J C NOTES : El Camino Water Polo: New Team With Old Look

After a six-year hiatus, El Camino started a water polo team this season. Youth, however, isn’t prevalent among the new group of players. The average age, according to Coach Corey Stanbury, is 21.

“I recruited guys everywhere,” Stanbury said. “I talked to local high school coaches, I put the word out through lifeguards. A lot of the guys graduated from high school several years ago and just worked or they went to college and worked, but never competed.”

Stanbury, who was hired last year to take over the men’s and women’s swimming programs, rounded up 15 players for his team, which is 1-2 after Tuesday’s 10-12 loss to Chaffey College.

The Warriors lost their opener to Cypress (11-15) and defeated Mt. San Antonio College 11-10 last week.

“I think we have a pretty solid team considering it’s our first year,” said Stanbury, who played water polo at UC Santa Barbara. “We’re definitely going to win some games, and we’ll be competitive.”

El Camino is led by 20-year old Dan Wilkenson, also one of the Warriors’ top short-distance swimmers. He has 14 goals this season. Scott Peppard, 23, has also played well, as have 26-year-old Charlie Kissel and 27-year-old field player Jim Merrill.

The Warriors’ goalie is Ken Furuta, a former U.S. junior national team member. The 22-year-old Mira Costa High graduate competed in Japan and Australia with the junior national team.

Bill Johnston is another local prep athlete Stanbury added to his roster. The 20-year-old Johnston graduated from Miraleste High and attended college in Arizona for one year before moving back to the South Bay.

“I’m sure,” Stanbury said, “there’s still a lot of guys kicking around this campus that are water polo players but aren’t playing. Hopefully I can get some of them.”

El Camino opens its home schedule today at 3:30 p.m. against Fullerton College.

Talk about a rebuilding year, the El Camino women’s cross-country team was wiped out after winning last year’s SCC crown.

Even the coach is gone.

Dave Shannon, who led the men’s and women’s programs for 11 years, was named the school’s athletic director and gave up coaching.

His assistant of four years, Dean Lofgren, has taken over both programs. The new head coach has only one returner on the women’s side, Crystal Neuhaus, who was No. 7 on the team last year.

Fortunately for the team, Carla Swain decided to switch from soccer to cross-country this season and immediately slipped into the No. 1 spot for the Warriors.

“She’s running very well,” Lofgren said. “She trained with us consistently all summer and she has a good base. She’s definitely our top woman.”

Swain has placed first for El Camino (2-2) in all meets. In the Warriors’ last contest, the Dual Championships at La Mirada Park, she led the team to third place by finishing the four-mile course third (18:44;4) overall.

The men (1-3) were led by sophomore Antonio Carreno, who placed fifth overall and helped El Camino to a fourth-place finish.

Both teams will compete on a predominantly flat course at the Irvine Invitational today.

You can’t go wrong with five returning players from a team that reached the playoffs last season. That’s what Mary McLaughlin says. The El Camino women’s volleyball coach thinks her team can go all the way this season.

“We lost two key players from last year,” she said, “but we’re consistent and experienced.”

The Warriors are ranked No. 8 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, and they’re well-equipped to defend their South Coast Conference title. So far they’re 5-0 after winning the lower bracket of the San Diego Mesa Tournament last week.

Setter Joan Clemente has led El Camino with a consistent all-around performance that includes strong blocking. Outside hitter Kitty Kohles and middle blocker Cathy Alofaituli have also played well.

Alofaituli, a graduate of Carson High, sprained an ankle last week, but should be back in the lineup today when the Warriors travel to College of the Sequoias for a weekend tournament.

El Camino opens SCC play Oct. 11 at Long Beach.

Chris Mims continues to lead L.A. Southwest’s strong defense, which is second in the state and allows opponents an average of 152 yards. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive end had two sacks, nine solo tackles and three assisted tackles against Valley in last week’s football game.

There’s a lot of hype about El Camino’s productive offense, but the Warriors also have a defensive star in back Niu Sale. The guy can play anywhere successfully. In last week’s 31-24 victory over Fullerton he had 11 tackles as a strong safety. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Sale played there due to injuries.

Place kicker Louis Perez has also done a great job for the Warriors. The freshman from Carson High is third in the state in kick scoring. He has made 10 of 11 extra point attempts and four of five field goals for a total of 22 points.