Chaminade Dedicates Season to Shannon Simons’ Memory

The Chaminade High baseball team has dedicated its season to Shannon Simons, a Chaminade sophomore who died in a car accident last Thursday.

Simons, a cheerleader at Chaminade, was the girlfriend of junior varsity baseball player Jordan Hoff.

The players will wear white tape on their ankles to symbolize their dedication.

“Everyone said she was a great kid,” Chaminade Coach Scott Drootin said. “This is a very tight-knit school and the guys felt they should do something.”

A funeral for Simons is scheduled for Thursday at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth.

Growing pains: Thousand Oaks, which won the Marmonte League baseball title two years ago and qualified for the playoffs in 1996, has struggled this season.

Second-year Coach Bill Sizemore said the Lancers (8-7, 1-3) have been undone by inexperience that has led to errors and a lack of aggression at the plate. Thousand Oaks entered the week batting .255, with an .895 fielding percentage.

“Our senior class, in comparison to other league teams, is not as strong,” Sizemore said. “Last year we had an entire senior lineup which means that [this year’s seniors] have not played much varsity baseball.”

Losing her grip: If Bridget Pearson of Hoover High appeared sluggish during the girls’ pole vault in the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High on Saturday night, there was a good reason.

The Tornado sophomore was vaulting for the second time that day after setting a region record of 11 feet 9 3/4 inches to finish third in the open portion of a meet at UCLA that afternoon.

“I actually [set a personal best] during my first meet, but I think that might have hurt me because I was a little too relaxed at Arcadia,” she said of her runner-up finish at 10-6. “I should have been more fired up, but I felt like I had accomplished something already.”

This was the second year in a row that Pearson had vaulted in both meets. As a freshman, she cleared 10-6 in the meet at UCLA and 10 feet at Arcadia.

Home cooking: UCLA’s academic and athletic reputations played roles in Michelle Perry’s decision to accept a scholarship offer from UCLA. The proximity of the Westwood campus might have been the clincher for the Quartz Hill senior.

“The fact that [UCLA is] in California was a big plus,” said Perry, defending Southern Section Division I champion in the 100-meter high hurdles and the 300 lows.

Perry, second on the all-time region list in the 100 highs at 13.88 seconds and the 300 lows at 42.68, also considered Washington, Washington State and Arizona.

Muscling up: Hart’s Matt McAfee would be among the unlikeliest of Indians to set a school record for home runs.

The senior first baseman was the only Hart regular hitting below .300 until the Indians played Valencia last week.

McAfee hit three home runs in a 16-6 victory over the Vikings.

“I really wasn’t surprised,” Coach Bud Murray said. “He was pounding the ball. He was eventually going to get his hits.”