Northridge Picks Three Assistants for Football

Cal State Northridge announced the selection of three assistant football coaches for next season.

Kendall Blackburn, a defensive line coach from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Jeff Kearin, a graduate assistant coach from USC, and Ron Ponciano, from Missouri Western State, have accepted the positions and will be hired pending administrative approval.

Northridge’s coaching staff has been completely revamped.

Head Coach Dave Baldwin, who was at Santa Rosa Junior College last year, was hired in May to replace Bob Burt.

Northridge is accepting applications for four part-time coaching positions.

Basketball

Ventura County is losing two successful girls’ basketball coaches. Glenn Gray is leaving Ventura High after building the Cougars into one of the area’s top programs, and Don Salado, who has coached the boys’ and girls’ teams at Channel Islands over the past three decades, is stepping down as the Raiders’ girls’ coach.

Gray, 56, cited his responsibilities as the Ventura County assessor as reason for his departure but hopes the coaching job stays in the family. Glenn Gray II, a history teacher at the school, has assisted his father for the past seven seasons.

In nine seasons at Ventura, Gray compiled a 163-73 record, including a 19-9 playoff mark. Three times, the Cougars reached a section divisional final. Last season, Ventura was 18-7 and reached the quarterfinals.

Salado, 60, coached the Channel Islands girls for two seasons after an illustrious career as the boys’ coach. As boys’ coach, he posted a 229-173 record that includes seven league championships and back-to-back Southern Section 2-A Division titles, in the 1976-77 and ‘77-78 seasons.

Salado, who plans to retire as a physical education teacher in two years, said he will remain in the girls’ program as the freshman coach.

Softball

Three El Camino Real High players, junior Tami Jones, sophomore Ramona Shelburne and junior Kristin Gutekunst, were among 11 area players named to the All-City Section 4-A Division first team.

Granada Hills, which defeated the defending champion Conquistadores in the semifinals, is represented by junior pitcher Jessica Creith and sophomore third baseman Missy Miller.

Cristina Mendoza (Sylmar), Kristy Rebbeck (Reseda), Rosie Yeatts (Reseda), Lupe Brambila (Monroe), Sandra Durazo (Kennedy) and Dayna McCall (Kennedy) also were named to the team.

San Pedro seniors Nicole DeLuca and Michele Spanjol were named co-players of the year.

Four local players made the 3-A team: junior Melanie Wood (Verdugo Hills), sophomore Jodi Kent (Verdugo Hills), senior Anna Celaya (North Hollywood) and senior Leticia Pelayo (Poly).

Five players with Valley connections will be playing in the 1995 Olympic Festival, to be held in Denver starting July 21.

The South team will feature current University of Arizona and former Glendale High standout Jenny Dalton and Sheila Cornell, formerly of Taft High and UCLA. Amy Chellevold of Thousand Oaks and the University of Arizona will compete for the East team, while the North team will include former CSUN player Barbara Jordan and former El Camino Real and UCLA player Karen Walker-Deegan.

Baseball

Quartz Hill High senior pitcher Darrell Hussman was the only area player selected to the South team for the California Coaches Assn. Rawlings Senior All-Star Classic in Fresno this weekend.

Hussman, a senior right-hander, was 9-1 with a 1.14 earned-run average and was selected in the 31st round by the Detroit Tigers.

Shortstop Eric Flores of Rio Mesa High, a 16th-round pick in last week’s major league amateur draft, has signed a contract with the Dodgers valued at $30,000.

Flores, who batted .442 and drove in 23 runs for Rio Mesa this season, is expected to report to the Dodgers’ rookie-league affiliate in Great Falls, Mont., on June 15.

Volleyball

Village Christian’s Steve Levoe was named Southern Section Division III coach of the year. Levoe, in his fourth year, coached the Crusaders to the Alpha League title and their first appearance in a Division III final.

Campbell Hall’s Eric Hassan was named Alpha League most valuable player.

Contributing: Jeff Fletcher, Mike Hiserman, Michael Lazarus, John Lynch, Mike Bresnahan, John Ortega, Bryan Rodgers.