NOTEBOOK / GARY KLEIN : Duarte, Muir Runners Lead Charge into State

Nathan Woods of Duarte High and Kenny Haslip of Muir won individual track titles at the Southern Section Masters meet Friday and are the top qualifiers in their events for the State championship meet that will be staged Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College.

Woods won the 800 meters in 1 minute 52.2 seconds. Haslip won the 300 hurdles in 37.11 seconds.

Several other area athletes will compete in the State meet, including Muir’s Gerald Stamps, who is the top qualifier in the 110 hurdles, Nogales sprinter Kevin Devine, pole vaulter David Gehrke of Diamond Bar, girls’ 400 runner Asha Jayasinghe of Aracdia and long jumper Tamika Hart of Monrovia.

The Southern Section Division II softball championship game will feature two San Gabriel Valley teams.

Charter Oak (28-0-1) defeated La Habra (23-6), 1-0, in eight innings and Bishop Amat (24-6-1) beat Wilson (22-8), 1-0, in eleven innings in Tuesday’s semifinals.

In Division III, San Dimas was eliminated Tuesday by Laguna Hills, 1-0, in another semifinal game.

Mark Keppel High won its fourth consecutive Southern Section badminton championship last week with an 18-1 victory over Nogales.

It was the fifth title in seven years for Keppel. The Aztecs, who are coached by Harold George, were 18-0 this season. They are 48-0 over the past four seasons.

Johnny Le and Nhi Phung won the mixed doubles title, and Herman Hartawan and Calvin Ho won the boys’ doubles championship.

Mark Loretta, a former standout at St. Francis High, was named first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine for his play at Northwestern.

Loretta, a 6-foot, 175-pound shortstop, was named Big Ten Conference player of the year after batting .408 with three homers and 34 runs batted in. Loretta, an outstanding defensive player, also stole 20 bases.

DeVon Edwards of Cal Poly Pomona finished third in the 400 meters at the NCAA Division II track and field championships last week at Abilene, Tex.

Edwards, a sophomore, finished in 45.6 seconds.

Ann Meyers, recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, will receive the 1993 Award of Distinction from the San Gabriel Valley YWCA at the Women of Achievement luncheon Friday at the Industry Hills Sheraton.

Volunteers and women of achievement from several professions will be honored.

Information: (818) 960-2995.

The 1993 Senior Olympics, featuring competition for men and women in 19 events, will be staged Saturday through June 19 in Pasadena.

Participants 50 and older are eligible to compete in track and field, race walking and walking, swimming, golf, tennis, cycling, softball, lawn bowling, bowling, basketball and ice skating. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded in each age division. Age-group winners will qualify for the state championships that will be contested in San Diego in September.

The Pasadena Games also include race walking and tennis for handicapped athletes, and non-athletic competitions in chess, bridge and ballroom dancing.

Information: (818) 397-4062.