Simi Valley Royal Wins Elite Race

Sophomore Michael Cybulski finished fifth to lead Simi Valley Royal, the No. 1-ranked boys’ cross-country team in the Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, to the championship in the sweepstakes race Saturday at the Stanford Invitational at Palo Alto.

The Highlanders scored 86 points to beat Spokane (Wash.) Mead by 21 points. Upland was third with 172, followed by Carmichael Jesuit (177), Lake Forest El Toro (179) and Oceanside El Camino (217) in a race that featured many of the best teams in the western United States. A.J. Acosta of El Camino was the individual winner in 15 minutes 13 seconds, with Diego Mercado of West Covina finishing second in 15:19.

Clovis Buchanan, led by individual winner Lauren Saylor at 17:38, edged Corona del Mar, 82-83, in the girls’ sweepstakes race. San Diego Torrey Pines was third with 151. Royal finished sixth with 198 and Saugus was seventh (207).

Samantha Gaffney of fifth-place Salt Lake City Judge was second at 17:57 and Annie St. Geme of Corona del Mar was third at 17:59.

-- Mike Kennedy

Girls’ Tennis

Nelly Radeva, the top player at Newport Harbor, has quit the team, citing time constraints and scheduling conflicts brought on by the demands of elite junior-tennis competition.

Radeva, a 14-year-old freshman who won the Easter Bowl/U.S. Tennis Assn. Super National Championships girls’ 16 division in April and is ranked No. 13 nationally, notified Newport Harbor Coach Fletcher Olson of her decision Friday.

“I just still have a really busy schedule, and I couldn’t guarantee that I would be there for the matches,” Radeva said.

Radeva, who was born in Bulgaria and moved to the U.S. with her parents at the age of 4, left Saturday to compete for the U.S. against Britain in the 32nd annual Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy Classic. Radeva is coached privately by Robert Lansdorp, also the coach of Maria Sharapova, the world’s No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player.

-- Lauren Peterson

Baseball

Jeff Rapoport, a senior outfielder at Westlake Village Westlake, has committed to UCLA.