1992-93: The Prep Year In Review : These Performances Worthy of Some Recognition

The memories from a high school sports season are limited only by the number of people taking it all in. The members of The Times Orange County prep sports staff have provided the commentaries on these two pages about the people, events and issues that made the greatestimpression on them in the last 10 months.

Nearly everyone will remember the football highlights that Stanford-bound quarterback Tim Carey and UCLA-bound lineman Travis Kirschke provided last season.

They will also remember that Mater Dei and Brea-Olinda each won Southern Section basketball championships . . . again.

So here is a list of performances people shouldn’t forget.

Mollie Flint, Corona del Mar girls’ basketball, point guard--During the Estancia holiday tournament in December, the 5-foot-5 Flint almost single-handedly pushed the Sea Kings to the championship.

In the finals against the host Eagles, Flint had 29 points, four assists, four steals and scored the game-winning basket--a 10-footer over two Estancia post players--to give Corona del Mar a 52-50 victory.

Small guard, big heart.

Karen Benkovsky and Kathleen Bunce, Capistrano Valley Christian, girls’ volleyball--Bunce, the Division V player of the year, had 22 kills and four aces and Benkovsky had 21 kills and five aces in the Eagles’ 15-13, 15-2, 10-15, 15-12 victory over Mission Hills L.A. Baptist in the Southern Section final at Cerritos College in December.

While both earned Division I scholarships--Benkovsky will play at Washington and Bunce at Loyola Marymount--both put their team before any individual goals.

“We wanted to prove that we’re not just some dinky Christian school,” Benkovsky told The Times at the beginning of the season.

In their junior and senior years, Benkovsky and Bunce led the Eagles to State championships in ’91 and ’92. La Habra (‘89-’91) is the only other Orange County school that has won consecutive State girls’ volleyball titles.

Huntington Beach boys’ volleyball, Rocky Ciarelli, head coach--On its way to a 23-0 season and the school’s first Southern Section boys’ volleyball title, the Oilers posted an impressive four-game victory over second-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the semifinals.

Huntington Beach beat Mira Costa although the one of Oilers’ top hitters, Jon Wimbish, sat out the match with a dislocated ankle.

They won despite a raucous Mira Costa crowd at Redondo Beach Redondo Union High.

The Oilers’ smaller lineup outblocked a Mira Costa team that averaged 6 feet 3.

Did 17 kills and six blocks by middle blocker Nick Ziegler make the difference? Did hitters Shadd Walker and Mike Grave turn it up a notch? Or did setter Chris Jones’ defensive and offensive leadership push the Oilers over the top?

“Everyone stepped it up tonight,” Ciarelli said.