On Athletic Front, Muir Found the 1989-90 Season to Its Liking : Preps: Mustangs won four Southern Section championships to lead valley schools.

Muir High of Pasadena always seems to produce one of the most successful athletic programs in the San Gabriel Valley, but this year the Mustangs took their success a notch higher.

Two seasons ago, the Mustangs ranked among the valley leaders by winning CIF Southern Section 4-A Division and state titles in girls’ track and field and finishing second in girls’ 4-A basketball.

Muir finished the 1989-90 athletic season with four Southern Section championships. The Mustangs shared the Division II football title with Santa Barbara, won the 4-AA girls’ basketball championship and captured both the boys’ and girls’ 4-A track titles.

The Mustang boys won the state track championship.

With its four Southern Section titles, Muir not only ranked as the most successful school in the valley, but also tied with El Toro for the most titles in the Southern Section.

San Marino had three championships. The Titans, one of five Southern Section schools to win three titles, won titles in boys’ 2-A baseball and boys’ 3-A swimming and tennis.

Glendora and South Pasadena each won two titles. Glendora was co-champion with Ramona in Division IV football and won the 4-AA title in boys’ basketball. South Pasadena’s championships were in 2-A water polo and girls’ 2-A soccer.

Considering that all four of Muir’s titles were in major sports, it could arguably be called the finest athletic season in the school’s decorated history.

The season started with the Mustangs gaining a share of the Division II football title with a 7-7 tie with Santa Barbara.

That gave the school, which was ranked among the top teams in the division all season, its first football championship since it captured back-to-back titles in 1985-86.

Muir, which had entered the playoffs as runner-up to Arcadia in the Pacific League, reached the final behind a defense that had allowed only 99 points in 13 games. The Mustangs (11-1-2) scored their touchdown in the title game on a 72-yard punt return by defensive back Stephan Crutchfield.

Muir achieved a first by taking the girls’ 4-AA basketball championship.

The Mustangs had reached the division final four times in the previous six seasons only to lose. Muir ended its frustration with a 56-49 victory over Ventura as guard Rose Jong scored 24 points and forward Karin Banks had 16.

The Muir girls continued their successful run by advancing to the state Division II final with a 43-38 victory over Point Loma in the Southern California regional championship. The Mustangs lost to San Ramon Valley of Danville in the Division II final, 47-44, but finished 29-5.

The school might have saved its best for the track season, when both the boys’ and girls’ teams won 4-A titles. It marked the first time that a valley team had won both titles in the same season since Ganesha in 1984.

Muir faced its most difficult challenge in the boys’ division, finishing with 34 points to take its first 4-A title since 1987. San Clemente finished with 33 points.

In the girls’ division, the Mustangs scored 84 points to finish 35 ahead of runner-up Mission Viejo. It was Muir’s second consecutive championship.

The Muir boys then won their first state title since 1974 by defeating Lompoc 24-20. Senior Mike Sulcer won the 400-meter run in 47.54 seconds and anchored the school’s winning 1,600-relay squad.

The Muir girls easily won their division title as senior Inger Miller won the 100 meters in 11.55 and the 200 in 24.16, but without Miller, who was suffering from an ankle injury, the Mustangs struggled to ninth in the state.

San Marino, in winning three championships, established itself as the only school in the valley to win two or more titles in each of the past four seasons.

One of the most successful sports for San Marino in recent years has been boys’ swimming. The Titans won their third consecutive 3-A championship with 237 points, well ahead of second-place South Pasadena at 130.

San Marino was paced by Dan Kanner, who won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle and Jason Sakamoto, who won the 100-yard breaststroke.

The boys’ tennis team completed a 22-0 season by defeating Woodbridge for its third 3-A title in four years. In the final, the teams finished in a 9-9 tie, but San Marino won on overall games, 82-78.

The Titans were led by sophomore Reid Slattery in singles and juniors Leonard Lee and Matt Rawlins in doubles.

San Marino finished its athletic season by winning the 2-A baseball title with a 5-4 victory over El Segundo--the team that had defeated the Titans for the championship last year.

In finishing 23-2-1 and winning their first title since 1984, the Titans were led by the offensive production of outfielder Mark Ukropina and the one-two pitching combination of Michael Wan and Dan Giddings. Ukropina drove in three runs and Giddings pitched a complete-game, five-hitter in the championship game.

The victory in the baseball final was also a milestone for the school. It gave San Marino an all-time total of 50 championships.

Glendora, which captured a share of its first football title, also added its first boys’ basketball championship.

The Tartans rallied from 21 points behind in the third quarter to tie Ramona, 28-28, for the Division IV football title. Glendora, which finished 12-1-1, was led by quarterback J.J. O’Laughlin and running back Bill Zernickow.

O’Laughlin, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Illinois, also helped Glendora take the 4-AA basketball title. He was a two-year starter for the basketball team.

Glendora defeated Compton, 64-58, in the 4-AA final. Freshman guard Adam Jacobsen scored a game-high 17 points.

The Tartans advanced to the state Division II playoffs before losing to Artesia, 57-44, in the Southern California regional final. O’Laughlin scored 16 points. Glendora finished 28-6.

South Pasadena also won championships in water polo and girls’ soccer.

The Tigers won their first water polo championship since 1984 with a 14-8 victory over La Serna in the 2-A final. South Pasadena (26-2) was led by senior Mike Fehmers, who scored five goals in the title game.

South Pasadena won its first title in girls’ soccer with a 2-1 victory over Diamond Bar in the 2-A final. Stacey Hoshimiya and Allison Ashby scored goals for the Tigers (19-7-2).

Nine other valley schools captured a championship during the 1989-90 season. Maranatha won the girls’ 1-A cross country title; Diamond Bar won the girls’ 2-A tennis; Rio Hondo Prep won the girls’ Small Schools basketball; Walnut won boys’ 1-A soccer; Mayfield won girls’ 1-A soccer; Damien won boys’ 2-A wrestling; Charter Oak won girls’ 4-A softball; Arcadia won boys’ 3-A volleyball, and Keppel won co-ed 3-A badminton.

It was the first title in the respective sports for Rio Hondo, Walnut, Mayfield and Damien.

Charter Oak’s title was its first since winning the 1-A softball championship in 1979. Maranatha, Diamond Bar, Keppel and Arcadia have all won titles in the respective sports in recent years.

Maranatha posted its fourth consecutive girls’ 1-A cross country title--the longest active championship streak of any valley school; Diamond Bar won its second girls’ 2-A tennis title; Arcadia took its second boys’ 3-A volleyball title in three years and has reached the 3-A final four times in seven years, and Keppel recorded its second badminton title in four years.

In addition, valley athletes finished with state championships in track and field and wrestling.

In track, Walnut junior Juliana Yendork made it back-to-back state titles in the long and triple jumps. She produced leaps of 20-1 1/2 in the long jump and 42-1/4 in the triple jump.

The valley’s lone individual champion in wrestling was Arroyo senior Can Tran, who had a 5-0 match record to earn his second consecutive 98-pound title.