SIDELINES : Antelope Valley, Hart Keeping Their Distance in Regular Season

Don’t wait for the high school football teams at Hart and Antelope Valley, which haven’t met since 1981 but play tonight for the Southern Section Division II championship, to play each other again soon--unless it’s in playoff contests.

Though a matchup between the two makes sense geography-wise (Lancaster and Newhall), competition-wise (both are perennial area powers) and would generate significant fan interest, neither school will schedule the other after Antelope Valley of the Golden League joined Hart (Foothill) in Southern Section Division II this season.

No effort was made to schedule a game when the two played in different divisions, and now neither coach will risk playing a tough team he might have to face again in the playoffs.

“Now that we’re in the same division, I definitely wouldn’t think of it,” Hart Coach Mike Herrington said.

Added Antelope Valley Coach Brent Newcomb: “It’s hard to beat the same team twice.”

The teams had played each other as members of the Golden League, but Hart left for the Foothill after the 1981 season.

Get a leg up: The Thousand Oaks High girls’ cross-country team was upset by Peninsula, 82-91, in the Division I race of the State championships at Fresno’s Woodward Park on Nov. 26, but the Lancers should have a great chance next year: Only one of their top seven runners is a senior.

By contrast, the Lancer boys, who won their second consecutive Division I title, have five seniors among their top seven.

“I expect our girls’ team to be (there) again next year,” Coach Jack Farrell said. “But I don’t know about the boys. I’ve got to go and find some runners.”

Frosh by gosh: Crescenta Valley freshman Michelle Greco is averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds after six games. On Saturday, she scored 37 points in a loss to Simi Valley. “She’s already better than anyone I’ve coached here,” Coach Marc Ward said of the 5-foot-10 Greco.

That’s a mouthful. Last season, Crescenta Valley’s Sarah Hagman set a single-season Southern Section record with 121 three-point baskets and led players in the region with a 25-point scoring average.

Quotebook

Pete Cassidy, the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball coach, after the Matadors upset Long Beach State, 64-58, on Tuesday: “I feel better all over than I do in any one place.”

Stats

With 39 total blocks in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, middle blocker Ana Kristich ended her career as Cal State Northridge’s all-time leader with 382, breaking the record of 360 set by Kathleen Dixon from 1987-90.

Kristich also set a record for most games with 450, topping the mark of 444 set by Nancy Nicholls from 1989-92.

Stretch runner: Nordhoff running back Josh Hawkins has gained 696 of his area-best 2,319 rushing yards while leading the Rangers into the Southern Section Division IX final.

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior is averaging 232 yards a game in the postseason.

Winning tradition: When Amy Skieresz of Agoura won the Division II girls’ race in the State cross-country championships Nov. 26, it marked the ninth title won by a Charger runner since the meet began in 1987. To frame the achievements, consider that no other school has won more than two.

Minute man: How’s this for ammunition in a request for more playing time? Ryan Martin, a reserve swingman on the Northridge men’s basketball team, is averaging 26.7 points per 40 minutes. Martin is averaging 11 points in an average of 16.5 minutes.

Takedown shakedown: Wrestling season is under way and three Highland teammates overwhelmed opponents in their first day on the mat.

Kevin Bice (160 pounds), Kevin Wright (171) and Jared Bernacchi (heavyweight) each went 5-0 to place first Saturday in the Anaheim El Rancho tournament. Bice recorded four pins, Bernacchi three and Wright two. The event included wrestlers from 27 teams.

At the Newbury Park tournament Saturday, Brandon Roth (119) of Harvard-Westlake was voted outstanding wrestler among the lower weights after going 4-0, including two pins. Tim Bond (135) and Tom Garcia (heavyweight) also placed first.

Registrar

Who: Tennis players. What: Five-day winter camp, with instruction by USPTA certified instructors Paul Wolff and Robert Childers. When and where: Dec. 19-23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Cal State Northridge courts. Information: 818-885-2058 or 818-885-3179.

Things to Do

The Valley College women’s basketball tournament, featuring eight teams, continues today at the school gymnasium. The championship game is set for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

San Diego State and new Coach Fred Trenkle visit Northridge for a nonconference men’s basketball game at 7 p.m. The 3-1 Aztecs are out to avenge a 95-87 loss to the Matadors last season.

Compiled by Steve Elling. Contributing: Kennedy Cosgrove, Dave Desmond, Fernando Dominguez, Dana Haddad, Mike Hiserman, Vince Kowalick and John Ortega.