New Southern Section Record Book Seeking Big Assist

Chris Kluwe, Tia Bollinger and Giuliana Mendiola all belong in the Southern Section record book, but whether they actually get there depends on their schools.

They are among the high school athletes who should be included--but could be excluded--in the next edition of the All-Sports Press Guide and Record Book unless schools notify the section office before the end of the month.

Southern Section sports information coordinator Thom Simmons and his secretary, Anita Fopma, are working on the new edition of the record book, but they say it will be only as good--and current--as the support they get from the section’s 520 high schools.

“The onus is on the schools,” Simmons said. The record book is due out Sept. 7.

If they haven’t done so already, principals or athletic directors should notify the section office by Aug. 1 of any mark or total that might qualify as one of the section’s 10 best in career, season or single-game categories.

Simmons recommends schools make a copy of any information they send to the section office and be prepared to prove the record if it’s questioned.

While Simmons has kept a “master book” of records since joining the section’s staff, the four years since the last printing have made it more difficult to catch up with history. And the mounds of paperwork.

Mater Dei’s Kelsey Kollen became Southern Section softball’s career hit leader in 1998 with 241, but her marks haven’t been updated since her junior season, when she had 183 hits.

In another example, Simmons said, his office has no record of Pacifica’s Amanda Freed, who pitched 25 no-hitters--10 in 1998--had 26 consecutive wins and pitched seven perfect games.

In both cases, either the coach or athletic director said the section was notified.

“It’s going to have to be a collective effort,” said Geri Campeau, Mater Dei’s girls’ athletic director. “And it may mean people resubmitting different things, and that’s fine. I have all the papers--it’s just a matter of making another copy.” She said this will be the third time she has submitted Kollen’s record.

Simmons says no hard-copy record book existed before 1983-84, when one was compiled by Scott Cathcart, then the section’s sports information coordinator. Cathcart is now associate athletic director at Temple.

“Records were sketchy, at best, and Scott took it upon himself to make it his baby,” Simmons said. “Though it’s dedicated to Kenny Fagans [the section commissioner from 1954-75], it probably should be the Scott Cathcart Record Book because he’s the guy who made it happen.”

Simmons isn’t just double-checking, cross-referencing and adding records. He’s also correcting mistakes that appeared in previous editions. Jill Matyuch, the softball coach at El Dorado, is not listed as the coach at Covina Charter Oak when it won the section’s 1993 Division II title.

And even former Esperanza hurdler Danielle Reeves, who worked in marketing in the Southern Section office until December, was identified as “Darlene” in her listing as the 1988 section champion in the 300 low hurdles.

Those probably aren’t the only mistakes to be found in the 232 pages of the 1996 edition, which has 27 pages of small type dedicated to girls’ track and field alone.

“There’s no statute of limitations on correcting or adding a record,” said Simmons, who recently added Hemet as 1940-41 boys’ basketball Eastern Division champion. “Eventually, I’d like this to be an encyclopedia, and I’d like to add even more categories.”

But Campeau, who became athletic director five years ago, says the kinks in the record-keeping probably won’t be rectified until the record book is produced more consistently because even the experts have trouble keeping track of it all.

For example, she knew Bollinger didn’t set the section’s single-season strikeout record, but didn’t know Bollinger’s 389 strikeouts would qualify for the top 10.

Also, coaching turnover can wreak havoc on record-keeping.

“It’s difficult to chart career stats when you have coaching changes in the middle of a kid’s career because stats don’t always transfer from one coach to another,” Campeau said. “To have an accurate historical document, I guess it takes a lot of work on a lot of different people’s parts. And a lot of communication.”

Simmons said schools can perpetuate a problem with inaccurate record-keeping.

It wasn’t until cross-checking by Simi Valley Grace Brethren that pitcher Tim Thompson was found to have only 51 career victories instead of 54, meaning he only tied the 27-year-old record of Scott McGregor of El Segundo. But during the season, the school called Thompson the record-holder.

“We would prefer to put out a record book every year, but it’s a matter of funds,” Simmons said. “At worst, we would like to do it every two years. We don’t want to get into a habit where we go four years since the last one.”

In just the last school year, Bollinger won 30 games, the second-most in section history; Mendiola averaged 34.4 points in basketball and increased her career scoring total to 3,069 points, second only to Riverside Poly’s Cheryl Miller (1978-82), and Kluwe kicked a 60-yard field goal for Los Alamitos, the section’s second-longest.

But Simmons said he had not been contacted by a Los Alamitos official about Kluwe’s record. “I see that all the time,” he said. “People forget.”

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The Record Watch

The process for updating the Southern Section record book for the first time since 1986:

What: A record appears in the Southern Section Record Book if it qualifies as one of the top 10 marks or totals in career, single-season or single-game categories.

Notification: If the section office has not already been made aware of a record, an account of the record should be sent to: Southern Section Record Book, attn. Thom Simmons, 11011 Artesia Blvd., Cerritos, CA, 90703, or faxed to Southern Section Record Book, attn. Thom Simmons, at (562) 860-1692.

Verification: To be acknowledged as a record, written verification should come from a principal or athletic director, along with published documentation of the performance when possible.

Protection: Copies of any submission should be kept by the school in case mailed or faxed copies are lost or misplaced.

Deadline: Aug. 1.