Sports

ON THE RUN

Long Beach Poly High, which won its second consecutive CIF state girls track and field title last season, will have eight individuals and three relay teams competing in the high school portion of the 35th Sunkist Invitational indoor meet at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Poly is one of 15 schools from the Southeast/Long Beach area that will compete in the meet, which features many of the nation’s top performers.

The Jackrabbits are expected to be led by Pam Simpson in the 500-yard run and the long jump. Other Poly athletes competing include Andrea Anderson in the 50-meter run, Aminah Haddad in the 500, Sherron Rhetta and Shanda McGinest in the 880, Erin O’Keefe in the rated mile and Savant Williams in the high jump.

Anderson finished second in the 100-meter dash and third in the 200 at the CIF state finals last year. Haddad was third in the 100 and second in the 200, and Rhetta was third in the 800 after finishing first in the event at the Southern Section finals.

Cross-town rival Long Beach Wilson is also entered in three individual events and three relays in the girls division. The list is led by Lakiesha Backus in the 50 and Michelle Nelson in the long jump and 500.

Backus finished fourth in both the 100 and 200 meters at the state finals last season, and Nelson was third in the long jump and third in the 400 meters in the Southern Section Division I finals last year.

Among other top girls competing are Jenise Tooles of Dominguez in the 500, Kelly Black of Downey in the high jump, and Gahr’s Stacy Edwards in the 880 and Miesha McKelvey in the 50-meter hurdles.

Long Beach Poly is also in three boys events, including Damien Murphy in the 50. Murphy, a defensive back in football, has signed a national letter of intent to attend San Diego State. Among his closest competitors in the 50 figures to be Akinya Taylor of Dominguez.

Leading other area entries is one of the state’s top middle-distance runners, Michael Granville of Bell Gardens, in the seeded 880. He was third in the state in the 400 meters last year.

The entry list also includes Borys Orloff of St. John Bosco in the pole vault, Pedro Martinez of Millikan in the rated mile, Londell Ramsey of Downey in the 50 hurdles, and the trio of Schurr’s Gilbert Hernandez, St. Paul’s Anthony Ossa and Santa Fe’s Danny Trejo in the rated 880.

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Three Southeast/Long Beach high schools have been seeded in the CIF Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs that start this week.

Dominguez is seeded No. 1 in the II-A Division, St. John Bosco No. 2 in the II-A and Long Beach Poly No. 3 in the I-AA. Dominguez won the San Gabriel Valley League, St. John Bosco the Del Rey League and Poly the Moore League.

Dominguez (23-2), led by senior guard Jamie Gillin, plays host to Cypress (12-11). St. John Bosco (23-2), led by heavily recruited point guard Jelani Gardner, plays host to West Torrance (11-13) in first-round games at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

La Serna and Artesia will also open the II-A playoffs Friday with home games. Del Rio League champion La Serna (17-8) plays Temple City (13-11), and Suburban League winner Artesia (14-10) takes on Redondo (19-7).

Among other top first-round games Friday night are Gahr (16-10) at Beverly Hills (16-8), and Compton (14-11) at Torrance (11-15) in the II-AA, Bishop Montgomery (12-10) at Centennial (13-10) in the III-AA and Covina (16-8) at Bellflower (15-10) in the III-A. Olympic League champion Whittier Christian (21-3) will play Pius X (11-12) in its IV-A playoff opener.

The playoffs continue with rounds Tuesday, Feb. 25 and March 1. The finals are March 4 and 5 at undetermined sites.

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For the second season in a row, defending state Division I champion Lynwood High has drawn the top seed for the Division I-AA girls’ basketball playoffs that start this week.

The Knights, who finished 25-1 and went 12-0 in the San Gabriel Valley League, have been sparked by seniors Timicha Kirby at forward and Tawana Grimes at guard. They will play Santa Monica in their I-AA opener at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lynwood.

Long Beach Poly and Valley Christian have also been seeded and will play first-round games Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Poly (20-4), No. 3 in the I-AA, will play host to either Royal or Arroyo Grande in the first round, and Valley Christian (22-2), the defending champion and top seed in the IV-A Division, will open at home against either Bishop or Maranatha.

Gahr (10-15), which finished second in the San Gabriel Valley League, will visit Inglewood in its II-AA opener Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The playoffs resume with rounds Wednesday, Feb. 26 and March 1, and the finals are March 4 and 5 at undetermined sites.

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The Long Beach State men’s basketball team will play important Big West Conference road games tonight and Saturday.

The 49ers, 12-7 overall and 7-5 in the Big West, will play Utah State at 6:30 tonight and Nevada at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Long Beach defeated Utah State, 89-70, and Nevada, 78-66, in the first meetings between the teams in January.

Long Beach also won both of its games last week by scores of 88-75 over Pacific and 73-66 over San Jose State. But the 49ers should have more difficulty away from home, where they have lost three games in a row.

The 49ers have been led by forward Mike Atkinson, who scored 20 points in the team’s win over Pacific, and guard Rod Hannibal, who had 17 against Pacific and San Jose. Another leader against Pacific was freshman guard James Cotton, a former St. John Bosco standout who scored 23 points in only 25 minutes.

RADAKOVICH RESIGNS

Dan Radakovich, an assistant athletic director at Long Beach State since 1989, has resigned to become assistant athletic director for business at the University of South Carolina.

Before arriving at Long Beach, Radakovich was athletic business manager at the University of Miami from 1983-85.

Long Beach Athletic Director Dave O’Brien said Radakovich will be missed.

“Over the past five years, no one has contributed more to the success of the athletic department than Dan,” he said. “Although Dan is irreplaceable on a personal level, we will initiate a national search immediately for the position of assistant athletic director for administration.”

BRIEFLY

Registration is under way for spring adult baseball leagues, sponsored by the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, that start March 13 in Long Beach.

The cost is $499 for Long Beach resident teams, $599 for Long Beach sponsored teams or $699 for teams outside of Long Beach.

There will be upper and lower division levels. Information: Long Beach Adult Sports office at (310) 439-0213.

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Friday is the deadline to register for the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department’s 1994 Men’s Weeknight Basketball leagues.

There will be divisions for novices, intermediate and advanced players. The cost is $246 for resident teams, $276 for teams sponsored by Long Beach businesses and $306 for teams outside of Long Beach.

Information: (310) 439-0213.