BRIEFLY : Russell Will Return to Moorpark--and Baseball

Dan Russell, Moorpark College’s all-time leading receiver, will return to the college in the fall as a baseball player, even though he signed a national letter of intent last winter to play football at Wichita State. Russell, a 6-1, 185-pound Royal High graduate, is a victim of poor grades.

After leaving Moorpark after the 1985 fall semester, he accepted a football scholarship at Wichita State and enrolled. Russell worked out with the football team until spring break, when he returned to his Simi Valley home. He never went back to Kansas and says he never will.

While on break, Russell was informed by Wichita State that he was academically ineligible to play football in the fall because he lacked an A.A. degree and failed to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average in high school. Russell said his high school GPA is above 2.0 when his physical education classes are included. The NCAA does not recognize PE scores in grade-point averages.

Russell, who said he is 23 units short of his A.A. degree, will work toward his degree at Moorpark while returning to the baseball team. As a freshman, Russell pitched and played shortstop for Moorpark.

Mertes Wins High Jump at AAU Junior Olympics

Lori Mertes of Chatsworth won the high jump at the recent National Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics at Cal Poly Pomona.

Competing in the youth division (for athletes born in 1972 and ‘73), the 13-year-old Mertes set a meet record of 5-6. She also had three close attempts at 5-8 1/2, which would have tied the national age group record held by Crissy Mills, 14, of Tarzana.

Mills, who is undefeated in youth division competition this year, won The Athletics Congress Junior Olympics in Lincoln, Neb. with a 5-6 effort.

NOTABLE

Class Aquatics of Calabasas and the Conejo Swim Assn. are among the teams competing this weekend in the AAU Junior Olympics at the Industry Hills Aquatics Center in Industry Hills.

The competition, for swimmers aged 12 to 18, follows last week’s championships for swimmers under 12.

In the 12-and-under meet, Matthew DeFronzo, 10, from Calabasas, won three gold and two silver medals and recorded five top-16 times.

Glen L’Heureux of Saugus won the 30-mile road race event in the 14- and 15-year-old division at the U. S. Cycling Federation Championships last weekend in Boise, Ida.

L’Heureux, a 15-year-old junior at Crespi High, also placed 13th in the 12.5-mile individual time trial.