THE TIMES ORANGE COUNTY ALL-SPORTS AWARD : TWO ON TOP : Mater Dei, Laguna Hills Win Annual Contest

This year, Mater Dei didn’t fold its tent.

Last year, the Monarchs were poised at the end of the winter season to overtake Edison and win the inaugural Times Orange County All-Sports Award in the large-school division. But they faltered in the spring and finished eighth.

Edison didn’t stay in first, either. That spot went to Los Alamitos.

Heading into this spring season, Mater Dei had a commanding 34.9-point lead on second-place Edison.

The Monarchs held on this time, and their heroes turned out to be an unlikely group. The success of the school’s softball team was a key as Mater Dei won the 1994-95 All-Sports Award--the county’s only comprehensive competition involving 21 Southern Section-sanctioned boys’ and girls’ sports--with 338.9 out of a possible 800 points. Sunny Hills finished second with 326 points and Woodbridge (323.6) was third.

Laguna Hills, on the strength of its swimming and track and field teams, scored 186.8 out of a possible 400 points this spring to come from behind to win the small-school title for schools with fewer than 1,200 students.

The Hawks led all county schools with 366.4 points. Brea Olinda finished second with 359.4 points, and Servite/Rosary (294.8) was third.

Gary McKnight, Mater Dei boys’ athletic director and basketball coach, was happy to win an award that honors an entire athletic program.

“It’s great for the school,” McKnight said. “We’re sometimes tagged as a football and basketball school, but this shows we’re good at other sports, too. Plus our cheerleaders won the national championship. It’s been a great senior class and a great year.

“It was great to see some of the spring sports step up from a year ago. Girls’ softball had just a phenomenal year, as young a team as they had.”

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The softball team, which featured as many as seven freshman starters, proved a big difference for Mater Dei this time around.

Last year, the Monarchs finished a game behind El Toro at the top of the South Coast League standings. They had an impressive 19-5 overall record but didn’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs and finished with 14.6 All-Sports points.

This season, the softball team contributed 34.4 points. It went undefeated against South Coast League opponents and was the county’s No. 4-ranked team at 23-4 entering the playoffs.

The Monarchs rode the leadoff hitting of freshman Kelsey Kollen, who batted .514 and led the county with 55 hits, and the pitching of junior Colleen Boddy (a county-high 26 victories and only five losses) all the way to the section final, where they fell to Marina, 3-1. Mater Dei started four freshmen and two sophomores in that game; Marina started eight seniors.

Doug Myers, The Times’ softball coach of the year, is the man most responsible for the Monarchs’ success. Everybody expected them to be good, but nobody expected them to reach the Division I championship game.

“It was a young team, but we knew we had a lot of talent,” said Myers, in his second year. “We basically came together through hard work. Good things happen to people who put in that much effort.

“Next year, obviously, expectations will be high, but the only thing I have ever hoped for any of my athletes is that they play to their potential.”

Patty Smith, Mater Dei girls’ athletic director the last two years, said she was thrilled with the contribution her half of the athletic department made to the All-Sports award.

“People will see that the girls’ teams at Mater Dei are as much of a threat as the boys,” she said.

But while key performances in the spring ensured victory for the Monarchs, it was success in the fall and winter that made it possible.

Mater Dei received Southern Section championship performances from its boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and football team, accounting for 119.3 of their 245.2 points at the end of the winter season.

In the spring, only two large schools among the final Top 20--Edison with 67 and Trabuco Hills with 93.1--had lower point productions than the Monarchs’ 93.7.

Runner-up Sunny Hills scored an impressive 166 spring points, but that wasn’t enough to make up an 84.9-point deficit after the winter.

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Garden Grove continued to be the most upwardly mobile large-division school in the spring.

Last year, the Argonauts moved up 12 places to No. 18. This year, they moved from No. 17 to No. 5, again on the strength of their Division I champion badminton team and domination of the Garden Grove League’s spring sports.

Garden Grove’s 191.2 spring points were the most of any county team.

Also making significant moves were Sunny Hills, Woodbridge and Foothill, who finished second, third and fourth after vaulting the Sunset League triumvirate of Los Alamitos, Edison and Esperanza.

Had Sunny Hills’ top-seeded boys’ tennis team won its third consecutive Division II title instead of being upset in the semifinals, the Lancers would have picked up eight additional points and come within nine-tenths of a point of Mater Dei’s winning total. As it was, the tennis team contributed 32 points and helped the Lancers move from sixth to second.

Woodbridge and Foothill can thank their boys’ swimming and diving teams, which finished fourth and fifth at the Division I finals, and their girls’ track and field teams, which finished third and sixth at the Division II finals.

Making its first appearance among the large-school Top 20 this season was No. 16 Mission Viejo, whose boys’ swim team finished first at the Division I finals and girls’ track team was first at the Division II finals. Dropping out of the Top 20 was Dana Hills.

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It didn’t help Brea Olinda, which led the small-school race by 18 points at the end of the winter season, that the school doesn’t field a volleyball team.

But even that might not have been enough to hold off Laguna Hills.

The Hawks did not lose a softball game in the Pacific Coast League, where they also finished undefeated in boys’ and girls’ swimming and track.

Their boys’ swimming team was first at the section Division II finals after finishing second last season. Senior Mark Kwok was named the boys’ swimmer of the meet after a first-place finish in the 200 individual medley and second in the 100 butterfly. Preston Hammontree, also a senior, added a couple second-place finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyles.

The Laguna Hills’ girls finished fifth at the Division II swimming finals and third at the Division III track championships.

“I thought we had a shot [at the award] because our spring sports have been just nails,” said John Stonebarger, girls’ athletic director.

“The girls have had a great year, and I’m real proud of the coaches and kids. The nice thing is that most of our girls’ teams are made up of freshmen and sophomores, so I’m not even considering retiring until I get two more years under my belt.”

Boys’ Athletic Director Dave Brown said the All-Sports Award is starting to gain interest.

“Kids on campus and people in the community are following it and thinking about it,” he said. “It’s great news and exciting that we were able to come in No. 1. It’s something to be proud of and a tribute to excellent community support, a great coaching staff and kids who are willing to work hard and make a commitment to go for it.”

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For the All-Sports Award, The Times ranked the county’s 77 high school programs using a formula developed by the paper’s editors and prep sports staff.

The rankings are based on a formula that considers record (overall through Southern Section finals or league only, depending on the sport), league finish (points for first, second, third and at-large playoff teams), and section playoff performances. The boys’ and girls’ scores are combined to determine the overall winners.

A school received no points for a sport if it went winless, did not compete in that sport or did not report. Every effort was made, through correspondence and phone calls with school and the Southern Section office, to obtain a point total for every sport fielded by every school. But records were unavailable or not received in some cases.

Each division champion will be awarded a traveling trophy, a trophy to keep and a banner to display in its gym. Second- and third-place teams in each division will receive trophies.

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Here’s how Laguna Hills overtook Brea Olinda this spring. (Point totals are rounded to 10ths of a point; the computer program used to determine the final rankings carried calculations out to 1,000ths).

* Carry-over: Brea Olinda scored 229.1 points for its fall and winter efforts; Laguna Hills scored 179.6.

* Baseball: The Wildcats finished 17-10 (6.3 points), tied for first place in the Orange League (10.0 points) but only reached the second round of the playoffs (no points). Total: 16.3.

The Hawks were 15-12 (5.6), tied for second in the Pacific Coast League (7.0) and lost in the first round of the playoffs (no points). Total: 12.6.

* Softball: Brea Olinda was 13-13 (5.0 points) and fifth in league (no points). Total: 5.0.

Laguna Hills finished 19-9 (6.8) and first in league (10.0), but lost in the second round of the playoffs (no points). Total: 16.8.

* Boys’ Track: Both teams were undefeated in league competition (10.0) and in first place (10.0). But neither finished among the top eight teams at the section finals (no points). Total: Brea Olinda 20, Laguna Hills 20.

* Girls’ Track: Again, both teams finished their league seasons undefeated (10.0) and in first place (10.0). The difference? Laguna Hills finished third at the Division III finals for 12 points. Total: Brea Olinda 20, Laguna Hills 32.

* Boys’ Swimming: Again, both were undefeated in league (10.0) and finished first (10.0). But the Hawks won the Division II championship for 20 points. Total: Brea Olinda 20, Laguna Hills 40.

* Girls’ Swimming: Brea Olinda was 3-1 in league (7.5) and finished second (7.0). Total: 14.5.

Laguna Hills finished 5-0 in league (10.0), the league champion (10.0) and placed fifth at the Division II finals (8.0). Total: 28.

* Badminton: Neither school fielded a team.

* Golf: The Wildcats were 3-1 in league (7.5) and finished second (7.0). Total: 14.5.

The Hawks finished 5-5 in league (5.0) and in third place (5.0). Total: 10.0.

* Boys’ Tennis: Brea Olinda was 10-0 in league (10.0), finished first (10.0) but lost in the first round of the playoffs (no points). Total: 20.0.

Laguna Hills was 7-3 in league (7.0) and finished second (7.0). The Hawks lost in the second round of the playoffs (no points). Total: 14.

* Boys’ Volleyball: The Wildcats did not field a team. The Hawks finished 11-6 (6.5) and second in their league (7.0), but they lost in the first round of the playoffs (no points). Laguna Hills’ total: 13.5.

* Spring Total: Laguna Hills 186.8, Brea Olinda 130.3.

“It’s a combination of a great team effort on the part of the student athletes, coaches and the community,” Laguna Hills Principal Wayne Mickaelian said. “You put all those ingredients together and you get success.”

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Final Large School Top 20

School Previous BB B G SB BS GS TEN 1. Mater Dei 245.2 17.7 0.0 13.0 34.4 2.0 9.0 3.0 2. Sunny Hills 160.3 14.4 17.5 21.5 11.3 18.0 20.0 32.0 3. Woodbridge 157.4 4.2 0.0 13.0 37.3 27.0 2.0 32.0 4. Foothill 137.8 3.4 0.0 3.8 26.9 28.0 20.0 32.0 5. Garden Grove 117.5 21.2 40.0 6.0 14.1 20.0 11.7 20.0 6. Katella 164.2 24.9 36.0 10.0 3.9 9.0 9.0 3.0 7. University 153.4 15.9 0.0 19.0 4.0 15.0 11.0 28.0 8. Los Alamitos 180.5 3.8 0.0 14.0 26.5 23.0 11.0 20.0 9. Edison 210.3 4.0 0.0 4.0 2.2 11.0 2.0 10.0 10. Esperanza 173.6 4.6 0.0 11.0 4.4 0.0 4.0 15.0 11. Tustin 122.6 17.5 0.0 1.7 3.7 18.0 15.0 11.0 12. Fountain Valley 126.8 38.8 0.0 0.0 12.2 4.0 36.0 10.0 13. Villa Park 146.6 10.4 0.0 18.8 10.7 15.0 15.0 23.0 14. Santa Margarita 131.0 33.0 0.0 28.0 4.4 2.0 11.0 11.0 15. Marina 121.6 14.5 4.0 3.0 38.3 32.0 15.0 0.0 16. Mission Viejo 105.8 4.0 0.0 0.0 7.8 40.0 28.0 15.0 17. Valencia 113.4 9.8 0.0 40.0 4.2 15.0 20.0 15.0 18. Capistrano Valley 115.9 21.1 0.0 13.0 4.4 13.0 25.0 4.0 19. El Toro 141.0 9.8 0.0 13.0 10.5 7.0 18.0 2.0 20. Trabuco Hills 131.5 12.4 0.0 13.0 12.0 19.0 0.0 10.0

School BT GT BV Total 1. Mater Dei 2.0 4.0 8.6 338.9 2. Sunny Hills 20.0 11.0 0.0 326.0 3. Woodbridge 15.0 32.0 3.8 323.6 4. Foothill 20.0 28.0 16.9 316.7 5. Garden Grove 20.0 20.0 18.2 308.7 6. Katella 20.0 18.0 0.0 298.0 7. University 15.0 15.0 3.8 280.1 8. Los Alamitos 0.0 0.0 0.0 278.7 9. Edison 2.0 28.0 3.8 277.0 10. Esperanza 20.0 31.0 10.8 274.3 11. Tustin 30.0 4.0 39.5 263.0 12. Fountain Valley 4.0 4.0 26.4 262.3 13. Villa Park 11.0 11.0 0.0 261.4 14. Santa Margarita 19.0 11.0 8.0 258.8 15. Marina 13.0 13.0 3.8 258.1 16. Mission Viejo 20.0 36.0 0.7 257.3 17. Valencia 11.0 4.0 13.0 245.4 18. Capistrano Valley 23.0 2.0 16.7 238.0 19. El Toro 20.0 4.0 12.0 237.3 20. Trabuco Hills 0.0 15.0 11.7 224.6

KEY: Previous--Carryover from fall and winter. BB--Baseball. B--Badminton. G--Golf. SB--Softball. BS--Boys’ swimming. GS--Girls’ swimming. TEN--Tennis. BT--Boys’ track and field. GT--Girls’ track and field. BV--Boys’ volleyball.

Values are rounded to nearest 10th for the purposes of this chart only. Rounding might create slight discrepancies between sum of individual figures listed and total. Teams that did not report or field a team in a sport received a score of 0.0.

Sources: Orange County high schools, Southern Section.

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Final Small School Top 20

School Previous BB B G SB BS GS TEN BT 1. Laguna Hills 179.6 12.6 0.0 10.0 16.8 40.0 28.0 14.0 20.0 2. Brea- Olinda 229.1 16.3 0.0 14.5 5.0 20.0 14.5 20.0 20.0 3. Servite/ Rosary 156.5 12.9 0.0 20.0 17.5 15.3 18.3 20.0 9.0 4. El Dorado 140.1 14.4 0.0 18.3 13.7 20.0 28.0 18.0 11.0 5. Corona del Mar 211.9 5.6 28.0 1.0 1.5 4.0 2.0 23.0 1.0 6. El Modena 192.9 3.5 0.0 10.0 4.6 2.0 11.0 3.0 15.0 7. Newport Harbor 195.6 3.6 0.0 13.0 4.1 9.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 8. Calvary Chapel 135.7 33.8 0.0 0.0 11.6 0.8 10.0 0.0 5.0 9. Pacifica 138.1 10.6 0.0 0.0 27.0 15.3 20.0 1.0 3.3 10. Orange Lutheran 140.5 11.0 0.0 7.1 4.2 0.0 0.0 4.0 28.0 11. Cypress 114.4 9.6 1.0 13.7 11.2 15.0 11.0 11.0 2.0 12. Ocean View 115.7 3.5 13.3 3.3 14.1 2.0 11.0 14.0 15.0 13. La Habra 162.4 2.4 13.3 0.0 14.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 4.0 14. Sonora 93.7 38.3 0.0 0.0 5.3 19.0 11.0 14.0 18.0 15. Magnolia 62.2 24.7 23.0 0.0 24.5 14.5 10.0 11.0 15.0 16. Laguna Beach 133.1 1.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 12.0 0.0 17. Saint Margaret’s 83.4 7.8 0.0 0.0 23.5 0.0 0.0 10.0 12.5 18. La Quinta 45.1 38.9 22.0 3.0 5.4 3.3 15.3 15.0 1.7 19. Los Amigos 93.8 2.1 0.0 20.0 0.0 13.0 5.0 11.0 15.3 20. Troy 112.2 2.9 5.0 0.0 0.8 2.0 0.0 14.0 2.0

School GT BV Total 1. Laguna Hills 32.0 13.5 366.4 2. Brea- Olinda 20.0 0.0 359.4 3. Servite/ Rosary 15.0 10.3 294.8 4. El Dorado 20.0 9.1 292.6 5. Corona del Mar 2.0 4.0 284.1 6. El Modena 15.0 18.9 275.9 7. Newport Harbor 23.0 9.7 262.1 8. Calvary Chapel 5.0 33.9 235.9 9. Pacifica 15.3 3.1 233.8 10. Orange Lutheran 28.0 0.0 222.8 11. Cypress 4.0 25.4 218.3 12. Ocean View 13.0 12.3 217.2 13. La Habra 15.0 0.0 213.1 14. Sonora 4.0 0.0 203.4 15. Magnolia 13.0 0.0 197.9 16. Laguna Beach 4.0 18.8 181.4 17. Saint Margaret’s 15.5 17.4 171.5 18. La Quinta 1.7 18.3 169.7 19. Los Amigos 5.0 4.4 169.6 20. Troy 20.0 0.0 159.0

KEY: Previous--Carryover from fall and winter. BB--Baseball. B--Badminton. G--Golf. SB--Softball. BS--Boys’ swimming. GS--Girls’ swimming. TEN--Tennis. BT--Boys’ track and field. GT--Girls’ track and field. BV--Boys’ volleyball.

Values are rounded to nearest 10th for the purposes of this chart only. Rounding might create slight discrepancies between sum of individual figures listed and total. Teams that did not report or field a team in a sport received a score of 0.0.

Sources: Orange County high schools, Southern Section.