Sports : PREPS

How competitive is the Moore League in girls’ track and field?

LaKeisha Backus of Long Beach Wilson and Aminah Haddad of Long Beach Poly were the two fastest runners in the nation in the 200 meters last season, finishing first and second in last year’s state meet.

Haddad, however, failed to qualify in the 200 for the Southern Section Division I preliminaries against a loaded field in the Moore League finals at Long Beach City College Friday.

Backus, who will attend Texas, won in a wind-aided 23.10 seconds, followed by sophomore Kinshasa Davis of Wilson and UCLA-bound Andrea Anderson of Long Beach Poly in 23.55 and 23.61, respectively.

Haddad was fourth in 23.72, a time that would have been good enough for third in last year’s state championships. Only three athletes in each event, however, advanced to the Division I preliminaries Saturday at Long Beach City College.

“I never underestimate the competition and I knew I would have to run hard to win,” Backus said. “It was a tight race and I felt them on me at the curve but I felt in control with 100 to go.”

In the 100 meters, Backus overcame a slow start to defeat Anderson and Haddad to win in 11.83. Anderson was second in 11.96 and Haddad was third in 12.16.

Backus will try to erase memories of the 100 meters in last year’s Southern Section preliminaries after she was disqualified after a false start. The top nine in Saturday’s preliminaries will advance to the division finals at Cerritos College on May 20.

“I’m not worried about the competition in the prelims,” Backus said. “I’m just worried about me, Keisha. After last year, I told myself: ‘I’m never going to false start again.’ ”

In the boys’ competition, LeJuan Gibbons of Jordan, Kenyon Rambo of Poly and John Davis of Wilson each won two events.

Gibbons, who will attend Washington State on a football scholarship, won the 100 (11.06) and 200 (21.80). Rambo won the 110-meter high hurdles (14.50) and 300 intermediate hurdles (38.77), and Davis was victorious in the shotput (57-feet-2) and discus (164-0).

* Schea Cotton, considered one of the best high school basketball players in the nation, has transferred from Mater Dei to St. John Bosco.

Cotton, who attended his first day of classes at St. John Bosco Monday, spent three months of his freshman year at St. John Bosco before transferring to Mater Dei in December, 1993, after four games.

At Mater Dei, the 6-5 forward was a two-year starter, averaging 22 points and nine rebounds. He averaged 24.8 points and 10.8 rebounds last season to lead the Monarchs to the State Division I title.

A Parade All-American, Cotton was selected the Southern Section Division I-A Player of the Year last season and chosen to the All-Southern Section Division I and Times’ All-Orange County teams in his sophomore and freshman seasons.

Schea’s mother, Gaynell Cotton, said the move was for business reasons, prompted by the family’s construction company, which is conducting the majority of business in the earthquake-damaged San Fernando Valley. She said the family plans to move from Huntington Beach to San Pedro.

* Rick Westberg won the 50-meter freestyle (21.45) and 100 freestyle (47.29) and anchored the Bruins’ 200- and 400-freestyle relay teams to victory in 1:32.50 and 3:18.18 to lead defending champion Long Beach Wilson to the Moore League swimming title last Thursday at Belmont Plaza. His time in the 50 freestyle broke the 1985 school record of 21.52 held by Robert Lynn.

The Bruins took eight of 11 events to win with a total of 383 points. Poly and Lakewood were second and third with 297 and 181 points, respectively.

Keith Feldmen and Doven Holley of Wilson were winners in the 200 freestyle (1:46.83) and 100 backstroke (54.82).

* The Long Beach Wilson girls’ swimming team won its 18th consecutive league title in the Moore League finals Friday at Belmont Plaza.

The Bruins, who avenged a defeat to Long Beach Poly in the regular season, amassed 386 points, winning seven of 11 events. Poly was second with 335, followed by Millikan and Lakewood with 180 and 172 points, respectively.

Tracy Bastain won the 50 freestyle (25.36) and the 100 butterfly (1:01.03). Bastain joined Lauren Westberg and sisters Kristin and Brianna Barth on Wilson’s 200 freestyle relay, which set a meet record of 1:24.18. Bastain also teamed with Westburg, Jackie Frank and Kristin Barth on the Bruins’ victorious 400 freestyle relay.

Other Wilson winners included Kristin Barth in the 200 individual medley (2:12.68), Westberg in the 100 freestyle (53.99) and Frank in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.71).

Heather Zerby of Poly won the 200 and 500 freestyle in 1:56.68 and 5:02.28 and anchored the Jackrabbits’ 200 medley relay to victory in a meet record 1:53.64.

* The Long Beach Wilson golf team finished third in the CIF Western Regionals Monday at Royal Vista golf course in Walnut to qualify for the Southern Section team finals for the second time in three seasons.

Brian Merrick and Mark Mawaring shot 73 and 75, respectively, to lead the Bruins, who finished with a combined team score of 395. Dana Dahlquist (81), Jason Wiley (82) and Nick Tippett (84) rounded out the Wilson scoring.

Peninsula won with a score of 374 and Torrance was second at 388. The top three teams advanced to the Southern Section championships at Sandpiper Country Club in Goleta. Millikan, behind Kevin Wurtz (76), Charles Whiteley (79) and Rob Anderson (81), was fifth with a score of 400.

* The Lakewood boys’ volleyball team is seeded fourth in the Division II playoffs.

Josh Sanders had 17 kills and Bunly Ngienak added 14 to pace Lakewood to a 15-10, 15-17, 15-6 victory over Long Beach Poly for a share of the Moore League title with the Jackrabbits at 9-1.

Lakewood will play host to Rancho Alamitos in a first-round match Friday night at 7 and Poly will play at Ocean View.

Other Division II matches include California at Upland, Montebello at Valley Christian, Long Beach Wilson at Cypress, Servite at Lynwood, Valencia at Warren, Claremont at Santa Fe and Cerritos at Highland.

Division III: Pius X at Flintridge Prep, Cantwell-Sacred Heart at St. Margaret’s and Viewpoint at St. John Bosco.

* Lakewood is seeded third in the Southern Section Division II badminton playoffs. The Moore League champion will play host to Redlands in the first round Tuesday afternoon at 3 and Millikan will travel to Hacienda Heights Wilson.

Long Beach Poly played in a wild-card match against Bonita Wednesday. The winner will play at Etiwanda.

* Four Southeast/Long Beach high schools have been selected winners in the 13th Shake for Sportsmanship Award program sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Adohr Farms.

Montebello (Almont), California (Del Rio), Long Beach Jordan (Moore) and Glenn (Suburban) were chosen by their respective leagues on the basis of participation, enthusiasm, behavior and treatment of opponents and contest officials.

The schools will be honored at an awards ceremonies at Dodger Stadium before the Dodgers’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday night.

COLLEGES

The Cerritos College baseball team opens the first round of the Southern California Regionals at home against Rio Hondo Friday and Saturday. Cerritos (32-11) is seeded second behind Rancho Santiago (33-9) in the 16-team regional. Rio Hondo (28-12) is seeded 15th.

The first game of the three-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday with the second game at 11 a.m. Saturday. A third game will be played after the second game Saturday if needed.

* Carlos Olea and Ken Gaylord of Cerritos College have been selected the South Coast player and coach of the year.

Olea, a sophomore second baseman, set a school record for most conference hits with 47 and batted .439.

Olea, who drove in 29 runs and had 10 doubles in 24 conference games, has struck out only three times in 196 at-bats over the past two years in South Coast Conference play.

Gaylord guided the Falcons to a 20-4 record in South Coast conference play and their first conference title since 1992.

Pitcher Jason Marr, outfielder Jose Miranda and designated hitter Matt Eeles were also chosen to the first team for Cerritos. Catcher Ricky Hicks and pitcher Chico Medrano were first-team selections for Long Beach City College.

Catcher Rod Barajas, infielder David McRill, pitchers John Ruiz and Eric Boardman, and outfielders Santos Cortez and Fito Marquez of Cerritos were chosen to the second team along with third baseman Greg Negrete of Long Beach.

Chris Tinson of Compton, Eric Pangelinan of Long Beach and Tony Vasquez of Cerritos were honorable mention selections.

* The Compton College baseball team (5-27) finished ninth in South Coast Conference play at 4-20. Chris Tinson batted .340 and scored 22 runs and Carlos Martinez batted .322 and drove in 13 runs.

* Long Beach State, seeking its fifth consecutive NCAA berth and sixth in seven years, will play host to the inaugural Big West Conference tournament this weekend at Blair Field.

Long Beach (32-19-1) swept a three-game series against Nevada Las Vegas, including a one-hitter by Rocky Biddle in a 9-0 victory Sunday, to finish in second place in the conference standings at 16-5.

Biddle, who pitched his third complete game, was named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row. The freshman right-hander is 4-0 against conference opponents with a 4.19 earned-run average.

Junior third baseman Jeff Liefer leads the 49ers with a .352 average. Junior first baseman Jason Hodges and senior first baseman Kirk Pierce are hitting .350 and .344, respectively.

Junior right-hander Scott Rivette (8-4) ranks third in the conference in strikeouts (118) and earned-run average (2.80). He earned the victory Friday against UNLV, striking out 13.

The 49ers, ranked 20th by Collegiate Baseball, will play third-place Nevada (34-16, 12-9) in the opening round of the tournament at 7:05 Friday night. The game will be preceded by the 3:05 p.m. matchup between first-place Cal State Fullerton (45-9, 18-3) and fourth-place Nevada Las Vegas (32-19, 11-10).

The four-team double-elimination tournament will continue with games on Saturday at 11:05 a.m. and 3:05 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1:05, followed by another game at 5:05 p.m., if needed. The winner will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

* The Big West Conference track and field finals will be staged at Long Beach State Friday and Saturday.