O.C. Football Players Make All-California Team

Three county football players were named to the 1998 All-California Community College first team, picked by the J.C. Athletic Bureau-California Community College Football Coaches Assn.

Orange Coast’s Ivan Mercer, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound wide receiver, and Santa Ana’s Rob Caston, a 5-11, 175-pound wide receiver, were both selected to the Region IV first-team offense.

Brian Berg, a 6-0, 235-pound linebacker, was selected to the Region IV first-team defense.

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Brian Bissel and Rob Rader of Newport Beach, representing the United States in the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Simon’s Town, South Africa, are 10th in the multihull division after two days of competition.

Bissel, a Newport Harbor graduate who is a freshman at Georgetown, and Rader (Corona del Mar/USC) finished 10th, 12th, 10th, 12th and seventh in the first five races in Hobie 16s. Seven races remain. The championship runs through Jan. 6.

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The Winter Trail Run Series will hold its first race, an 8K run, at 8 a.m. Saturday starting from Blue Jay Campground in the Cleveland National Forest.

To reach the campground, take Ortega Highway 21 miles east of Interstate 5 to the Los Pinos Camp turnoff. Then proceed three miles to the campground site.

Runners should arrive early for registration. There is a $20 fee for race-day registration. Refreshments will be provided.

For additional information, contact Baz Hawley at (949) 240-1006.

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Three county soccer players have been selected to participate in the fourth “Peace and Unity” TAHUICHI World Soccer tournament beginning Saturday in Bolivia.

Will Johnson, 14, from Laguna Beach will join Tyson Wahl, 15, from Newport Beach, and Adam Uhl, 14, from Costa Mesa on the U.S. team. The event, which continues through Jan. 10, features teams from South Africa, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina and Russia.