Young Makes Big Impact in Return for Camarillo

Delmon Young has returned, and so have the fortunes of the Camarillo baseball team.

Young, a pitcher and outfielder expected to be a high pick in the June amateur draft, has played the last three games at designated hitter for the Scorpions, who have won five consecutive games after starting 0-3.

Young, who missed nearly a month because of a severely sprained ankle, has eight runs batted in and also pitched in relief since his return on Saturday.

“He’s one of the best players ever,” Coach Scott Cline said. “I want to take it real slow with him.”

-- Mike Bresnahan

Allyson Felix of North Hills L.A. Baptist, the defending state champion in the girls’ 100 and 200 meters, will run her first outdoor track and field meet of the season Saturday in the Pasadena Games at Pasadena City College.

Felix, who set a national indoor high-school record of 23.14 seconds in the 200 earlier this month, is entered in the 200 and 400. The meet starts with field events at 11 a.m. Running events begin at 1 p.m.

The 400 will be one of the most talented fields in the meet with Felix, Ashley Freeman of Long Beach Wilson, Treani Swain of North Hollywood Oakwood and Tijahnni Newton of Rancho Cucamonga.

Jeff Jacobs of Santa Margarita and Phillip Reid of Oxnard Rio Mesa are two of the leading entrants in the boys’ meet. Jacobs, second in the 400 in last year’s state championships, will run in that event and the 400 and 1,600 relays. Reid, second in the 1,600 in the state meet, will run in the 3,200.

Jon Caffrey, who played football and baseball at Whittier Christian and graduated from the school in 1989, has been hired as the Heralds’ football coach. Caffrey replaces Mike Roark, who resigned to accept the job of defensive coordinator at Pasadena City College. Roark had a record of 10-20 in three seasons.

In 2000 and 2001, Caffrey was the football coach at Downey Calvary Chapel, where he posted a 17-5 record and reached the Southern Section quarterfinals twice. He resigned the position in 2002 to be with his wife, who was battling cancer. She died on March 2.

In other coaching news:

* Jeff Cortez has been chosen football coach at Lancaster, replacing Troy Jackson, who compiled a 9-21 record in three seasons.

Cortez has coached the last three seasons at Lancaster Paraclete, where the Spirits were 31-5, had a 28-game winning streak, and won two Southern Section championships.

* Coley Candaele is leaving Carpinteria High to become the football coach at Vista Murrieta High, a new school in Murrieta that will open in September with only freshmen and sophomores.

Candaele, 31, was the record-setting quarterback for Carpinteria when it won three consecutive Southern Section championships (1987-89). As the Warriors’ coach, he had a record of 51-24-2. His team went 14-0 this season and won the Division XI championship.

* Aaron Shahrestani has been hired as football coach at Garden Grove Santiago, replacing Bart Recktenwald, who had coached the Cavaliers for three seasons. Shahrestani was an assistant coach at Orange for two years and at Westminster La Quinta for three.

* Lindsay Strothers has resigned as girls’ basketball coach at Oak Park High after five seasons.

Under Strothers, Oak Park won 34 consecutive Tri-Valley League games and three consecutive titles. It won the Southern Section championship in Division IV-AA in 2001, but finished 11-17 this season.