Rustlers Lead Way in Race for State Titles

There is no question that the ‘90s will best be remembered in Orange County as the decade of state titles.

Orange County colleges--led by Golden West with 35--dominated like never before. Orange County teams completed the run by winning six of the 10 state titles available this fall.

Golden West also has the most state titles in history of the state with 54. Orange Coast, which is in the same district with Golden West, is second with 47.

Albert Gasparian, the women’s volleyball coach at Golden West, led his team to nine state titles, the most won by one program, in the decade.

“I remember just wanting to win three in a row because that had never been done before,” Gasparian said.

After the most recent earlier this month, he said, “Who knows, maybe this is just the start.”

Such a remark may seem boastful but Gasparian doesn’t want to set any limits for his program.

“People always ask ‘Doesn’t this get old?’ ” Gasparian said, “but I don’t really think about the past ones too much until people bring them up. We are always worried about the one at hand.

“The tradition is great but it would be unfair to put that pressure on each team. This year’s team really didn’t have anything to do with last year’s and these players were in sixth or seventh grade when the streak started.”

Right behind Gasparian’s nine titles is the Golden West men’s water polo team which has won eight and finished second and third the other two years.

But that is just the start when it comes to aquatics and Orange County.

The Golden West men’s swim team has seven state titles and the Rustler women’s swim team won its first state title of the decade last spring.

The Golden West women’s water polo team has won three state titles since it became a team in 1997.

The Golden West men’s volleyball team has won five state titles in a row and the women’s basketball team won in 1990 and 1991.

Orange Coast has 18 state titles this decade and seven have come in women’s swimming and three more in men’s swimming.

Orange Coast also has won the last three in women’s cross-country and also won the men’s cross-country title this year.

The Pirates also have two men’s volleyball titles, a women’s tennis title and a men’s soccer crown.

MORE FUN WITH NUMBERS

Cypress had 12 state titles in its history and 10 came this decade led by the Pickler brothers. Brad had four in softball and Scott has three in baseball. The women’s soccer team has won the last two and the women’s golf team won one as well.

Santa Ana had won 19 overall but eight came this decade, including three each by the baseball and men’s soccer programs. The men’s basketball team also won a pair.

Saddleback had won five titles this decade thanks to three by the men’s tennis team and two from the men’s golf team.

But the football team won unofficial state titles in 1992 and 1996 by going 11-0 and also winning national championships. The state didn’t recognize state titles in football until 1997.

Irvine Valley, which didn’t have its first competitive team until 1990, won four state titles in the decade led by by two from the women’s cross-country team.

Fullerton is the only school not taking part in the state title windfall this decade. The Hornets have won 22 overall, which is the seventh most in state history, but none this decade.

TOURNAMENT TIME

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have one more week of tuneups before Orange Empire Conference play starts on Jan. 5.

Santa Ana hosts a tournament that also features Saddleback and starts at 2 p.m. Monday. The semifinals are at 6 and 8 p.m. Tuesday and the title game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Saddleback has won the tournament four times this decade and lost in the title game last season to Santa Ana, which has three tournament titles this decade.

The Fullerton women’s tournament features 16 teams led by defending champion Irvine Valley, which went on to win the Orange Empire Conference and reached the state tournament.

The Fullerton tournament starts at 11:15 a.m. Monday. The semifinals are at 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday. The the title game at 6 p.m. Thursday.