JC Notes / Irene Garcia : Ainsworth Dazzles as El Camino Captures Title

The El Camino women’s track team, winner of the the South Coast Conference championship, was outstanding in capturing its third state title in 10 years at Fresno City College over the weekend.

The Warriors, winners of state crowns in 1979 and 1985, swept this year’s title with 98 1/2 points. Northern California champion San Mateo placed second with 61.

Laura Ainsworth was remarkable, winning the 400-meter (53:56) and 400-meter hurdle (1:00.5) titles. The sophomore was on both of El Camino’s state champion relay teams. She ran the third leg for the 1,600-meter team (3:49.81), which included twins Shenae and Shena Mills and Sharette Garcia, and she anchored the 400-meter relay squad (47:00.2) of Shenae Garcia, Cecilia Thomas and Cassandra Vance. Vance placed second in the 200 meters (25:5)

“The stars were terrific,” said El Camino assistant coach Dave Shannon. “The true talent seems to rise to the occasion on this team.”

Garcia, a freshman from Central America, won the 800 meters with a lifetime best of 2:11.94. She placed second in the 1,500 meters (4:38.44) to Kathy Krieger, the defending state champion from Cuesta College.

El Camino’s Sherry Sperling, who won the state shot put title last year with a 47-10 mark, placed second this year at 44-6.

Harbor’s baseball team, which dominated the Southern California Athletic Conference, has eight players on the SCAC’s first team and five on the second. Third baseman Steve Kristy, a first-team selection, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound sophomore from Westchester High hit .333, knocked in 29 runs and belted five home runs and eight doubles. Kristy won’t play in postseason games because he broke his left hand swinging a bat against L.A. Mission a couple of weeks ago.

Harbor will rely heavily on its other all-SCAC selections: freshman catcher Gus Mungaray, sophomore outfielder David Kushan, freshman infielder Jonathon Lopez and outfielders Matt Nuez and Ryan Karp.

Lopez hit the bases-loaded single in the ninth inning that gave Harbor its 2-1 victory over Cypress in the Southern Regional final on Sunday.

Freshman pitcher Pat Ahearne (St. Bernard High) and sophomore pitcher Chris Garrett were also named to the conference first team, and hurlers Leonard Fletcher and Tom Fulkerson were named to the second team.

Sophomore first baseman Dan Parente, sophomore infielder Mike Stone and infielder Tony Liebsack were also named to the second team.

Three former Seahawks baseball players have earned conference honors. Dave Alexander, an all-conference pitcher at Harbor in 1986, and Kevin Higgins, All-American second baseman at Harbor in 1987, gained Pacific 10 honors at Arizona State.

Will Parsons, who broke Harbor’s stolen bases record (54) last season, received All-Big Ten honors at second base for Illinois.

L.A. Southwest football player Marques Stone, injured during the first game of the 1988 season, will be honored today in a noon ceremony at the South Central L.A. campus.

The sophomore defensive back suffered a broken neck while tackling a Rio Hondo player. He’s paralyzed from the neck down and will continue rehabilitation through the summer.

“It’s made it very tough for me,” said Southwest Coach Henry Washington. “I’ve never had that happen to any of my players and it’s a difficult thing.”