U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL: ORANGE COUNTY’S DAY : LOS ANGELES 1991 : NOTEBOOK : Villa Park’s Boone Gets the Call to Join West Baseball Team

Aaron Boone got a phone call late Friday night from La Quinta High baseball Coach Dave Demarest, an assistant coach on the Olympic Festival’s West team.

“He told me to be suited up and be at (USC’s) Dedeaux Field by 8:15 a.m. this morning,” Boone said.

Boone, a graduate of Villa Park High School, was one of two players added to the West baseball roster Saturday morning.

Boone, son of former Angel catcher Bob Boone, and Mike Rennback of San Jose, replaced two players--infielder Andrew Shaw of Encino and pitcher Steve Arffa of Glendora. Arffa has a muscle tear in his left elbow; Shaw has a stress fracture in his heel.

Boone, a third baseman headed to USC, joins four other Orange County players on the West roster--Mike Seal of Irvine High, El Dorado High’s Tyson DowDell and Mater Dei’s Lionel Hastings and Cale Carter. The West players practice until Tuesday, when they open against the East at 7 p.m. at Dedeaux Field.

“Mike, Lionel, Cale and I play on the same Connie Mack team, the Giants,” said Boone, who hit .423 last season for Villa Park. “So we’re used to being teammates.”

Add Boone: The Villa Park standout isn’t the only son of a former major leaguer who’s playing in the Festival.

Ryan Luzinski, son of former Phillie and White Sox slugger Greg Luzinski, is a catcher with the East. Ryan is entering his senior year at Medford (N.J.) Holy Cross High this fall.

Add West: Although the West Coast is a mecca for baseball, its teams haven’t fared well at the Festival.

Since the Festival started in 1978, the West has never won a gold in baseball. But they have finished second six times and third three times.

Bowled over: Julie Gardner of Huntington Beach is the reigning U.S. amateur women’s bowling champion and expected to be a top international competitor for the U.S. team, but she struggled through 12 games in the singles competition at the South Bay Bowling Center in Redondo Beach.

Gardner, a 23-year-old Edison High graduate, knocked down only 2,208 pins, a modest 184 average and far behind winner Judy Gurney of Omaha, Neb. Gurney shot 2,509 (a 209 average) to win the competition by 20 pins over Darlene Weekly of Gilbert, Ariz.

Gardner’s score placed her 14th out of the 16 women’s competitors.

Home-grown: The Mission Viejo Nadadores have attracted young swimmers from all over the world and sent their share on to glory in pools all over the globe. But Kevin Henricks, a 17-year-old from Mission Viejo, is one of a new wave of home-grown products.

Henricks, who started swimming with the Nadadores as a 6-year-old, finished fifth in the 100-meter breaststroke Saturday at the McDonalds Olympic Swim Stadium. His time of 1:05.24 was fast enough to qualify for the Summer Nationals, Aug. 12-15 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get my time for the (Olympic) Trials, but that’s a personal best for me and I made nationals, so I guess I can’t be too upset,” he said.

Henricks, who graduated from Santa Margarita High in June, will take next year off from school while trying to decide on a college.

“I want to set myself up with the right coach for the next four years and prepare for ’96 (Olympics),” he said.

Triple peaks: Two swimmers from the Golden West Swim Club, Steve West and Scott Wester, won gold medals Saturday. The three members of the Huntington Beach team--including Jessica Tong--who qualified for the Festival, decided to shave and rest for this meet instead of waiting to peak for the Summer Nationals next month.

The strategy paid off.

West, a 19-year-old from Huntington Beach who will attend Michigan in the fall, set a Festival record in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:04.10) and qualified for the Olympic Trials. It was the 40th-best time in the world this year.

“It was a surprise to me, the 200 (breaststroke) used to be my best event, until today, “ West said, laughing. “We’ll see (today) when I swim the 200.”

Wester, also of Huntington Beach, won the 50-meter freestyle in 23.46 and qualified for the Trials.

“We thought a good swim here would be praised more than the same swim at the nationals,” Wester said. “We thought we’d get some recognition. So far, it’s a blast.”

Tong, from Long Beach, finished second in the 200-meter freestyle.

From Olympic to Ocean Fest: Scott Ward finished fourth in a preliminary heat of the men’s doubles 1,000 kayak race Saturday, but not qualifying for the finals didn’t ruin his day.

Instead, Ward, a bakery employee from Dana Point, dashed to his car and headed to Malibu, site of the Bud Light Ocean Festival. Though Ward didn’t get there in time for the individual events, he helped an Orange County lifeguard team take second in a surf ski relay.

He returns to the Festival today, racing in the doubles 500.

Mitch Kahn, a firefighter and lifeguard from San Clemente, won two gold medals Saturday. Not bad for a guy who started kayaking a year ago.

Actually, Kahn has had plenty of paddling experience--in surf ski competition. For the past eight years, Kahn, 30, has been the U.S. lifeguard champion. He won the world surf ski title last year.

Kahn has competed around the world, including a four-day, 170-mile race in South Africa where he paddled alongside many sharks, including the man-eating variety.

“Kayaking’s a lot safer in that respect,” Kahn said. “Though sometimes the pollution in Ballona Creek could kill you, too.”

Festival Notes

Tony Okada of Stanton, a state wrestling champion from Savanna High, won the 60-kilogram title in the judo competition . . . Valerie Parr of Santa Ana, riding Beelzebub, led the West to victory in the equestrian team jumping competition. Parr teamed with Lauren Hough of Morgan Hills and Gaby Salick of Los Angeles for the victory. . . . Fifth-seeded Axel Lopez of Santa Ana was beaten, 6-0, 6-2, by top-seeded Ryan Martin of Washington, D.C., in the first round of the round-robin wheelchair tennis competition.

Times Staff Writers Barbie Ludovise, Mike Reilley, Craig Stanke and John Weyler contributed to this story.