Sports

RUN DOWN?

The recent storms have apparently dampened enthusiasm for the 17th annual Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10-K run and 5-K walk at 8 a.m.

Deke Houlgate, the event’s promoter, said the rain is one of the biggest reasons why there has been a 20% drop from the usual registration total of nearly 10,000.

“There’s no question that has been a factor,” he said. “But if the rain ever quits, I think we’ll end up being at about the same numbers as last year.”

In addition to the registered participants, there are usually another 4,000 to 5,000 pirates who join the race while it is in progress and as many as 25,000 spectators along the route that starts at the Redondo Beach Marina in King Harbor.

The races start with the invitational men’s mile at 7:15 a.m., followed by the invitational women’s mile at 7:20. There is also a 10-K wheelchair race at 7:45, a 10-K baby buggy run at 7:50 and a 5-K walk at 8:10.

The featured events will be the invitational men’s and women’s mile and the elite 10-K.

The men’s invitational mile field is headed by Joao N’Tyamba of Angola, who finished second in the Steve Scott Mile last week in San Diego and has a top time of 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Among the top Americans in the field is Jeff Atkinson of Manhattan Beach, a former Stanford standout and U.S. Olympian.

In the women’s mile, the favorite appears to be Teena Colebrook of Torrance, who won last year in a time of 4:52. Two other standouts figure to be former Cal State Northridge runner Darcy Arreola and former U.S. Olympian Ruth Wysocki of Canyon Lake.

Among the top competitors in the men’s elite 10-K are Brian Abshire of Phoenix, a former indoor world record holder in the 3,000, former UCLA standout Christian Cushing-Murray and Brazil’s Ibo Machado.

A strong field in the women’s elite 10-K includes former Washington standout Michele Buresh, former Michigan State runner Diana Bussa, three-time U.S. 10-K champion Jodi Hawkins of Rohnert Park and Regina Joyce, who competed for Ireland in the marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Registration will be held Friday and Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina Hotel and after 6 a.m. on race day. The cost is $20. Information: (310) 376-6913.

SERRA’S FAB FIVE

With a co-ed enrollment of only 462 students, Serra is one of the smallest high schools in the South Bay.

But when it comes to college football recruiting, the Cavaliers are making a sizable impact.

Serra has five players who are expected to sign national letters of intent with NCAA Division I programs, the most of any South Bay school. The first day players may sign with Division I schools is Wednesday.

The list is headed by linebacker Michael Wiley, who has made an unwritten commitment to attend UCLA. Other players who have made unwritten agreements include offensive lineman Greg Pollard with Colorado State and defensive back Ademole Turner with Iowa State.

In addition, running back Ricky Boyer is deciding between Arizona State and Nevada Las Vegas, and defensive end Mark Crook will attend either Iowa State or San Jose State.

Boyer was leaning toward UNLV until he took a trip to Arizona State last weekend. Iowa State appears to be the leader for the services of Crook, who is playing his first year of football, although that could change after he takes a recruiting trip to San Jose State this weekend.

Serra’s success started on the field last season when it was moved up to the Mission League, where it faced larger schools and stronger competition. The Cavaliers wound up reaching the Southern Section Division III semifinals before losing to Notre Dame, which won the division title.

Tim Boyer, Serra’s athletic director who is also Ricky’s uncle, said he is also proud of the accomplishments of the players in the classroom. All five are good students who have passed their Scholastic Assessment Test and will be eligible to compete as freshmen.

The Cavaliers also have three other players--offensive guard Reggie Dixon, offensive tackle Kevin Foreman and wide receiver Robert Jenkins--who are expected to sign with Division II or I-AA schools.

Boyer said it all goes to show that bigger isn’t always better.

“A lot of bigger schools get more attention than us,” Boyer said. “But we think this speaks well for smaller schools in general.”

TALENT POOL

Several other area players are expected to continue their playing careers in college.

At the top of the list is Leuzinger linebacker Aaron Williams, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound all-state selection who led his team in tackles and was named Bay League defensive player of the year. He has visited Arizona and will take a trip to UCLA this weekend, but it appears that the leading contenders are USC and Notre Dame.

His teammate, 6-5, 275-pound tackle Ega Usu, has already made an unwritten agreement to attend Arizona. The Wildcats also have received a commitment from Hawthorne defensive back Kelvin Hunter (5-10, 160), who finished with 16 interceptions in his varsity career.

Another highly regarded prospect is Carson’s J.R. Redmond (6-0, 193), a running back, defensive back and return specialist who finished with 1,154 all-purpose yards as a senior. Redmond, who is being recruited as a running back, said he will choose between Arizona State, Washington State and Nebraska. He said he is leaning toward Arizona State.

Banning, Carson’s longtime rival, also has a major prospect in defensive back Eric Whitfield (6-2, 195), who has agreed to attend UCLA. He also excels as a tailback and receiver.

Two players from South Torrance have made commitments: cornerback Melvyn Miller (5-11, 170) will attend Washington and wide receiver and defensive back Chad Morton (5-9, 165) picked USC. Morton sat out most of the 1994 season after breaking his collarbone in South’s first game.

Bishop Montgomery also has solid prospects in Brandon McLemore (6-3, 180) and Omarr Smith (5-9, 170), who both play wide receiver and defensive back. McLemore, whose older brother Cristin stars for Oregon, is deciding between the Ducks, Colorado State and California. The finalists for Smith are Utah, New Mexico and Idaho.

Peninsula’s top recruit is running back Petros Papadakis (6-1, 200), who appears to be leaning toward California over Oregon. In addition, defensive lineman Phil Fonua has received offers from USC and Arizona despite missing the 1994 season after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm last summer.

NEW WARRIORS

The El Camino College football team has received a boost for next season with the transfer of two highly regarded players from Pasadena City College who have had academic problems.

The Warriors, who finished 9-2 last season and advanced to the Southern California Bowl, have added running back Saladin McCullough and linebacker Treyvone Towns.

The 5-9, 175-pound McCullough originally signed a national letter of intent with USC after an exceptional senior year at Pasadena Muir High, where he rushed for 2,138 yards and 36 touchdowns and made the all-state team. But his SAT score was ruled invalid by an arbitrator and McCullough didn’t qualify for enrollment in subsequent attempts and wound up playing at Pasadena City last year.

The 6-3, 215-pound Towns signed with San Diego State after a standout career at Pasadena High. He never enrolled at the university because he didn’t meet the NCAA’s Proposition 48 entrance requirements.

The academic difficulty apparently continued for the players at Pasadena City, although Warrior Coach John Featherstone is hopeful their fortunes will take a turn for the better at El Camino.

“We just want them to get their academics straightened out,” Featherstone said. “This is it for them and they need to get themselves together.

“We understand we’re gambling a bit because they had an unfortunate (academic) situation at Pasadena City College,” Featherstone said. “I just hope it works out for them here. It’ll be great if it works out.”

PLAY BALL!

Pitching will be in the spotlight for the Loyola Marymount baseball team when it opens its fourth season under Coach Jody Robinson with a three-game nonconference series against Nevada Las Vegas that starts Friday in Las Vegas.

The first game is at 3:05 p.m. Friday, and the series concludes with games at 1:05 Saturday and 12:05 Sunday.

With four starting pitchers returning from last year’s team, which finished 26-31, the Lions expect to rely more on pitching and defense than they did in their first three seasons under Robinson. The pitching staff includes sophomore Jason Hueth, juniors Ryan Graves and Andy Collett and senior Shawn Hammett.

The offense is expected to be sparked by sophomore shortstop Marc Mirizzi, who batted .341 and made the freshman All-America first team last season, and senior outfielder Mike Peters, an honorable mention All-West Coast Conference selection who batted .311 with seven home runs and 44 runs batted in as a junior.

BRIGHT SPOT

It has been mostly a struggle for the Loyola Marymount women’s basketball team this season, but a noteworthy exception has been the play of forward Tanya White.

The 6-1 senior ranks third in the West Coast Conference in scoring with a 17.5-point average and fourth in rebounding at 8.4 a game. She is also fifth in field goal shooting at 52.9%.

White passed Joelle Longobardi last week to move into fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,016 points and she is also fourth in all-time rebounds with 561. The Lions (3-12, 0-4) visit rival Pepperdine in a WCC game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Malibu.

KNIGHTS PICK SANDERS

Mike Sanders, defensive coordinator at Whittier College last season, has been named football coach at Bishop Montgomery High. Sanders, who was also an assistant at La Verne Damien for three years, is the fifth coach in seven years at the school.

He replaces Matt Giacalone, who resigned after coaching the Knights to back-to-back 3-7 seasons. The Knights have not had a winning season since they finished 6-4 under Steve Carroll in 1991.