JC Notes / Irene Garcia : El Camino Had Big Year, but Harbor Teams Struggled

For the most part, the 1988-89 season was satisfying for El Camino and somewhat frustrating for Harbor.

The Warriors sent 10 teams to postseason action while Harbor struggled through football and got nailed in the playoffs in basketball and baseball.

El Camino did especially well in track, softball, football and basketball.

The women were impressive in track and softball. The Warriors, champions of the South Coast Conference, brought home their third state track title of the decade.

Laura Ainsworth was the biggest contributor. The sophomore swept the 400-meter and 400-meter hurdle titles and was on the state champion 1,600-meter and 400-meter relay teams. Freshman Sharette Garcia won a state title in the 800 meters.

In softball, pitcher Candy Carrico’s consistency and catcher Carolyn Pele’s batting helped the Warriors go undefeated (15-0) in conference and led them to the second round of the playoffs.

El Camino’s basketball team, under first-year, interim Coach Ron McClurkin, reached the semifinals of the state tournament and won the league title (24-9, 6-2 in the SCC).

Warrior football Coach John Featherstone, the SCC Coach of the Year, guided his club to a 49-22 Pony Bowl victory over Saddleback. El Camino started its successful campaign (8-1-1) with a 45-25 home victory over Harbor.

The loss marked the beginning of a nightmare for the Seahawks, whose only victory came against Pierce, which reinstated football last season after a two-year absence.

Harbor’s injury-plagued football team ended with a dismal 1-10 record under second-year Coach Chris Ferragamo, who won’t be back. The South Bay high school football legend has been replaced by Don Weems, a defensive coordinator at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The folks at Harbor are anxious to see what he can do for the troubled Seahawk program, but they’re also looking ahead to baseball next spring.

Harbor’s ballclub (33-16) was simply overpowered in the playoffs. Harbor was shut down in the double-elimination state tournament by eventual champion Cerritos in the second round and Sacramento in the losers bracket final.

The Seahawks took what they thought was strong pitching and adequate hitting to the four-team tournament at Sacramento, but it wasn’t enough for the Southern California Athletic Conference champions (18-2). They won their opening game against San Jose but lost twice the next day and packed their bags early.

Maybe if sophomore third baseman Steve Kristy had been in the lineup the Seahawks would have done better. Kristy, an all-state selection and one of Harbor’s top hitters, broke a hand at the end of the regular season and could only pinch run in the tournament.

In hoops, Harbor was whipped by Santa Monica (99-77) in the second round of the regionals after edging Orange Coast, 77-71, in the opening game.

While the presence of a star like Kristy helped Harbor in baseball, it didn’t make a bit of difference for the Marymount basketball team. Despite having the state’s third and sixth leading scorers, the Mariners tied East L.A. for last place in the eight-member SCAC.

Sophomores James Anderson (25.9 points a game) and Ernie Woods (23.5) put the ball through the hoop often but couldn’t upgrade the Mariners’ record (3-11 and 7-21 overall).

Marymount basketball, however, is still a young program much like L.A. Southwest football. This was only the third season for Mariner basketball and the second for Southwest football.

But unlike Marymount, which finished the previous season at 14-14 overall, the Cougars improved their record despite having only four sophomores on their roster. Southwest went from 3-7 two years ago to 5-5 last season thanks greatly to sophomore quarterback Herman Tatum and sophomore wide receiver Tim Campbell.

Coach Henry Washington saw his team defeat Rio Hondo, Compton, Santa Monica, Ventura and Harbor (24-12).

Beware: Harbor may actually have another state title contender in the near future.

In hope of upgrading women’s sports, Athletic Director Jim O’Brien has reinstated women’s tennis and hired a coach whose connections and expertise should attract South Bay talent.

Elisa Zimmerman-Fernandez, a three-time All-American at Pepperdine University, is expected to make women’s tennis a strong program soon. The 25-year-old is part of a well-known South Bay tennis family that includes twin sister Cecilia Fernandez and an older set of twins, Anna-Maria Fernandez and Anna-Lucia Fernandez. All were All-American tennis players at USC. Anna-Maria competes on the professional circuit and Cecilia is an assistant pro at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates.

Elisa competed professionally for one year after college but gave it up to attend law school at Western State University in Fullerton. She hasn’t competed for about three years, but she coaches juniors at a private court in Palos Verdes and has maintained many contacts in the sport.