SportsScope : Top Preps Will Compete Saturday in Bishop Amat Invitational Relays

Many of the top prep athletes in Southern California will compete in the 25th Bishop Amat Invitational Relays at 9 a.m. Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Topping the list are seven boys and girls who won CIF Southern Section divisional titles last season, including Walnut High hurdles standout Lisa Vanderburg, who has a best of 45.5 seconds in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, and Arroyo’s Rick Fuller, who has a best of 55-0 1/2 in the shot put.

Fuller is also one of the favorites in the discus with a top throw of 165-3 1/2, and Vanderburg will double in the 800-meter run where her top time is 2:20.3.

Other defending Southern Section champions competing are Richard Erbes of Glendale in 3,200 meters, Craig Olson of El Dorado in 800 meters, Robbyn Bryant of Hesperia in the girls 1,600 meters, La Shawn McBride of Long Beach Poly in the 100-meter hurdles and Lori Svoboda of El Dorado in the high jump.

Arroyo should challenge for the team title. Arroyo, which won the CIF 3-A Division cross-country title and was named the top cross-country team in the state, is led in the distance races by Derrick Powers and Jeff Gilkey in the 3,000-meter run, Gerardo Puentes in the 1,500 and Ron Meade in the 800. Powers finished second in the 3,200 meters (9:20.72) at the Pasadena Games last week.

Among other top boys competing from the valley are Herman McCullough of Edgewood in the triple jump, Steve Provenzano of Arcadia in the 400-meter dash, Charles Wilford of Diamond Bar in the 200 dash, Scott Hempel of Walnut in 3,000 meters and Derek Pippert of Damien in the high jump.

Top competitors in the girls events include Vanessa Nicholson of Diamond Bar in 100 and 200 meters, Angie Barringer of Rowland in the 400, Jeannie Young of San Marino in 800, Diane Petit of San Marino in 1,500 meters and Linda Benioff of Arcadia and Kim Phillips of Walnut in the shot put.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division I, will start a busy week with a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. double-header against UC Santa Barbara at 1:30 p.m. today at Pomona.

The Broncos, who have a 6-2 conference record and are 25-7 overall after posting a 2-3 record at the Pony Tournament in Fullerton last week, will play host to Long Beach State in a double-header at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and face Northwestern in a non-conference game at 10 a.m. Sunday at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

Pomona has been led by senior Rhonda Wheatley, the team’s top pitcher and hitter. Wheatley has a pitching record of 18-6 with 3 saves and an 0.34 earned-run average and is batting .338 with 3 home runs and 17 runs batted in. Another hitting standout is junior third baseman Dana Ramos, who is batting .336 with a team-leading 20 RBI.

After posting several strong performances at the Stanford Invitational last week, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s track and field team will compete in the Fresno Invitational on Saturday.

Leading the way are distance runners Trisha Molina and Sherrie Roach, who qualified for the NCAA Division II national meet with strong performances at Stanford. Molina, a sophomore from Los Altos High in Hacienda Heights, finished sixth in 36:31.4 in a strong 10,000-meter field, and senior Roach was seventh at 36:34.0.

Two other top performers are senior Karen Farley, a former San Gabriel High standout, in the 1,500 meters and freshman Brandi Gail, formerly of Rowland High, in the shot put and discus.