THE TIMES ORANGE COUNTY ALL-SPORTS AWARD : Return Engagement

Certain to add support for those who favor the creation of an all-parochial league, Santa Margarita and Servite/Rosary have repeated as large- and small-school division champions in the 1997-98 Times Orange County All-Sports Award competition.

The Eagles won the large-school title for the third consecutive time with 204 points.

Rosary, an all-girls’ school, and Servite, an all-boys’ school, combined to win their second consecutive small-school title, making it a clean sweep for county parochial schools. Servite/Rosary tallied 144 points.

Calvary Chapel, another private school, tied for second with Corona del Mar in the small-school division with 116 points.

Brea Olinda (154 points), was the top public school in the large-school division, finishing second overall.

The Wildcats added boys’ volleyball this spring.

They also fielded gymnastics. But not badminton, which is a double-whammy in the all-sports scoring, according to Ron Hampton, Brea boys’ athletic director.

“It would be nice to have those points,” he said.

The Wildcats may have put themselves behind the eight ball anyway in the fall by netting a goose egg in girls’ volleyball.

Brea, second in the small-school division in 1996-97, was followed this year by Mission Viejo (140), which finished eighth last year.

It was a boon year for private schools overall.

The county’s other Catholic school, Mater Dei, which fielded outstanding teams in some of the higher profile sports, finished a strong fourth among large schools, two spots better than a year ago. The Monarchs, who won the award in 1994-95, scored 132 points.

Orange Lutheran (80 points) and St. Margaret’s (72 points) finished ninth and 11th respectively in the small school division.

“I’m sure this will add oxygen to the fire that is already going on in the county,” Brea Olinda boys’ Athletic Director Ron Hampton said. “Other schools are already working on getting the parochial schools out of [public school] athletics.”

Calvary Chapel, Orange Lutheran and St. Margaret’s compete in private leagues. But Santa Margarita competes with five public schools in the Sea View League, Servite/Rosary plays with five public schools in the Golden West League and Mater Dei plays with five public schools in the South Coast League.

Santa Margarita Athletic Director Richard Schaaf cautioned not to read too much into the fact that his school has dominated The Times’ award for the past several years.

“I’m sure that if you started this award 15 years ago you would see the Woodbridges, Capo Valleys and Irvines of the world having the top spot for several years,” he said. “It goes in cycles.”

Santa Margarita opened in the fall of 1987.

“This senior class we had was outstanding as sophomores,” Schaaf said. “That’s one reason why we won it three years in a row. After graduation we will be like a normal high school. We will go down in performance next year.”

The All-Sports award is designed to identify and reward schools that have the county’s most successful and balanced athletic programs. Under this year’s revised scoring system, schools earn points for team Southern Section playoff participation and performance. Thus, gymnastics and field hockey programs don’t earn points because they do not have Southern Section-sanctioned playoffs, but badminton programs do.

Under the scoring format, 20 points are awarded for winning a section title, 16 for finishing as runner-up, 12 for reaching the semifinals, eight for reaching the quarterfinals and four for simply qualifying for the playoffs.

The winning school among large schools (1,300 students and above for grades 10-12) and small schools (below 1,300) receives a traveling trophy to display for one year, a trophy to keep and a banner to hang in its gym.

Rosary Athletic Director Juleen Wise said she is just as excited about the repeat performance as she was about winning the first time.

“We have a lot of teamwork here,” Wise said. “We’re committed to make Rosary a special place. We all work together--coaches, athletes, teachers and the administration--and that adds up to a win-win situation.”

She said she would leave it up to others to speculate on what the results mean.

“I’ve learned that people will say what they want to say,” Wise said.

Other accomplishments of note:

* Newport Harbor beat Santa Margarita to win the Sea View League boys’ volleyball title, but wound up fifth overall among large schools in part because its favored boys’ volleyball team faltered in the Division I semifinals.

* Sixth-place Marina (124 points) celebrated its 33rd birthday with the best overall performance in school history, thanks to a strong showing by its girls’ teams.

The Vikings, who did not finish among the top 20 in 1997, won section titles in girls’ volleyball, girls’ basketball, girls’ water polo and finished second in girls’ swimming. They also won the school’s first state title of any kind in girls’ volleyball; however, state totals are not counted as only seven of the 22 teams used to determine the all-sports winner compete in state playoffs.

* It was a very good year overall in North Huntington Beach, thanks also to a strong performance from Ocean View, which won section titles in girls’ volleyball, boys’ basketball and baseball and the school’s first state title of any kind in girls’ volleyball. The Seahawks (96 points) were fourth in the small-school division.

* Corona del Mar rode its section title in boys’ volleyball and its appearance in the boys’ tennis finals into a tie with Calvary Chapel, which won its second consecutive section softball title.

* Servite/Rosary ran away from the competition during the spring, tallying 60 points despite not winning a single section title. The closest it came was Rosary’s appearance in the section softball final.

* Esperanza tied Laguna Hills and University, both of the Pacific Coast League, for seventh place in the large-school division on the strength of its runner-up spot in the section baseball finals and by earning 12 points from its girls’ track team. Laguna Hills won a section title in girls’ swimming.

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Final Large School Top 20

1. Santa Margarita

2. Brea Olinda

3. Mission Viejo

4. Mater Dei

5. Newport Harbor

6. Marina

7. Esperanza, Laguna Hills, University

10. Woodbridge

11. Foothill, Irvine

13. Capistrano Valley, Los Alamitos, Dana Hills

16. El Toro, Villa Park, Fountain Valley

19. Troy

20. Katella, El Dorado

Final Small School Top 20

1. Servite/Rosary

2. Calvary Chapel, Corona del Mar

4. Ocean View

5. El Modena

6. Laguna Beach, Pacifica

8. Costa Mesa

9. Tustin

10. Orange Lutheran

11. St. Margaret’s

12. Sonora

13. Valencia, La Habra, Garden Grove

16. Brethren Christian

17. La Quinta

18. Estancia

19. Savanna, Whittier Christian

Divisions

Orange County’s high schools were split into two divisions. The cutoff point was 1,300 students, excluding freshmen. Enrollment figures are from the Southern Section office as of Dec. 9.

LARGE SCHOOLS

1. Santa Ana, 2,114

2. Esperanza, 2,105

3. Los Alamitos, 2,078

4. Capistrano Valley, 2,021

5. Fountain Valley, 1,992

6. Saddleback, 1,954

7. Irvine, 1,912

8. El Toro, 1,891

9. Santa Ana Valley, 1,870

10. Century, 1,778

11. Westminster, 1,739

12. University, 1,707

13. San Clemente, 1,703

14. Aliso Niguel, 1,676

15. Huntington Beach, 1,669

16. Marina, 1,660

17. Mission Viejo, 1,636

18. Dana Hills, 1,603

19. Anaheim, 1,575

20. Sunny Hills, 1,545

21. Edison, 1,537

22. Mater Dei, 1,494

22. Woodbridge, 1,494

24. Orange, 1,488

25. Cypress, 1,472

26. Troy, 1,471

27. Villa Park, 1,460

28. Katella, 1,455

29. El Dorado, 1,433

30. Kennedy, 1,416

31. Foothill, 1,410

32. Los Amigos, 1,385

33 Newport Harbor, 1,377

34 Trabuco Hills, 1,359

35. Loara, 1,359

36. Canyon, 1,347

37. Brea Olinda, 1,331

37. Laguna Hills, 1,331

39. Santa Margarita, 1,312

40. Santiago, 1,309

SMALL SCHOOLS

1. Tustin, 1,296

2. Buena Park, 1,289

3. Sonora, 1,265

4. Garden Grove, 1,238

5. Pacifica, 1,228

6. Savanna, 1,221

7. El Modena, 1,217

8. Valencia, 1,213

9. La Habra, 1,207

10. Magnolia, 1,124

11. Western, 1,112

12. Fullerton, 1,104

13. Servite 588/Rosary 509

14. Bolsa Grande, 1,091

15. La Quinta, 1,028

16. Rancho Alamitos, 1,018

17. Ocean View, 915

18. Costa Mesa, 851

19. Estancia, 799

20. Corona del Mar, 779

21. Laguna Beach, 605

22. Calvary Chapel, 494

23. Orange Lutheran, 460

24. Brethren Christian, 407

25. Whittier Christian, 368

26. St. Margaret’s, 172

27. Fairmont, 152

28. Capistrano Valley Christian, 148

29. Connelly, 142

30. Southern Calif. Christian, 96

31. Heritage Christian, 94

32. Liberty Christian, 77

33. Orangewood Academy, 53

34. St. Michael’s, 44

Final Large School Top 20

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School Previous BB BM SB BT BVB BS GS BTF GTF 1. Santa Margarita 120 4 0 0 12 20 12 4 12 12 2. Brea Olinda 100 12 0 4 4 0 8 4 4 16 3. Mission Viejo 60 0 0 0 12 0 20 8 20 16 4. Mater Dei 80 4 0 20 0 8 0 4 16 0 5. Newport Harbor 100 0 0 0 0 12 4 4 4 4 6. Marina 72 0 0 8 0 8 8 16 4 8 7. Esperanza 68 16 0 0 0 0 4 4 8 12 7. Laguna Hills 68 4 0 4 0 0 12 20 0 4 7. University 56 4 0 4 4 4 4 12 4 8 10. Woodbridge 56 4 0 12 12 0 4 0 4 12 11. Foothill 56 4 0 8 8 4 8 4 0 4 11. Irvine 40 0 0 12 0 0 16 20 4 4 13. Capistrano Valley 72 4 0 0 0 4 4 4 0 4 13. Los Alamitos 60 0 0 4 8 0 8 4 4 0 13. Dana Hills 52 4 0 4 12 4 4 4 4 4 16. El Toro 60 4 0 4 0 0 4 8 4 0 16. Villa Park 56 4 0 0 4 4 4 4 8 0 16. Fountain Valley 36 4 0 8 4 4 4 8 4 0 19. Troy 52 0 4 4 8 0 4 8 0 0 20. Katella 52 8 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 0 20. El Dorado 48 4 0 4 4 4 4 4 0 0

School G Total 1. Santa Margarita 8 204 2. Brea Olinda 0 152 3. Mission Viejo 4 140 4. Mater Dei 0 132 5. Newport Harbor 0 128 6. Marina 0 124 7. Esperanza 0 112 7. Laguna Hills 0 112 7. University 12 112 10. Woodbridge 0 104 11. Foothill 0 96 11. Irvine 0 96 13. Capistrano Valley 0 92 13. Los Alamitos 4 92 13. Dana Hills 0 92 16. El Toro 0 84 16. Villa Park 0 84 16. Fountain Valley 12 84 19. Troy 0 80 20. Katella 0 72 20. El Dorado 0 72

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Final Small School Top 20

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School Previous BB BM SB BT BVB BS GS BTF GTF 1. Servite/Rosary 84 4 0 16 8 8 8 4 4 0 2. Calvary Chapel 80 4 0 20 0 4 4 4 0 0 2. Corona del Mar 64 4 0 0 16 20 4 0 4 4 4. Ocean View 60 20 8 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 5. El Modena 68 0 0 8 0 0 4 4 4 4 6. Laguna Beach 64 0 0 0 8 12 0 0 0 4 6. Pacifica 48 4 0 20 0 4 4 4 0 4 8. Costa Mesa 56 0 0 0 0 8 4 4 8 4 9. Tustin 56 0 0 0 0 16 0 4 4 0 10. Orange Lutheran 48 4 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 8 11. St. Margaret’s 40 4 0 8 0 4 4 4 4 4 12. Sonora 48 0 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 0 13. Valencia 48 0 0 4 0 4 4 0 0 0 13. La Habra 44 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 13. Garden Grove 32 4 16 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 16. Brethren Christian 36 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 4 4 17. La Quinta 16 16 4 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 18. Estancia 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 19. Savanna 20 4 0 4 4 0 0 4 0 0 19. Whittier Christian 20 4 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 0

School G Total 1. Servite/Rosary 8 144 2. Calvary Chapel 0 116 2. Corona del Mar 0 116 4. Ocean View 0 96 5. El Modena 0 92 6. Laguna Beach 0 88 6. Pacifica 0 88 8. Costa Mesa 0 84 9. Tustin 0 80 10. Orange Lutheran 0 76 11. St. Margaret’s 0 72 12. Sonora 0 64 13. Valencia 0 60 13. La Habra 0 60 13. Garden Grove 0 60 16. Brethren Christian 0 52 17. La Quinta 0 48 18. Estancia 0 44 19. Savanna 0 36 19. Whittier Christian 0 36

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A Guide to the Top 20

Here is the key for categories. Rounding might create slight discrepancies between the sum of individual figures and the total.

Previous--Carryover from fall and winter sports. BB--Baseball. BM--Badminton. G--Golf. SB--Softball. BS--Boys’ swimming. GS--Girls’ swimming. BT--Boys’ tennis. BTF--Boys’ track and field. GTF--Girls’ track and field. BV--Boys’ volleyball.