Sports

FAST TRACK

There will be no shortage of South Bay participants during the high school portion of the 36th Sunkist Invitational indoor track-and-field meet at noon Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Perennial power Morningside, which won its fifth consecutive Southern Section Division III girls championship and third Division III boys title in a row last season, has 11 entries in the meet, including six in the girls division.

The high school portion of the meet is expected to have nearly 2,000 participants from more than 300 schools nationwide.

In the girls division, Morningside has two entries in the 50-meter dash and 50 hurdles. Miesha Withers and Sonny Butler will run in separate heats of the 50 and Nicole Thomas and Rory Kelly are entered in separate heats of the 50 hurdles. Morningside will also compete in the 640 and 1,760-yard relays.

The top event for the Morningside boys is expected to be the 50, where Ray Butler and William Taylor are entered in separate heats. Another top individual is Michael Turner in the triple jump; the Monarchs will also compete in the 1,760 and rated 1,280 relays.

Other schools that will enter sizable contingents include Peninsula, Gardena and Bishop Montgomery.

City Section power Gardena is led by Ron Stewart, who will compete in the high jump and triple jump. The Gardena girls are led by Dreshionda Broadway in the 50, Kimela West in the long jump and relay teams in the 640 and 1,760 events.

Peninsula’s strength in past years has been in distance running and the Panthers have another standout in Molly Mehlberg, who is entered in the two-mile run. The Panthers will also feature Josh Ambrose in the high jump and are competing in the boys and girls 3,520-yard relays.

Bishop Montgomery’s top individuals are Jonathan Lee in the rated mile and Vicky Anwuri in the 500-yard run. The Knights are also entered in the girls 640 and 1,760 relays.

Carson’s entries include Lonnie Cruel in the 500, Patrick McCall in the long jump and its 640 relay team.

Banning will compete in the boys 1,720 and 1,280 relays and the girls 640 relay. Serra is entered in the boys 1,760 and 640 relays and Inglewood in the boys rated 1,280 relay and girls seeded 1,280 relay.

Other individuals expected to compete include South Torrance’s Simone Ferrara in the rated mile and Chad Morton in the football 50 meters. Morton, who missed nearly the entire football season because of a broken collarbone, will be matched in his heat against Daylon McCutcheon of La Puente Bishop Amat and Chris McAlister of Pasadena.

Other individuals to watch include Hawthorne’s Larry Cooper in the 50; Leuzinger football standout Aaron Williams in the discus and Mira Costa’s Derek Loudenback in the rated 880-yard run.

Longtime South Bay coaches Ron Tatum and Joe Estrada of Morningside and Joe Kelly of Peninsula will be honored during the meet along with three other coaches who were the first inductees into the Sunkist Invitational High School Track Coaches Hall of Fame.

DON’T COUNT THEM OUT

There were a number of factors that contributed to the early struggles of the Serra High boys’ basketball team.

First and foremost was a challenging nonleague schedule. The Cavaliers traveled to St. Petersberg, Fla., in December for the Boca Ciega tournament and lost to two of the Sunshine State’s top teams.

There was also a shortage of senior experience on the squad. Serra has only three seniors on its 13-man roster.

But the Cavaliers have come of age since the start of Del Rey League play, one of the most competitive leagues in the Southern Section. They entered the week tied for first place with St. John Bosco at 6-2 and have climbed above .500 at 12-11.

“Our team is young and it took us a while to mature,” Coach Dwan Hurt said. “But we’re playing better and smarter now than we have all season.”

Hurt said seniors Milton Palacio, Leonard Butler and Paul Foster have played the biggest role in leading the Cavaliers’ turnaround.

The 6-foot-3 1/2 Palacio is the team’s leading scorer with a 19-point average.

“He’s the most underrated point guard in Southern California,” Hurt said. “That’s what I heard one coach say about him and he’s been a big factor for us.”

Another has been the late-season development of the 6-7 Butler, who has been a force as a scorer and rebounder in Del Rey play.

“He had a few problems not pertaining to school earlier in the season, and we had to take him out of the starting lineup,” Hurt said. “We had to put a sophomore in his place and that’s a big reason why we struggled early on. But since he’s come back, he’s really played well and we’ve done a lot better.”

With the team’s late-season development, Hurt is optimistic about Serra’s postseason chances when the playoffs start next week.

“This team will be a factor in the playoffs,” Hurt said. “If you win through adversity, there’s no telling what you can do. I think the best is yet to come.”

STARTING A NEW STREAK

The streak is over for the Harbor College women’s basketball team.

When the Seahawks were defeated last week by Long Beach City, 64-62, it marked the first time in nearly four seasons that Harbor had lost to a South Coast Conference team aside from Cerritos.

The Seahawks (24-5, 8-1 in conference) still appear to be well on their way to another conference title. They responded to the loss with a resounding 89-59 victory over Cerritos, the first time Harbor has defeated the Falcons twice in a season in conference play.

Harbor plays host to struggling El Camino (3-20, 0-7) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Seahawks have been led by sophomore guard Michelle Duckworth, who averages 27 points, six rebounds and six steals in conference games, and sophomore forward Rayjanette Lampkin, who averages 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds.

TITLE SEARCH

Three consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. victories have put the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s basketball in position to contend for the conference title.

The Toros (15-3, 3-2) are in a three-way tie for second place with Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State San Bernardino, a game behind conference leader UC Riverside. The Toros play host to Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30 tonight and Riverside at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

At the very least, Dominguez Hills has a good chance of making the four-team CCAA postseason tournament.

The Toros have been led by junior forward Faye Hagan and senior guard Pam Kirkwood. Hagan averages 19.4 points and 9.5 rebounds and Kirkwood 16.7 points and 9.2 rebounds.

GET SMART

Four athletes from Loyola Marymount have been named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic team for the fall sports season.

The list includes volleyball player Tracy Holman, a freshman setter from South Torrance High. In her first season with the Lions, Holman was named WCC freshman of the year and was an All-WCC first-team selection as Loyola won the conference title. She is a biology major with a 3.45 grade-point average.

Holman was joined on the all-academic team by teammate Mardell Wrensch and soccer players Brad Legant and Judey Petix.

Wrensch, a junior middle blocker who majors in communications and has a 3.28 GPA, was an All-WCC first-team selection. Legant, a sophomore midfielder who also majors in communications and has a 3.33 GPA, was an honorable mention all-conference selection. Petix, a senior midfielder who majors in humanities and has a 3.52 GPA, was the Lions’ second-leading scorer.

FRESH START

Today is the start of a new era for the Dominguez Hills women’s softball team, which opens the season with a doubleheader against Long Beach State at 1:30 p.m. at Long Beach.

First-year Toro Coach Stephanie Fleischaker, a former assistant at Nevada Las Vegas, takes over the program from Estela Gutierrez, who resigned in the off-season to accept a position with a sporting goods company.

The Toros were 14-28 and 5-15 in CCCA play last year.

The Toros are expected to be led by All-CCAA second baseman Gloria Saldana, a senior who ranked among the team’s leaders last season with 35 hits, 29 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

PROMISING BEGINNING

The Loyola Marymount women’s softball team, off to its best start in school history, will open its home season with a doubleheader against St. Mary’s at noon Saturday.

The Lions (3-1) split a doubleheader with Concordia Irvine and swept a doubleheader against Occidental. In a 2-1 loss to Concordia, freshman pitcher Jenny Chambers pitched a one-hitter but was the victim of two errors that led to Concordia’s runs.

Loyola’s offense was in high gear in 10-2 and 17-2 victories over Occidental. The 17 runs were the most the Lions have scored in five years.

CLASSIC VICTORIES

The Harbor College baseball team (4-0), along with rival El Camino, won all of their games last week in the six-team South Bay Classic. The Seahawks defeated Valley, 7-1, Mission, 8-4, East Los Angeles, 7-6, and Golden West, 4-2.

Harbor was led by freshman third baseman Steve Rawson, who sparked a four-run rally in the top of the ninth inning against East Los Angeles with a two-out, three-run homer. He had two home runs in the tournament.

The Seahawks have a rematch against Valley in the first round of the Western State Conference Invitational at 10 a.m. Saturday at Valley. Harbor will also visit College of the Canyons at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Pierce at 10 a.m. Sunday and Moorpark at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in its other games in the round-robin tournament.

As for El Camino, the Warriors’ play in the South Bay Classic was a promising sign for a program that has struggled in recent years. The Warriors scored 55 runs in their four tournament games, including wins of 16-4 over Golden West and 21-1 over Mission.

MISCELLANY

Boys and girls may register for the 4 “D” Stars 1995 Spring Development High School Basketball League from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the North Torrance High gym, 3620 W. 182nd St., Torrance.

Registration will also be at the same time and site Feb. 22 and March 1. The season starts March 19. The cost is $75 and includes a jersey. Information: Jeff Kundrat or Reinaldo Henry-Ala at (310) 320-1346.

* The Southern California Slow-Two-Pitch Softball Assn. is conducting registration for one-day tournaments from February through April at Wilson Park in Torrance. Teams are guaranteed at least three games in each tournament. The cost is $150 a team.

Information: Russ Johnson at (310) 866-8685.