MIDWEEK REPORT / HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS UPDATE : Aerodynamic : Coach Is Unarmed Yet Unapologetic

Before its recent arms reduction, pitching appeared to be the Buena High softball team’s strong suit.

A month ago the Bulldogs, defending Channel League champions, were about to welcome back junior standout Nicole Greathouse from basketball season and back her up with capable senior Kelly Carr. It appeared first-year Coach Peter Shedlosky would have the tools for a smooth transition.

But after playing volleyball and then leading the Bulldog basketball team to a Southern Section title and the state playoffs, Greathouse decided not to play softball. She was an All-Southern Section Division I choice last season.

Carr became Buena’s top pitcher and was 3-2 when she quit the team last week.

Shedlosky, a former youth-league softball coach and football assistant at Nordhoff, said he pulled Carr from a game against Hueneme last Tuesday with the Bulldogs up, 7-1, in the third inning. Carr and her mother, he said, immediately left the game.

“Kelly was upset I didn’t let her work through the inning,” said Shedlosky, whose team is 7-6. “But she’d walked the first two batters that inning and I wanted to nail down the win.”

Shedlosky said he informed Carr by phone that she would be benched for the next two to four games because of the walkout. He said Carr chose to quit.

Greathouse is enjoying a reduced load of activities and is playing club basketball with the goal of earning a college basketball scholarship. She said the resignation of former Buena softball Coach Sharon Coggins, now at Santa Barbara City College, played a role in her decision to sit out the season.

“There were some issues on the [softball] team that I don’t want to get into but I felt like [Coggins] knew about them and I could talk to her about them,” Greathouse said. “With the new coach, I knew he didn’t know the situation and I wasn’t as comfortable.”

Shedlosky has only positive things to say about Greathouse but has laid down the law with his team.

“Things have changed,” he said. “People say ‘Sharon didn’t do things that way’ and no, she didn’t. But she’s gone now and we’re in a transitional period. I’m the coach and I get to make the decisions.”

Other Side of Coin

Tom Dill and Scott Muckey had a score to settle. So they met--eyeball-to-eyeball--Tuesday at 8 a.m. in a school parking lot.

Muckey, baseball coach for Crespi High, pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it in the air. Dill, the Notre Dame coach, made a split-second decision.

“Tails,” Dill said.

The quarter bounced on the pavement and came to rest. Dill’s disappointment was as plain as the face of George Washington on the coin.

“I should have said, ‘Let’s make it two out of three,’ ” Dill said.

Thus, by the quirkiest of tie-breakers, Crespi earned the right to play La Mirada for the championship of the St. Paul tournament Wednesday night at Cal State Los Angeles. Notre Dame played Cerritos for third place.

This was according to tie-breaker criteria designated by tournament organizers. Crespi and Notre Dame won all three games in pool play, and both allowed only seven runs--the first tie-breaker criterion.

The standoff simply had to be settled.

“They wanted us to do it over the phone,” Dill said. “But we wanted to meet. We had a 50-50 chance. [Muckey] walked away and said, ‘Gotta love these tie-breakers.’ ”

Dill jokingly remarked that perhaps Muckey, whom he refers to as “the wise veteran,” had pulled a fast one.

“I didn’t check it,” Dill said. “But it might have been a two-headed coin.”

Moral Victory

If his softball team had to lose, Thousand Oaks Coach Gary Walin couldn’t have picked a more worthy opponent in the Kissimme (Fla.) tournament last week. The Lancers lost to Naples, defending Florida 5-A champion, 1-0. Naples is 19-0 and is unbeaten the past two seasons.

Thousand Oaks (9-3), ranked No. 4 in The Times’ regional poll, allowed Naples’ only run in the sixth inning.

“We would have liked to have won it, but losing to a team like that is OK,” Walin said. “It was more like playing a travel team than anything else.

“Their coach was telling me that it was the closest game they’ve played all year and that they wish they could play more games like that,” Walin said, “and I told him, ‘Well, you ought to come play in our league then.’ ”

Power Surge

Although power from unexpected sources can give baseball teams an occasional boost, St. Genevieve may have exhausted its supply against Pius X in the St. Paul tournament on Monday.

The Valiants, who had one home run in their previous 15 games, trailed the Warriors, 5-3, heading into the bottom of the 10th inning and had only seven hits.

But the Valiants (7-9) got back-to-back-to-back home runs from Danny Buhler, Alan Tyndal and Sam Okumura with one out for a 6-5 victory.

None of the three had previously hit a home run in a high school game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt that happy,” said Buhler, who also struck out three times. “We were all jumping around thinking we need to get a picture of this. It was an amazing finish.”

Okumura, whose homer won the game, said he was looking to end the game with one swing after blasts by Buhler and Tyndal tied it.

“At first I was thinking home run,” he said. “But then I decided to just go for a hit and when it went over the center fielder’s head I was so happy I slipped on first base.”

Tyndal said the rally surprised everyone.

“We were pretty down after giving up two runs in the top of the 10th,” he said. “We thought [the game] was over. It was a pretty great way to win.”

Two of the Valiants’ earlier runs also came on a home run.

Catcher Vinny Pisano hit a homer in the sixth inning with a man on that tied the game, 3-3.

Baseball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

East Valley League--Sylmar and Poly are the only conference teams with winning records. The six others are a combined 23-58. . . . Poly Coach Chuck Schwal was determined to get his reserves some playing time in the Bishop Gorman Las Vegas tournament, but he had no idea that his generous deed would produce a new starter. Gabriel Gomez went seven for 13 in four tournament games and won a starting position as the designated hitter. “It was a blessing in disguise,” he said. Although the Parrots went 2-2 in the tournament, Schwal was pleased with the tenacity of his team. “We were behind in every game and came back in three of the four and won, or at least made it a game.” . . . Scott Ward of Grant leads the conference in stolen bases. He has 12 in 14 attempts. . . . Sylmar’s three losses are by a total of three runs. Sylmar’s Albert Palma, who went 10 for 16 last week to raise his average from .484 to .532, had a streak of seven hits in a row. . . . North Hollywood (9-11) has nearly doubled its victory total from last season, when the Huskies finished 5-22.

Mid-Valley League--Kevin Carlsen (2-2) of Canoga Park has pitched three three-hitters. His third, a 4-2 victory over Grant last week, was much different than his first two. “Yeah, this time he won,” Coach Jim Smith said. Carlsen, a junior transfer from Crespi who has a 1.35 earned-run average, lost to Sylmar and Poly on three-hitters earlier this season. Canoga Park’s Junior Galvan, a sophomore center fielder, went seven for 12 in two games last week and raised his average nearly 140 points, to .423. . . . From the believe-it-or-not file, Reseda players account for four of the top six hitters among area City players, yet the Regents are struggling at 4-6. Go figure.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--Cleveland pitcher Jason Bolding quit the team to get a job. Bolding, who also played football and basketball for the Cavaliers, filled in as a starter when Jared Mills was out with a collapsed lung. Cleveland catcher Casey Roth leads City Section players from the region with eight doubles. . . . A game-winning double by Tony Cardenas capped a five-run rally that lifted San Fernando to a 5-4 victory over Venice in a Birmingham tournament pool-play game Monday. . . . Seven starters and one part-time player, Nick Intenzo, are hitting better than .300 for Kennedy. Josh Miranda, who started the season on the bench after transferring from Monroe, leads the Golden Cougars with a .500 average. He had 10 hits in five games last week.

West Valley League--Birmingham freshman Brian Fox threw his first shutout for the Braves in a 2-0 victory over Hollywood Monday in the Birmingham tournament. Fox (4-1), struck out four, walked two and allowed only four hits. Birmingham Coach Rick Weber has been tinkering with his lineup the past two weeks, starting Hide Misawa at catcher instead of Facundo Barrera. The switch helped. The Braves are just 1 1/2 games out of first place after a slow start. . . . Chatsworth gets a well-deserved week off after playing six games in five days. The Chancellors split a series with San Fernando Tuesday and Wednesday, then went 4-0 in the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman tournament, scoring 51 runs. . . . Taft rebounded from a tough outing in the Bishop Gorman tournament, in which it dropped all four games, to upset Calabasas, 7-2, in the Birmingham tournament on Monday. The Toreadors took advantage of five Coyote errors and Jesse Chastain pitched a five-hitter.

Southern Section

ALPHA

After a 3-12 start, Village Christian Coach Brian Gibson decided to make some changes, moving four players to new positions. “Things just weren’t working the way they were,” he said. Brian Agnor went from third base to catcher, Adam Davis from catcher to right field, Jeff Johnston from right field to third base and Kiko Banos from second base to center field. The result: The Crusaders lost to Barstow, 10-1, and Taft, 8-5, in the Birmingham tournament. But Gibson said the players adjusted nicely. “Overall we looked pretty good,” he said. “Those were some good teams and we hung in there.”

CHANNEL

Ventura (5-11) continues to stumble after an 0-3 record in the Buena Ventura tournament this week. One bright spot has been freshman catcher Jon Branch, who was promoted to the varsity several weeks ago with his brother Jason, a pitcher. . . . Buena (11-4) is on a tear, and infielder Brian Riley is leading the charge. Riley drove in the winning run in Buena Ventura tournament victories over highly regarded Bishop Amat last Saturday and Santa Paula on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have won four in a row and six out of nine.

FOOTHILL

Here’s a sure sign that Saugus (11-6), a team that has hovered around the .500 mark most of the season, is coming alive on offense: the Centurions have outscored their opponents, 110-64. They hold the edge in runs in all but one inning, including 18-4 in the first inning and 26-8 in the fourth. They’ve been outscored only in the seventh, 14-8. . . . Nate Pellegrin of Saugus has 10 hits in 17 at bats. He has scored nine runs and has a slugging percentage of .765. . . . Considering Hart averages eight runs a game, it’s no coincidence the Indians are 13-4 and atop the league standings at 6-0. . . . Hart’s Brian Hernandez has started only one game, yet he has a record of 6-0 and an ERA of 1.48. . . . Struggling Burbank (4-8) is averaging only two runs a game, and Coach Frank Des Enfants is promising changes if the Bulldog offense doesn’t start producing. Sophomore third baseman Francisco Meza capitalized on an opportunity last week, reaching base in four of his six plate appearances. Des Enfants was borrowing Meza from the junior-varsity team but he has decided to keep him. . . . Burroughs fell out of The Times’ regional top 10 last week, tough luck being a major contributor. The Indians lost two games in the seventh inning, including a 4-3 loss to Cimarron Memorial in which Tom Crowther thought he scored the tying run in the seventh on a double by John Moreno. Crowther said Burroughs fell victim to home-cooked umpiring in the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman tournament game when Moreno’s line drive appeared to be fair. “Everybody watching said we basically got hosed pretty bad,” Crowther said. “People said it was two feet inside the line.” A nine-game hitting streak by Moreno was snapped.

FRONTIER

Santa Clara Coach Mike Kincaid said he expected more from his senior-laden starting lineup, but the Saints have been plagued by inconsistency. “I thought we’d at least be making the routine plays, but we’re starting six seniors and they’re not,” said Kincaid, who took over the varsity after three years guiding the junior varsity. One senior who has played well is pitcher and shortstop Andy Super. Kept off the mound by a wrist injury early in the season, Super (2-1, 1.31 ERA) has thrown well of late. “He’s got a really good curve but he also throws deceptively hard for his size,” Kincaid said. Another senior, Vince Herrera, was the Saints’ No. 2 pitcher,, but he hurt a shoulder diving for an outfield fly in the third game of the season and has not returned to form. Junior left-hander Michael Allen has taken his place. . . . Moorpark continues to improve, though the young Musketeers continue to give Coach Scott Fullerton fits at times. In a 4-1 loss to Calabasas last Thursday, Moorpark had the bases loaded in each of the last three innings but could not score. Senior Kevin McMullin has emerged as a solid second pitcher behind junior ace Justin Ames and opposing hitters entered the week with only 22 hits off him in 126 at-bats. Ames (2-3, 2.33 ERA) had a rough week, playing through several ailments. Against Calabasas he was repeatedly sick between innings but played the entire game. Against Burbank on Monday, he twisted his ankle while playing first, came out for an inning, then returned to strike out six in 4 2/3 innings of relief to earn a save. Fullerton said freshman third baseman Wes Rasmussen has returned from a broken hand and has shown no signs of defensive rust. . . . Santa Paula finished 1-2 in the Buena Ventura tournament, defeating Ventura and losing close games to Buena and Camarillo. With the limited round-robin tournament canceled Tuesday with one day to play, the Cardinals (10-2-1) missed out on a showdown with Southern Section Division I power Bishop Amat and now have one open slot in their schedule. . . . Calabasas has rearranged its infield. Second baseman Darin Reisman has moved to first, replacing a slumping Frank Carlisi, and freshman Jeff Gould has been promoted to play second. Meanwhile, the Coyotes have a game of musical chairs going on at the bottom of the batting order, where Carlisi, Ricky Stockton, Josh Nadler, Jared Schwartz and Ryan Coleman compete daily for the seventh through ninth positions and spots in the outfield.

GOLDEN

Littlerock, in the midst of a four-game losing streak, had leads of 4-0 and 7-3 but lost to Newbury Park, 8-7, in eight innings in a Birmingham tournament game. The Lobos, who stranded 24 runners in 14 innings to start the tournament, have fallen to 4-13. More bad news for Littlerock: Joe Mitchell, batting .364 and among the team leaders in extra-base hits and RBIs, has quit. Same good news: Right-hander Adam Green has returned after missing only a week with a hairline fracture in his left wrist. Green, the most-reliable pitcher on the staff, also has a .350 batting average. He was injured in an off-road, all-terrain vehicle accident 12 days ago. Coach Bernie Kyman said Green showed up with a doctor’s note clearing him to play. Kyman didn’t question it. “The cast came off Sunday,” Kyman said. “I don’t know how it came off.” . . . Now that second-team all-league player Jacob Stanwood has hit stride, Highland Coach Mike Van Cheri said his club might have the most powerful three-four-five combination of any batting order in the league. The trio of Joe Maier (.369 average), Eric Torrez (.342) and Stanwood (.469) has produced 51 runs batted in and eight of the team’s nine home runs. Maier leads the team with three triples while Torrez leads with 19 RBIs, four home runs and an .857 slugging percentage. . . . Who says Quartz Hill pitcher Bryan Garcia can’t do it all? He has not allowed an earned run in 24 1/3 innings of pitching, he leads the Rebels with two home runs and nine stolen bases, and is second on the team with a .413 batting average and nine RBIs. Garcia has stolen home twice this season, including Tuesday in a victory over Reseda. Coach Dave Stradling, not one to stand in his ace’s way, gave Garcia the OK to dash home. Said Stradling, “He almost got there the same time as the pitch.”

MARMONTE

Camarillo, top ranked in The Times’ regional poll, continues to roll as players take turns claiming the spotlight. The Scorpions improved to 15-1 on Tuesday with a 9-1 victory over Ventura in the Buena Ventura tournament. Last week, senior third baseman-pitcher Nathan Kaup drove in 10 runs in two games. Kaup, who has signed with Oklahoma State, hit a grand slam, drove in seven runs and pitched a two-hitter in a 10-0 victory over Channel Islands. On Saturday against Oxnard, Kaup hit his third home run of the season. Pitching remains a strength for the Scorpions. Kaup (3-0) has an earned-run average of 1.84. Right-hander Joe Borchard’s ERA is 1.97 and left-hander Mike Corral leads the staff at 0.88. Camarillo’s staff ERA is 1.68.

Newbury Park pitcher Mike Amundson, who has committed to San Diego, remains sidelined from mound duty because of a separated right shoulder. Amundson (2-1) suffered the injury two weeks ago against Thousand Oaks while diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. “It’s week-to-week,” Coach Curtis Scott said. . . . Simi Valley has won four in a row with a victory over Agoura and three consecutive victories in the Birmingham tournament. The Pioneers (7-8-1) would be above .500 had they not been forced to forfeit a nonleague victory over Burroughs for using a pitcher more than 10 innings in one week. . . . Thousand Oaks has won seven in a row after going 4-0 last week in the Durango tournament in Las Vegas. Staff ace Santos Mummey lowered his staff-best ERA to 2.67 with a one-hit shutout of El Dorado.

MISSION

Crespi had won eight in a row entering Wednesday’s championship game of the St. Paul tournament. The Celts have not lost since a major defensive shakeup in which shortstop Brian Luderer moved to catcher and third baseman Brian Felten moved to shortstop. Pitcher-first baseman Barry Matthews, who has signed with Cal State Northridge, was five for seven last week with nine runs batted in. . . . Right fielder Jorge Piedra of Notre Dame has thrown out two runners trying to score. Piedra went four for six in two games last week to raise his batting average to .512. Piedra, a junior, was backup quarterback to Ryan Bowne last season and also played on the basketball team. Notre Dame is on pace to set a school scoring record. The Knights (9-6) have scored 24 runs in two games and have scored at least 12 in three others. Five of the Knights’ six losses have been by one run. Notre Dame is idle until a nonleague doubleheader at San Luis Obispo on April 19, then resumes league play against Chaminade on April 23.

PACIFIC

Glendale (10-2), which grabbed sole possession of first place last week with a 6-0 victory over Arcadia, is 6-1 and vying for its first league championship since 1988. The Dynamiters defeated Arcadia’s ace right-hander, Jason Cly, an all-league selection last season and a top college prospect.

TRI-VALLEY

Fillmore suffered its first two losses last week, to L.A. Baptist and league rival Oak Park. Against L.A. Baptist, the Flashes committed seven errors and struck out 14 times. Against Oak Park, they left eight men on base, boosting their total in the past six games to more than 50. However, Coach Tom Ecklund said he was pleased when the team had an emotional meeting and voted to practice last Saturday, previously an open date. Senior pitcher Chris Goodenough, a three-sport standout, has played well. Senior right fielder Nick Blaylock is the team’s leading batter, entering the week with a .400 average.

FREELANCE

Seven Montclair Prep players are hitting better than .300, including Scott Stark. Stark who missed the first part of the season because he was still playing basketball for the Mounties, has raised his average to .438.

Softball Notes

City Section

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

Mid-Valley League--Sylmar’s upset of El Camino Real last week will cost Spartan Coach Chuck Miller, but he isn’t complaining. Miller told his team that whoever hits the ball and gets on base gets a six-pack of cola. “That game cost me four six-packs of cola and a pizza party,” Miller said. The Spartans will be chowing down on pizza Monday, compliments of Miller. . . . Reseda’s Rosie Yeatts and Kristy Rebbeck, both batting above .500, continue to tear up the competition almost by themselves. The pair have combined for 45 hits, six triples, six home runs, 33 runs, 33 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Yeatts and Rebbeck, who also share time in the pitching circle, have struck out 77 in 81 innings and have a combined for a 1.18 ERA.

East Valley League--Four North Hollywood players have three or more doubles. . . . Since an 11-0 loss to Reseda in a conference opener, Van Nuys has won three in a row, outscoring opponents, 25-5, and is in first place. . . . Seven Poly starters are batting .292 or better with junior catcher Marivel Velasco (.373) leading the charge.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE

North Valley League--The conference had the week off, which is good news for Kennedy pitcher Sandra Durazo. Durazo has pitched every inning of every game for the Golden Cougars, the fifth-ranked team in The Times’ regional poll. . . . Granada Hills pitcher Jessica Creith, along with other seniors, missed the Highlanders’ victory over La Canada last Wednesday because of a senior function. Amy Matthews, usually a first baseman, filled in for Creith.

Southern Section

ALPHA

Jesse Leivo of Village Christian, a senior pitcher who is 7-0 with an 0.66 earned-run average, was chosen most valuable player of the Bakersfield tournament last week. She allowed only four hits and struck out 23 in two complete-game shutouts as the Crusaders (11-3) won the tournament championship. Center fielder Laura Robbins leads the Crusaders in hitting with a .463 average. Coach Mike Vail calls the sophomore sensation “a great all-around player with Division I potential.” . . . L.A. Baptist may begin suffering from spring fever if it doesn’t play a game soon. The Knights (7-2) have not played since March 28 and do not have a game scheduled until April 16, a dry spell of almost three weeks. “Everyone else was on spring break, now we’re on spring break,” said first-year Coach Rick Richmond. “And by the time I got the job it was too late to get into any tournaments.” The Knights have been scrimmaging twice a week to stay sharp.

FOOTHILL

A clue as to why Burbank is stuck in a rut at 3-9: the Bulldogs have issued 43 walks in 72 innings. On the positive side, Burbank has a .268 team batting average. . . . Coach Al Weil said he couldn’t remember when his Hart team had a bigger inning than the one in a game against Canyon last week. The Indians scored all of their runs in the second inning of a 13-0 victory. The biggest blow was a three-run double by Vanessa Raschella. For Stacy Eastman, however, it was a game to forget. She was twice hit by pitches in the inning and didn’t get a hit in the game. . . . Coach Larry Mohr is concerned that the loss of pitcher Lisa Villasenor might kill all playoff hopes for Canyon (5-9). Villasenor is out indefinitely with a knee injury. . . . With the addition of Valencia, the Foothill League is playing only two rounds this year instead of three--which pleases Ron Hilton, coach of defending champion Saugus (13-2), which usually plays tight games with rival Hart (12-3). “We’re good enough to slip you twice, but you might find a way the third time,” Hilton said. “We played three one-run ballgames with [Hart] last year.”

FRONTIER

Moorpark Coach Tom Humphreys, who underwent surgery for lung cancer on Feb. 27, resumed basic coaching and administrative duties in mid-March and is on the mend. “It’s going to be a better season than I’d hoped for,” said Humphreys, who can still not throw or swing a bat. Pitching was the Musketeers’ biggest question mark after the graduation of standout Mindy Penrod, now playing at Iowa State. But Erin Heinbechner has been a capable if not overpowering pitcher and the team is on track for a third consecutive league title. Junior center fielder Tracey Milburn has continued her practice of throwing runners out at first base on grounders up the middle. “I think word is out that if you hit it to center field against Moorpark you better leg it down to first or your face is going to be red,” Humphreys said.

MARMONTE

The current battle is for fourth place and today Thousand Oaks travels to face Westlake to earn that spot outright. . . . Newbury Park lost to Cajon in extra innings in the first round of the Righetti tournament earlier this week, but won the consolation final. Emily Webster went six for 11 (.545) in four games and won the tournament batting title. . . . On Webster’s tail and just a hit shy of tying for the title was Simi Valley freshman outfielder Tracie Hall, who went five for 11 in the tournament. Simi Valley finished fourth, losing to Righetti in the third-place game. . . . Royal is playing in the Arroyo Grande tournament, which starts today. . . . Try as he might, Channel Islands Coach Mike Young is having a hard time convincing his team that this league is not for the faint of heart. “They don’t understand. They think that making two errors is no big deal, and I keep telling them, in this league, you can’t do that,” Young said. “They’re used to playing softball in Oxnard [youth leagues] and it just isn’t the same.” Channel Islands is winless in six league games and 2-3 in nonleague games.

PACIFIC

Pitcher Danielle Ferreira and Crescenta Valley (13-2) have won seven in a row and play an opponent to be determined for the Woodbridge tournament championship on Saturday. Ferreira pitched two shutouts last week, a one-hitter against Glendale and a five-inning perfect game against Muir. Ferreira, who was 8-1 as a junior, has 133 strikeouts in 96 innings. She has 10 shutouts. Kellie Labor, who is batting .471 with four doubles, has 12 bunt singles.

TRI-VALLEY

La Reina Coach Don Hyatt said his defending league champions appear ready to bounce back after a 1-0 loss to Oak Park last week. In that game, Jennifer Baltruzak, the Regents’ star pitcher, had her streak of scoreless league innings halted at 70. Hyatt said Baltruzak’s pitching and hitting statistics are slightly down from last season, but that she has had to overcome a badly broken nose suffered in a club softball game last summer.

Golf Notes

Alemany tuned up for the second half of a hotly contested race in the Mission League by playing in the 33-team Tribute to Youth tournament last week at the Desert Princess Country Club in Palm Springs. League rivals beware: The Indians won the prestigious tournament, which included perennial Southern Section powers such as Esperanza and Villa Park.

In the league standings, Alemany and Loyola are tied for first, each with one loss. Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake are close behind, each with two losses. “I think the [tournament] win shows the strength of our league,” Indian Coach Pat Degnan said. “You look at the teams we beat in that tournament and you get the cream of the crop.”

Speaking of tournaments, Flintridge Prep was conspicious in its absence from the DeBell tournament last week. The Rebels, who won the 32-team tournament last year, did not play because it fell during the school’s spring break.

“Spring break shoud be exactly that,” Coach Bob Loughrie said. “We never schedule any athletic events during that time.”

The Rebels are scheduled for two tournaments next week, playing in the 30-team Tops in CIF Invitational on Monday, then participating in a field of 40 teams at the Nogales Open on Tuesday.

Track and Field Notes

Boys: He is defending Golden League champion in the long jump, but Lafayette Bailey of Littlerock turned in some notable sprint times in a pair of meets last week. The Lobo senior won the 100 meters in 10.4 seconds and the 200 in 22.2 in a meet against Ridgecrest Burroughs on Tuesday and followed that with victorious times of 10.6 and 21.3 versus Highland on Thursday. The quality of those marks might lead some track experts to suspect they were wind-aided, but Littlerock Coach Herb Wyre said they were not. “He’s just in a lot better shape than he was last year,” Wyre said of Bailey, who rushed for 1,397 yards during football season. “Last year, he only came out for track during the last part of the season, but he’s been out there from the start this year.”

Troy Garner returned to the Notre Dame track team last week after quitting a week and a half earlier, but that doesn’t mean that the USC-bound receiver will attempt to defend his Southern Section Division III 400 title next month. “He likes the 200 better than the 400,” Notre Dame Coach Joe McNab said. “So you might see him run in that event and in both the 400- and 1,600-meter relays.”

Garner has a personal best of 21.7 in the 200, but he’ll probably have to run substantially faster than that to win the Division III title. Alemany sophomore Miguel Fletcher ran a nation-leading 21.44 in the Trabuco Hills Invitational on March 30.

With victories over Burbank and Canyon the past two weeks, Hart appears headed to its eighth consecutive Foothill League title. Burbank and Canyon were expected to be the biggest obstacles in the Indians’ drive for the league title, but Hart edged Burbank, 71 1/2-63 1/2, and walloped Canyon, 100-36. Hart is 35-0 in Foothill League meets since 1989.

Hoover’s Felipe Montoro, who placed eighth in the 1995 State Division I cross-country championships, has been accepted to an honors program at the University of Oregon and will try to make the Ducks’ cross-country and track programs as a walk-on. Montoro, who has a personal best of 4 minutes 24.3 seconds in the 1,600, declined a partial athletic scholarship from Cal State Northridge.

Girls: Palmdale senior Mikee Stafford, runner-up in the pole vault in the Southern Section Division I championships last year, has not competed since mid-March due to muscle spasms in her lower back. She is expected to be sidelined for at least another week.

After setting a school record of 47.9 seconds to place second in the 300 low hurdles in last year’s Foothill League championships, Hart senior Kelley Thorn has dipped under that standard twice in the past two weeks, running 47.62 to place fifth in the Bishop Amat Invitational on March 30 and 47.5 to win against Canyon last Thursday.

Volleyball Notes

Chatsworth is building fast. Too young to contend last year, the Chancellors still rely on juniors Chris Wilson, Steven Wiessner and Omer Samiri. The difference can be found in the standings, where Chatsworth is atop the Northwest Valley Conference with a 5-0 conference mark. “Initially, I thought of it as a rebuilding year,” Coach Bud Dow said. “This team has really jelled.”

Last year, Channel Islands upset Brentwood in the first round of the Division I playoffs. This year, the Raiders are struggling to even make the playoffs. They have talent in Riv Amores, Junior Mosones and Christmas Valoaga, but the Raiders are 4-3 after the first round of Marmonte League play. “We’re not really happy with that,” Coach Dave Chavez said. “At times we’ll play really good, but then we’ll have lapses.” Channel Islands is in fourth place. The top three Marmonte teams are assured playoff berths.

Royal lost in four games to top-ranked Mira Costa, but remained seventh in the Division I rankings. Nonetheless, Coach Bob Ferguson was pleased. “We were right there with them. It’s encouraging to know we can stay with them.”

Village Christian faces a pivotal match Tuesday at Campbell Hall. The Crusaders won the Alpha League last year by sweeping the Vikings. But they have struggled this season without Kiko Banos, an All-Division III selection who decided to play baseball. That leaves the door open for Campbell Hall. “We’ve never beaten them,” said the Vikings’ Dylan Herrick. “That’s our goal.”

Thousand Oaks didn’t want to leave Las Vegas. The Lancers won the Easter tournament there with victories over Fresno Clovis West and Las Vegas Green Valley. The 28-team tournament went from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for two consecutive days. “We didn’t really have enough time to go out and enjoy things [in Las Vegas],” Lancer Coach James Park said.

Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Dana Haddad, Vince Kowalick, Michael Lazarus, Paige A. Leech, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.