Big Seasons Are Expected From O.C’s Elite Athletes

Laguna Beach girls’ tennis Coach Bob Walton probably wishes Michelle Bray’s prep career would go on forever. In three years, Bray has won three Pacific Coast League singles championships and the Artists’ tennis team has won three Southern Section Division II titles.

“Michelle’s a winner in whatever she does,” Walton said. “Whether it’s little games we make up in practice or whether it’s a match for the league title. She’s really single-minded when she steps on the court. That kind of attitude rubs off on some of the younger kids.”

At one point last year, Bray won an amazing 102 consecutive games during the league season.

“To keep your concentration for that long is amazing, no matter who you’re playing,” Walton said.

Bray, a second-team Times Orange County selection last year, is also Laguna Beach’s senior class president. An A-student, she has been contacted by Brigham Young, Arizona, Princeton and Cornell.

Bray is the county’s top senior to watch this year in girls’ tennis, but the standout athletes from the Class of ’96 come from all sports.

Here’s a look at some seniors who’ll surely make an impact during the school year:

BADMINTON

Lien Ly and Houng Nguyen, Garden Grove

The girls’ doubles partners were instrumental in last season’s upset victory over Alhambra Keppel in the Southern Section Division I championship final. The Argonauts’ No. 1 doubles pair swept Keppel’s top doubles team to even the match, 9-9. Garden Grove eventually took a 10-9 victory, stopping Keppel’s 115-match winning streak.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Olujimi Mann, Santa Ana Valley

Olujimi Mann, who has orally committed to UCLA, averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists for a team that struggled through injuries and the abrupt resignation of its coach a third of the way into the season. The 6-foot-4 Mann was one of the county’s several outstanding point guards last year, including Tustin’s Doug Gottlieb and Los Alamitos’ Ali Ton. This season, the floor show figures to be his alone.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Marie Philman, Edison

Everyone knows about Mater Dei’s Melody Peterson, but Edison’s 6-foot Marie Philman need not take a back seat. Though Peterson was The Times Orange County player of the year last season, Philman averaged 24.5 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 59.1% from the field and 82.4% from the free-throw line. Those totals ranked second, 10th, second and second among county players. She carried Edison (20-7) on her back; now, her teammates are a year better.

BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Ross Venook, Woodbridge

A Times Orange County first-team selection last year, Ross Venook led the Warriors to an undefeated sweep of their dual-meet season in the Sea View League. He finished third at the Orange County championships and fourth at the league championships.

GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Jessica Corbin, Irvine

Jessica Corbin posted the county’s fastest three-mile time (16 minutes 58 seconds) in winning the Sea View League title for the second year in a row. She placed fifth at the county championships, leading the Vaqueros to the team title in the process. Corbin has been a Times Orange County first-team selection the past two years.

FOOTBALL

Kevin Feterik, Los Alamitos

Quarterback Kevin Feterik has it all. He is poised, knows how to win (and has proven it) and is in a system that fully takes advantage of his wonderful wares. He’s got a terrific arm, sound judgment and the county’s best receivers. He completed 67.2% of his passes, threw for 2,911 yards, 27 touchdowns and only six interceptions last year in 9 1/2 games.

GOLF

Terry Noe, Sunny Hills

As a sophomore, Terry Noe led Sunny Hills to the Southern Section team championship. Two months later, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur championship. This summer, Noe, a former South Korean junior national champion, advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur championships.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Joey Vasquez, Fountain Valley

The Times Orange County’s player of the year last season has been concentrating lately on football. He’ll play wide receiver for the Barons this season, but soccer Coach Kevin Smith is expecting more great things from Joey Vasquez. “It will take him a while to warm up, because it’s a tough transition from football to soccer,” Smith said, “But I’m expecting him to be a very strong player before long.” Vasquez scored 21 goals last year.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Katie Roda, Irvine

Katie Roda is the quintessential midfielder--she reads the game well and is dominant on offense and defense. She had 14 goals and 12 assists last season to lead Irvine to second place in the Sea View League and to the semifinals of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

SOFTBALL

Colleen Boddy, Mater Dei

Colleen Boddy wasn’t flashy, but she played on a great defensive team. Her 26 victories were second-best all-time in the Southern Section (the record is 31), and the Monarchs should be better this season. After going 26-5 with a 0.82 earned-run average, how close can she get to 31? It will be interesting to find out.

BOYS’ SWIMMING

Bart Kizierowski, Mission Viejo

Probably the best male swimmer in Southern California, Bart Kizierowski might not have time for much high school swimming as his top priority is preparing for the Olympics. The 18-year-old Polish exchange student, who was The Times Orange County swimmer of the year last spring, was named swimmer of the meet at last season’s Southern Section Division I finals.

GIRLS’ SWIMMING

Wendy O’Brien, Irvine

Wendy O’Brien, who has been named Times Orange County swimmer of the year each of the past two seasons, has had a lock on the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. Except for a defeat in the Sea View League finals this season, she has won the 50 free in every high school competition she’s been in since the end of her freshman year. Disappointed with her times last season--she swam the 50 and 100 frees faster as a sophomore--O’Brien not only wants to repeat as the Southern Section Division I dual winner, but also help the Vaqueros to a team title.

BOYS’ TENNIS

John Han, Sunny Hills

The county’s three best players--Geoff Abrams, Kevin Kim and Joseph Gilbert--are not attending high school in the area. That leaves Sunny Hills’ John Han, who played No. 3 singles while Kim and Gilbert played at Sunny Hills. Han, ranked 10th in Southern California in the boys’ 18 division, has played on two Southern Section Division II championship teams and he must step up for Sunny Hills to have a chance at a third title in four years.

BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Jess Strutzel, Huntington Beach

Jess Strutzel was the defending Orange County and Sunset League champion at 400 meters, but he earned a spot in the State meet finals in the 800 meters. After finishing second in the county meet and league finals in the 800, he rebounded for another second-place finish, but this time it was in the Southern Section Division I finals, where he ran a personal-best 1 minute 51.75 seconds.

GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Kerry O’Bric, Edison

Kerry O’Bric has been a three-sport standout for the Chargers the past three years, but it’s on the track where she shines brightest. She finished third in the triple jump at last spring’s State championships. O’Bric came into her own in the heptathlon, finishing third at the USATF Junior Nationals at Mt. San Antonio College in June.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Brandon Taliaferro, San Clemente

Shoulder surgery kept Brandon Taliaferro on the sideline for much of last season, but his return sparked San Clemente in the playoffs. Taliaferro led the Tritons to the Southern Section Division I championships, where they lost to L.A. Loyola. A 6-5 setter, Taliaferro’s height enables him to deliver the ball a lot quicker to his hitters--and that quality will make him an attractive prospect for college scouts.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Melissa Wendt, Huntington Beach

Melissa Wendt is the primary reason Huntington Beach is expected to win it all this season. She led the Oilers to their best season in school history last season, when they advanced to the Southern Section Division I semifinals and to the State Division II championship game. Wendt, is a powerful, 6-2 outside hitter. “Physically, she is probably the strongest player out there right now,” said Mater Dei Coach Peter West. Rocky Ciarelli, Huntington Beach coach, said Wendt’s other skills have come up to speed this season. “When she was a freshman, it was just hitting and blocking,” Ciarelli said. “It has gone from a one or two-dimensional game to an all-around game.”

WATER POLO

Greg Stoll, El Toro

Greg Stoll uses his water polo knowledge and experience to be in the right place to knock down opponents’ shots and make the Chargers one of the top teams in the county. He also has potent offensive skills--he was second on the team in assists last year.

A knee injury kept him from trying out for the U.S. Youth national team last year, but he was the starter the year before at 15, making him perhaps the best goalkeeper in the nation at his age.

Stoll also plays for the El Toro boys’ basketball and volleyball teams.

WRESTLING

Richard Meza, Loara

Richard Meza peaked at just the right time last season. The Times Orange County first-team selection at 145 pounds finished first at the Southern Section Division II championships and fifth at the State finals. This year, Meza should again dominate the mat. And if he moves up in weight class, competition should prove easier with the graduation of Calvary Chapel’s formidable upper-weights machine.

Martin Beck, Matt Farmer, Erik Hamilton, Martin Henderson, Paul McLeod, Dave McKibben, Mike Terry and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this story.