Group to Honor Orange County’s Top Prep Athletes

The high school senior boy and girl athletes of the year will be honored by the Orange County Athletic Directors Assn. at a dinner May 25 at the Anaheim Stadium Club.

Each league in the county nominated a boy and girl athlete. Winners were selected by members of OCADA and the media.

The leagues, their nominees and schools:

Academy: Lupe Rodriguez (St. Margaret’s) and Sara Anderson (Liberty Christian); Century: Grant Pearsall (Villa Park) and Kim Nelson (Canyon); Empire: Mark Albert (Los Alamitos) and Jessica Eggleston (Cypress); Freeway: George McDonald and Carrie Garritson (Buena Park); Garden Grove: Brian Baughman (Bolsa Grande) and Wendy Martin (Kennedy); Orange: Chris Draft (Valencia) and Nicole Erickson (Brea-Olinda); Pacific Coast: Brad Cervantes (Trabuco Hills) and Heather McGlone (Laguna Hills); Sea View: Brad Finneran (Santa Margarita) and Gina Heads (Newport Harbor); South Coast: Miles Simon (Mater Dei) and Nina Foster (Mission Viejo); Sunset: Tony Gonzalez (Huntington Beach) and Erin Bailey (Edison).

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Bob Dowding, founding athletic director at Orange Lutheran, announced that he is resigning to accept a similar position at Seattle Lutheran High, according to Nancy Paul, Orange Lutheran girls’ athletic director.

Dowding, who was one of five original faculty members of the school, which opened in 1973, and its first football and basketball coach, also will teach physical education classes at Seattle Lutheran.

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Lanny Carter, track coach and physical education department chairman at Orange, will retire in June after 36 years at the school, Athletic Director Dave Zirkle announced Tuesday.

A retirement dinner will be in Carter’s honor at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at Chapman College. All players, former players, coaches, friends and peers are invited. Those interested in donating for a retirement gift can contact Zirkle at (714) 997-6382.

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Huntington Beach’s Janna Crogan has accepted an athletic scholarship to play volleyball at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University, her father, Dale Crogan, said.

Crogan, who underwent 2 1/2-hour ankle surgery in May, returned mid-season as a varsity setter. She held the position as a sophomore and junior.

Crogan also was recruited by Brown, Edinboro (Pa.) and Quinnipiac College (Conn.).

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Tunch Doker, a swimmer from Woodbridge High School, has made an oral commitment to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia in the fall. Doker is expected to specialize in breaststroke events at Drexel.