Finding Place to Play Takes Time, Patience

Normally, the San Diego Section prefers to have its championship events at neutral sites.

It made an exception this year.

The badminton final was supposed to be Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Serra High, but Crawford and San Diego, the two finalists, both had proms that night, and they wanted to move the time up.

Serra’s gym was unavailable, so they agreed to play at Crawford. The Colts’ gym was available because it was staff development day at Crawford, and students had the day off. Moving the match to 12:30 p.m. did not pose a problem for the Cavers, either, since Friday was a half-day at San Diego.

Said Crawford Coach Mary Bucaro: “It was just meant to be, I guess.”

Real sportsmanship: Or having your cake . . .

Despite losing to Crawford, 15-2, in the badminton final, San Diego players and coaches had ordered a huge cake for the occasion.

Decorated with two badminton action figures, a net and the inscription CIF FINALS, players from both sides shared the cake after the match.

Strings legend: After a streak of 16 consecutive league championships and 28 titles in a 31-year career, Valhalla boys’ tennis Coach Mel Schetselaar has resigned.

Schetselaar, 60, began coaching at Grossmont in 1962, won 12 consecutive league titles, then moved over to newly-built Valhalla in 1974. After three years, his current title streak was started.

Schetselaar will continue as an art instructor and chairman at Valhalla while building a men’s tennis program at Cuyamaca College.

“It just got to be too much to do both,” said Schetselaar, adding: “You don’t (coach) that long for the money. You do it for the love of the kids and the love of the game.”

Add strings: Schetselaar’s Grossmont team won the section championship in 1968, but the section record book--records in boys’ tennis are sketchy prior to 1970--has La Jolla Country Day listed as champion and Unknown as runner-up.

Said Schetselaar: “I’m sure that’s the date. I have the patch right here.”

End Streak: San Dieguito junior Kari Lydersen didn’t exactly churn things up in the section swimming finals Saturday at Mt. Carmel. After an upset loss in the 200-yard freestyle, Lydersen easily won the 500 free, but her time was two seconds slower than her mark from Thursday’s preliminaries, where she was four seconds off the section record.

Lyderson said the loss in the 200 shook her up enough that she had difficulty concentrating on her next event.

“After CIF my freshman year, I wanted to go undefeated in high school meets,” Lyderson said. “That 200 ruined it, and it was hard to go on from there.”

Next up for Lyderson, who set a junior national record in the mile earlier this year, is the 25K junior nationals in Philadelphia.

Nice switch: After trading places in the Grossmont leagues last fall, Grossmont (now in 3-A) and El Capitan (2-A) won championships in both football and baseball.

Freshness counts: Because he experienced a sore arm last year, and because the basketball season last so long this year, Noah Katsell, a left-handed senior pitcher from La Jolla Country Day, had been used cautiously this season. In his first three appearances, Katsell was limited to 40 to 65 pitches, and he never went more than four innings.

Last week against Francis Parker, Katsell pitched a no-hitter. It was his first decision.

It was LJCD’s second no-hitter--Jamie Blake had one earlier--but the Torres nearly got no-hit, too. Parker’s Matt McNeill pitched a two-hitter but lost, 2-0. The last time LJCD and Parker met, the Torres won, 18-16.

First dance: Schools making the baseball playoffs for the first time, include West Hills (12-13-1) and El Camino (12-14).

West Hills, in its third year, doubled it victories in its first two years combined under Coach Jeff Boutelle, who had previously built a powerhouse at Helix.

El Camino opened in 1976 but will make its first postseason appearance under Coach Larry Stevenson, who is in his first year.

Stevenson has coached in three different states--Texas and Arizona being the others--in six years. In 1989, he guided Holtville to the 1-A championship game.

Gas allowance: If they didn’t realize it yet, a number of county teams will discover just how large an area the San Diego Section encompasses when they travel to first-round baseball sites beginning Tuesday.

In addition to San Marcos at Santana (Santee), El Camino (Oceanside) at El Capitan (Lakeside), Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) at Bonita Vista (Chula Vista), Mar Vista (Imperial) at Fallbrook and Vista at Monte Vista (Spring Valley), Imperial plays at La Jolla Country Day.

It might take a country day to get there.

Underrated: Though it did not make the playoffs, Marian’s baseball team sure finished strong. The Crusaders were 5-19 overall, but tied for third in the City Harbor League with a 5-7 mark.

Likewise, Carlsbad’s softball team finished sixth in the eight-team Avocado League at 5-9. The Lancers were 5-20 overall.

Limping in: Lincoln’s baseball team did not finish strong. In fact, it never really finished. With two outs in the seventh inning of its final game against Madison, Lincoln shortstop Rolando Ortiz discovered he was bleeding from a spike wound in the leg in the previous inning.

Ortiz had to leave the game, and there were no Hornets left to replace him. Lincoln began the game with only nine healthy players. Madison won the 6 2/3-inning game, 19-1.