Prep Wrap-Up : Ruling to Re-Open Miraleste Puts Sports Programs in Limbo

Not everyone at Miraleste High School was jumping for joy when the news arrived Tuesday that the school will remain open because of a court ruling.

Athletic Director Tom Graves says he reacted with “mixed emotions.”

He’s happy to still have a job at the Rancho Palos Verdes school, where he has worked for 20 years. He feels a deep sense of loyalty to Miraleste.

On the other hand, he must bear the burden of an athletic program that is facing an uncertain future.

Because Miraleste was expected to be closed in June, the school now finds itself scrambling to arrange schedules, secure coaches and uncover answers to several sports-related questions.

“The worst thing of all is not knowing,” Graves said. “I hear rumblings that there will be an appeal to this (court) decision. We’re in limbo. It’s an interesting time in our little sojourn here.”

Graves hopes to have some answers this week. Trustees of the Palos Verdes Unified School District will meet Monday night to decide on a course of action dealing with the court’s ruling. On Tuesday, Graves will meet with CIF Southern Section officials to discuss Miraleste’s athletic schedules for the 1988-89 school year.

At the moment, Miraleste is a school without a league.

Most South Bay high schools were realigned into two leagues several months ago after the Palos Verdes school board voted to close Miraleste because of decreasing enrollment in the district. Instead of the current format of three six-team leagues (Bay, Ocean and Pioneer), two eight-team leagues (Bay and Ocean) were formed, with El Segundo moving to the Santa Fe League in football and the Camino Real League in other sports.

Graves believes it is too late for Miraleste to be absorbed by either of the new eight-team leagues.

“I don’t anticipate us going into either of the two existing leagues,” he said. “At one time, we were under the impression we would become the ninth team in the Ocean League. But we don’t expect that to happen. That would be undoing something the other schools have already done. That’s why I think (the Southern Section) will take care of us in other ways.

“We could be free-lance in everything or free-lance in everything but a couple of sports. Maybe the CIF can help place us in football. It’s tough to compete in football as a free-lance team.”

If the Marauders find a league, their next job will be to find a coach.

Graves filled in as football coach last season after longtime Coach Gary Kimbrell resigned and his replacement, Joe Radisich, was forced to step down because of a chronic back problem. Graves does not anticipate returning.

“We’ve got some searches on our hands,” he said. “At this point, we’re looking for a football coach. I was a stop-gap last year. I would like to hire somebody.”

Miraleste boasts one of the South Bay’s most well-rounded athletic programs. While the school recently has experienced some lean years in football, basketball and baseball, it traditionally excels in minor sports such as tennis, swimming, water polo and volleyball.

If Miraleste stays open, Graves fears the district will have to make cuts in sports programs to offset a projected $1.2 million in savings that would have resulted from consolidating operations at the two other high schools in the district, Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills.

“The district was projecting salary raises for all teachers, but I don’t think they are now,” he said. “I don’t have any idea where the cuts are going to come. Obviously, some are going to come from no pay raises. It will probably touch every part of the program, which means athletics won’t be left unscathed.”

Like everyone else at Miraleste, Graves is waiting to see what happens.

El Segundo baseball Coach John Stevenson said it was like winning a double-header. The Eagles battered Redondo, 10-1, on Friday night to earn a share of the Pioneer League title and then won a coin flip to gain the league’s No. 1 entry in the Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

Winning the coin flip guarantees El Segundo (21-8) a home game for the first round of the playoffs on Friday.

Redondo (27-2), ranked No. 1 in the 4-A Division the entire season, might have to open the playoffs on the road. That depends on the result of a coin flip today, when the pairings are announced.

Bill Clark, Southern Section administrator in charge of baseball, said Redondo still might be seeded for the playoffs, but the Sea Hawks will not be seeded ahead of El Segundo, ranked No. 3 in the division in recent weeks.

Hart of Newhall (25-0), ranked No. 2 most of the season, figures to draw the 4-A’s top seed.

Leuzinger (12-16) gained the third and final playoff spot from the Pioneer League on Friday with an 8-2, winner-take-all decision over Miraleste.

Since Bob Yarnall became St. Bernard’s baseball coach in 1986, the Vikings have been nearly unbeatable in the Camino Real League.

St. Bernard completed its second straight unbeaten league season on Friday and extended its league winning streak to 30 games, the second-longest streak in Southern Section history.

The Vikings’ 17-2 win over Cantwell gave them a 14-0 league record for the second year in a row and sewed up the No. 1 seed for the 2-A playoffs, which begin Friday. St. Bernard (20-3) will draw a bye in the first round.

Yarnall’s three-year league record stands at 40-2, with three titles. His overall mark at St. Bernard is 59-14.

The Vikings need four straight league wins at the start of next season to tie the Southern Section record of 34 consecutive Moore League games won by Lakewood from 1973-76.

Sarah Marsh of Palos Verdes placed first in the CIF 2-A girls diving finals on Friday in Irvine. Marsh’s point total of 464.40 gave her an easy victory.

Carolyn Weise of Rolling Hills was third with a score of 422.85.