Probe of Leuzinger Has Hit a Snag

An investigation into alleged athletic rules violations at Leuzinger High has been delayed because the school still does not know the names of the students involved, Leuzinger Principal Derek Harrison said.

In a letter sent to Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas, former sophomore football coach Chris White charged that Leuzinger violated section rules pertaining to recruiting and athletic eligibility last season.

Thomas said he has received that letter, which includes the names of the students White claims he was ordered to illegally recruit in Inglewood by former Leuzinger coach Tom Jessee, and others who allegedly were allowed to play varsity football for Leuzinger although Athletic Director Steve Carnes knew they were academically ineligible.

However, in a copy of the letter given to Centinela Valley school trustees last week, the names of the students were marked out by White.

“All the people in question are whited out, so we have no idea what (White) is talking about,” Harrison said. “He’s made allegations, but there are no (student) names. So we’re back to square one. My request of Mr. White was that he list specifically who the people are so I can address the issue.

“The only thing that separates today from yesterday is that the (charges) are in writing.”

Thomas said he will forward a copy of White’s letter to Leuzinger so the school can conduct its own investigation.

“We are totally dependent on our (schools) self-reporting any violations of section rules,” Thomas said. “That’s always been our policy.”

Thomas also said that White’s allegations might be addressed at an open hearing May 21 at the Southern Section office in Cerritos. That meeting will be held to review charges of rules violations brought by Leuzinger and Hawthorne against Inglewood.

“The two issues are interrelated,” Thomas said. “I’m sure as we get into the material on the Inglewood situation, there will be some carry-over into the Leuzinger situation. If there is need for a second hearing, we’ll have it.”

Thomas said his primary objective is to “separate fact from fiction.”

“We’re going to sort through it very slowly,” he said. “If there is any merit (to White’s charges), it will be part of the Inglewood discussion.”

El Segundo’s John Stevenson recently reached another milestone by coaching the 700th victory of his 33-year career. Already the winningest coach in California, Stevenson is the state’s first coach to reach 700 victories.

“It’s not anything I pay any great attention to,” he said of his record. “I know it’s newsworthy because people like to keep track of milestones. It’s important in that it kind of ties the ages together. The kids that played in 1960 are just as much a part of it as the kids who play in 1992.”

Stevenson got his 700th victory on April 25 when El Segundo beat Culver City, 7-4, in the semifinals of the Redondo tournament. The Eagles added two more victories Saturday in a doubleheader against Thousand Oaks and an 18-7 win over La Salle on Wednesday to give Stevenson a career record 703-254.

Modestly, Stevenson said longevity has played a big part in his record.

“You are going to create some milestones along the way if you stay at this long enough,” he said. “But I’m very proud of the consistency that it shows. To accumulate that number of wins in that number of years exhibits a consistency. It’s not like you have a good team this year and a bad team next year. It’s a year-in, year-out thing.

“And I think, again, it’s the kids. I think the coach gets more credit than he should and kids don’t get the credit they should.”

Some of the standouts on this season’s team, which entered the week 19-2 and ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section 3-A Division, are pitcher Matt Gangawere, first baseman Tracy McAndrews, catcher Jeff Poor and outfielder Chris Feeny.

Trivia question: Name the four El Segundo baseball players who have been selected Southern Section players of the year? Hint: George Brett isn’t one of them.

Dick Acres, who coached the Carson boys’ basketball team to the 1982 state title, has inquired about returning as the Colts’ coach.

“He’s talked to us about it,” Athletic Director Saul Pacheco said. “He’s talked to the principal. We’ll see what happens.”

Pacheco said Carson hopes to select a coach by the end of the month. Rich Masson, who replaced Acres in 1983, resigned last month after coaching Carson for 10 seasons.

Two of Acres’ sons, Jeff and Mark, were basketball standouts at Palos Verdes High and Oral Roberts University, where Dick Acres formerly was an assistant. Mark, a 6-foot-10 center, plays for the NBA’s Orlando Magic.

San Pedro is in the process of replacing coaches in several sports.

Jack Kordich and Tony Dobra, longtime boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches, recently resigned, and track Coach Dennis Weyrauch has announced he will step down at the end of the season.

San Pedro is also looking for a coach and an assistant for its B football team.

“We’re kind of hurting all over,” said Rey Mayoral, assistant principal in charge of athletics. “I’d love to fill all of these positions by June, but the way it looks now we probably won’t make that deadline.”

Mayoral said anyone interested in coaching at San Pedro should call him at the school: (310) 547-2491.

Trivia answer: Kemer (Ken) Brett (1965 and ‘66), Scott McGregor (1971 and ‘72), George DeMaria (1979) and Tate Seefried (1990).

Look for the Morningside and Thousand Oaks girls’ track teams to wage a competitive battle for the state title.

Morningside, the defending state champion, has the state’s best times in the 400-meter (45.83) and 1,600 (3:45.86) relays. The Monarchs also expect to get points from senior Santisha Arnold and sophomore Tai-Ne Gibson in the 100 and 200 sprints.

Thousand Oaks can’t match Morningside’s depth, but it boasts the state’s most prolific female athlete. Marion Jones is the state leader in the 100 (11.44, 11.0 wind-aided), 200 (23.43) and 400 (54.44).

If Jones wins all three of those events at the state meet, it will give Thousand Oaks 30 points. Morningside won the 1991 state title with 28 points.

The Mira Costa and South Torrance boys’ volleyball teams moved up in the polls after strong performances in the Redondo-Mira Costa Varsity Classic on Saturday.

Mira Costa moved up three spots to No. 2 in the Southern Section 4-A Division coaches’ poll after winning the 16-team tournament with a three-game victory over Peninsula in the final at Redondo. Peninsula dropped two places to No. 4.

Loyola, which entered the tournament with the division’s No. 1 rating, fell to No. 3 after being stunned by South Torrance, 15-11, in the quarterfinals.

South, which clinched the Pioneer League title Tuesday, is ranked No. 4 in the 3-A Division poll this week. The Spartans were unranked last week.

Notes

El Segundo and Westchester, rated the top two baseball teams in the South Bay by The Times, will meet in the championship game of the Redondo tournament at 7 p.m. May 16 at Redondo. Westchester had a 15-game winning streak snapped Tuesday by host University, 5-3. University leads the Western League with a 12-0 record; Westchester is 11-1. The teams meet again at 3 p.m. today at Westchester. . . . Magnus Tegel, an exchange student who played basketball for Mira Costa in 1984, is a member of the Swedish national team and is expected to compete in the Olympics this summer. . . . Sophomore pitcher Scott Albin allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings Tuesday to help Redondo defeat visiting Culver City, 6-2, and remain in first place in the Ocean League with an 8-1 record. Albin (4-0) is the son Don Albin, the former North Torrance basketball coach and South Torrance baseball coach. . . . Carlos Garibay, Banning’s ace left-hander and one of the top juniors in the area, pitched a complete game Tuesday in a 5-2 victory over Gardena to improve to 9-1.

South Bay’s Baseball Top 10 Selected by Times Sportswriters (Through Tuesday’s Games)

Rank, School, League Record 1 El Segundo (San Fernando) 19-2 2 Westchester (Western) 15-5 3 West Torrance (Pioneer) 15-5 4 San Pedro (Pacific) 14-3 5 Redondo (Ocean) 15-6 6 Torrance (Pioneer) 12-7 7 Peninsula (Bay) 15-6 8 Banning (Pacific) 11-7 9 St. Bernard (Mission) 13-9-1 10 Carson (Pacific) 13-7