Miraleste Teams Split Into Many Leagues

The ongoing saga of Miraleste High School’s attempt to find leagues for all of its athletic teams came to a tentative end Wednesday.

In a 2 1/2-hour meeting that included Miraleste officials, the CIF-Southern Section Executive Committee and representatives of three leagues, the Rancho Palos Verdes school was placed in the Olympic League for football and the Alpha League for basketball.

The remaining 14 boys and girls teams at Miraleste will compete in either the Ocean, Camino Real, Santa Fe or Olympic leagues, or on a free-lance basis.

“It’s entirely acceptable under the circumstances,” said Andy Seymour, the first-year Miraleste principal.

Miraleste’s athletic program has been in limbo for several months. The Palos Verdes school board voted to close Miraleste last June because of declining enrollment, but a court ruling overturned the decision and allowed the school to remain open.

Most South Bay high schools had already been realigned into two leagues (Bay and Ocean) at the time of the court ruling, forcing Miraleste to scramble to arrange schedules, secure coaches and, if possible, find leagues willing to add the school at a late date.

Miraleste gradually found leagues or arranged free-lance schedules for most of its teams, but it appeared doubtful the school would find leagues in football and basketball until last week when the Southern Section council arranged Wednesday’s meeting.

The football team’s placement in the Olympic League, which is dominated by Christian-affiliated schools, came after Southern California Christian of Orange expressed willingness to move to the Arrowhead League.

“If that works,” Seymour said, “then it becomes a simple matter of sliding into Southern California Christian’s spot in the league. If any of this breaks down, then the executive council will place Miraleste in what they feel is the best arrangement.”

Miraleste will join Brethren of Paramount, Orange Lutheran, Ontario Christian, Valley Christian of Cerritos and Whittier Christian in the Olympic League.

Seymour said the league has until Sept. 15 to decide whether Miraleste will compete as a league member or a free-lance team. Regardless, the Marauders will be considered for all-league honors and will be able to qualify for the Southern Section playoffs.

Miraleste’s addition to the Alpha League in basketball expands the league to seven schools. The other members are L.A. Baptist of Sepulveda, Maranatha of Sierra Madre, Marshall Fundamental of Pasadena, Montclair Prep of Van Nuys, Village Christian of Sun Valley and Western Christian of Covina.

To reduce the disruption of those schools’ schedules, the CIF will allow Alpha League teams to play two additional games in order to schedule a home-and-home series with Miraleste. The Southern Section’s rule that a team cannot play more than 20 games during the regular season will not apply.

Seymour said Bruce Keuning, president of the executive council, closed the meeting by suggesting that Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas begin working in November on consolidating Miraleste’s league arrangement for the 1989-90 school year.

Following is a complete list of leagues that Miraleste’s athletic teams will compete in this year:

Football (Olympic), cross country (Olympic), boys and girls tennis (free lance), water polo (Ocean), girls volleyball (Camino Real), boys and girls basketball (Alpha), boys and girls soccer (Camino Real), wrestling (free lance), baseball (Santa Fe), softball (Camino Real), track and field (Olympic), boys volleyball (Santa Fe), golf (Ocean), swimming (Ocean).