Latest news with #PrepRally
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: St. John Bosco was the surprise of the baseball season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. What a weekend it was for championships in baseball and softball. Going into the 2025 baseball season, St. John Bosco was hardly on anyone's mind as a potential Southern Section Division 1 champion. It was going to be the super team, Corona, or last season's runner-up Huntington Beach. But coach Andy Rojo built the most consistent team of all, going 27-4, eliminating Corona 2-0 in the semifinals, then enduring nine innings to defeat Santa Margarita 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Miles Clark in the Division 1 final. There were so many big moments by big-time players in the Division 1 final. Few were more impressive than St. John Bosco closer Jack Champlin, who saved the Braves' win over Corona and then threw four scoreless innings against Santa Margarita with key strikeouts in moments of pressure. He may become a starting pitcher next season, but he's got a future as a closer because of his ability to thrive under pressure and his complete confidence in being able to do the job. The Division 2 final saw West Ranch defeat Mater Dei 2-1 behind pitcher Hunter Manning. Here's the report. Manning finished 10-0 on the mound and is headed to UC Irvine. The drought is over for Granada Hills softball. After losing heartbreaking championship games to Carson the last two seasons, the Highlanders beat the Colts in the City Section Open Division final 11-2. Here's the report. Norco ended the softball season No. 1 in Southern California after a 3-0 win in the Southern Section Division 1 final over El Modena behind pitcher Coral Williams, who threw a one-hitter. Here's the report. The Southern California regional playoffs for baseball and softball begin Tuesday, continue Thursday and end Saturday. Here's the baseball pairings. Here's the softball pairings. Led by a talented group of freshmen athletes, Servite won the state championship in boys track and field in Clovis on Saturday. Long Beach Wilson won the girls title. There were terrific individual performances, from Jack Stadlman of Temecula Valley winning the 400 meters to Leo Francis of Santa Margarita going 25-feet plus to win the long jump. Jayden Rendon of Carson wion the 300 hurdles. Here are the complete results. Here's the report from Clovis on the finals. Here's a closer look at Servite's Fab Four. Jaden Soong, a freshman golfer at St. Francis, thrives under pressure. 'I will say I like pressure,' he said. Twice in the last two weeks, he's won playoffs to keep his season going. But the story of his first playoff win is comedy at its best. He had left the Temecula Creek golf course at the individual championships after concluding he had failed to qualify for the SCGA regionals and had stopped at Jack in the Box while headed home. Then he got a phone call from a friend: 'Hey dude, we're in a playoff.' He was 17 minutes away and needed to be back at the course in 10 minutes. 'We hauled it,' he said. Thankfully, there were no police cars in the vicinity as he was driven back to the course. The playoff had started when he arrived. Players were in the fairway. He had no time to change into his golf shoes, so he played in his Nike Air Force shoes. He got a par on the first hole, then a birdie to win the playoff and advance. Last weekend, he won another playoff to reach the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach. He's ready for anything. Brady McHenry of Buena won the SCGA Southern California regional championship with a playoff win to be the No. 1 qualifier for the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach. Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods, won his first juniors tournament. Here's the report. The Bradford family in Manhattan Beach loves volleyball and everyone is tall. Here's a look at their love for volleyball and big shoes. Mira Costa won the first state Division 1 championship with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 win over San Jose Archbishop Mitty. Mater Dei defeated Buchanan 3-1 to win Division 2. Sage Hill won Division 3 with a 3-0 win over International. Here's the Daily Pilot report on Mira Costa winning against Huntington Beach the previous week. With major league baseball seeking to increase Black player participation, St. John Bosco has five Black players starting on its championship team. Here's a report. Lots of SoCal players are participating in the NCAA baseball playoffs. Here's a look. Brentwood sophomore to be Shaelen Sheppard has been selected to be on the U16 USA Basketball national team. . . . Austin Maziasz, a standout basketball player at Westlake, has committed to Johns Hopkins. . . . April Schilling is the new girls basketball coach at Oak Park. . . . Capistrano Valley has begun building a new $21.5 million football stadium that is supposed to be completed by the spring of 2026. . . . Chris Allen has resigned as baseball coach at Charter Oak. . . . The JSerra doubles team of Brady Schaefgen and Riley Anson won the Southern Section championship. Freshman Andrew Johnson from Palos Verdes won the singles title. . . . Roy Walker Jr., an assistant basketball coach at Westchester, has been hired as Taft's new basketball coach. . . . Dee Pinkard is the new girls' basketball coach at St. Bonaventure. . . . Mark Bowman, the top tight end in California if not America, has committed to USC. He was supposed to be a junior this coming season at Mater Dei but changed his classification to the class of 2026. Irvine University won the state Division 1 tennis championship. Griffin Canning is the best pitcher in the history of Santa Margarita. He led the Eagles to the 2014 Southern Section Division 1 championship, went on to star at UCLA and became a starting pitcher for the Angels. But this season he's enjoying a breakthrough pitching for the New York Mets. He's 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA. Here's a story from 2014 on how Canning pitched Santa Margarita to the Division 1 title. Here's a story from 2015 on the 'Griffin Canning rule' in the Trinity League. From a story looking at a survey of parents whether their kids will become pro athletes. From the Washington Post, a story on how a gymnast ended up getting a track and field scholarship. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on three L.A. students who earned college scholarships by caddying. From Spectrum News1, a story on USA volleyball using the 2028 Olympic Games to boost the sport. From the Los Angeles Times, a look at how the state track championship was affected by the participation of a transgender athlete.
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: High school football is changing, but for the better or for the worse?
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. Whether you've been paying attention or not, high school football is changing. Let's discuss. Rolling your eyes has been the theme if you follow college football and high school football. Changes keep happening because rules are in flux regarding name, image and likeness. Transfer numbers keep growing. Agents are picking up clients who are teenagers. Parents are examining options. Coaches are adjusting on the fly. It's the best of times and the worst of times. Many believe things will settle when court cases are finalized. Others believe amateur football has been changed forever. Here's a look at some of the issues, good and bad, that are affecting the high school football world. Devin Gonor of El Camino Real proved Saturday at Dodger Stadium that trusting the process still works. He played on the freshman team, then the junior varsity team for two years. He waited his turn, made his varsity debut last season as a junior and this season is 11-1 and pitched a three-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Venice to give El Camino Real its 10th City Section Open Division title. Here's a look at how the Royals did it. Carson won its first ever City Section title in baseball by taking the Division I crown with a 3-1 comeback win over rival Banning at Dodger Stadium. Here's the report. The final week of the Southern Section season begins Tuesday with semifinals in Division 1 featuring Corona at St. John Bosco and Crespi at Santa Margarita. Here's a report on the quarterfinals that saw four close games. It also was the week Seth Hernandez of Corona hit two three-run home runs and struck out 10 in an impressive playoff performance. He'll pitch Tuesday. Here's a report. And Venice's Canon King went five for five in a semifinal win over Sylmar. Here's the report. Here's the complete Tuesday schedule. It will be El Modena playing Norco for the Southern Section Division 1 softball championship this weekend in Irvine. El Modena came through earlier in the week with a comeback semifinal win over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Here's the report. On Saturday, Norco defeated Ayala and El Modena knocked off Temescal Canyon to reach the final in a season where hitters have had the advantage over pitchers. Here's the report. The City Section has its semifinals Wednesday with Granada Hills hosting Venice and San Pedro hosting Carson. The championship game will be played Saturday at Cal State Northridge. Birmingham football standout Antrell Harris was one of the stars at the City Section track and field championships, winning the 100 and 200. He's headed this weekend to compete in the state championships at Buchanan High in Clovis. The weather report is for temperatures in the triple digits. Here's a report from the City championships. The Southern Section held its Masters Meet, and RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga was the top qualifier in the 200 and has one more week of high school competition left before he heads off to play football at USC. Here's the report. Joseph Wong of Granada Hills won the City Section golf championship. Here's the report. Grant Leary of Crespi won the Southern Section individual golf championship with a 66 for a one-stroke victory. Here's a roundup of Southern Section team champions. Here's a look at Leary. Mira Costa has qualified from Southern California to compete in the first state championship in boys volleyball Saturday at Fresno City College. The Mustangs will face Archbishop Mitty from San Jose. Here's the compete schedule of state championship matchups and results from regional finals. Catcher Trent Grindlinger of Huntington Beach has changed his commitment from Mississippi State to Tennessee. . . . Former Bishop Amat football coach Steve Hagerty will become athletic director at West Covina. . . . Ethan Damato is leaving Laguna Beach to become girls water polo coach at JSerra. . . . Connor Ohl, a junior at Newport Harbor, has committed to Stanford for water polo. . . . Oliver Muller is the new boys soccer coach at Oaks Christian. . . . YULA and Shalhevet, two schools that pulled out of the Southern Section baseball playoffs to participate in a Jewish tournament in Ohio, have been placed on probation and banned from next year's playoffs for violating Southern Section rules about outside participation during the season. Here's an opinion piece on how the decision by the two schools will hurt coaches and athletes. . . . Former Chatsworth football coach Marvin Street has accepted a teaching position at El Camino Real and will become the junior varsity head coach. . . . Loyola running back Sean Morris has committed to Northwestern. . . . Kevin Reynolds, the basketball coach at Villa Park for 30 years, died Friday morning, the school announced. He was 59. He had been diagnosed with cancer. His teams won 634 games in his coaching career. . . . John Quick, who was a longtime basketball coach in the South Bay, has died. . . . Loyola's James Dell'Amico has committed to Pepperdine baseball. . . . Former Tesoro football coach Matt Poston is the new athletic director at San Clemente. . . . The CIF state championships in tennis will be held Saturday in Fresno. Irvine University has qualified. ... Darius Spates is the new athletic director at Verbum Dei. He's a 2012 graduate. Harvard-Westlake has produced some outstanding pitchers who went on to the major leagues, but Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs is the Wolverines' first breakthrough every day player. As a center fielder with electric speed, he has come into his own this season to become an All-Star candidate. He used to be a teammate of Drew Bowser, who went to Stanford instead of signing out of high school and is now working his way up in the minors. Crow-Armstrong entered last week hitting .290 with 12 home runs. He hit a two-run home run Friday against former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Hunter Greene of the Reds. His senior year got cut short in 2020 because of the pandemic. Here's an interview with Crow-Armtrong from that year and how he kept his focus on the future. Here's a story from 2019 on how he had become a hitting machine. From the Washington Post, a story on what a rowing coxswain does. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on UC Irvine baseball coach Ben Orloff, a Simi Valley High graduate. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the new Compton High campus opening this fall with fantastic athletic facilities. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: A great week for City Section baseball that ends at Dodger Stadium
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. It's the greatest weekend for City Section athletics, because the baseball championship games in Open Division and Division I will be held Saturday at Dodger Stadium. It's the week in City Section sports where dreams come true. The City Section Open Division and Division I baseball championship games will be played Saturday at Dodger Stadium. 'It's magical,' Venice center fielder Canon King said of what the experience would be like. A semifinal doubleheader is set for Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the Open Division, with Birmingham playing El Camino Real at 3 p.m. and Venice facing Sylmar at 6 p.m. In Division I, the semifinals are Wednesday at Stengel Field in Glendale. Taft will play Carson at 3 p.m., followed by Verdugo Hills against Banning at 6 p.m. Venice, the No. 1 seed, has been led by King, who has hit six home runs. Here's a profile of him and his teammates. It's nervous time in the Southern Section baseball playoffs that resume Tuesday. Top-seeded Corona, which got a first-round bye in Division 1, makes its debut at home against Los Osos and will send out pitcher Seth Hernandez, who is 17-0 in high school baseball. There are no upsets in Division 1 despite the seedings. It's still about ace vs. ace. The one interesting thing to watch is how well the four teams who got first-round byes perform after being inactive for more than a week. That's Corona, Crespi, Huntington Beach and St. John Bosco. They better be ready to perform with their ace pitchers or suffer an early exit. The Trinity League has done best with Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Servite and Santa Margarita all winning their playoff openers. It was a big day for Oaks Christian and Quentin Young, who hit his 14th home run. Here's the updated schedule. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has become the surprise team in high school softball, eliminating last season's Division 1 runner-up Orange Lutheran in a 9-7 stunner, then beating El Segundo 12-10. Who says you need a standout pitcher with a freshman named Jackie Morales? All Morales did was hit four home runs on the week, including three against Orange Lutheran. Top-seeded Norco remains the favorite in Division 1, but in a season without any dominant pitcher, the Knights' hitting could keep them going far. Notre Dame hosts El Modena in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Here's the complete pairings. The City Section announced its playoff pairings, with Granada Hills seeded No. 1. Here's the pairings. Loyola has been the No. 1 lacrosse team all season and delivered a second Southern Section title with an 11-3 win over Mater Dei in the Division 1 final. Cash Ginsberg scored three goals and Tripp King had two goals. Foothill upset No. 1-seeded Mira Costa 12-7 to win the Division 1 girls title. Foothill lost to Marlborough in last year's final. Brynn Perkins scored five goals. The weather was cool and overcast, but there were some terrific individual and team performances at the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark. There were two ties for team titles in Division 4 boys (Serra and Viewpoint) and girls (St. Mary's and Rosary). And Division 3 boys came down to the 4x400 relay with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame prevailing over Servite. Servite's Benjamin Harris, only a sophomore, ran a 10.32 100 meters. Rodney Sermons, a junior USC commit at Rancho Cucamonga, ran a 10.36 100. Here's a rundown on the day's activities. On Saturday, the Southern Section will hold its Masters Meet at Moorpark and for the first time have 18 qualifiers competing in races and field events, up from nine. The City Section will hold its championships Thursday at Birmingham High using the school's new Mondo track surface. El Camino Real stunned top-seeded Venice to win the City Section Open Division championship. The Royals have one of the brightest young coaches in the Southland in Alyssa Lee, who used to play girls volleyball for Tom Harp at Granada Hills. She's now won a boys title, girls title and beach title. Here's the report. Mira Costa won the Southern Section Division 1 championship. The state championships begin this week. Here are the pairings. There are lots of pitchers scheduled to make an impact in the Southern Section baseball playoffs. Here's a look at pitchers to watch over the next couple of weeks. The California Science Center next to the Coliseum has opened a free interactive sports exhibit that will stay open through the 2028 Olympic Games. It's phenomenal, allowing kids and adults to learn about science and participate in baseball, softball, climbing, soccer, basketball and other sports. The first day it was opened saw more than 1,300 visitors. Here's a look at something that should become very popular. Here come the freshmen. At the Northern Regional for individual golf, freshman Brandon Anderson of Buena won with a 63 and second was freshman Jaden Soong of St. Francis. The individual championships will take place Thursday at Temecula Creek Country Club. Team titles are scheduled Monday and Tuesday. It's time to start a weekly help guide for parents, athletes, coaches, even officials. I'm going to ask questions and answer them with help from others. First question: 'How do I get my coach to notice me more?' Get to practices before anyone else. Stay until everyone leaves. That lets the coach know you are passionate and committed to getting better. Volunteer to do the little things that coaches notice, like helping to clean a gym floor or bring out water. Show hustle whenever you can. Be bold and talk to your coach and tell him or her that you want to reach your full potential and would appreciate any feedback. The key is working hard when no one is watching. The coach will see the development and provide a reward known as playing time. If not, keep doing it for yourself and your future. Good grades always bring a smile to any coach. Run extra laps. And you might even tell your coach, 'You're doing a really good job.' They like compliments. Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill is the new head football coach at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. He becomes the second ex-NFL player recently headed to high school football, joining Carson Palmer, who went to Santa Margarita. . . . Junior receiver Devin Olmande of Newbury Park has committed to San Jose State. . . . Irvine University and Woodbridge won the Southern Section Open Division and Division 1 tennis championships. Here's a report on Woodbridge's win. . . . Mission Viejo won the Millikan seven on seven passing tournament, defeating San Diego Lincoln in the final. Charter Oak won its own passing tournament title, defeating Rancho Cucamonga, and San Juan Hills defeated Capistrano Valley in the championship of the Dana Hills passing tournament. . . . Thatcher Fahlbusch from Mira Costa has committed to Hawaii for volleyball. UCLA was searching for a reliable closer in baseball this season, and look who's emerged late in the season: freshman Easton Hawk from Granada Hills High. He entered the week with four saves in 17 appearances but has come on strong this month to give the Bruins hope he can be a stopper in the NCAA playoffs. UCLA shared the regular season Big 10 championship with Oregon. He's always had good velocity. Throwing strikes is important at the collegiate level. Here's a story from 2023. From ESPN, a story on Palisades High's baseball team rising up despite obstacles from the Palisades fire. From a story on youth sports and mental health challenges.
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: Meet the next great pitcher from Southern California
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. As the prep baseball playoffs begin this week, let's remind everyone we're witnessing the making of the next great pitcher from Southern California. The Southern Section baseball playoff pairings will be announced on Monday, and 26-2 Corona is set to be the No. 1 seed in Division 1. It will be a last chance to take a look at standout pitcher Seth Hernandez, who enters the playoffs with a 17-0 record in two years of high school competition. Southern California has produced Cy Young Award winners in Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran), Trevor Bauer (Hart), Jack McDowell (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) and Bret Saberhagen (Cleveland), along with baseball's current stars, Paul Skenes (El Toro), Max Fried (Harvard-Westlake) and Hunter Greene (Notre Dame) Few exhibited in high school the pinpoint control along with being able to throw a fastball at 98 mph like Hernandez. Here's a look at the impact Hernandez has made. Venice received the No. 1 seed for the eight-team City Section Open Division playoffs that begin Wednesday. The semifinals are next Tuesday, followed by the championship game on May 24 at Dodger Stadium. Here are the complete pairings. Sylmar came away as the Valley Mission League champions aided by a three-run home run from Rickee Luevano to beat Kennedy. The Southern Section playoff pairings will be released Monday at 10 a.m. It's the first time power rankings are being used to place teams into nine divisions. There's expected to be first-round byes in Division 1. Here's this week's final regular season top 25 rankings by The Times. The Southern Section softball playoff pairings will be released at noon Monday. In last week's power rankings, Norco was ranked No. 1 and Orange Lutheran No. 2. The City Section softball pairings will be announced on Friday. Granada Hills, which has lost in the final to Carson the last two seasons, is the likely No. 1 seed. San Pedro ended Carson's reign as Marine League champion. The Southern Section track and field finals are set for Saturday at Moorpark High. The most interesting competition could come in Division 3, where Servite and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will engage in an all-out duel for the boys team title. There is so much depth to call upon from both teams. Servite qualified six runners for the 200. Notre Dame qualified four athletes for the long jump. The two schools went one-two in the 4x100 relay. Notre Dame's JJ Harel is in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. Servite athletes are favored to win the 100, 200 and 400 and both relays. It will come down to picking up points in other events. Here's a look at results from the prelims. Granada Hills won the City Section boys and girls championships in swimming. Here's the report. Santa Margarita won the boys and girls titles at the Southern Section Division 1 championships. Here's the report. The state championships take place this weekend in Clovis. It will be Loyola taking on Mater Dei to decide the Southern Section Division 1 boys lacrosse championship Friday night. For girls, Mira Costa will take on Foothill. Here's the schedule. It will be Huntington Beach taking on No. 1 Mira Costa in the Southern Section Division 1 volleyball championship match on Friday at 7 p.m. at Cerritos College. Here's a report on Mira Costa overpowering Corona del Mar. The City Section Open Division semifinals will be held Tuesday night, with Venice hosting Granada Hills and Chatsworth hosting El Camino Real. The championship will take place Saturday at Birmingham. Freshman pitcher Carlos Acuna of Birmingham has had a sensational start of his high school career with a 7-0 record going into the start of the City Section playoffs next week. Here's a profile on what has made him so effective and calm under pressure. The Palisades High baseball field is gone. Bulldozers cleared everything last month to make way for bungalow classrooms. The school and Los Angeles Unified School District made the decision as the best way to get the campus re-opened after the Palisades fire. There will be no new baseball field until 2029 at the earliest, a tough blow to the team and community. Here's the report. New rules are coming in girls' flag football that will be released this month. Some are controversial and will change the game. Here's a report on what to look for and the possible impact of the new rules. There's a big spring seven on seven passing tournament set for Saturday at Long Beach Millikan. Practices have been taking place this spring across the Southland. Servite has had many visitors looking at its young offensive line. Here's a report. San Juan Hills has a rising line prospect. Here's a report. Will Burr is the new girls' basketball coach at Harvard-Westlake. He's won Southern Section titles at Oak Park and Viewpoint. He played basketball at Bishop Alemany and is a former classmate of head of athletics Terry Barnum. . . . Joe Goyeneche has stepped down as football coach at St. Bonaventure and will be replaced by defensive coordinator Nathan Page. Former coach Jon Mack is serving as a consultant. . . . Former Taft and St. John Bosco basketball coach Derrick Taylor is the new head coach at Blair in Pasadena. . . . Former Newbury Park and Utah quarterback Cam Rising announced he is medically retiring from football and has joined Newbury Park as its new offensive coordinator, where he'll get to tutor Michigan commit Brady Smigiel. . . . Brandon Alexander has been hired to be the first girls flag football coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Schools in the Mission League have been reluctant to add flag football, so this could be the start of an expansion. Harvard-Westlake is expected to add a team in 2026. . . . Huntington Beach junior receiver Troy Foster has committed to San Diego State. . . . Standout defensive lineman Richard Wesley of Sierra Canyon has committed to Oregon. He changed to become part of the class of 2026. . . . Linebacker Shaun Scott of Mater Dei has committed to USC, giving the Trojans 28 commitments for the class of 2026. . . . Windward basketball standout JJ Harris has committed to Loyola Marymount. . . . It was an emotional moment for Loyola and Harvard-Westlake tennis players honoring Loyola captain Braun Levi, who was killed by a suspected drunken driver. Here's a report on the schools uniting. Former Loyola High catcher Augie Lopez has made a huge impact as a freshman for USC, helping the Trojans move into position to gain their first NCAA playoff berth since 2015. He entered this past week hitting .338 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Here's a story from 2025 discussing Lopez as a player. And here was my prediction for 2025 back in January. From a story on how track and field officials can stay calm during championship events. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the life and legacy of Chet Lemon, a Fremont High grad and World Series hero who died at the age of 70. From a story on a Texas high school softball team setting a national record for most home runs.
Los Angeles Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: The high school sports season closes with a ton of title games
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. May Madness has arrived in high school sports, the final month of the 2024-25 season. Get ready for a month of section, regional and state championships as the 2024-25 sports season comes to a close. Here's a look at the calendar and options to attend. Dodger Stadium will be the site for the City Section baseball championships on May 24. It remains the most special destination every season for lucky City players who make it. El Camino Real, Birmingham and Venice are the early contenders. Cal State Fullerton or Blair Field will host the Southern Section baseball finals May 30-31. Someone will have to eliminate Corona to win it all in Division 1. Pitcher Seth Hernandez has an astounding 88 strikeouts and just three walks in 42 1/3 innings. Make sure you take an afternoon off to see him pitch before he's taken No. 1 or No. 2 in this summer's amateur draft. He has a 98-mph fastball. The Southern Section track and field prelims take place this weekend. There are so many male and female runners ready to unleash their best performances in the coming weeks leading up to the state championships at the end of the month at Buchanan High in Clovis. Prepare for a month of excitement, surprises, tears of happiness and tears of disappointment. Crespi clinched the Mission League championship by winning two of three games over Harvard-Westlake. Catcher Landon Hodge was impressive hitting. Sophomore Mikey Martinez turned in a stellar relief performance. Nate Lopez came through in the clutch. Here's a report. Santa Margarita claimed the Trinity League's final automatic playoff berth with a win over Servite on Friday. Arcadia wrapped up an unbeaten Pacific League season. Summit has won 19 consecutive games. Norco ended Big VIII League play with 11 wins in its last 12 games. Birmingham dropped two games to Granada Hills in the West Valley League, which means the Patriots must sweep El Camino Real in a two-game series this week to win the title. El Camino Real has a one-game lead and is on a 12-game league winning streak. Venice lost a nonleague game to San Pedro to drop to 24-2 but is unbeaten in the Western League. City Section pairings will be announced Saturday with Southern Section pairings Sunday. Here's this week's top 25 rankings by The Times. It's time for the annual warning that seems to be ignored yearly. Batting practice before Southern Section playoff games is not allowed and could result in forfeits. Parents and coaches have been known to break out their cameras to take video to prove the illegality. And protests must be made before the first pitch to the umpire. Then it's up to the Southern Section to decide if the violation is deserving of a forfeit. Good luck and make sure your video is clear. Orange Lutheran has clinched the Trinity League championship. Kai Minor leads the team with 40 hits, a .488 batting average and 31 RBIs. It's been a wild season in the Crestview League, where Garden Grove Pacifica (7-4) is trying to hold off El Modena (7-5), Anaheim Canyon (6-5) and Cypress (6-5). Norco has clinched the Big VIII League title but lost for only the third time all season in a 7-4 defeat to Eastvale Roosevelt. Rosary is 24-2-1 and 9-0 in the Pacific Coast League. Sophomore Jenna Caldera is hitting .570 with 49 hits. In the City Section, San Pedro (7-0) has a two-game lead over defending City champion Carson (5-2) in the Marine League. Dahlia Davila is batting .509. Granada Hills has a two-game lead over Birmingham in the West Valley League and is 21-3. Demare Dezeurn said he runs track to help his receiving skills in football. 'This is for football to get me faster,' he said before running the 100 meters at the Thursday's Mission League track and field finals Thursday at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. His coach at Bishop Alemany, Terrell Stanley, said he gave Dezeurn permission to run a fast time. Dezeurn then ran a wind legal 10.32 seconds, second fastest in the state. Here's the report. Rodney Sermons ran a wind-aided 10.30 100 meters at the Baseline League finals. The Trinity League finals were filled with top performances. Servite set a meet record in the 4x100 relay at 40.48. Servite freshman Jaelen Hunter broke the meet record in the 400 at 46.32. There were nine runners who broke 11 seconds in the boys 100 with Servite's Benjamin Harris running 10.45. Santa Margarita's Leo Francis ran the 200 in 20.99. Eden Murray of Mater Dei won the girls 100 in 12.08 Rivals Mira Costa and Redondo Union faced off for the Southern Section Division 1 championship, and Redondo upset the top-seeded Mustangs in matches filled with drama. Here's the report. Venice won the City Section championship. Here's the report. Tragedy struck the Loyola High community with the death of tennis standout Braun Levi, the team's captain who was killed in a traffic accident. He's the report. . . . The Southern Section baseball championship games will be played May 30 and 31 at Cal State Fullerton and Blair Field in Long Beach. . . . Orange Lutheran has hired Nate Klitzing as its new boys basketball coach. He had been at Crean Lutheran for seven years and is a former Orange Lutheran assistant. . . . Debbie Shaffer has resigned as tennis coach at Mater Dei. . . . Savannah Seiler is the new girls basketball coach at Edison. . . . Quarterback Derek Garcia from Ventura has committed to UNLV. . . . Jeremiah Soifer, who was a longtime high school sportswriter during his days with the Riverside Press-Enterprise and recently inducted into the Norco High Hall of Fame, died last week. He was 80. He became a photographer in retirement. . . . Former Oaks Christian running back Marc Tyler is the school's first girls flag football coach. Nathan Santa Cruz, a 400-meter runner at Venice, has committed to Cal Poly Poly. He was the player who came back from a serious football injury in 2022 that required brain surgery. . . . Standout guard Isaiah Bennett from AGBU has committed to the University of La Verne. . . . Junior receiver Luc Weaver of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to USC. He ran a 10.68 100 meters at the Mission League track finals. . . . Mater Dei pitcher Brandon Thomas has committed to Fresno State. . . . Former Iowa wrestler Charles Matthews is the new wrestling coach at San Clemente. . . . Brothers Bear and Tiger Bachmeier are transferring from Stanford to BYU for football. They were standouts at Murrieta Valley. Former Servite infielder Roman Martin has become a standout in his sophomore season at UCLA. He entered this week hitting .300 with 45 hits, three home runs and 33 RBIs. He's part of a Servite contingent that has been performing well for UCLA, including Jarrod Hocking and Chris Grotheus. Here's a story from 2022 of Martin hitting a grand slam. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Dodgers manager Dave Roberts adopting the Palisades baseball team and helping out the program after the school and field became unavailable after the Palisades fire. From the Washington Post, a story on how Maryland is known for lacrosse but one county is playing catch up. From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, a story on star Maranatha pitcher Zach Strickland. From Floridatoday, a story on high school football coaches hoping for a raise.
