Briefly In Sports

Trophy Invitational is back

The Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational track meet returns at 10 a.m. March 20.

Laguna Beach High hosted the meet from 1937 to 1982, but it hasn’t happened since then. Coaches Steve Wittkop and Steve Lalim decided to bring it back.

“When Steve and I took over three years ago, we had heard about it,” Wittkop said. “We thought it was crazy that it didn’t continue.”

The meet, for mostly small schools, also features a special track dedication ceremony. The track at the high school has been named Eric Hulst Track, and Hulst’s family and past teammates are expected to be in attendance. The 3,200-meter race at the event will be called the Eric Hulst Memorial 3,200.

Hulst was a nationally recognized distance runner for Laguna in the 1970s, who still holds the 1,600 and 3,200-meter records at the school. He died in 1992 at the age of 34 after a year-long battle with brain cancer.

Parking is expected to be tight at the meet, but Wittkop said shuttles will be running throughout the day.

“” Matt Szabo

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Special K’s earn Little League win

The Special K’s played their final preseason Laguna Beach Little League AA Division game against Emery Financial on March 3.

Strong efforts were offered by both sides, with the K’s pulling out a 2-0 victory behind strong pitching performances by Tanner Mauro, Christian Holm and Jaden Kovacic.

Excellent infield play by the K’s kept Emery scoreless throughout, capping the last inning with spectacular catches by Conor Kramer and Nolan Smith, followed by a final strikeout by Kovacic.