Dahl Makes Board Work a High Priority

Doctor’s orders are for Matt Dahl to rest his injured wrist. But keeping Calabasas High’s junior diver off the board can be a tall order.

“I’m supposed to take the next two weeks off,” Dahl said, “but, basically, that just means taking time off from landing on my head.”

He meant landing in the water headfirst.

“I’ll go out there a few times a week and go feet first,” he said.

Dahl has been bothered by tendinitis for three months, but that didn’t stop him from winning his third consecutive Southern Section 2-A Division title earlier this month.

Dahl scored 488.85 points to improve on last year’s winning mark by more than 50 points. His success in high school meets has stemmed from his work with the Rose Bowl Aquatics swim club, to which he drives 45 minutes every day.

“You don’t see too many kids come through like that,” Calabasas Coach Dave Hershman said. “He can only win one more championship to be perfect.”

ON THE MEND

Casey Niccum had a pair of happy visitors at his hospital bedside Friday night.

They were happy for two reasons.

Hart freshmen Luis Sanchez and Mike Espy dropped by to give their recovering teammate a report of the Indians’ 3-2, 10-inning victory over Glendale in the opening round of the 5-A baseball playoffs.

Sanchez pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief to earn the win. Espy, who replaced Niccum as designated hitter, drove in two runs, including the game-winner with a 10th-inning single.

But the sight of Niccum in good spirits was even more uplifting.

Niccum, a junior outfielder, was critically injured in an automobile accident May 19. Niccum suffered abdominal trauma and a fractured kidney, but his condition has improved and he is expected to be released today from Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.

“The team brought me cards and said a prayer for me,” Niccum said. “They’re all a great bunch of guys. I was really happy for Luis and Mike. They’re kind of the young pups on the team.”

KEEPING TABS

Former Taft pitcher Nathan Voytek finished 3-0 with an earned-run average of 2.75 this season at Trinity High in Washington, Pa.

Voytek was 6-1 last spring as a sophomore for Taft, then returned to his mother’s home in Washington over the winter. As the No. 3 starter, Voytek also threw a shutout for Trinity--he tossed four for Taft as a sophomore. Taft and Trinity had something else in common: Both lost their opening-round playoff games.

SPEECH, SPEECH

For the first time in who knows how long, senior forward Peter Rasmussen (6-foot-8) will not be the tallest basketball player at Faith Baptist.

The school has lined up former NBA standout Swen Nater as guest speaker at the Faith Baptist athletic banquet Saturday night.

Nater, who was born in the Netherlands and played at Long Beach Wilson and UCLA before embarking on a 12-year professional career, is coach at Christian Heritage College in El Cajon, Calif. Nater (6-11) was the American Basketball Assn. rookie of the year in 1973-74 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs and he later played for the Lakers and Clippers. He last played in the NBA with the Lakers in 1983-84.

“We’re pretty excited about it,” said Faith Baptist basketball Coach Stuart Mason, whose team advanced to the State Division V final this season. “It’s a great way to end a good year.”

PLEASANT SURPRISES

In each of the past two seasons, Van Nuys’ baseball team has finished seven games out of first place in the Mid-Valley League .

This season, however, the Wolves (8-9 in league play) won twice as many league games as they did in 1991. And for the first time in at least six years, Van Nuys finished the regular season above .500. Van Nuys entered the playoffs 11-10 before losing, 5-4, to Poly on Tuesday.

Although Van Nuys finished in second place--seven games behind league champion Monroe--the Wolves finished three games ahead of Birmingham, the defending league co-champion. It has been a season of pleasant surprises for third-year Coach Bill Gordon. “Basically, our whole attitude has changed,” Gordon said. “We used to play to play. . . . Now we play to win.”

Players such as pitcher Jaime Chacon, catcher Alex Alvarenga and center fielder Patrick Alvarado helped revive the Wolves.

Chacon, a senior right-hander, emerged as the team’s top pitcher with a 2.15 earned-run average and a 5-3 record. He struck out 47 in 52 innings.

Alvarenga (28 of 79, .354), has nine doubles and a team-high 14 runs batted in. Alvarado (.443), a senior three-year starter who moved from third base this season, is 31 of 70 with 12 RBIs.

“I thought we had the potential, “ Gordon said. “But, we didn’t expect to do this well.”

CHARGER DOWNFALL

The Agoura High girls’ track team defeated Thousand Oaks in a triangular meet and in the Marmonte League finals earlier this season, but the Chargers tied for seventh with 19 points in the 3-A championships at Cerritos College on Saturday while Thousand Oaks won with 58.

The absence of a dominating athlete, such as Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks, was the main reason for the difference in the Chargers’ fortunes.

Although seven Agoura athletes qualified for the 3-A finals, only freshman Amy Skieresz (second in the 1,600) and junior Kristie Camp (third in the 800) placed among the top four in their respective events.

Thousand Oaks also had athletes in seven events, but the Lancers won four of those races, and placed third in the other three.

Points were awarded on a 10-8-6-4-2-1 basis.

EARNING RESPECT

When boys’ volleyball coaches ranked Harvard-Westlake No. 1 in the preseason poll, it was more out of respect for the Wolverines’ 1991 championship than for their prospects this season.

But the Wolverines (17-4) have won respect on the court in recent weeks and can advance to Saturday’s championship match with a victory tonight over Esperanza. Such a run was not expected after Harvard lost four regular-season matches, but the team has excelled during the playoffs.

With four sophomores starting for Harvard and with only two returning starters, even first-year Coach Jesse Quiroz has been surprised.

“I really didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the year,” Quiroz said. “The whole process this year has been trying to learn each other’s way of communicating out there.”

Said senior setter Chris Hopkins: “We are jelling at the end of the year, just like last year.”

David Coulson, Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech and T.C. Porter contributed to this notebook.