Sports

PREPS

Over the years, the Long Beach Poly football team has produced as many college football players as any school in the Southeast/Long Beach area.

This year is no exception. Five players from last season’s team have signed national letters of intent to play for Division I schools.

Leading the way were linebacker Danjuan Magee, who signed last week with UCLA, and defensive lineman Brandon Whiting, who opted for California. Both players made The Times’ Terrific 22 preseason team last year.

Other Poly players who signed were defensive backs Kelly Malveaux with Arizona, Lamont Morgan with Arizona State and Damien Murphy with San Diego State.

La Mirada had three players sign: offensive lineman Ben Adams with Texas, defensive lineman Jerry Lemon with Fresno State and defensive lineman Ken Watts with Utah State.

In addition, lineman Darryl Jones of Brethren Christian signed with Washington State and teammate Reggie Davis, a defensive back, opted for Washington.

Other players to sign with Division I schools: linebacker Jason Reynolds of St. Paul with Arizona State, running back Jarvis Watson of Warren and defensive back Javelin Guidry of Gahr with UCLA, wide receiver Sean Williams of Dominguez with Oregon State, defensive back Joe Austin of Lynwood with Kansas and linebacker Don Sams of Long Beach Jordan with San Jose State.

COLLEGES

The NCAA defending champion Long Beach State women’s volleyball team has signed three high school players to national letters of intent.

Kristin Harris, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Piedmont Hills High in San Jose, Nique Crump, a 6-1 middle blocker from Mesa High in Arizona and Lori Price, a 5-11 setter from Corona Del Sol High in Tempe, Ariz., will join the 49ers in the fall.

Coach Brian Gimmillaro said the players should play as freshman. Three starters from the national championship team, including player of the year Danielle Scott, a middle blocker, have used up their eligibility.

“We’re going to have to rely more on these incoming freshmen next year than we’ve ever had to during the past seven years,” Gimmillaro said.

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After two road losses, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team will play host to Pacific and San Jose State in Big West Conference games tonight and Saturday at the Gold Mine.

The 49ers (10-7 overall, 5-5 in conference play) will play Pacific at 7:30 tonight and San Jose at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Long Beach lost to Pacific, 92-69, and defeated San Jose, 78-71, earlier this season.

The 49ers will be trying to rebound from Saturday’s 67-66 loss to UC Santa Barbara and Monday’s 68-61 loss to Nevada Las Vegas. Long Beach guard James Cotton played against Nevada Las Vegas despite damaging four teeth and suffering a possible broken bone in his face against Santa Barbara.

Long Beach has been led by forward Mike Atkinson, who has rebounded after being slowed because of a sprained ankle, and guard Rod Hannibal.

A NEW ARENA

Long Beach attorney Don Dyer has been named executive director of The Pyramid, Long Beach State’s new campus events facility that is expected to open during the 1994-95 academic year.

The facility, which will seat nearly 7,000 and stand 18 stories tall when completed, will be home of the 49er men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams.

Dyer, 52, was a 1963 graduate in business administration from Long Beach State. He has served four terms as president of the 49er Athletic Assn.--the fund-raising group for the athletic department--and was founder and chairman of the Long Beach State University Hall of Fame Committee.

“Don will bring a wealth of business, legal and athletic administration experience to the position,” Director of Athletics Dave O’Brien said. “With his individual and corporate contacts, and his long record of fund-raising success on behalf of Long Beach State athletics, Don is the ideal person for this most important position.”

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Cerritos and Long Beach City colleges, which are tied for first in the South Coast Conference in men’s basketball, will play pivotal home games at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Long Beach, which moved into a tie with a 78-73 win over Cerritos last week, will play Mt. San Antonio (10-14, 1-5). Cerritos will play Harbor (13-12, 4-2).

Cerritos, ranked No. 2 in the state behind Ventura before its loss to Long Beach, is 22-5. Sixth-ranked Long Beach is 22-6. The teams started the week at 5-1 in the SCC.

Long Beach, which is 2-2 against Cerritos this season, has been led by forwards Kevin Beal and Marc Neal and guard Marcus Rogers. Beal had 23 points and eight rebounds and Neal 22 points and nine rebounds against Cerritos. Beal, a sophomore, ranks among state scoring leaders with a 22.1-point average.

Cerritos has been led by sophomore center Javan Rouzan, a former Lakewood High player who averages 20.4 points and 10.5 rebounds. The Falcons were led offensively against Long Beach by forward Wayne Allen, who had a season high of 25 points.

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With its hopes of a South Coast Conference title having disappeared in a heartbreaking 88-86 loss to first-place Harbor last week, the Cerritos women’s basketball team will try to make a run at second place with a home game against Pasadena City at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Cerritos (16-10, 4-4), ranked No. 18 in the state, started the week a game behind El Camino and Trade Tech in the race for second. Pasadena (4-15, 2-7) is in last place in the conference.

Cerritos has been led by sophomore center Kate Larrabee, who averages 20.7 points and 10 rebounds. Another leader is guard Iris Ortega, a freshman from Bell Gardens High, who has averaged 10.6 points and 3.4 assists in conference games.

The Falcons also play host to El Camino at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.

BRIEFLY

Kirk Hoza, an assistant at the University of Redlands since 1990, has been named Whittier College football coach.

He replaces Ken Visser, who resigned to become coach at Chapman. Hoza, 31, has been defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Redlands, which has had one of the top teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in recent years.

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Kelly Black and Jenell Hawthorne of Downey High have been added to the girls’ high jump for the high school portion of the 35th Sunkist Invitational indoor track meet Feb. 19 at the Sports Arena.

Black leaped 5-8 last season and Hawthorne had a best of 5-6. Among the favorites is Newport Harbor’s Misty May, whose best is 5-10.

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In celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday, the Lynwood Recreation and Community Services Department is offering two-for-one admission for swimming at its natatorium from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Regular admission to the indoor pool is 75 cents for children and $1 for adults. The pool is at 3770 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd..

Information: (310) 884-0414 or (310) 603-2768.