Canyon’s Bustos Is Headed to Palm Beach

Canyon High softball player Crystl Bustos, the 1994 Times Valley Player of the Year, will sign a letter of intent today to play for Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Fla.

Bustos batted .573 with 10 home runs, 27 runs batted in and 31 stolen bases last season. After missing most of this season because she was academically ineligible, Bustos has picked up where she left off, batting .625 (15 for 24).

“We feel very fortunate that we got her; we’re very excited,” said Palm Beach Coach Joann Ferrieri, who played on a national championship team at Cal State Fullerton in 1986. “She’s going to add a lot of credibility to our program.”

The Panthers, in their second year of interscholastic softball, finished eighth in the state this season with a 27-18 record. Bustos, despite her academic problems, was sought by UCLA and Cal State Northridge, among other Division I schools.

Bustos is the second area player signed by Ferrieri. Alemany catcher Jamie Moore, another 1994 All-Valley player, is the other.

Track and Field

Kevin Marsden of Thousand Oaks High, the No. 3 runner on Lancer cross-country teams that won the 1993 and ’94 State Division I championships, has accepted an appointment to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Marsden, who placed fifth in the 1993 State Division I cross-country championships and ninth last year, took recruiting trips to Air Force, UCLA and Azusa Pacific before making his decision.

Although UCLA did not offer him a scholarship, Marsden said he’d been leaning toward Air Force all along.

“I liked all the benefits of going there,” he said. “I might want to make the Air Force my career and this is a good way to see if I like it.”

Marsden, who has personal bests of 1 minute 57.15 seconds in the 800 meters and 4:17.67 in the 1,600, missed much of this track season with a case of mononucleosis, but won the 800 Friday in the Marmonte League championships at Camarillo High to advance to next week’s Southern Section Division I prelims.

Cycling

Thurlow Rogers of Van Nuys won the Bisbee Criterium last weekend in Bisbee, Ariz., and remained in first place in the National Cup Series points standings.

Rogers, who rides for the Valley-based Nutra-Fig Racing Team, leads the nation in points after six Cup events.

Teammates Chris Walker of Ventura ranks fifth and John Wordin of West Hills is 15th.

Volleyball

Strathmore High’s Aylson Fisler signed a letter of intent to play at The Master’s College.

Fisler, a 5 foot-11 outside hitter, was a redshirt at Fresno Pacific last season. She was the most valuable player of the Eastern Sierra League at Strathmore in 1993.

Football

Paraclete High has scheduled a coaches’ clinic today that will feature Bloomington Coach Don Markham and Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson.

Information: 805-943-3255.

* Contributing: Steve Elling, Dana Haddad, John Ortega, Bryan Rodgers.