Sports

BACK IN ACTION

It has been a long road back to competition for Phil Fonua of Mira Costa High.

Entering his senior season, Fonua was a consensus preseason prep All-America selection and regarded as one of the top defensive line prospects in the nation. He was also one of the top basketball players in the South Bay and one of the Southern Section leaders in the shotput.

But during an August workout in the Mira Costa weight room, Fonua collapsed and suffered a brain aneurysm. He was hospitalized for more than a month.

Eight months later, the 17-year-old will compete for the shotput title at the Division III track and field finals Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Fonua didn’t leave the hospital until Sept. 13, the same day Mira Costa played its first football game of the season. He resumed weightlifting and jogging a week later.

Unfortunately, he was unable to play in any sport for most of his senior year.

“It felt good that I could watch the games again, but I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t play,” he said.

Fonua also had difficulty in the classroom.

“After the aneurysm, I didn’t really like school because there was no sports,” he said. “But then I realized that I needed to go to school and work hard in order to graduate and go on to college.”

His spirits were lifted about a month ago when he received the go-ahead from his doctor to compete in track again. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Fonua has gradually increased his strength again and recently lifted 330 pounds in the bench press.

At the Division III preliminaries last week, he finished third in the shotput with a throw of 52-feet-8 1/2. He expects to be in the 55- to 56-foot range at the finals this week and is hoping to approach his personal best of 57-6 at the state meet in June.

He also dreams of playing football at USC in the fall, and has a scholarship waiting for him whether or not he ever plays a down again, although he has yet to receive clearance from his doctor to play football.

“If I don’t I’ll just go to school and focus on my academic life,” Fonua said.

OFF AND RUNNING

The Morningside High boys and girls track teams will be in a familiar position when they compete in the Southern Section Division III finals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

The Monarchs, who have won five consecutive girls championships and three consecutive boys titles, are among the favorites in both divisions. They are especially strong in the girls division despite the fact that most of their top athletes are underclassmen.

Leading the way are junior hurdlers Nicole Thomas and Rori Kelly. Both won their heats in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles during the prelims last week.

Thomas, one of the top hurdlers in the state, turned in the fastest time of the day in both events. She won the 100 hurdles in 15.41 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 43.35 seconds.

The Monarchs also figure to score heavily in the 100-meter dash and the 400 and 1,600 relays.

“I think the girls are sitting in a much better position, but they’re both in a challenging situation,” longtime Coach Ron Tatum said. “We need good performances from everyone.”

The boys expect to receive a strong challenge from Loyola, which posted the fastest qualifying mark in three events in the prelims. Morningside is led by Michael Turner in the 110-meter high hurdles and the long and triple jumps. The Monarchs also excel in the relays.

Tatum said Turner is still suffering from the effects of a foot injury that occurred earlier in the season. “I think he could do better if he was 100%,” Tatum said. “But he’s simply taken on the mental position that he’s going to go out and compete with it.”

ON A ROLL

The Harbor College baseball team (28-18) will meet South Coast Conference rival Cerritos (34-11) at 11 a.m. Friday in the opening game of the four-team double-elimination Southern California community college regional finals at Norwalk.

In the other opener, Cypress plays Imperial Valley or Bakersfield at Cerritos.

It will be the fourth time Harbor and Cerritos have played this season, with Cerritos holding a 2-1 lead in the series.

Harbor will have added incentive against Cerritos, which put an end to the Seahawk streaks of nine consecutive conference titles and back-to-back South Coast championships.

Cerritos has been ranked among the top teams in the state, but Harbor played as well as it has all season in the first round of the playoffs against Hancock last week in Santa Maria. The Seahawks beat Hancock, 11-4 and 2-0.

Pitcher Christian Apodaca struck out 13 in seven innings and Harbor took advantage of 14 Hancock errors to win the first game. In the second game, Rich Condon pitched a shutout, Harbor’s first of the season.

The winner of the regional tournament, which continues through Sunday, advances to the state tournament next weekend in Fresno.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

West Torrance High will play host to Long Beach Wilson in the first round of the Division I baseball playoffs at 3 p.m. Friday.

The Warriors (22-6), who moved up two divisions after finishing second to La Quinta in the Division III title game last year, enter postseason play as the top-ranked team from the Bay League after winning a coin toss with co-champion Peninsula.

West is led by catcher Tony Cosentino, designated hitter George Delgadillo and infielder Jimmy Yates. The Warriors also have a solid pitching staff that includes John Lockhart and Kirk Bolling.

Bay League rival Peninsula (19-5) will visit Marmonte League runner-up Royal in its Division I opener at 3 p.m. Friday in Simi Valley.

The only South Bay team seeded in the playoffs is Chadwick (15-2) in Division V. The Dolphins, who won the Prep League title, are seeded No. 4 and will play host to Faith Baptist at 3 p.m. Friday.

In other first-round games at 3 p.m. Friday, Ocean League champion El Segundo will play host to either Dos Pueblos, Redondo is at Alhambra in Division II and Mary Star will play host to Pasadena Poly in Division V.

ADD PLAYOFFS

Redondo High is the only South Bay team that has been seeded in the Southern Section softball playoffs that start Friday.

The Sea Hawks (22-3), who won the Ocean League championship for the third year in a row, are seeded No. 4 in Division II and will play host to Alhambra in a first-round game at 3 p.m. Friday. Redondo has been led by pitcher Kerry Martin, who is 18-3 with 14 shutouts.

In other first-round games Friday, Bay League champion Peninsula will play host to Arcadia in Division I and Ocean League runner-up El Segundo will play host to Costa Mesa in Division II.

HONOR ROLL

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s softball team did not earn an NCAA Division II playoff berth, but the Toros hit the jackpot when it comes to individual honors.

Leading the way is Coach Stephanie Fleischaker, who was named California Collegiate Athletic Assn. coach of the year in her first season at Dominguez Hills, and sophomore pitcher Tamara Sagert, who was voted the conference’s most valuable pitcher.

Sagert established five school records, including most wins in a season, finishing with a 31-15 record and 1.44 earned-run average. Her win total was second in the nation in Division II.

Three other Dominguez Hills players also made the All-CCAA first team: senior second baseman Gloria Saldana, junior catcher Judy Enami and junior center fielder Melissa Graham. Sagert, Enami and Graham also made the all-region team selected by the National Softball Coaches Assn.

ADD HONOR ROLL

First baseman Andy Collett of the Loyola Marymount baseball team, who led the West Coast Conference with 51 runs batted in and shared the lead in home runs with 11, was named Tuesday to the all-conference first team.

Collett, a junior who had a .329 batting average, was the only Lion selected to the first team. Making the second team were sophomore shortstop Marc Mirizzi, junior second baseman Ikaika Hoopi, senior outfielder Mike Peters and sophomore utility player Jason Hueth.

Mirizzi led the Lions with a .332 batting average and 77 hits, and Hoopi batted .326 and led Loyola with 57 runs. Senior pitcher Shawn Hammett received honorable mention on the all-conference team.

RISING STAR

A 13-year-old girl from the South Bay is rapidly establishing a reputation as one of the top youth gymnasts in the U.S.

Kristen Chang of Manhattan Beach placed ninth overall in her first appearance at the U.S. Gymnastic Federation Junior Nationals last weekend in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Chang, who trains at American Gymnastic Academy in Long Beach, is already regarded as the best in the state in the junior division for girls 12-14. She finished with an all-around score of 37.525 at the nationals, missing a berth on the Junior Olympic National Team by one-tenth of a point.

MISCELLANY

Carson High has named Mike Sakurai, defensive coordinator at the school last season, as its football coach. Sakurai replaces David Williams, who resigned in February after compiling a 14-13 record over the past two seasons, including the 1993 City Section 4-A Division title.

Sakurai, who coached rival Gardena from 1989-92, coached the Carson sophomore team in 1993 before becoming varsity defensive coordinator last season. The Colts were 4-9 last season, including three forfeits because of the use of ineligible players.

* Dan Omaboe of Marymount College became only the second men’s player in the state community college ranks to win back-to-back singles titles when he accomplished the feat at the state community college tennis championships last week at West Lane Racquet Club in Stockton.