SportsScope : Valley’s Top Thin-Clads to Try for Sunkist Titles

The San Gabriel Valley will be well-represented in the high school division of the 29th annual Sunkist Invitational indoor track meet at 4:35 p.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

The valley has 22 individuals and nine relay teams in the meet, which will feature many of the top prep performers in the nation.

Topping the valley list are Mark Wilson of Charter Oak in the high jump, Chris Perry of Muir in the triple jump and Scott Hempel of Walnut in the 2-mile run.

Wilson, favored in the high jump, turned in a top leap of 7-0 last season. His top competition Friday figures to come from Tim Prince of Union City Logan, who also topped the 7-foot barrier last season.

Perry, who went 48-5 1/2 in the triple jump last season, may be the front-runner. Among his chief challengers are valley standouts Charles Rogers of Baldwin Park, Billy Ivey of Edgewood and Mingo Hosey of Pasadena. Rogers turned in a 47-7 3/4 as a junior.

Based on his time of 9:10.24 in the 3,200-meter last season, Hempel should be among the leaders in the boys seeded 2-mile. He will compete in a strong field that includes national standout Rob Kennedy of Westerville in Ohio, L. A. City leader Ian Alsen of Granada Hills and Jaime Ortega of Arroyo.

Karen Hecox of South Hills, who posted 10:35.64 in the 3,200 meters last season, is among the favorites in a strong girls seeded 2-mile field that includes Tracey Williams of Mountain View and Sandra Acosta of Walnut.

Arroyo, which won the state cross-country championship last November, will also be represented by distance runners Derrick Powers and Jeff Gilkey in the boys rated 2-mile and Gerardo Puentes in the seeded mile. Arroyo also has a strong competitor in the pole vault with Mike Deitch, who went 14-7 last season.

The valley, which is particularly strong this season in distance events, will also be represented by Rick Provenzano of Arcadia in the boys 880, Andrea Sansom of Glendora and Caryn Sivas of Arcadia in the girls 880, Darren Walker of Walnut and Edgar Montes of Nogales in the boys rated mile and Jamie Gunn of Walnut in the girls seeded mile.

West Covina also has a challenger for the top spot in the boys long jump with Vince Whitney, who went 23-6 last season.

After opening its California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season with an impressive victory over UC Riverside at home last week, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team will take to the road against Cal State Northridge and Cal State Los Angeles.

Pomona, which finished second in the NCAA Division II tournament last year, has a 13-3 record and is ranked No. 5 nationally in the division, meets Northridge at 7:30 tonight and L. A. at 8:05 p.m. Saturday.

Northridge, which finished second last season, is 1-0 in conference play and 7-8 overall. L. A. is 0-1 in the CCAA and 8-6 overall. Northridge defeated L. A., 63-48, in its conference opener last week.

Last week Pomona walloped Riverside, 98-74, which was ranked No. 17 in Division II. Pomona was led by 6-1 junior forward Marcine Edmonds, who scored 28 points and added 9 rebounds to earn CCAA player of the week honors. She is averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.

The Broncos have been led by 5-5 junior point guard Cathy Gooden, who averages 18.3 points, and 6-2 sophomore center Niki Bracken, who averages 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. Another standout is 5-8 senior guard Paula Tezak, who averages 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Cal State L. A., which handed Pomona its only conference defeat last season (78-63), has been sparked by 6-0 junior center Lupe Quintana and 5-10 senior forward Sue Doody.

Quintana leads CCAA players in rebounding with an 11.1 average and also is among scoring leaders at 15.8. Doody is averaging 12.6 points and 7.9 rebounds to rank among the conference leaders.

Northridge has been led offensively by 5-9 guard Vickie Mallett and 6-1 center Kathleen Dixon, who both average about 12 points, and 5-9 guard Bridgette Ealy is averaging a team-high 8.2 rebounds.

The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team was impressive in upsetting UC Riverside, which had been ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II, in its California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener last week.

But the Broncos, who have a 6-8 record, figure to face a tougher challenge against Cal State Northridge at 7:30 tonight at Kellogg Gym. Pomona visits Cal State Los Angeles at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

Northridge, 9-4, was the preseason choice to win the CCAA title, and the Matadors played well in a 73-61 victory over Cal State Los Angeles last week.

The Broncos, who scored a 79-67 win over Riverside in their last game at Kellogg, are 6-1 at home and 0-7 on the road.

Pomona has been led by 6-7 center Tony Theisen, who is averaging 15.9 points and 9.4 rebounds. His rebounding leads the conference. Forward Nate Macon (6-3) averages 11.1 points and guard Bill Dobbs (6-2) 10.1.

The Broncos will face a Cal State L. A. team that has struggled to a 2-8 overall record. The Golden Eagles are led by 6-2 guard Ken Horton, who averages 14 points.