Harvard-Westlake’s Mission Wasn’t Impossible

Another high school season is in the books with the completion of this weekend’s championship softball and track and field fi-

nals, so what better time to reflect on the past nine months and offer some informal kudos to players, coaches and teams that distinguished themselves with exceptional performances?

The envelopes, please. . . .

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Greatest accomplishment by a team: The Harvard-Westlake High boys’ basketball team.

Sure, twin forwards Jason and Jarron Collins, as expected, were the most dominating tandem on any court in the region, perhaps on the West Coast. And the Wolverines, Southern Section Division III-A champions for the second consecutive season, surprised few by winning the State Division III championship with a 62-49 victory over Sacramento Grant after storming through the Mission League.

But the Wolverines, who lost in the Southern Regionals a year earlier, provided a reminder that teamwork wins titles.

Case in point was Harvard’s 17-2 run to begin the second half in the final against Grant and erase a six-point deficit. With a fired-up defense limiting 6-foot-11 Jason and 6-10 Jarron to a combined five points during the stretch, senior forward Alex Gelbard emerged as an unlikely leader by scoring eight points.

“It’s a team sport and we believe in their abilities,” Jarron Collins said of his teammates. “We’ve all stepped up through the playoffs.”

The Wolverines finished 30-2, losing only to formidable opponents in East Coast tournaments during December. A preseason pick to trounce all comers, they were all but being fitted for the state crown in December.

Such expectations often can be difficult to live up to; just ask the Detroit Red Wings. But the Wolverines remained disciplined and focused.

With Jason and Jarron returning next season as seniors, expect Harvard to be, well, formidable.

* Honorable mention: Harvard-Westlake’s girls’ volleyball team won the state Division III title. The team included Stacie Smiley, whose twin brother Ryan was a member of the state-champion basketball team.

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Most impressive performance by an individual: Kim Mortensen, Thousand Oaks High distance runner.

Mortensen, quite simply, might be the best girls’ high school distance runner in state history.

Mortensen won a national cross-country championship in December then won the 3,200 meters in the State track and field championships Saturday at Cerritos College. Mortensen set a national record of 9:48.59 seconds in the 3,200 in the Southern Section Masters Meet and has posted nation-leading marks in eight races this season, including a 1,600 best of 4:44.9 to win the Arcadia Invitational and a 3,000 time of 9:15.89 to win the Mt. San Antonio College relays.

All told, Mortensen, who has signed with UCLA, has won a combined five Southern Section Division I titles in cross-country and track.

“Kim has kind of warped our sense of what’s a great time,” Thousand Oaks distance Coach Jack Farrell said.

* Honorable mention: Ronney Jenkins, Hueneme High running back; Chris Czernek, Newbury Park High quarterback.

Jenkins led Ventura County with 2,152 yards rushing--619 in one head-shaking performance against Rio Mesa that set a national record and sent television news crews scurrying to Oxnard to interview the senior tailback.

“I just want to thank my line,” Jenkins said. “They blocked great for me and they have all year.”

In a 52-34 Channel League victory, Jenkins had touchdown runs of 93, 84, 26, 79, 43, 87, and 15 yards en route to breaking a national mark that stood for 21 years.

Oh, yes. Jenkins also kicked a 31-yard field goal and an extra point.

Czernek, a junior, passed for a state-record 4,362 yards, eclipsing former Newbury Park standout Keith Smith’s record of 4,244 while leading the Panthers to a Marmonte League championship and a trip to the Southern Section Division III final.

Like Smith in 1992, Czernek guided his team to a 13-0 record. But with Smith, now at Arizona, roaming the sidelines at Moorpark College, Czernek threw four interceptions in a 30-21 loss to Diamond Bar in the championship game.

“I don’t deserve that,” Czernek said of the record. “If we don’t win the game, it doesn’t mean anything.”

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Lifetime achievement award for coaching: Joe Vaughan, Buena High girls’ basketball coach.

Vaughan, the winningest girls’ coach in the state, is legendary in Ventura County and he showed why. The Bulldogs defeated Mater Dei to win the Southern Section Division I-A championship, the team’s fifth in Vaughan’s 21-year tenure. Along the way, Vaughan earned victory No. 500 in a first-round game against Canyon.

Vaughan’s teams have lost only 52 games during his tenure and never more than four in one season.

* Honorable mention: John Goffredo, Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball coach.

Goffredo earned victory No. 300 in his 18th season while leading the Falcons to a fourth-place finish in the Pacific League. The milestone was particularly rewarding for Goffredo, who considered retirement after his wife, Kathy, died of ovarian cancer in 1993.

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Comeback performance of the year: The Hart High football team.

The Indians were aware they might draw comparisons to the Buffalo Bills with a second consecutive loss to Antelope Valley in the Southern Section Division II final. In the 1994 championship game, Antelope Valley routed Hart, 36-15. Entering the rematch last December, the speedy Antelopes appeared a favorite to repeat.

However, Hart came from behind to win, 35-28, at Antelope Valley to earn the Indians their first section championship since 1986.

Of all the Hart players, none was more satisfied than senior tailback Ted Iacenda. Days before the game, a High Desert newspaper labeled Iacenda “the goat” of the 1994 game because he fumbled twice and was held to 60 yards.

Determined to atone, Iacenda exchanged his goat horns for a halo, rushing for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

Afterward, Iacenda offered a parting shot.

“Those newspaper reporters have some nerve calling me the goat,” Iacenda said. “The thing is, they were right. But they didn’t have to put it in the newspaper.”

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Most dominating performance by a team: The La Canada boys’ soccer team.

The Spartans simply were too good to be beaten--for a second consecutive year.

La Canada posted a second consecutive 25-0 season and a second consecutive Southern Section Division IV championship. Along the way, the Spartans set numerous Southern Section records, including goals in a season (145) and consecutive victories (50).

The title was the third in Coach Lou Bilowitz’s nine-year tenure.