St. Bonaventure’s Gacasan Going to Army

Raymond Gacasan, an offensive lineman at St. Bonaventure High, has committed to play football at Army in the fall.

“This means a great deal to me and my family,” Gacasan said. “I’m pretty nervous but I’m also real excited.”

Gacasan, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound offensive tackle, was selected the Ventura County small school lineman of the year by county coaches. Gacasan has a 3.3 grade-point average and scored 1,140 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“The hardest thing about West Point is the academics, so I just want to go in and work really hard,” Gacasan said. “I like to read a lot, I know that’s kind of weird, but I think that will help me.”

Gacasan said he also was recruited by San Diego State.

Former Cal State Northridge two-time All-American Neil Coffman is trying out for the U.S. national volleyball team Wednesday through Friday in San Diego. Coffman, 24, played at Northridge from 1989 through 1991.

Ryan McGuire of UCLA has been named a preseason first-team All-American by Baseball America magazine. McGuire, a junior first baseman from El Camino Real High, hit .316 with 14 home runs and 61 runs batted in last season.

The magazine also rated the left-handed-batting McGuire as the 19th-best professional prospect among college ballplayers.

Left-hander Andrew Lorraine of Stanford, a junior from Hart High, was ranked the 33rd-best pro prospect among college pitchers. Arizona State outfielder Jacob Cruz, a sophomore from Channel Islands, was ranked the 12th-best prospect among college outfielders. As juniors, McGuire and Lorraine are eligible to be selected in the June amateur draft. Cruz is ineligible until 1994.

Shortstop David Lamb of Newbury Park High was selected the third-best pro prospect among high school players. Lamb, a senior, led Newbury Oaks to the American Legion World Series championship last August and was selected the national Legion player of the year. Lamb has signed a letter of intent with Pepperdine.

Donations are being accepted to help defray the medical costs of John Flowers, a Cal State Northridge basketball recruit who lost both legs in an automobile accident in August.

Donations may be sent to the John Flowers Fund, 6831 W. Denton Lane, Glendale, Ariz., 85303.

Information: 818-885-4839.

Janae Lautenschlager of Northridge won the one-meter springboard diving event in the New Zealand Swedish Flag Diving Invitational last weekend in Auckland.

Lautenschlager, a member of the U. S. national team, scored 380.97 points, dominating an international field that included runner-up Kristen Webster of Australia (339.18) and Kylie Walker of New Zealand (329.07).

Lautenschlager, 22, was second on the three-meter board behind 1992 Olympic medalist Mary Ellen Clark of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Clark scored 488.58 points to Lautenschlager’s 476.13. Lautenschlager received the highest single score of the competition, 57 points for her first dive.

The U.S. team continues its tour Saturday through Monday in the Nathan Meade Memorial Diving Meet at Sydney, Australia.

Nicole Ellis of Ventura College and Nicole Baynes of Valley have been selected women’s players of the week in the Western State Conference North and South divisions.

Ellis, a 5-foot-11 sophomore forward from Buena High, had 48 points and 25 rebounds in three victories last week.

Baynes, a 5-8 freshman guard-forward from Grant, had 45 points and 14 rebounds last week as Valley won three games.

Andrea Ferchaw, who helped Cal State Los Angeles reach the Division II semifinals in December, has been selected to the Asics/Volleyball Monthly All-American second team.

Ferchaw, a 5-7 freshman outside hitter from Bell-Jeff, led Cal State L.A. (25-11) in kills, becoming the university’s first player to garner All-American honors in volleyball.

The Kings’ minor-league affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners, will play an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Bullets at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank on Sunday. Proceeds from the game will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Los Angeles.

The Bullets are an amateur team composed of police officers and sheriff’s deputies.

Information: 310-207-3023.

Entries are being sought for the Bret Saberhagen golf tournament, an annual fund-raiser for the Cleveland High baseball program.

Expected to play are pro ballplayers Todd Zeile (Hart High), Torey Lovullo (Montclair Prep), Tim Leary (Santa Monica), Dennis Moeller (Cleveland) and Scott Erickson.

The tournament, open to individuals and foursomes, will be Jan. 25 at Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge.

Saberhagen, a Thousand Oaks resident who pitches for the New York Mets, is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and a 1982 Cleveland graduate.

Information: 818-342-2580.

Sign-ups are being taken for the Valencia Invitational, a benefit golf tournament to help raise funds for the College of the Canyons men’s golf team. The tournament is Feb. 1 at Valencia Country Club.

Players can register as individuals or as teams.

Teams will compete in a best-ball, Texas scramble format with five players per team.

Information: 805-642-3138 or 805-259-7800, ext. 379.

Sign-ups are being held for the Fast Break Adult Basketball League. Teams and leagues will be organized for players 6 feet and under, 6 feet and over, and taller than 6-4.

Players 18 and older are eligible to participate.

Information: 714-622-9731.