Barlow Plans to Step Down as Valley Coach

Gary Barlow, football coach at Valley College for the last two seasons, plans to resign and return to his hometown of Stockton, where he will become an assistant at San Joaquin Delta College, Valley Athletic Director Chuck Ferrero said Tuesday.

Ferrero will launch a search to replace Barlow, who took over for Jim Fenwick.

Barlow had a 10-10 record at Valley.

* Linebacker Anthony Foli of Newbury Park High, the Marmonte League defensive player of the year last season, has committed to San Diego State. He will play in the Shrine All-Star game in June at Cerritos College.

* Running back George Witter of Harvard-Westlake, who rushed for 1,886 yards and scored 27 touchdowns last season, has committed to Pennsylvania, where he also plans to compete in the decathlon.

* The Southern Section has finalized its football playoff groupings for 1999. Division I will be made up of the Serra, Citrus Belt, Del Rey, Moore and Sunset leagues. Division II will include the Baseline, Bay, San Gabriel Valley, Sierra and South Coast leagues. Division III includes Foothill, Golden, Pacific and Mission. Division IV is made up of Channel, Marmonte, Northern and Pacific View. The Angelus League, which includes Harvard-Westlake, will be in Division VII.

The new Mission League for football includes Chaminade, Crespi, Notre Dame and St. Francis. Alemany is in the Del Rey with Bishop Amat, Loyola and St. Paul.

* Coach Paul Hackett will preview USC’s season at the “Chalk Talk ‘99” reception and dinner May 13 at The Ventura Club in Sherman Oaks.

The reception, which includes a silent auction, begins at 6:30 p.m., with dinner at 7:15.

Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $50 for members of USC athletic support groups and $55 for nonmembers. Information: (213) 740-4164.

BASEBALL

* Former L.A. Baptist and Cal State Northridge infielder John Wilson, a sophomore at Kentucky, is among 33 players invited to the summer camp for the USA Baseball National team. Also invited are pitchers Jon Brandt and Josh Karp of UCLA, infielder Seth Davidson of USC and catcher Dane Sardinha of Pepperdine.

VOLLEYBALL

* Royal High, which won the Redondo tournament last weekend, moved up a spot to the No. 1 ranking in the boys’ Southern Section Division I poll.

The Highlanders defeated former No. 1 Loyola in the tournament final.

MISCELLANY

* The Southern Section has removed all travel restrictions on high schools participating in tournaments or nonleague games. Previously, teams could only travel more than 500 miles for a tournament every two years.

The Southern Section also amended its punishment for ineligible athletes. When it is determined an ineligible athlete competed because of a failure by the school to submit proper paperwork, the school must forfeit only the initial game in which the student played. The rule applies only to athletes who would have been eligible with the paperwork submitted and not to those who have restricted eligibility.