Edison Takes Charge in All-Sports Championship : Competition: Chargers go to the bank with strong boys’ basketball and soccer teams to pass Los Alamitos.

Winter wasn’t bitter for Southern Californians, and it wasn’t bitter for several Orange County high schools pursuing the all-sports championship, either.

Several schools experienced unseasonably summer-like conditions as their athletic programs warmed up to the possibility of being crowned the best all-around sports champion for the first time in county history.

This spring, The Times will honor county all-sports champions in two divisions: Large school (1,200 or more students) and small school (fewer than 1,200.) Edison currently leads the large-school division and Corona del Mar is the one to catch among the small schools with the spring season left to play.

Edison replaces Los Alamitos, which led the large-school division after the fall season. The Griffins dropped to third while Mater Dei moved into second. Corona del Mar has led the small-school division from the start.

“We knew we would have a pretty good winter,” said Bruce Belcher, Edison girls’ athletic director. “We were trying to run through the sports and see how well we’d do,” in comparison to some of the top-ranked schools. Edison figured Los Alamitos would score high in girls’ soccer and boys’ basketball, and the Griffins did. But Edison, with key points in boys’ soccer and basketball, scored even higher.

In the small-school division, Brea-Olinda takes over the No. 2 position previously held by Corona del Mar’s Sea View League rival Newport Harbor, which fell to third. Brea made its move in girls’ basketball. The undefeated Ladycats won their fifth State title and added 40 points to move up from fifth place in the overall standings.

In the fall, Corona del Mar led the small-school division as well as the overall standings with 170.3 points to Los Alamitos’ 150.7.

But now, large-school leader Edison has the highest total with 237.7. Mater Dei moves from seventh overall to second with 235.7 points. Corona del Mar is third overall at 222.52, but has a comfortable lead over Brea-Olinda (197.1) in the small-school division.

Final standings will be posted and awards distributed to the winners at the end of the school year, when point totals from the fall (six sports, 240 possible points), winter (five sports, 200 points) and spring (10 sports, 400 points) seasons have been tallied.

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

A school was left with no 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 section office, to obtain a point total for each team at every school. But records were unavailable in some cases.

Here’s how Edison reached its county-leading 237.7 points. Point totals are rounded off, allowing for one-tenth of a point discrepancy between the overall total and the sum of each sport’s score:

--The Chargers carried over 141.6 points from their fall sports.

--The boys’ basketball team finished 20-9 (6.9 points), fourth in the Sunset League (three points) and runner-up in section play (16 points). Total: 25.9.

--Girls’ basketball was 17-9 (6.5), third in league (five), but did not make it to the quarterfinals in section play (zero). Total: 11.5.

--Boys’ soccer was 19-6-1 (7.5), third in league (five) and lost in the section quarterfinals (eight). Total: 20.5.

--Girls’ soccer was 22-5-3 (7.8), second in the league (seven) and lost in the section quarterfinals (eight). Total: 22.8.

--Wrestling was 5-1 (8.3) and second in league (seven). No points in section competition. Total: 15.3.

Mater Dei made its big move with a perfect 40-point performance in boys’ basketball, and 34.6 in girls’ basketball, 38.7 points in boys’ soccer and 29.6 points in girls’ soccer. Boys’ and girls’ basketball and soccer won league titles. The Monarchs had two section champions, one runner-up and one semifinal loser.

The only sport where the Monarchs faltered was wrestling (two points).

“I’m really proud of our coaches,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei boys’ basketball coach and athletic director. “They work awfully hard, and so do the kids. It’s a tribute to their work ethic.”

McKnight also recognized the work ethic of other campus groups that don’t score in the all-sports championship, singling out the Monarchs’ spirit squad, which recently won a co-ed national title.

“We felt the success we had in fall would be carried on,” he said. “We felt we should be ranked up in the top schools. . . . I just wish we could get our cheerleaders in on this.”

Belcher wished Edison’s field hockey team could be in on the all-sports trophy chase. Field hockey in the winter, as well as gymnastics in the spring, is excluded from the competition because the section doesn’t recognize official section champions in those sports.

If field hockey was an acknowledged sport, Edison would have picked up more points. The Chargers won the Sunset League title and reached the final of the Tournament of Champions, field hockey’s unofficial section championship.

But the competition is full of what-ifs. If Edison had defeated Mater Dei in the Division I-A boys’ basketball final, its lead over the Monarchs would have been a few points greater.

“It wasn’t shocking that boys’ basketball did well,” Belcher said. “We knew what the kids were capable of, but it was somewhat of a surprise they came through that far. Too bad we didn’t beat Mater Dei.”

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Although the Monarchs’ jump was impressive, the vault Capistrano Valley made, although not to the forefront, was equally eye-catching.

The Cougars leaped from 20th to seventh place behind quality girls’ soccer and wrestling teams. It’s interesting to note that the Cougars’ wrestling team, which won the South Coast League title, decided not to compete in the section dual-team competition to save its strength for the individual section championships, where it qualified 10 wrestlers.

The Cougars would have fared well in section play, picking up all-sports points where they possibly could have caught sixth-place Sunny Hills, which added wrestling points (six) by reaching the quarterfinals of the section Division I dual-meet playoffs.

Another noteworthy move in the large-school division was by Woodbridge, which moved up 10 spots to 21st thanks to its section champion girls’ basketball team. And Marina, a perennial soccer powerhouse, jumped from 22nd to 12th largely on the basis of its soccer performances.

Pacifica made impressive advances in the small-school division with its boys’ basketball team, which won a section title and reached the State championship game for the first time in the school’s history. The Mariners went from 16th to eighth place in the division largely because of the basketball team’s 39.6 points.

Not every school moved up. In the large-school division, Dana Hills dropped from fifth to 11th, and Valencia fell from eighth to 16th. Among the small schools, Laguna Beach took a dive, falling from fourth to 14th. Only the Artists’ girls’ soccer team scored more than five points in the winter.

So now, the looming question becomes, can Edison hold its slim lead over Mater Dei during the busy spring season?

Although both schools enjoy nearly a 20-point lead over third-place Los Alamitos (216.9), the race could still be between Edison and Los Alamitos. Mater Dei, strong in baseball, softball and girls’ track, simply doesn’t have the depth across the entire playing field.

Comparatively, Edison and Los Alamitos appear neck-and-neck in the spring. Edison’s baseball program looks stronger than Los Alamitos’, but the Griffins’ softball team is better. Edison has a top-10 boys’ volleyball team, but Los Alamitos is on equal footing in boys’ tennis.

In track, both schools’ boys’ teams are average, but Edison’s girls are top-five material. Neither school has a standout golf team, but Los Alamitos has the upper-hand in swimming, where the Griffins have quality girls’ and boys’ teams.

Edison believes it can hold its position, but won’t fall into a funk if it drops a notch or two after the spring session.

“If we lost to either (Mater Dei or Los Alamitos), it wouldn’t be an embarrassment,” Belcher said. “They both are very quality schools in the county.”

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Corona del Mar’s commanding lead in the small-school division could diminish this spring. The Sea Kings have a top-10 tennis team and highly competitive baseball, volleyball, boys’ swimming, golf and girls’ track teams. But Brea, with competitive girls’ track, golf, softball, baseball and swimming programs, can’t be ignored. Newport Harbor, strong in volleyball, tennis and track, trails Brea by eight points and might challenge the Wildcats to regain its runner-up place.

Some schools are concerned that their lack of a badminton team will hurt them in the spring scoring. But Sunny Hills and Fountain Valley, in sixth and ninth place (75 and 93 points behind Edison), are the only top-10 large schools that field badminton teams.

In the small-school division, ninth-place Estancia--a section badminton semifinalist last year--could earn league and section points. Corona del Mar, a wild-card entry in the badminton playoffs in 1993, won’t suffer like some of the other top small schools.

Large-School Division Top 20

School Fall BB GB BS GS W Total 1. Edison 141.6 25.9 11.5 20.5 22.8 15.3 237.7 2. Mater Dei 90.9 40.0 34.6 38.7 29.6 2.0 235.7 3. Los Alamitos 150.7 26.1 2.1 5.0 18.0 15.0 216.9 4. Esperanza 110.4 13.7 11.0 33.1 30.2 4.0 202.4 5. Trabuco Hills 104.6 17.9 12.2 24.6 16.3 11.0 186.4 6. Sunny Hills 98.9 4.0 2.5 13.7 17.9 26.0 163.0 7. Capistrano Valley 57.2 10.8 16.0 19.7 27.0 20.0 150.5 8. Irvine 86.3 6.7 4.4 5.7 13.5 31.3 147.7 9. Fountain Valley 88.3 25.9 11.3 3.6 5.4 10.0 144.6 10. Canyon 70.9 3.6 13.0 17.0 24.1 15.0 143.8 11. Dana Hills 101.9 12.4 11.8 5.7 11.5 0.0 143.2 12. Marina 56.0 3.9 17.4 22.2 39.8 1.7 140.9 13. Villa Park 83.5 1.3 18.4 11.0 14.4 11.0 139.6 14. Huntington Beach 86.5 21.6 3.5 3.8 2.8 5.0 128.1 15. San Clemente 72.5 7.8 26.8 4.4 1.4 15.0 127.9 16. Valencia 88.8 15.6 10.7 2.5 10.0 0.0 127.5 17. El Toro 83.0 4.4 1.9 14.5 5.2 4.0 113.0 18. Katella 73.1 11.4 8.7 2.9 5.4 4.0 110.5 19. Kennedy 56.9 2.9 10.8 6.0 25.7 5.7 108.0 20. Ocean View 45.2 8.0 30.2 2.4 11.3 5.0 107.1

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Small-School Division Top 20

School Fall BB GB BS GS W Total 1. Corona del Mar 170.3 20.2 4.6 18.1 6.1 4.3 223.5 2. Brea-Olinda 94.1 2.4 40.0 29.5 16.2 15.0 197.1 3. Newport Harbor 137.0 7.8 30.6 3.5 10.4 0.0 189.3 4. Laguna Hills 108.8 3.9 4.8 13.2 13.7 36.0 180.4 5. Santa Margarita 90.4 38.0 3.2 24.3 17.2 4.3 177.4 6. El Modena 83.0 3.6 10.0 4.6 25.7 40.0 166.9 7. La Habra 83.8 11.1 10.7 23.4 14.3 2.0 145.3 8. Pacifica 55.3 39.6 3.9 12.0 13.7 2.9 127.5 9. Estancia 62.8 10.8 27.1 10.0 10.8 4.0 125.5 10. St. Margaret’s 73.9 26.3 18.9 2.9 0.0 0.0 121.8 11. Calvary Chapel 60.6 7.8 13.2 0.0 0.0 40.0 121.5 12. El Dorado 48.1 3.0 21.9 8.2 6.5 32.0 119.9 13. Costa Mesa 74.3 2.5 28.9 3.9 5.8 2.0 117.5 14. Laguna Beach 100.2 2.9 1.7 4.7 5.6 0.0 115.2 15. Whit. Christian 54.3 18.4 16.8 10.3 3.1 3.3 111.3 16. Foothill 76.3 9.1 2.6 7.8 3.1 4.0 102.7 17. Magnolia 38.4 25.0 21.7 1.7 2.9 11.0 100.8 18. La Quinta 58.7 10.8 17.6 0.5 9.6 1.4 98.5 19. Troy 35.7 16.3 26.0 2.9 5.6 11.0 97.6 20. Cypress 29.4 5.2 30.7 21.1 10.0 0.0 96.4

KEY: Fall--Carryover from fall sports. BB--Boys’ basketball. GB--Girls’ basketball. BS--Boys’ soccer. GS--Girls’ soccer. W--Wrestling.

SCORING--Totals are reached using a formula that considers: 1. Winning percentage (overall record through Southern Section finals for basketball and soccer; league record only for wrestling). An undefeated season is worth 10 points. 2. Place in league standings (10 points for first, 7 for second, 5 for third and 3 for fourth or 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 chart only, values rounded to 10ths. Rounding might create slight discrepancies between sum of individual figures listed and total). Teams that did not report or field a team in a sport received a score of 0.0.

Sources: Orange County high schools, Southern Section.