AROUND THE LEAGUES : Clark, Saugus Got Running Start on Title With Greg Herrick’s Help

John Clark craves structure and control with his Saugus High basketball team. His notion of basketball heaven is tough man-to-man full-court defense. “Someday I’d like to upset somebody, 3-2. That would be fun,” he said.

But this season Clark knew he had a quick team that loved to run, a characteristic that ran counter to his nature. “I’m not a running coach,” he said.

So he sought help from Greg Herrick, an assistant coach at nearby College of the Canyons. Herrick had won two City Section 3-A titles during a seven-year stint at Cleveland High by utilizing a fast tempo.

Over lunch in the Santa Clarita Valley last spring, Clark underwent a crash course in the running game.

“Greg helped me out with the fast break and where we can put people on the break,” Clark said. “He gave me structure and a little confidence. I knew we had a team that could run. If we had a track meet, we’d win. Now we’re a running machine.”

Clark takes the “machine” to College of the Canyons, where Saugus (22-9), the Southern Section 3-A champion, plays Oceanside, the San Diego Section 3-A champion, in the first round of the state tournament at 7:30 tonight.

No-theft policy: Forward Jim Henderson had the ball stolen from his grasp with five seconds left in a 62-60 loss to Santa Monica in the Southern Section 4-A final last Saturday night, but he isn’t allowing any thefts on the baseball field. Henderson, Westlake’s catcher, threw out two runners trying to steal in Monday’s 5-1 win over Miraleste in the El Segundo tournament. Henderson, a third-year varsity player, also doubled and singled. The day of the basketball final, Henderson played designated hitter in an 8-7 loss to Torrance. . . . Thousand Oaks’ Chris Kaelin, a senior first-baseman, singled in Tom Brozowski with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Hueneme, 4-3, Monday in the first round of the Ventura tournament. Kaelin also homered. . . . Newbury Park junior twins Don and Dan Smith have impressed Coach Gary Fabricius. “They both have excellent defensive skills and work extremely hard,” Fabricius said. Don starts in center field and Dan starts at shortstop. Senior Jayson Merrill started at shortstop the past two seasons for the Panthers, but he decided not to play. Merrill, who set several school records while playing quarterback last fall, lost interest in baseball, Fabricius said. . . . North Hollywood softball infielder Samantha Tweddell can’t get soccer off her mind after spending a season as a goalie on the boys soccer team. “Her immediate reaction is to trap balls with her feet,” Coach Kerry Redfield quipped.

Accident prone: Alemany pitcher Brian Rosselli was involved in two automobile accidents last week. Although he was neither hurt nor ticketed in either incident, Rosselli totaled his car in the first mishap and totaled his parents’ car in the second. “He’s lucky to be alive,” Alemany Coach Jim Ozella said. Four other Alemany players--Steve Walsh, Mike Rooney, Jon Beauchemin and Randy Thompsen--also have been involved in automobile accidents in the past three weeks. No one has been seriously hurt. The Indians wrecked Chatsworth, 12-4, in their opener Saturday. . . . Chad Nichols, a sophomore, pitched 3 innings of hitless relief in Crespi’s 7-6 win over South Torrance on Monday. The Celts scored three runs in the seventh to win.

The names of the game: Highland Hall baseball Coach Dave Desmond can be excused if he doesn’t know the first names of all his players--and not because this is his first season at the school. The team is full of guys named Takeshi, Wes, Ram, Krishna, Seth, Josh and Dax. “Whenever I yell, ‘Hey, you with the funny name,’ almost everyone’s head pops up,” Desmond said. The team also had a player named Sage Kibbee--grandson of singer Nat King Cole--but the returning letterman quit the team Monday. Dax Tobin, the team’s best player, currently has the chicken pox. “Dax has pox,” Desmond quipped. “Sounds almost foreign.”. . . . Like many teams, Calabasas spent last week in the gym because it was raining. But Coach Art Borgquist had his team taking batting practice with tennis balls and then played simulated games with a rag-like ball. “I don’t let them use gloves so maybe it will teach them soft hands,” Borgquist said. Hart Coach Bud Murray had his team indoors playing whiffle ball. . . . Chatsworth Coach Bob Lofrano has found a way to legally beat the rule limiting City teams to six scrimmages. Under City rules, Chatsworth was forced to give up two scrimmages to enter the Westside tournament, but the Chancellors are guaranteed to play four games in the tournament. So Chatsworth will have played eight games before league play begins next week. . . . William Salkheld, grandfather of Saugus pitcher Roger Salkheld, played major-league baseball for six years as a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox. The highlight of his career came in the 1948 World Series when he hit a solo home run against Cleveland Indians hall-of-famer Bob Feller.

They know the way to San Jose: Spencer Smith, a linebacker and offensive lineman from Thousand Oaks, and Jeff Zentner, an offensive guard from Canoga Park, have signed letters-of-intent to play football for San Jose State University. Smith missed the 1986 season because of a knee injury. . . . No wrestler from the Valley advanced past the quarterfinals at the CIF State Championship wrestling meet in Fresno last week. Simi Valley’s Andy Silvestro (194 pounds) was the only Southern Section wrestler from the Valley to compete. Qualifying from the City Section were: David Yzaguirre (105 pounds), Jonas Robledo (112) and Dubwana Clark (145), all from San Fernando; Morris Biggers (126) of Canoga Park, Alfred Orozco (138) of Poly, Mike Flores (154) of Birmingham, Tak Odama (175) of Canoga Park and Lamonte Simmons (heavyweight) of Canoga Park.

Track and field: Dave Bultman won two events and Ralph Blanks won a third as Royal took the boys team title at the Quartz Hill relays Saturday. Royal scored 126 1/2 points and defending champion Simi Valley placed second with 89 points. Bultman, a transfer from San Jose’s Independence High, set school records in the shotput (59-3) and discus (165-0). Blanks, better known for his ability at 800 meters, set a school record of 40.4 in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.