U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : Roundup : Ventura Club Leads West Medal Quest in Handball

There are 15 players to a team, but make no mistake, if a U. S. Olympic Festival bronze medal is won by the West squad in team handball today, it will be largely due to the performance of four players--all from the same Southern California club team.

The Ventura Condors placed five players on the West roster, and all of them have contributed to the team’s march to a medal showdown with the South at the State Fairgrounds today.

Jeff Fruin of Camarillo leads the team and is fifth in the Festival in scoring with 23 goals.

Kevin Withrow of Thousand Oaks is second on the West with 20 goals, followed by Mike Hurdle of Reseda (11) and Denny Fercho of Camarillo (10).

Jim Hop of Camarillo is tied for eighth in scoring with four goals.

In other action on the Festival’s final day, Chris O’Laughlin of Van Nuys is the second-seeded fencer in the men’s epee final at the Myriad Exhibit Hall.

O’Laughlin, 21, played baseball and fenced at Oakwood School before moving on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a four-time All-American.

Nestor Rosario of Oxnard will take part in the men’s foil competition, while Robert Randolph of Sun Valley and Avi Friedlich of Encino will compete in men’s sabre.

In the team foil competition Saturday, Rosario helped the East team to the bronze medal.

Rosario, 26, the No. 3 seed from his team, won half of his 14 bouts.

In the team sabre portion, Friedlich, 18, won only one of his six bouts as a member of the South’s bronze medal-winning team.

Randolph, 33, who coaches Friedlich, won three of his 10 bouts.

In men’s volleyball, the North team, with Coley Kyman starting at middle blocker, will play the East in the bronze-medal match at Lloyd Noble Arena in Norman.

Kyman, a Cal State Northridge-bound freshman from Reseda High, is second in the Festival with a .395 attack percentage and is tied for second in blocks with 19.

The South team, which will play the West in the gold-medal match, is also led by a former Valley standout. Dijon Douphner, who grew up in Topanga and attended Newbury Park High, leads the Festival in three categories: kills, with 91; attack percentage, .396; and attack attempts, 164.

In track and field at John Jacobs Stadium, 1988 Olympian Donna Mayhew of La Crescenta will compete in the women’s javelin, and Mike Marsh of Encino, a senior at UCLA, will run in the men’s 100-meter dash.

In other results Saturday, Cameron Rast, a former Simi Valley High standout, scored as the West defeated the East 5-2 in the gold-medal men’s soccer match at Hafer Park in Edmond, Okla.

In baseball, the West won a medal for the eight consecutive Festival by winning win it counted: in it’s final game.

Albie Lopez, a right-hander from Mesa, Ariz., struck out 11 and scattered eight hits as the West earned a bronze medal by defeating the South, 7-4, at All Sports Stadium.