Kranz Wins Top Award in Softball

Kelli Kranz of Saugus High has been selected as Southern Section Division II most valuable softball player by the CIF-Southern Section Coaches’ Assn.

Kranz, a senior shortstop who has signed a letter of intent with Southwest Texas State, batted .459, drove in 38 runs and scored 33 for the Centurions (23-5), who were upset by La Mirada, 4-0, in the second round of the playoffs.

La Canada pitcher Lindsay Parker was selected as the Division IV co-most valuable player and La Canada Coach Tom Parker--her father--was honored as coach of the year.

Lindsay Parker shared the most-valuable-player award with San Bernardino Cajon pitcher Lana Moran, who led the Cowboys to the Division IV title game before losing to La Canada, 2-0.

Parker posted a 25-3 record with an 0.07 earned-run-average for the Spartans (25-3).

She allowed 35 hits, struck out 374 batters, walked 18 and gave up only two earned runs in 198 innings.

Track and Field

Seniors Antonio Arce of Palmdale High and Eleazar Hernandez of Camarillo will run in the boys’ 3,200 meters in the Golden West Invitational at American River College in Sacramento today.

Arce, who finished fifth in the 3,200 and sixth in the 1,600 in last Saturday’s State championships at Cerritos College, said he needed a break from racing after his double but changed his mind.

“Antonio’s looking forward to not having to run the 1,600 this week,” Coach Rob Fairley said. “He’s raring to go.”

Hernandez’s high school career appeared to have come to an end when he finished a non-qualifying seventh in the 3,200 in the Southern Section Masters Meet two weeks ago, but he was able to get into the Golden West meet this week.

Kris McLucas and Josefina Sanchez of Ventura College will compete in the inaugural National Community College championships at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville today.

McLucas, State champion in the men’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles, is scheduled to run in that event and in the 110 high hurdles.

Sanchez is entered in the women’s 3,000, the event in which she finished sixth in the State meet.

The meet is supposed to match the top four American finishers from the National Junior College Athletic Assn. championships, the top three finishers from the California State championships and the top two finishers from the Oregon-Washington championships.

That doesn’t always happen, however. Isaac Turner and Jacques Sallberg of Glendale and Ramon Serratos of Canyons will not compete.

Turner finished second in the State championships in the 800 and Sallberg and Serratos placed first and third, respectively, in the 3,000 steeplechase.

Dale Fowle of Saugus High, the Southern Section Division I champion in the boys’ high jump, will attend Colorado State in the fall on an academic scholarship.

Fowle, who cleared a personal best of 6 feet 8 inches in five meets this season, placed sixth in the State championships last Saturday.

Baseball

Chatsworth High first baseman Jon Tucker has signed with the Dodgers.

Tucker, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound left-handed hitter, batted .370 and was among City Section leaders from the region with 10 doubles, four triples and 22 RBIs.

By signing, Tucker gives up plans he had to attend Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Ida. Terms of Tucker’s deal with the Dodgers were not disclosed. He was an eighth-round draft choice.

Tucker is expected to be assigned either to Great Falls, Mont., of the rookie Pioneer League or Yakima, Wash., of the Class-A Northwest League.

Football

Seven area high school players were selected to play in the 44th Shrine All-Star game at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, July 22. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Receiver Billy Miller of Westlake, offensive linemen Kane Cullum of Crespi and Mark Manskar of Canyon, linebackers Lawrence Larry of Littlerock and Marvin Powell of Birmingham, defensive back DaShon Polk of Taft and kicker Chris Sailer of Notre Dame are among the 36 California all-stars who will face their counterparts from Texas.

Golf

Herman Ledford, 70, of Sylmar, aced the 120-yard, par-3 17th hole at El Cariso Golf Course in Sylmar last week. Ledford has four holes in one in his career.

Moorpark College is sponsoring a camp June 19-23 for boys in eighth through 12th grades. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at Moorpark College. The fee is $100 per player.

Information: 805-378-1457.

Fishing

A three-week introductory course in fly-fishing will be presented June 22 and 29 and July 6 at the Fisherman’s Spot in Van Nuys.

Students will learn the basics of tackle, knots and connections, basic entomology and fly selection. Cost for the course is $85.

Information: 818-785-7306.

Carl Richards, author of several fly-fishing books, will be keynote speaker at the June 22 dinner meeting of the Sierra Pacific Fly-fishers at the Encino Glen restaurant adjacent to the Balboa Golf Course.

Dinner reservations are $20 for club members and $22 for non-members.

Information: 818-789-1919.

Miscellany

Arm strength, conditioning programs and mental-training programs will be conducted by the Jaeger Sports Academy starting in late June.

Information: 818-598-8095.

* Contributing: Jeff Fletcher, Steve Henson, Mike Hiserman, Paige A. Leech, John Ortega, Bryan Rodgers.