CLU Faces Claremont Today With NCAA Berth on the Line

The Cal Lutheran women’s basketball team (13-12) will play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (18-7) in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff game at Whittier College today at 2 p.m.

The winner will earn the SCIAC’s automatic entry into the NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin Wednesday. The loser must hope for an at-large berth when the pairings for the 64-team tournament are announced Sunday.

Cal Lutheran and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tied for the SCIAC title with 9-3 records and split their two meetings.

The Regals defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 73-64, on Tuesday and the Athenas won, 81-70, on Jan. 26.

Track and Field

Heading the list of local high school entries in the L.A. Invitational indoor meet at the Sports Arena today are Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks, Kadrina Coffee of Palmdale, Liz Giltner of Chaminade and Ronney Jenkins of Hueneme.

Mortensen capped her senior cross-country season by winning the Foot Locker national championship in December. She will compete in the girls’ mile run and in the two-mile relay.

Coffee, runner-up in the women’s 400 in last year’s USA Track & Field junior (age 19 and under) championships as a freshman, will run in the 500-yard dash and in the 4 x 440 and 8 x 160 relays.

Giltner, a junior, placed sixth in the high jump in the 1994 and ’95 State championships and will be one of the favorites in that event.

The Brigham Young-bound Jenkins capped his high school football career by rushing for a national record 619 yards against Rio Mesa last fall. He will compete in the football 50-meter dash, the long jump and the 4 x 160-yard relay.

Antelope Valley senior Jermaine Lewis, the co-Southern Section Division II football player of the year, will be one of Jenkins’ opponents in the football 50.

The high school portion of the meet starts at 11 a.m. with the boys’ two-mile relay.

Soccer

Senior striker Nate Wright of Saugus High and junior midfielder Laura Qualls of Hart have been selected the Foothill League’s players of the year for boys’ and girls’ soccer.

Wright scored 30 goals and led Saugus to its first league title since 1981. Qualls helped Hart to its third consecutive league title.

Volleyball

Danielle Odiorne of Hart High has committed to Christian Heritage College in San Diego.

Softball

The West Valley Girls’ Softball Assn. and Baseball Development Centers have scheduled a clinic for girls ages 5 to 16 at Hale Junior High today from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Several top former collegiate softball players are scheduled to attend, including Barbara Jordan, Jill Justin and Karen Walker.

Former Dodgers Maury Wills and Lou Johnson also are scheduled to attend.

Information: 818-227-2891.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, John Ortega, Bryan Rodgers, Tris Wykes.