Price Awaits News from Bakersfield

John Price, up against two other candidates for the women’s volleyball coaching job at Cal State Bakersfield, is still awaiting his fate.

A committee of Bakersfield administrators, coaches and former students did not reach a decision Wednesday, but likely will offer the job today to one of the candidates.

“The hammer needs to fall soon, one way or the other,” said Price, the Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball coach. The program was eliminated June 11 for budget and gender-equity reasons.

At Bakersfield, Price is competing with ex-Penn State Coach Tom Peterson, who led the Nittany Lions to the men’s NCAA title in 1994, and Kip Yoshimura, the women’s coach at Lewis and Clark, an NAIA school.

Price and Peterson went head-to-head in a memorable 1993 match, when the Matadors swept Penn State in an NCAA semifinal, 15-2, 15-5, 15-11.

“That obviously proved who the better coach is,” Price joked.

The Matadors were swept by UCLA in the NCAA championship the next day.

Conejo Valley moves on: Kevin Diaz had four hits and six runs batted in to lead Conejo Valley Senior Little League to the Section I 15-year-old championship with a 14-7 comeback victory over Granada Hills on Wednesday at Mission Hills Little League.

Right-hander Billy Lockin came on in relief with Conejo Valley trailing, 6-2, in the fourth inning and allowed one run the rest of the way. Greg Simonetti and Tracy Goebel had key hits for Conejo Valley (7-0), which begins division play Saturday in El Monte.

Jacobs wins: Sarah Jacobs of Ventura won the 400-meter individual medley at the World Maccabiah games in Israel on Wednesday. Jacobs, a graduate of Buena High and a sophomore at Indiana, timed 5:03.46 in the meet that brings together the world’s top Jewish athletes.

Christianson leads: Brando Christianson of Valencia holds a five-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 10-11 age group of the Wittnauer Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at the PGA National Resport in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Christianson finished Wednesday’s round with a two-over-par 74, giving him a 36-hole total of 144, five better than Tyler Miskell of Heath, Ohio.

Horton honored: Jennifer Horton, a field hockey player from Thousand Oaks, was named athlete of the year at the California State Games held last weekend in San Diego. Horton helped lead Central Region, a 19-and-under field hockey team, to the silver medal at the amateur sports festival. The games included more than 5,000 athletes, ages 12-18. Horton graduated from La Reina High this year and will attend St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., where she plans to play ice hockey and field hockey.

UCI bound: Kristine Bostick, who placed third in the women’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles in the 1996 and ’97 state junior college track and field championships for Antelope Valley College, has signed a letter of intent with UC Irvine.

Bostick, a 1995 graduate of Palmdale High, set an Antelope Valley College record of 1:02.52 in this year’s state meet.

Tim Leahy, who placed fourth in the 1996 Southern Section Division II cross-country championships for Burbank High, will attend Northern Arizona in the fall and try to walk on to the Lumberjacks’ cross-country team. Leahy, a member of The Times 1996 All-Valley-Ventura County region cross-country team, has a personal best of 9:29.17 in the 3,200 meters.

Deywine Adams, who finished third in the boys’ 200 meters for Cleveland High in the City Section track championships in May, has committed to Cal State Los Angeles.