Antelope Valley’s Harvey Opts for Arizona

Jean Harvey of Antelope Valley College, the 1991 women’s state junior college cross-country champion, has committed to Arizona.

Harvey, a 1990 graduate of Paraclete High, took recruiting trips to Arizona and Nebraska.

“I like the team. The coach is good, and I like the Tucson area,” Harvey said. “It’s kind of like it is out here. . . . Plus, it’s a good academic school.”

Harvey placed second in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 3,000 in last year’s state track championships. She is favored to win the 5,000 this season.

Don Green, a former track and cross-country coach at Cal Lutheran, will be honored at next month’s Mt. San Antonio Relays.

Organizers of the track meet, billed as the largest in the nation, will honor Green with the annual coaches’ award.

USC’s Jim Bush (formerly of UCLA) and former coaches Vern Wolfe (USC), Ducky Drake (UCLA), Jess Mortensen (USC) and Payton Jordan (Stanford) also have received the honor.

“This is a real honor,” Green said. “That’s quite a group of coaches. I never dreamed I’d be involved with that gang. Just yesterday, I was thinking about buying tickets for the Mt. SAC Relays. I guess I won’t have to buy tickets now.”

Green, 71, retired last spring after a career that spanned more than 40 years at Pomona High and Cal Lutheran. In 21 years at Cal Lutheran, he coached 44 National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics All-Americans and led the Kingsmen to a 98-meet winning streak.

The Mt. SAC meet runs April 16-18.

Elan Walshe of Ventura High has committed to play football next fall at the Air Force Academy, becoming the second area player to commit to the Falcons. Poly quarterback Lance Garcia also has received an appointment to the academy.

“I’m pretty excited about it, although there are some drawbacks,” Walshe said. “I don’t know if I’m going to like being away from home. I don’t know if I want a career as a pilot, but I guess I’ll find out.”

Walshe, who played safety and wide receiver last fall, said he will play defense in college. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior caught 35 passes for 800 yards and shared the area lead in interceptions with 10.

By virtue of winning six games and the championship of the Fresno tournament last week, Cal State Northridge moved up four notches in Collegiate Baseball magazine’s NCAA Division I poll.

The Matadors (17-5-1) are ranked 18th, their highest ranking since opening the season at No. 11.

After losing its first four games, Northridge has dropped only one of its past 19 decisions. Weather permitting, the Matadors will play host to 11th-ranked Cal State Fullerton (19-7) today at 2 p.m.

Janene Pennington, a registered nurse at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, will try out for the U.S. Olympic cycling team in June. If she makes the team, she will compete in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

At 39, she will be among the oldest competitors in a sport that usually attracts athletes between 19 and 29.

Pennington teaches cardiac rehabilitation and fitness classes at Saint Joseph.