Sports : PREPS

First-round Southern Section baseball playoff games begin Friday with 29 teams from the San Gabriel Valley competing for championships in six divisions.

Bishop Amat and San Marino are seeded No. 1 in Division III and IV, respectively.

Here is a list of first-round match-ups involving area teams:

Division I--Long Beach Wilson at Nogales; Alhambra at Arcadia; Diamond Bar at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Division II--Troy at Northview; San Dimas-Chino wild-card winner at Valley View; J.W. North at Damien; Covina at Fullerton.

Division III--Burroughs Ridgecrest at Bishop Amat; Montclair at Los Altos; St. John Bosco at Walnut; Charter Oak at La Quinta.

Division IV--San Marino bye; El Monte at Azusa; Montclair Prep at La Salle; South Pasadena at Salesian; Monrovia at Duarte; Mountain View at Gladstone; San Gorgonio at Arroyo; Sierra Vista at Temple City.

Division V--Pasadena Poly bye; Flintridge Prep at Cerritos Valley Christian; Rosamond at Maranatha.

Division VI--La Verne Lutheran at Mammoth.

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First-round Southern Section softball playoff games begin Friday with 28 teams from the San Gabriel Valley competing for championships in six divisions.

Here is a list of first-round matchups involving area teams:

Division II--West Covina at Crescenta Valley; Fontana at Charter Oak; Troy at Bishop Amat; Diamond Bar-Los Altos wild-card winner at Redlands; Hart at Arcadia; St. Paul at Wilson.

Division III--South Hills-El Rancho wild-card winner at Upland; Pomona Catholic-Riverside Poly wild-card winner at San Dimas; Bonita at St. Lucy’s; San Gabriel at Burroughs Ridgecrest.

Division IV--Temple City at Bell-Jeff; Cabrillo at Rosemead; Monrovia-Arroyo wild-card winner at La Puente; La Salle at Santa Maria St. Joseph; Azusa at La Sierra; Atascadero at Mountain View; Sierra Vista at La Canada.

Division V--La Verne Lutheran at Cerritos Valley Christian; Santa Paula at Pasadena Poly; Flintridge Prep-Desert wild-card winner at Crossroads; Ramona Convent at Oak Park.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The Citrus College baseball team will open play Friday against Riverside in the second round of the community college state tournament at Harbor College.

Harbor and Rancho Santiago are also competing in the four-team, double-elimination tournament.

Citrus advanced by defeating San Diego Mesa in a best-of-three series last weekend at Citrus. The second round features four, four-team tournaments.

Citrus concluded a sweep of San Diego Mesa behind sophomore right-hander Brian Cooper, who gave up five hits and struck out nine in eight innings of a 6-1 victory that improved Citrus’ record to 34-5.

Mt. San Antonio College was eliminated from the tournament when it lost two games against Chaffey.

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Chris Zboril of the Pasadena City College softball team was selected South Coast Conference player of the year.

Zboril led the conference with a .469 batting average.

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Mt. San Antonio College has honored six athletic department employees, including five coaches who are retiring at the end of the school year.

Don Ruh coached track and cross-country for 31 years. Art Mazmanian has coached baseball for 26 years and will continue to coach after retiring from teaching. Ralph Osterkamp coached basketball for 25 years, including the last seven as head coach. Swimming coaches Sue La Comb and Roy Wilks have been at Mt. SAC for 31 and 25 years, respectively. Athletic equipment attendant Barbara Buys, who has been at the school for 22 years, also is retiring.

COLLEGES

Tennis player Jauffrey Faustini of Cal Poly Pomona is competing in the NCAA Division II men’s singles championship this week at Kansas City.

The Pomona men’s team finished 15-6 after losing to top-seeded Lander College, 5-0, on Friday.

Ann Lebedeff, coach of the Pomona women’s team, was named Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. coach of the year after leading the Broncos to a second-place finish at the women’s nationals. Rebecca Huereque of Pomona, who had a record of 32-6, was selected ITA senior player of the year. She is the third Bronco athlete to win the award. Mary Holycross won in 1987 and Julie Slattery won in 1992.

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Cal Poly Pomona track and field athletes won four individual championships at the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. finals last weekend at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Junior DeVon Edwards won his third consecutive 400-meter championship with a season-best time of 45.77 seconds. Chuck Foote won the 10,000 in 31 minutes 37.38 seconds, Rosetta Hunter won the women’s 800 in 2:13.22 and Aldora George won the women’s 100 hurdles in 14.20.

Pomona finished third in the women’s team competition and fourth in the men’s standings.

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Cal Poly Pomona finished its baseball season 30-35-1 and 15-15 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. after losing two of three conference games against co-champion Cal State Dominguez Hills.

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Azusa Pacific University will play host to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics outdoor track and field championships May 26-28.

More than 1,000 athletes from over 100 colleges and universities are expected to compete for 44 titles.

Azusa Pacific has won 10 men’s championships in the past 12 years.

PREP ATHLETE OF WEEK

Matt Streng, Arcadia--Streng, a senior, had 32 kills and five aces to lead the Apaches’ volleyball team to a sweep over San Marcos in the first round of the Southern Section Division I volleyball playoffs.

Arcadia was defeated by Harvard-Westlake, 15-9, 15-9, 15-8, in a second-round match on Tuesday.

COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Brian Cooper, Citrus--Cooper, a sophomore right-hander from Glendora, gave up five hits and struck out nine in eight innings during a 6-1 victory over San Diego Mesa that advanced the Owls into the second round of the state tournament.

Cooper, who has signed a letter of intent to attend USC in the fall, improved to 7-0.

MISCELLANY

* Craig Steinberg shot a final-round 2-under-par 70 to win the Pasadena City Amateur Championship at Brookside Golf Course. Steinberg, who won the tournament for the first time in seven tries, finished at 285, three strokes ahead of Ron Quick, who had led for the first three rounds.

* A wrestling program for youths ages 10 to 18 is being formed at Rowland Heights Park in Rowland Heights. Club and tournament participation will also be offered. Sign-ups are Tuesday and Thursdays beginning from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Information: (818) 912-6774.

* The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation will sponsor a wrestling tournament May 28 at Rowland Heights Park. High school rules will be used at the U.S.A.-sanctioned tournament. Information: (818) 912-6774.