Court Punishes Soccer Player

Carpinteria boys’ soccer player Rosario Vargas, 18, pleaded no contest Friday in Pomona Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge of assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to three years of probation, six months of anger management classes and 45 days of community service.

Vargas, who took part in a game-ending brawl Wednesday, was accused of kicking a La Verne Lutheran player in the head with his cleats after the boy had been knocked to the ground. He was also sentenced to three days of jail, which he has served, and ordered to pay restitution to the victim.

Carpinteria was credited with a 4-1 victory over Lutheran when the game was called following the fight, which began with four minutes left in the Southern Section Division VI second-round playoff game.

Both benches emptied and fans joined the altercation, witnesses reported. Section officials, who stripped Carpinteria of the right to play host to a quarterfinal game Saturday, are still investigating the incident and might have more sanctions for both teams.

Carpinteria beat Lancaster Desert Christian, 2-1, in its quarterfinal game.

-- Dan Loumena

Senior Allyson Felix of North Hills L.A. Baptist set a national high school indoor record of 23.14 seconds in the girls’ 200 meters Sunday when she finished second in the USA Track & Field championships at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury, Mass.

Michelle Collins, 32, won the race in 22.84.

Felix, the defending state champion in the 100 and 200, had tied the previous national record of 23.22 in a qualifying heat earlier in the day.

Felix’s top-two finish in the final qualified her for the U.S. team that will compete in the World Indoor championships at Birmingham, England, on March 14-16.

-- John Ortega

Five players who were expected to return from the Glendale Hoover boys’ tennis team that won the Southern Section Division I championship last year will not compete for the Tornadoes this season.

Their departure means Hoover, which finished 24-1 and defeated Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula for the school’s first section title in any sport since 1975, may struggle to defend its Pacific League title.

“We’re not even close to the team we were last year,” Coach Lyn Santamaria said.

Senior Dylan Kim, a transfer from Korea who played No. 1 singles last year, left Hoover to pursue a tennis career on lower-level professional circuits.

Junior Sergy Vagramian, who played No. 2 singles, is enrolled in an independent-study program while focusing on junior tournaments, Santamaria said.

Brothers Samuel and Hakop Tadevosian remain enrolled at Hoover but recently decided not to compete in high school tennis.

Samuel, a sophomore, said he and his brother, a junior, want to concentrate on junior-circuit events.

Sophomore Jack Karapetian has transferred but Santamaria said she did not know where.

-- Lauren Peterson