NOTEBOOK / GARY KLEIN : Wrestling Flourishes at El Monte Schools

Wrestling is alive and well in El Monte, where Arroyo and El Monte high schools are enjoying outstanding seasons.

Several Arroyo wrestlers are in contention for Southern Section and state championships, including senior Joey Zepeda, who won the 135-pound division to help the Knights place sixth at the Five Counties Invitational last weekend in Fountain Valley.

Poway won the team championship, followed by Fresno Clovis, Liberty, Shawnee (Okla.) and San Jose Ponderosa.

Zepeda, who finished fifth at the Southern Section meet last year, is 29-0-1 this season.

Daniel Maes lost for the first time this season and finished second at the Five Counties meet in the 140-pound division.

Nick Rios lost for only the second time this season and finished second in the 152-pound division.

Meanwhile, El Monte entered the week having won 53 consecutive dual matches.

The Lions will play host to the Southern Section 4-A Division championships Feb. 21-22.

Tour time: Former Citrus College golfer Patrick Burke earned his Professional Golfers Assn. tour card and will compete on the PGA Tour this year.

Burke, an Azusa resident who played for Citrus in 1984, qualified for the tour by finishing eighth at qualifying school in Florida in November.

Burke, who holds the Citrus record for scoring average (72.3), last played on the tour in 1990. He competed on the Hogan Tour last year.

Honor roll: Ross Ritter, an offensive lineman for Azusa Pacific, was named to the National Assn. of Athletics Division II All-American team for the second consecutive year.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Ritter joined Kansas City Chief running back Christian Okoye as the only Azusa Pacific players to earn All-American honors twice.

Ritter will participate in the NFL’s scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.

Honor roll, II: Jason Giambi, a junior third baseman for the Cal State Long Beach baseball team, was named to Baseball America magazine’s preseason All-American team.

Giambi, who played at South Hills High, batted .407 with four home runs and 54 runs batted in last season for Long Beach. He helped the 49ers advance to the College World Series in Omaha and was named to the all-tournament team.

Giambi is a two-time All-Big West Conference player. Last summer, Giambi played for Team USA in the Pan American Games.

Giambi missed the tryouts for the Olympic team because of a shoulder problem, but he is still considered a candidate for a spot on the roster.

Long Beach opens its season Feb. 3 against Loyola Marymount.

Hot hand: Mildred Conston of Cal Poly Pomona was selected as the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s player of the week after leading the Broncos to victories over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Chapman.

Conston, a 6-2 sophomore center who transferred to Pomona from Nevada Las Vegas, had 12 points and 15 rebounds in Pomona’s 70-53 victory over San Luis Obispo. She had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Broncos’ 68-59 victory over Chapman.

Conston is averaging 12.1 points and 10.2 rebounds for Pomona, the 10-time defending CCAA champion, which entered the week 13-5 overall, 4-0 in conference and ranked 17th in NCAA Division II.

The Broncos travel to Cal State San Bernardino on Friday and play host to Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday.

On a roll: The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team also appears to be in contention for a CCAA championship.

The Broncos improved to 11-6 and 3-1 in conference with a sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills and Chapman last weekend.

The sweep set up Friday night’s early season showdown with UC Riverside, which is 14-2 overall and tied with Pomona and San Luis Obispo for the conference lead at 3-1.

Chancellor McCobb, who made four free throws in the final minute of Pomona’s 73-68 victory over Dominguez Hills, ranks third in the conference in scoring (17.8 points a game), fourth in assists (3.5) and second in steals (2.3).