Karen Caires Wolfe, the girls’ basketball coach...

Karen Caires Wolfe, the girls’ basketball coach at Kennedy High, has accepted a position as assistant women’s basketball coach at Vermont.

Wolfe, 26, had sought a full-time job for some time and her desire increased after the death of her husband the day after Kennedy played its final regular-season game. She will be known in Vermont by her maiden name, Karen Caires.

She compiled a 34-19 record during two years at Kennedy. She had previously served three years as an assistant at Cypress College.

Wolfe is a 1985 graduate of Garden Grove High. She played two years at Cypress, then a year at Cal State Northridge.

*

Orange Coast College, which won four State championships during the 1993-94 school year, was named top community college athletic program in the state by Cal-Hi Sports magazine for the second year in a row.

The school won State titles in men’s and women’s swimming, men’s volleyball and women’s tennis. OCC also finished second in the women’s cross-country finals and reached the State tournament in water polo and women’s basketball.

*

Kelley Hall, an assistant women’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator the past two years at Mississippi State, has been hired in a similar position at Cal State Fullerton by Coach Debbie Ayres.

“Kelley is one of the premier recruiters in the country, and we are so lucky to have him here with us,” Ayres said.

Hall, 35, is a graduate of Troy State in Alabama. He was head coach of Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Ga., for seven years. His teams there compiled a 185-49 record.

Notes

Jason Lezak, an All-American in water polo and swimming at Irvine High, signed a letter of intent to swim at UC Santa Barbara, his father, Dave, said. A Times all-county first-team selection in swimming, Lezak placed first in the 100-yard freestyle and second in the 50 free at the section Division I championships.

Aaron Gutridge, a linebacker at Orange Coast College, will play football at Chapman University next season, according to OCC Coach Bill Workman. Gutridge, from Tustin High School, was fourth on the team in tackles last season with 100. OCC’s Bill Cathey will attend Morehead State in Kentucky, and Lee Seleni is headed for San Francisco State. Both are linebackers.

Steve Maynard of Canyon High will attend Duke and play soccer for the Blue Devils. Maynard led his team in goals and assists this past season and was named the team’s MVP. It marked the third consecutive year he has led Canyon in scoring.