PREP WEDNESDAY : Griffins and Sea Kings Get High Marks in Fall

Think of them as semester grades, only no one has to hide them from Mom and Dad and have them signed and returned to school by Monday morning.

For now, Los Alamitos and Corona del Mar are at the head of their classes.

In the fall, The Times announced Orange County’s first comprehensive all-sports competition, designed to identify the county’s best all-around athletic programs in two enrollment classes: Division I (1,200 or more students) and Division II (fewer than 1,200).

This report card reflects the first trimester of sports performances. Final grades will be posted and awards distributed to the winners at the end of the school year, when the point totals from the fall (six sports, 240 possible points), winter (five sports, 200 points) and spring (10 sports, 400 points) sessions have been tallied.

Spring sports will be similar to final exams, in that they’ll be worth almost half the final grade.

After the fall season, many schools at the top of their divisions were expected to be there, but there were some surprises.

Los Alamitos is the early large-school leader with 150.7 points, with Edison (141.6) close behind. Esperanza, Trabuco Hills and Dana Hills also are in the hunt with more than 100 points. Among the small schools, Corona del Mar (170.3) holds a significant lead over Newport Harbor (137.0), with Laguna Hills and Laguna Beach in the chase.

The rankings are based on a formula that considers record (overall through Southern Section finals or league, depending on the sport), league finish (points for first, second, third and at-large playoff teams) and performance in section championship competition.

A school was left with 0 points for a sport if it went winless, did not compete in that sport, or did not report that team’s results. Every effort was made, through correspondence and phone calls with schools and the Southern Section office, to obtain a point total for every sport fielded by every school. But records were simply unavailable in several cases.

Where there were discrepancies between a school’s report and those from the league or section, and the differences could not be resolved, league and section statistics took precedence.

Here’s how Corona del Mar reached its county-leading 170.3 points (rounded to the nearest 10th):

* Football: The Sea Kings finished 7-4 (.636 winning percentage) for 6.36 points and earned 7 points for their second-place finish in the Sea View League. They lost their first playoff game and received no points for section championship performance. Total: 13.36.

* Boys’ cross-country: The team was 6-1 in league dual meets (8.57 points) and won the league championship (10). It did not place in the top eight in the section finals. Total: 18.57.

* Girls’ cross-country: The Sea Kings went 7-0 in dual meets (10 points) and won championships in league (10) and the section (20). Total: 40.

* Girls’ tennis: Corona del Mar’s Sea View dual-meet record was 12-2 (8.57 points), good for a second-place finish (7). The team lost in the section semifinals (12). Total: 27.57.

* Girls’ volleyball: A 19-2 record was worth 9.05 points. The Sea Kings finished second in league (7) and won the section championship (20). Total: 36.05.

* Water polo: A 27-4 record was worth 8.71 points. The league title added 10, and a section runner-up trophy was worth 16. Total: 34.71.

Jerry Jelnick, Corona del Mar’s athletic director, took news of the Sea Kings’ dominance in stride.

“We always do well in fall sports,” he said. “The beach kids do well in volleyball, tennis and water polo. We have an outstanding staff. They put in a lot of time and hard work, and they get the most out of (the kids). We hope to hold that position. Our strength is usually in the fall sports, but we have a good senior class that has shown a lot of leadership.”

It was no news flash to Jelnick that perennial rival Newport Harbor was in second place. “We’re neck and neck with them in everything,” he said. “That’s the fun thing about sports. We have a great rivalry.”

Several schools at the top of the leader board were there on the strength of their girls’ programs.

Sea King girls’ teams collected more than half the program’s points; the Sailors drew 94.1 of their 137 points from girls’ sports, and fourth-place Laguna Beach scored a whopping 89.2 of its 100.2 points in girls’ competition.

In the large division, Los Alamitos’ successful girls’ tennis and volleyball teams added points to the perfect 40 earned by its undefeated Southern Section champion football team.

Edison also relied heavily on girls’ programs to reach second place. The Chargers’ girls’ cross-country team picked up 40 points en route to a section championship, and the tennis team scored 36 by reaching the section finals.

And Dana Hills placed higher than athletic powerhouses such as Mater Dei (seventh place) and Fountain Valley (ninth) because of its girls, who won three South Coast League titles and earned enough points to lift the Dolphins to fifth place.

“Our girls teams are always strong. They carried us this far,” said Rich Skelton, Dana Hills athletic director. “We’ve always done fairly well athletically, we just haven’t gotten the attention because we haven’t won a football or basketball championship. It’s nice to be up there in the top.”

The winter season could catapult several lower-placed teams toward the top, although Los Alamitos, with strong soccer teams and a highly regarded boys’ basketball team, has a good chance of holding onto No. 1.

For example, Mater Dei, a Division I section football finalist but not as successful in other fall sports, should get a boost from its boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.

Capistrano Valley, 20th among large schools, could move up on the strength of its basketball teams and girls’ soccer and boys’ wrestling programs.

Marina had a rough fall and is No. 22, but the Vikings’ stock should rise if their soccer teams and girls’ basketball team perform as expected. Santa Ana Valley (No. 27), with credible boys’ basketball and soccer teams, should improve.

Among small schools, Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor have enough quality teams to retain their top spots. Fifth-place Brea-Olinda will likely pick up valuable points in girls’ basketball and wrestling, and El Modena, with capable girls’ soccer and wrestling teams, should improve on its eighth-place ranking. Sixth-place Santa Margarita could move up if its girls’ soccer and boys’ basketball teams live up to their preseason rankings.

Tiny Calvary Chapel, with a section champion girls’ volleyball team, finished the fall in 14th place among small schools. The Eagles’ don’t have much depth, but their wrestling team should help them retain their position.

Large School Top 20

Sports and Point Totals

School FB BCC GCC GT GVB WP Total Los Alamitos 40.0 11.0 15.0 32.0 39.6 13.1 150.7 Edison 22.5 12.1 40.0 36.0 20.4 10.6 141.6 Esperanza 13.4 15.0 28.0 11.0 14.5 28.5 110.4 Trabuco Hills 34.9 11.0 23.0 4.0 10.8 20.9 104.6 Dana Hills 1.0 11.0 28.0 28.0 30.8 3.1 101.9 Sunny Hills 4.0 11.0 7.0 28.0 14.5 34.4 98.9 Mater Dei 34.6 15.0 11.0 15.0 11.7 3.6 90.9 Valencia 30.5 0.0 0.0 32.0 17.6 8.7 88.8 Fountain Valley 22.4 1.4 12.1 9.4 34.6 8.4 88.3 Huntington Beach 35.3 15.6 1.4 4.3 26.3 3.6 86.5 Irvine 39.3 0.0 27.6 2.9 5.0 11.5 86.3 Villa Park 21.7 27.0 2.0 13.0 6.9 12.9 83.5 El Toro 4.4 7.0 13.0 19.0 0.0 39.6 83.0 Katella 4.5 40.0 11.0 4.0 9.7 3.9 73.1 San Clemente 20.5 18.0 0.0 3.3 4.0 26.7 72.5 Canyon 11.4 2.0 36.0 11.0 3.7 6.8 70.9 Savanna 33.6 0.0 5.0 22.0 4.3 0.0 64.9 Los Amigos 15.2 0.0 0.0 11.7 6.0 32.0 64.9 Santiago 0.0 20.0 13.6 16.2 2.9 5.0 57.7 Capistrano Valley 13.4 4.0 6.0 2.0 13.1 18.8 57.2

Small School Top 20

Sports and Point Totals

School FB BCC GCC GT GVB WP Total Corona del Mar 13.4 18.6 40.0 27.6 36.0 34.7 170.3 Newport Harbor 9.4 12.1 23.3 35.3 35.5 21.4 137.0 Laguna Hills 23.9 28.0 28.0 11.0 14.1 3.8 108.8 Laguna Beach 2.0 0.0 19 40.0 30.2 9.0 100.2 Brea-Olinda 4.0 20.0 20.0 12.0 13.3 24.8 94.1 Santa Margarita 12.3 32.1 24.1 8.0 10.9 3.0 90.4 La Habra 10.6 28.0 11.0 2.0 17.6 14.6 83.8 El Modena 5.5 4.0 27.0 27.0 12.6 6.9 83.0 Foothill 24.7 0.0 4.0 6.0 16.9 24.7 76.3 Costa Mesa 33.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.8 33.4 74.3 St. Margaret’s 31.2 3.7 4.4 0.0 34.5 0.0 73.9 Estancia 1.0 27.0 4.0 15.0 5.0 10.8 62.8 Orange Lutheran 5.0 12.1 28.0 11.3 4.4 0.0 60.8 Calvary Chapel 9.5 15.6 0.0 0.0 35.5 0.0 60.6 La Quinta 2.0 1.4 2.9 19.2 11.7 21.5 58.7 Pacifica 5.0 12.1 20.0 0.8 14.1 3.3 55.3 Whittier Christian 0.5 20.0 14.7 14.5 4.6 0.0 54.3 Rancho Alamitos 27.8 12.1 4.3 0.0 3.5 1.3 49.0 El Dorado 18.0 0.0 0.0 27.0 0.6 2.5 48.1 Western 25.5 0.0 0.0 2.0 10.0 8.4 45.9

KEY--FB: Football; BCC: Boys’ cross-country; GCC: Girls’ cross-country; GT: Girls’ tennis; GV: Girls’ volleyball; WP: Water polo.

SCORING--Totals are reached using a formula that considers: 1. Winning percentage (overall record through Southern Section finals for football, girls’ volleyball and water polo; league record only for boys’ and girls’ cross-country and girls’ tennis). An undefeated season is worth 10 points; 2. Place in league standings (10 points for first, 7 for second, 5 for third , 3 for at-large playoff berth); 3. Performance in Southern Section championship competition (20 points for first, 16 for second, 12 for third and fourth (or semifinal losers), 8 for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth (or quarterfinal losers)). A perfect score--undefeated season, league and section championships--is 40 points. (Note: For purposes of this Top 20 chart only, all values rounded to 10ths.) Teams that did not report or field a team in a particular sport received a score of 0.0.

Sources: Orange County high schools, Southern Section.