San Marino Captures 3 Titles, Leads Way in Championships

When it comes to producing CIF Southern Section champions, San Marino High may not be the school of the 1980s in the San Gabriel Valley.

But you could certainly call San Marino the school of the late 1980s.

No other school in the valley has won at least two Southern Section championships in each of the last three years. No school in the valley even approached the sports success of the Titans this season.

San Marino was one of seven schools in the Southland to win three or more championships in the 480-member CIF Southern Section during the 1988-89 prep season.

The Titans won the girls Southern Section 3-A tennis title last November, the Division VII football championship last December and the boys 2-A swimming title in May.

That matches the school’s championship total of the 1987-88 season when the Titans won in girls and boys tennis and boys swimming. The season before that, San Marino won boys and girls tennis.

San Marino this season also came close to a fourth title, losing in the 2-A baseball finals to El Segundo, 7-4, in the championship game.

Perhaps the most surprising accomplishment for San Marino was winning its first Southern Section championship in football since 1964 with the Division VII title.

The Titans beat top-ranked Santa Maria, 19-11, to finish undefeated with a 12-0-1 record. It was the fourth football title in school history and the second time that San Marino finished undefeated.

San Marino finished undefeated in winning its first title in 1955 and also won in 1957 and 1964.

In the Division VII title game, the Titans were led by senior running back and defensive back Robbie Santos with 69 yards rushing and two interceptions.

Hardly surprising was the success of the girls tennis team, which has made a habit of winning championships in recent years. In defeating Capistrano Valley, 11-7, in the final the Titans captured their sixth title in seven years.

Leading the way were freshman Nicole Hummel in singles and seniors Roxy Protasovicki and Amy Okum in doubles. Hummel, the top-ranked 14-year-old player in Southern California last year, won all three of her sets in singles against Capistrano Valley.

Boys swimming is another sport in which the Titans have developed a championship tradition. San Marino won its second straight 3-A title against Damien, 179-132.

It was the sixth title in the school’s history in boys swimming. The Titans were led by the first-place finishes of Jason Sakamoto in the 100-meter breast stroke and Matt Johnson in the 100-meter backstroke.

No other valley team won more than one title during the 1988-89 season, but three schools posted one title.

Muir won the 4-A title in girls track and finished second in 4-A in girls basketball; Pasadena Poly won the 1-A championship in boys tennis and was second in the Eight-Man Large Division in football, and Mayfield captured the 1-A title in girls tennis and was second among Small Schools in girls volleyball.

Muir was the only valley team to win a state title as the girls captured the track championship by 10 points over Rio Mesa. It was the second state title for the Mustangs, who won in 1985.

Muir was paced by junior sprint sensation Inger Miller, who finished second in the 100- and 200-meter runs and anchored Muir’s winning 400-meter relay team. Miller posted swift times of 11.46 seconds in the 100 and 23.86 in the 200, and the 400 relay team won in 46.46.

The performance capped an outstanding season for Miller, who won the 100 and 200 in leading the Mustangs to the 4-A title.

To other valley athletes won state championships.

Sophomore Juliana Yendork of Walnut was a double winner, taking the girls long and triple jumps.

Senior Mark Wilson of Charter Oak won the high jump at 7-0.

Tradition-rich Muir almost won in girls basketball. But the Mustangs fell, 54-48, to Katella in the 4-A final before losing to the same team again in the state Division II regional semifinals.

It was a perfect year in boys tennis for Pasadena Poly, which went 22-0 in winning its first title in the 26-year history of the program. The Panthers defeated Brentwood, 13-5, in the championship match behind the play of senior Ryan McKee in singles.

That provided a little revenge for Pasadena Poly’s eight-man football team, which had lost to Brentwood (39-20) in the Large Division final last November after entering the game with a 10-0 record.

Like San Marino, Mayfield has established itself as a perennial power in girls tennis. The Cubs won their fourth straight 1-A championship last November with a 14-4 victory over Corona and finished with a 20-2 record.

Mayfield was paced in singles by senior Maura Shea, who won all three of her sets. The Cubs also came close to a title in girls volleyball last November, only to drop a four-game match to Mission Prep in the Small Schools final.

The other seven valley teams that won Southern Section championships were Los Altos in football, Covina in girls softball, Diamond Bar in girls tennis, Rowland in boys cross-country, Maranatha in girls cross-country and Temple City and Westridge in girls soccer.

Coach Dwayne DeSpain of Los Altos reached a milestone in his team’s 12-0 win over El Rancho in the Division IV championship game last December. The victory provided the longtime Conqueror coach with his seventh Southern Section football championship, which equals the Southern Section record held by Temple City’s Bob Hitchcock.

It was also the seventh title in eight attempts for DeSpain, who watched the Conquerors finish with a 13-1 record.

Covina won its first Southern Section title in girls softball and finished with an undefeated 26-0-1 record behind the pitching arm of senior Mary Letourneau, who allowed only three hits and struck out 12 as the Colts scored a 2-0 victory over Mission Viejo in the 3-A final.

That put the finishing touch on a brilliant senior season for Letourneau, who posted a 24-0-1 record and 17 shutouts. Letourneau, who will attend Long Beach State next season, was 74-14 in her prep career.

In cross-country, Rowland placed four runners among the top 10 finishers in winning its first boys 3-A title last November. Rowland scored 50 points to defeat Upland by 40. The Raiders were led by Brian Johnson and Ernie Delgado.

For Maranatha, winning the 1-A championship in girls cross-country last November was simply maintaining tradition. The Minutemen won their third straight title with 37 points to easily outdistance runner-up Chaminade.

Two valley teams captured their first titles in girls soccer.

Temple City won the 2-A championship and finished at 20-0-2 with a 2-1 victory over Rio Hondo League rival South Pasadena. The top-ranked Rams were led by sophomore forward Carmen Morell, who was selected 2-A Offensive Player of the Year.

In winning the 1-A title, Westridge closed the season with 19 consecutive victories. The second-ranked Tigers upset top-seeded Ontario Christian, 2-1, in the championship game. Westridge was sparked by senior forward Anne DeWitt, who was selected co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1-A.

Diamond Bar’s championship in girls tennis was expected. The top-seeded Brahmas completed a 26-0 season with a 10-8 win over St. Lucy’s in the 2-A title match. It was the second title in girls tennis for Diamond Bar, which won in 1984.

The Glendora boys basketball team didn’t win a Southern Section or state title, but the Tartans came close behind the efforts of prep All-America forward Tracy Murray. The Tartans lost to San Bernardino, 72-69, in the Southern Section 4-AA title game and lost to Menlo Atherton, 89-83, in the state Division II final despite a state-tournament record 64 points from Murray.

The 6-8 Murray, who will play for UCLA next season, completed his remarkable prep career with state records of 3,053 points in a career and 1,505 points and a 44.3-point average in a season.

Other second-place finishers in the Southern Section from the valley were Bishop Amat in Division I football, Walnut in boys 2-A cross-country, St. Lucy’s in girls 2-A tennis, South Pasadena in girls 2-A soccer, Damien in boys 3-A swimming and Nogales in 4-A badminton.