East L.A. Hires Lohr-Cruz to Coach Cross-Country

Gretchen Lohr-Cruz, an All-American in track and cross-country at Cal State Los Angeles and a former Valley College standout, has been named women’s cross-country coach at East Los Angeles College.

Lohr-Cruz, 30, placed fourth in the 1989 Los Angeles Marathon and finished sixth in the 10,000 meters for CSLA in the 1988 NCAA Division I track and field championships.

While competing for Valley College in 1986, Lohr-Cruz placed second in the 3,000 meters and third in the 5,000 meters in the state championships.

Lohr-Cruz succeeds Louis Ramirez, who resigned to accept the head track and cross-country position at L.A. Trade Tech.

Five former Valley-area high school football standouts have had their NFL careers delayed by injuries and roster sleight of hand, finding themselves on injured reserve lists as the regular season begins.

Mike Pringle, who played at Kennedy High and Glendale College and was the Atlanta Falcons’ sixth-round draft choice in April, has injured ribs.

Erik Affholter, a record-setting wide receiver and kicker while at Oak Park High and USC, finds himself on the Green Bay Packers’ injured reserve list for the second consecutive season, this time because of a hamstring injury. An ankle injury sidelined Affholter last season.

Brent Parkinson, an offensive tackle from Canyon High and USC hoping to stick with the Denver Broncos as a free agent, fell victim to a knee injury.

R.J. Kors, a free-agent safety from El Camino Real High and Cal State Long Beach who was trying to earn a position with the Seattle Seahawks for the second consecutive year, also has a knee injury.

Former Pierce College and Burroughs High quarterback Erik Kramer, 25, has been placed on the injured reserve list by the Detroit Lions. He sustained a bruised right shoulder in Detroit’s 35-21 exhibition win over Kansas City on Aug. 24.

Under NFL rules, all five must sit out a minimum of four weeks.

Former Westlake High catcher Mike Lieberthal, the third pick in the June amateur draft, will play in the Philadelphia Phillies’ young-timers’ game Tuesday at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Lieberthal’s appearance in the game, which precedes a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh game, is part of a seven-week Instructional League assignment that he will begin Friday in Clearwater, Fla.

Lieberthal, who this summer hit .228 for Martinsville, the Phillies’ Rookie League team in the Appalachian League, will be among 30 of the Phillies’ top prospects who have been assigned to the league.

Mike Dunlap, Cal Lutheran basketball coach, has completed recruiting with a class of 15 players.

Among his previously unannounced recruits are Paul Tapp, a 6-foot-2 guard from Burbank High; Chris Johnson, a 6-4 junior forward from Los Angeles Trade Tech; Simon O’Donnell, a 6-6 junior forward from Lassen Junior College; Russell White, a 6-4 forward from Camelback High in Phoenix; and Tom Sglav, a 6-5 junior forward from Cabrillo Junior College.

Two other recruits will redshirt this season. Shaunte Barnes, a 5-11 guard from Cathedral High in San Francisco, will sit out because he failed to meet Proposition 48 academic requirements, and Aaron Mensey, a 6-5 forward, will sit out the year after transferring from Missouri Baptist. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Rich Hill, Cal Lutheran baseball coach, said he has added 29 recruits to his NAIA District 3 championship team and junior-varsity squad.

Area players among the recruits include Darin Furlong, an infielder from Moorpark College; Bryan Leiser, a pitcher from Ventura College; Rich Mendez, a pitcher from Ventura College; Jim Doushgounian, an infielder from Pierce; Steve Dempsey, a pitcher from Glendale College; David Brownfield, a catcher-outfielder from Montclair Prep; and Andre Matalon, a catcher from Paraclete.

Mike Shwartzer, a former Reseda High and Pierce College catcher, will sign a scholarship agreement with San Diego State when he visits the school this weekend.

Shwartzer, who is eligible to transfer immediately, nonetheless will take classes at College of the Canyons this semester, then transfer to San Diego State in January, his father Howie said.

Lance Gibson (6-4, 210 pounds), a right-hander from College of the Canyons and El Camino Real High, has orally committed to play baseball next season on scholarship at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

As a sophomore last season at Canyons, Gibson was 4-5 with an earned-run average of 3.68 in 15 appearances as both a starter and a reliever. Two summers ago, Gibson was the No. 1 starter for the Woodland Hills West American Legion team that won the World Series title in Millington, Tenn.

Gibson, 19, was 7-2 this summer for the Valley Rangers, a National Baseball Congress team.