Byars Moves to Santa Ana College as Assistant Coach

Conrad Byars, longtime Orange County high school basketball coach, has been named assistant men’s basketball coach at Santa Ana College, Coach Ray Rodriguez announced Monday.

Byars has been boys’ varsity coach the last four seasons at Western, where he was 31-71, including a 4-20 record last season. Before that, he coached 11 seasons at Anaheim High. He will continue to teach at Western.

Byars, who played basketball at Santa Ana College in 1976-77, is a graduate of Canyon High and Cal State Fullerton.

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Rainer Wulf has been named boys’ athletic director at Trabuco Hills High, replacing Gary Sabella, who held the position for 13 years.

Wulf will remain boys’ varsity basketball coach at the school, a position he has held since the program started in 1987-88. His record is 170-109.

Sabella will continue to coach boys’ golf in the spring and will coach the girls’ golf team, which begins this fall.

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The men’s national water polo teams from the United States and Yugoslavia will meet in a three-game series beginning at 8 tonight at Corona del Mar High.

The teams split games in the U.S. Cup at Newport Beach last week, with Yugoslavia winning a preliminary-round game, 10-8, and the U.S. winning the gold-medal game, 7-6.

The teams meet again Friday at 8 p.m. at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach and Saturday at 4 p.m. at Corona del Mar High. Admission for each game is $5 for adults, $3 for students.

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Julie Brandt, 19, of Huntington Beach finished first and Orange’s Peggy Tillinghast was 12th in the women’s downhill in-line skating competition Monday at the X Games in San Diego. Brandt finished second in the event last year.

Mike Budnik of Irvine was a member of the team that took third in the in-line skaking triples. Eitan Kramer of Irvine was on the fourth-place team.

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The Mater Dei Nike boys’ basketball tournament begins Wednesday.

If the Monarchs advance to Saturday’s semifinals they could face either Santa Margarita or Dana Hills, teams that beat Mater Dei last winter. The championship game is scheduled at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

The first-round schedule:

Wednesday--El Toro vs. Bonita Vista, 3:30 p.m.; Villa Park vs. Dana Hills, 5; Mater Dei No. 1 vs. Santa Barbara, 6:30; Santa Margarita vs. Gardena Serra, 8.

Thursday--Estancia vs. Mater Dei No. 2, 3:30 p.m.; Sonora vs. Riverside North, 5; Los Alamitos vs. Capistrano Valley, 6:30; Ocean View vs. Upland, 8.

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The Varsity Summer boys’ basketball tournament at Trabuco Hills High begins with a game between league champions Thursday, when Loara meets Laguna Hills at 1 p.m.

Neither advanced past the first round of the section playoffs, but Laguna Hills finished 21-6 and 8-2 in the Pacific Coast League, and Loara, headed by Ed Prange, who was named Times Orange County boys’ basketball coach of the year, was 20-7, 7-3 in the Empire League.

The championship of the three-day tournament will be 6:20 p.m. Saturday.

Thursday’s first-round schedule:

Main gym--Laguna Hills vs. Loara, 1 p.m.; Troy vs. Long Beach St. Anthony, 2:20; Aliso Niguel vs. Payson, Utah, 3:40; Trabuco Hills vs. Temple City, 5; Dana Hills-Costa Mesa loser vs. Laguna Hills-Loara loser, 6:20.

Auxiliary gym--Dana Hills vs. Costa Mesa, 1 p.m.; La Mirada vs. San Clemente, 2:20; Mission Viejo vs. L.A. Loyola, 3:40; Sunny Hills vs. Palos Verdes Chadwick, 5; La Mirada-San Clemente loser vs. Troy-St. Anthony loser, 6:20.

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The third annual Christopher Reeve Polo Classic will be July 18 at Joan Irvine Smith’s Oaks Polo Field in San Juan Capistrano to benefit the American Paralysis Assn.

The 3 p.m. celebrity match will be preceded by a VIP luncheon. Tickets are $200 and include a wine reception, Jack Russell Terrier races, fashion show and prizes.

Tailgating tickets, which include lunch, are $75 per car, and general admission is $15. For more information, call (760) 564-8434.