NOTEBOOK / KIRBY LEE : Kirby, Masakayan Team to Win Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament

Goodwill Games gold medalists Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan defeated Barbra Fontana and Lori Kotas-Forsythe, 15-9, to win the Long Beach Volleyfest 1994 women’s pro beach tournament Sunday on the downtown Promenade.

Kirby and Masakayan, who shared the $9,400 first prize, have won 10 of 12 events on the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. tour this season and 22 of their last 24 competitions over two years.

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Artesia High volleyball player Julia Christina will attend Cal State Los Angeles. The 5-foot-8 outside hitter was a two-time All-Suburban League selection.

Decathlete Chris Kanowsky and sprinter Ron Williams of Long Beach City College have signed letters of intent to attend Cal State Northridge and Kentucky, respectively.

Kanowsky, who has bests of 6,557 points in the decathlon and 200 feet, 8 inches in the javelin throw, placed fourth and sixth in the events, respectively, in the state community college meet in May.

Williams, the South Coast Conference 400-meter champion, anchored the Vikings’ 1,600-meter relay team to a school-record 3 minutes, 6.81 seconds in the state meet.

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Dave O’Brien has been named athletic director at Cal State Long Beach after serving on an interim basis the past three years.

Jim Richardson has been selected the interim track and cross-country coach at Long Beach City College, filling the vacancy left by Ron Allice, who was named director of track and field at USC.

Richardson, an assistant at Long Beach since 1985, also coached at Long Beach Poly from 1972-81, guiding the Jackrabbits to seven Moore League titles, and was also an assistant at Cal State Long Beach before coming to Long Beach City College.

Mark Clabough, 34, has been selected baseball coach at Long Beach Wilson. Clabough coached at California High last season after serving six years as an assistant.

Susan Knoop has been named the girls’ basketball coach at Warren High. Knoop has coached at Fontbonne College, a NCAA Division III school in St. Louis, the past four years.

Dean Crowley, 60, has been named Southern Section commissioner. The Whittier resident, who had served as associate commissioner of athletics since 1987, will oversee the Southern Section, the governing athletic association of more than 490 schools.

Crowley became an administrative assistant to the commissioner for the Southern Section in 1976 and was named acting commissioner in October. Crowley has taught at East Whittier Intermediate and was also an assistant principal, counselor, athletic director and teacher at Gahr High.