Buena Diver Dumais Will Compete for Longhorns

Buena High diver Troy Dumais, the defending Southern Section Division I champion, signed a letter of intent with Texas.

Dumais, considered the top recruit in the nation, has already won five national diving titles and finished second in the one-meter springboard at the World Championships in January.

Dumais finished second behind older brother Justin in the 1995 and 1996 Division I finals. Justin Dumais recently completed his freshman season at USC. Troy chose the Longhorns over USC.

“I haven’t had as much fun with my diving as I’ve had in the past,” Troy said. “I had fun on my trip and I think I can have fun there with diving. And I wanted to get away. I didn’t want to go to the same school as my brother.”

BASEBALL

Award winners: Fred Sanchez, an infielder from Glendale College, was selected player of the year in the Western State Conference South Division, the conference announced Wednesday. Jack Wilson, a shortstop from Oxnard, was among three players who shared the top honor in the North Division.

Joining Sanchez on the first team in the South were Glendale teammates Jesse Mitchell, Eli Albertson, John Campanella, Wes Hutchinson and Billy Huddleston, Canyons players Jesse Daggett, David Soto and Jeremy Shields, Pierce players Seth Barkley, Barry Matthews and Barry Zito, and Valley players Frank Diaz and Steve Guerrero.

Wilson was joined on the North’s first team by Oxnard teammates Brent Egan and Kevin Mellinger. Also selected were Moorpark players Zach Gordon and Brian Fatur.

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Agoura depleted: Agoura outfielder Chris Poling is likely out for the season after suffering a hematoma on his leg after he was hit by a pitch last week against Newbury Park.

The Chargers will also finish the season without infielder B.J. Hebert, who has been declared academically ineligible.

SOCCER

Chosen few: Six members of the Valley United Stars girls’ club team have been selected to the under-14 Olympic Development Program state team.

Sara Davis, Jenna Fodor, Jill Oakes, April Millado, Kelly Lavery and Jaime Rendich will represent the California Youth Soccer Assn. at the Adidas Cup on May 16-17 in Morgan Hills, Calif.

SOFTBALL

Playoff time: The Cal Lutheran softball team enters the Division III West regional playoffs seeded second behind Chapman, which will host the tournament beginning today at Hart Park in Orange.

Cal Lutheran (27-19) opens the five-team, double-elimination competition against third-seeded Buena Vista of Iowa (25-9) at 2 p.m. today.

In other games today, unseeded St. Thomas (32-10) of Minnesota and Lawrence (23-10) of Wisconsin play at noon, and top-seeded Chapman (31-6) faces the winner of that game at 4 p.m.

The top two teams from the regional will advance to the Division III championship finals May 14-17 in Salem, Va.

Sharron honored: Former Thousand Oaks High pitcher Jennifer Sharron, now at Notre Dame, was selected the Big East Conference pitcher of the year, becoming the first freshman honored with that award.

Sharron (15-6), the 1997 Times’ Ventura County pitcher of the year, led the conference with a 0.90 earned-run average.

SWIMMING

Northridge signing: Christopher Reynolds, a 100-yard breaststroke specialist from Sunset High in Portland, Ore., has signed with Northridge. The all-league and all-state selection placed fifth in the junior national West meet in March.

BASKETBALL

Ruling upheld: The Harbor City Narbonne girls’ basketball team on Wednesday lost an appeal to have its City 4-A championship reinstated and could be in jeopardy of losing its state Division I title as well.

A three-member section appeals panel upheld all parts of the April 17 decision of the City Section’s rules committee that stripped the Gauchos of their title after determining that the team used ineligible players. The girls’ basketball program was also ruled ineligible for the playoffs next season, was put on two years of probation and three players were ruled ineligible for one year because of residence issues.

Jim Duel, a spokesman for the CIF, said an appeal to the state office, “could take some time, maybe extending into August.”