10.01 bettered the California record of 10.14 by Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra in 2022. Second in the heat was Obimga (10.20) and third was City Section champion Antrell Harris of Birmingham, giving a single heat the first, second and fourth-fastest times in the state this year. USC-bound RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga bounced back from a subpar Masters race, where he finished fourth in 10.47, to win his heat in 10.40 and Demare Dezeurn, who repeated as Masters champion in 10.35 seconds, also topped his heat Friday in 10.43. Benjamin Harris won Heat 4 in 10.49. 'Today was all about qualifying for finals, said Dezeurn, a 10th-grader from Alemany. 'It's great competition. I have to go hard tomorrow. If I can beat him at the start I can beat him in the race. He [Jefferson] is good, though. Seeing those times just makes me love the game even more. I want to prove I belong here. I run to win!' Carson's Christina Gray anchored the Colts' 4x100 relay, which posted the fastest qualifying time (46.16) while Journey Cole's late kick on the anchor leg in Heat 2 allowed Redondo Union (46.33) to clip last year's state champion Oaks Christian, which posted the same time (46.39) as Long Beach Poly. Gray followed with a personal-best 11.47 in the 100, beating Chaparral's Keelan Wright by two hundredths of a second for second in her heat. Calabasas sophomore Malia Rainey yelled 'C'mon' after winning her heat in a personal-best 11.57 while teammate Marley Scoggins won Heat 4 in 11.67. Wright bounced back to post the best time (23.58) in the 200 while Gray finished second in 23.71, the second-fastest time and much swifter than her 24.62 at City Finals. 'In the 100 I had a great start, now I just have to work on the finish,' Gray said. 'It's still a great time for me. I'm feeling pretty good, there was no negative wind and winning the relay gave me confidence as I was feeling doubtful before that but after the 4x100 I knew I'd do well the rest of the day. Reigning discus champion Aja Johnson Sherman Oaks Notre Dame struggled Friday but secured the 12th and last finals spot with an effort of 139 feet 3 inches. Camarillo's Trinity Tipton was the top qualifier at 152-06. The 2023 shot put state champion, Johnson was the top qualifier Friday at 45-05, beating Aliso Niguel's Jaslene Massey by six inches. Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley was the leading qualifier in the girls' long jump (19-11.75), triple jump (40-09.75) and high jump (5-05.00).
Los Angeles Times
30-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
California, Trump and the battle over transgender athletes
The intense scrutiny of teenage transgender athletes in California intensified this week as the U.S. Justice Department announced it was investigating the state for allowing them to participate in girls' sports and President Trump threatened to cut federal funding over the issue. My colleagues Kevin Rector, Brittny Mejia and Howard Blume reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether California, its interscholastic sports federation, and the Jurupa Unified School District are violating the rights of cisgender high school girls by allowing trans athletes to compete alongside them. The department also threw its support behind a pending lawsuit alleging similar violations of girls' rights in the Riverside Unified School District, said U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who oversees much of the Los Angeles region, and Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The announcements came one day after Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the state if it continued to allow trans athletes to compete in women's sports. In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom — whom he called 'Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum' — saying that under his leadership, the state 'continues to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.'' The president referenced 'a transitioned Male athlete' who 'won 'everything,' and is now qualified to compete in the 'State Finals' next weekend.' My colleagues Blume, Hannah Fry, Steve Henson and Taryn Luna reported that Trump appeared to be referencing a transgender Jurupa Valley High School junior who won the girls' long jump and triple jump during the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet last week. Trump said he would be 'ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees sports at more than 1,500 high schools, announced that it would expand the number of athletes eligible to compete in the upcoming state championship. Under the new rules announced Tuesday, cisgender female athletes who fell one sport short of qualifying for the state track meet will be allowed to compete in the championship. Transgender athletes are not disqualified from participating. The state track meet begins Friday in Clovis. The city's mayor pro tem, Diane Pearce, wrote on Facebook that the new rules showed that CIF officials 'know they're in the wrong' and that 'we must keep up the pressure!' Earlier this week, Pearce criticized the competition of 'a biological male' in the event. Newsom praised the CIF rules. 'CIF's proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,' said Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, in a statement. 'The governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.' The Democratic governor— an outspoken champion of LGBTQ+ rights since he was mayor of San Francisco — called trans athletes' participation in women's sports 'deeply unfair' during a podcast interview in March, splitting from many in his party on an issue that Republicans capitalized on during the presidential election. Trump has repeatedly targeted transgender rights during his first four months back in the White House. The president issued an executive order barring the federal government from recognizing genders other than male or female. And he has pushed to ban transgender Americans from the U.S. military, writing in an executive order that transgender identity is a 'falsehood' inconsistent with the 'humility and selflessness required of a service member.' The Supreme Court this month cleared the way for that ban to take effect. In February, Trump signed an executive order titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' which gave federal agencies the ability to penalize schools for allowing transgender athletes to compete — something the Trump administration says violates Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination. What else is going on Karen says, 'Murphys in Calaveras County.'Pasqual says, 'Mendocino.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Christina House on the set of 'Everybody's Live With John Mulaney' with actor Richard Kind. Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporterKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
