NOTEBOOK / SEAN WATERS : University Appears Ready for Run at Title

The University High girls’ track team is expected to make a strong showing at the City Section semifinals that begin today at Birmingham High.

The Warriors are led by sprinters Yolanda Arrington, Sheili Hardemion, Dorneisha Lewis, Dora Gyarmati and Lorraine Persons.

The Warriors won the Coastal Conference final last Thursday at Venice. University finished with 62 points, Westchester was second with 45 and Palisades was third with 38.

University placed in the top three in the 100 and 200, finished first, second and fourth in the 400 and won the 800.

Lewis won the 200 in 25.50 seconds and the 400 in 1 minute, .80 second. Arrington won the 100 in 12.41 and finished second in the 200 in 26.00 and Sayo Mitsuishi won the 800 in 2:40.95.

Other area girls to watch:

* Katerina Kechris (Venice), who ran a 5:26.72 in the 1,600.

* Kelley Rori (Westchester), who was clocked in 15.77 in the 110 hurdles.

* Genevieve Debose (Hamilton), who finished in 12:45.82 in the 3,200.

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Add track: David Shumsky of Palisades was the most impressive boys’ runner in the Coastal Conference championships, winning the high jump at 6-feet-8 and the long jump at 20-0 3/4.

Shumsky, whose personal best in the high jump is 6-10, failed on an attempt to clear 6-10 1/4.

Other boys to watch include:

* Kaaron Conwright (Westchester), who won the 100 in 10.83 and the 200 in 21.87.

* Brian Karpman (Hamilton), who won the 800 in 1:58.

* Jason Brownlee (Hamilton), who won the 110 hurdles in 16.84 and the 300 hurdles in 41.37.

Hamilton won the boys’ title with 45 points.

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Baseball: Normally a league champion draws a third-place team in the first round of the playoffs.

But Beverly Hills will play a co-league champion Friday in the first round and Coach Bill Erickson is upset.

Beverly Hills won the Ocean League title for the third time in four years, beating Mira Costa, 9-0, on Friday. The Normans drew San Marcos, co-champions of the Channel League, as a playoff opponent. San Marcos finished in a tie with Dos Pueblos, but lost a coin flip to determine the league champion.

San Marcos (18-5-1) has a better record than Beverly Hills (18-6-1). The winner plays either second-seeded Lompoc or Canyon Country Canyon in the second round.

“‘I told my players there is nothing we can do about it,” Erickson said. “You’re going to have to play them all to win.”

In another first-round game, Santa Monica, the Bay League runner-up, will play Almont League champion Montebello. The winner will play either second-seeded Simi Valley or Loyola Tuesday.

In a Division IV first-round game, St. Monica travels to Verbum Dei. In Division V first-round games, Brentwood plays host to Paraclete and Crossroads plays host to Brethren Christian. *

Boys’ tennis: In Tuesday’s City Section 4-A Division semifinals, Taft defeated Palisades, 15-14 1/2, and Chatsworth beat University, 20 1/2-9.

The Southern Section playoffs continue today with second-round matches beginning at 3:15 p.m.

In Division I matches, Santa Monica, a winner over Temple City, plays top-seeded Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills plays Dana Hills.

In Division III, Delphic League champion Brentwood plays Etiwanda.

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Softball: Bay League champion Santa Monica will play host to Lakewood on Friday in the first round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs.

In other games, Culver City plays at Montebello; Delphic League champion Crossroads plays host to either Calabasas or Montclair Prep; Notre Dame Academy plays at Bishop; Brentwood travels to Moorpark; and Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles plays at Oakwood.