Riddle Wins Eligibility Appeal

The hardship-eligibility appeal filed on behalf of girls’ water polo player Alison Riddle, who transferred last summer from San Bernardino to Riverside Poly High, was approved Thursday by the Southern Section.

Riddle, a junior, left San Bernardino over concerns about exposure to asbestos at the school. Riddle’s family believes the asbestos caused an older sister, Adriane, to contract lung cancer last year. Section officials originally accepted the hardship-eligibility request under the condition Riddle attend a school in the San Bernardino Unified School District, section spokesman Thom Simmons said.

When she failed to meet that requirement by enrolling at Riverside Poly, which is located in the Riverside Unified School District, the section ruled she was not eligible to compete in water polo or swimming this school year.

Riddle, her mother, Anita Riddle, and their attorney met with section officials Wednesday in an effort to change the conditions of her transfer. Simmons said a panel found “compelling reasons” to grant immediate eligibility to Riddle.

The Riddles said they preferred Poly because it’s near the home of Anita’s parents. Anita also said the family worried there would be asbestos problems at other schools in the San Bernardino district.

Alison Riddle, a first-team All-Southern Section Division V selection in water polo last season, needed a hardship waiver because her transfer occurred after May 15, the cutoff date for athletic eligibility set by the California Interscholastic Federation.

Adriane Riddle graduated from San Bernardino High in 2000, earning a water polo scholarship to San Jose State. In May 2001, she was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. The lung was removed and she underwent chemotherapy. She now attends Cal State San Marcos and has been cancer free since last spring, Anita said.

Dan Arritt

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Covina South Hills football player Manuel Aguilar left County-USC Medical Center early Friday with his parents after a battery of tests revealed he had suffered a concussion.

Aguilar, 17, a senior defensive back and running back for South Hills, sought the team trainer after a punt return in the first half of South Hills’ 30-7 loss to Hacienda Heights Los Altos. He left the locker room on a stretcher in the third quarter, but showed marked improvement in the ambulance during transport, according to his mother, Elaine.

“From what I understand, he didn’t totally pass out but was very lethargic, and he didn’t remember anything from the last play to when he got to the hospital,” said Elaine Aguilar.

Doctors told the Aguilars that Manuel could return in a month, but his parents said they have decided to keep their son out for the rest of the season.

Martin Henderson

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Thousand Oaks quarterback Chris Owens has been declared ineligible, and the Lancer football team will have to forfeit a season-opening victory to Crescenta Valley as a result.

Owens transferred from Simi Valley Grace Brethren to Thousand Oaks last spring, but his family continued to maintain a residence in Simi Valley as well as renting an apartment in Thousand Oaks. According to Marmonte League rules, a student-athlete can compete only if the family resides within the school district.

Dan Loumena