COMMUNITY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Rancho Santiago, Golden West in Hunt for State Titles

The Rancho Santiago men’s cross-country team and the Golden West water polo team seek State titles this weekend and each is traveling north to do so.

Rancho Santiago is the favorite in the cross-country meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Dons, led by sophomore Jose Rangel, was undefeated in seven invitational races this season, winning the Southern California championship and the Orange Empire Conference title. Rangel, a sophomore from Santiago High, won four times.

The Dons, coached by Al Siddons and Marco Ochoa, are seeking their first men’s title. Glendale and El Camino are expected to be the main competition.

Golden West, coached by Ken Hamdorf, starts after its seventh consecutive State water polo title Friday at Merced College. The Rustlers (27-4) enter the tournament as the No. 3 team from Southern California and play West Valley (18-11) at 9:15 a.m.

The other quarterfinal matchups are: Citrus (32-3) vs. Merced (16-11) at 8 a.m.; Grossmont (27-4) vs. Diablo Valley (18-5) at 10:30 a.m. and Long Beach (19-7) vs. Modesto at 11:45 a.m.

The semifinals are Saturday at 8 and 9:15 a.m. and the title game is at 2:15 p.m. the same day.

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Men’s basketball: Six of the top 19 ranked teams in the state play in Orange County starting today. The most impressive field is at the Irvine Valley Bill Mulligan tournament.

The tournament, named for the man who coached the team its first three seasons, starts at 2 p.m. when No. 4 Riverside plays West Los Angeles. At 4 p.m., No. 1 Ventura, the defending State champion, takes on Southwestern; No. 5 Long Beach plays Hancock at 6 p.m. and Irvine Valley takes on No. 19 Mt. San Jacinto at 8 p.m.

The game will mark the home debut of Irvine Valley Coach Jerry Hernandez, who took over when Mulligan retired.

The Fullerton tournament, which starts today, also features an impressive field. Cerritos, ranked sixth, plays Arizona Western at 6 p.m. and No. 15 Saddleback battles Dixie (Utah) at 8.

Both tournaments continue Friday with the semifinals with the finals on Saturday.