NOTEBOOK : Marina del Rey Anglers Capture Hawaiian Tournament

A four-man team of deep-sea fishermen representing the Marina del Rey Anglers recently took first place in the Kona Hawaiian Billfish Tournament, according to the organization.

Their catch, which included a 437-pound marlin, heaviest fish boated in the competition, made winners of Terry Wherlock of Pacific Palisades, Ron Smothers of View Park, team captain Carl Lambert of Santa Monica and Harold Cabrera of Beverly Hills. The team also qualified for next year’s Hawaiian International Invitational Tournament.

Smothers, who caught the big marlin, said, “It was really exciting to be the angler when we had our first hook-up. At the time I was fighting the fish, I was concerned about keeping it on the line to earn points for the team, as so few fish were around.”

The Anglers organize the annual Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby and support efforts for fish conservation and protection of the marine environment.

Shayne Bujok, a 16-year-old member of the Rancho Park Golf Course Junior Golf Team, got an assist from a tree in scoring his first eagle at Rancho during the citywide junior team tournament.

On the 370-yard first hole, Bujok sliced his drive, which hit a tree and bounced back on the fairway. He used a sand wedge on his second shot, which landed on the green and rolled into the hole.

Bujok shot a 78, the first time he had broken 80.

Bill Springman, a former minor league infielder with the California Angels organization, has been named chief assistant by Dave Snow, Loyola Marymount baseball coach. Jim Benedict, who formerly played in the Kansas City Royals organization, was selected as a graduate assistant coach.

Springman, 30, who has been an assistant coach at Rancho Santiago College and at the University of Oklahoma, replaces Chris Smith, who resigned to take a job as a scout and minor league coach for the New York Yankees.

Benedict, 26, a former Arizona State player, succeeds Scott Cain, who is completing studies at Loyola.

Springman starred in baseball, football and basketball at Dana Hills High School in San Clemente, played baseball at Cerritos College and at Oral Roberts University and received a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Oklahoma.

Migdalia (Midge) Arteaga, a top distance runner in cross country and track for Santa Monica College last year, is one of 18 junior college student-athletes named to the honor roll of the California Assn. of Community Colleges Commission on Athletics.

Arteaga was chosen from a pool of 12,000 students from 106 community colleges who took part in two seasons of athletics and achieved at least a 3.5 grade-point average (out of a possible 4 points) in a minimum of 36 semesters or 58 quarters of course work. Arteaga’s average was 3.75.

James Thomas, Pepperdine University English professor, has been named the school’s faculty representative for athletics.