LOCAL NOTES

Dave Renno has replaced Tom Caffrey as football coach at Fairmont Prep, Athletic Director J.T. Cameron said.

Caffrey, 66, retired after two years at Fairmont. He coached high school football for more than 30 years, compiling more than 200 victories and led Whittier Christian to four Southern Section titles.

Renno was a defensive coordinator at Fairmont the last two years. He has also coached at Temecula Linfield, Riverside Christian and Hesperia high schools.

* Dana Hills running back Kyle Kelly will attend Columbia and plans to play football, Dolphin Coach Scott Orloff said. Kelly rushed for 1,056 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

BASKETBALL

Mark Hill, men’s basketball coach at Orange Coast College the last two seasons, said he would not apply for the new full-time position.

Hill has been an adjunct OCC faculty member, but his job has been expanded to a full-time position and applications are being accepted until Friday.

Hill spent two years as a Pirate assistant before taking over the program in 1999. His teams went 29-31 in two seasons and reached the playoffs twice.

* Tickets for next week’s Big West Conference basketball tournament are available by calling the Anaheim Convention Center ticket office (714) 765-8980 or by contacting the respective athletic departments of the competing schools.

A three-day tournament pass covering all men’s and women’s games costs $60. A single-session men’s general admission ticket costs $15. Single sessions reserved tickets are $20 for men’s quarterfinals and $25 for the men’s semifinals and finals.

Tickets for the women’s single session are $10 for the quarterfinals and $15 for the semifinals and finals.

The men’s quarterfinals begin at noon March 8 with four games. The semifinals are at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. March 9 and the finals are at 9:30 p.m. March 10.

The women’s quarterfinals begin March 7 at 12:30 p.m. with four games. The semifinals are at noon and 2 p.m. March 9 and the finals are at 1 p.m. March 10.

BASEBALL

Paul French, a third-round draft pick of the Angels in 1998, has committed to play at UC Irvine.

French is pitching for Sacramento College, according to Panther Coach Deskaheh Bomberry. He was the top Bay Area prospect when he graduated from Walnut Creek Northgate High three years ago, but he turned down a lucrative offer from the Angels and signed to play at Arizona State.

However, French missed all of last season after having elbow surgery on his pitching arm and decided to transfer to Sacramento, where his brother was a catcher several years ago, Bomberry said.

TRACK AND FIELD

Vanguard’s Josh Schultz and Garrett Bridgens have met provisional qualifying marks to compete in the NAIA National Indoor Track and Field Championships, Friday and Saturday in Johnson City, Tenn.

Schultz qualified for the 600 meter race at an indoor meet at Azusa Pacific, Feb. 17, when he posted a time of 1 minute 23.17 seconds, bettering his school record of 1:23.20 set last year.

Bridgens qualified for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.32, which eclipsed Chris Gordon’s school-record time of 9.84 from last year.

MOTOR SPORTS

John Force, a 10-time NHRA Funny Car champion, has named Gary Densham as teammate for a third Ford Mustang run by Force’s drag racing team.

Densham, 54, a former schoolteacher from Bellflower, will drive a Steve Pleuger-built Ford on March 8-11 in a test session at Houston Raceway Park. He will make his racing debut with Force and teammate Tony Pedregon at the annual Gatornationals, March 16-18, at Gainesville, Fla.