New Sunset League gets some things right, but not all are in agreement

By Andrew Turner

March 3, 2018 5 PM PT

The alignment for the Sunset League’s new two-division format has been finalized with respect to the 2018 fall sports season.

No shortage of conversation has been had about the development since then, with some of the coaches crying foul over the new divisions.

In the new eight-team Sunset League, there will be two four-team divisions, representative of the upper and lower tiers of the conference. The Surf Division contains the top four teams, while the rest will reside in the Wave Division.

It is likely that there are no complaints concerning the breakdown of the girls’ volleyball leagues. The Surf Division is made up of Corona del Mar, Huntington Beach, Edison and Los Alamitos, all of which competed in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs in 2017.

“I think if you’re going to do a conference, it should be strength-based,” said CdM girls’ volleyball coach Steve Astor, expressing his satisfaction with the divisions. “My interest in it is I think it will be interesting to see how they do CIF, how they place teams.

“I could see a scenario where there is a team that gets third or fourth in the top division, but doesn’t get [into the playoffs], or they’re seeded lower than the team that wins the lower league. That wouldn’t make any sense.”

While CdM is joining the Sunset League for the first time, it’s no stranger to facing Sunset League teams. The Sea Kings play rival Newport Harbor in the Battle of the Bay annually.

In girls’ volleyball, CdM has played two matches against the other teams in the Surf Division for the last three seasons. The Sea Kings defeated Edison in five sets in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs in 2015. In 2017, CdM beat Huntington Beach in four sets in a Division 1 second-round matchup.

In boys’ water polo, Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach, the top two teams in the Sunset League this past fall, and CdM (Pacific Coast) and Laguna Beach (Orange Coast), the league champions of their respective leagues in 2017, were placed in the Surf Division.

Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach were in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 bracket, while CdM and Laguna Beach were in Division 2.

Looking back on the past three seasons, CdM beat Laguna Beach 12-6 in the teams’ only meeting on Sept. 22, 2016.

CdM is 2-4 against Huntington Beach and 2-3 versus Newport Harbor in the same period.

Laguna Beach boys’ water polo has not registered a win against a Surf Division opponent in the last three seasons. The Breakers are 0-4 in that span against Newport Harbor, and they have not faced the Oilers.

“The decision came down to the principals,” Edison athletic director Rich Boyce said. “The principals all agree that the leagues as they are is the way they want them constructed.”

Boyce added that the criteria used to place teams included a look at performance over the past few seasons, as well as taking into account input from coaches about what was coming back next season for their programs.

The preferred choice for Boyce would have been an eight-team league with no divisions, but he said there was stark opposition to that proposal.

One of the foremost imperfections of the restructured league was the addition of the CdM girls’ tennis team to the Sunset League.

The Sea Kings were the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll in 2017, and they honored it by winning the Division 1 title against Pacific Coast League rival University 13-5.

CdM went on to win the CIF USTA Southern California Regional title in 2017, defeating Arcadia 4-3.

Now, the best team in the land in 2017 will be leaving the best girls’ tennis league in Orange County. The Pacific Coast League had three teams in the section’s Division 1 bracket — CdM, University and Northwood. CdM (Division 1) and Beckman (Division 2) were also the top seeds in their respective playoff brackets, with each winning those titles (Beckman beat Los Angeles Marlborough 14-4).

Although he warmed up to CIF’s new competitive equity approach to determining the playoff divisions, Fountain Valley tennis coach Harshul Patel was one of the strongest opponents of the re-leaguing decision.

“You should have every single geographical location playing in a similar league,” Patel said, calling it the fairest set up for leagues. “It’s as simple as that. That tells you that everyone has the same resources. Everybody has the same school district.”

Patel questioned the ability of teams in the Huntington Beach Unified High School District to attract the top junior players. He says that it is a disadvantage that players are required to attend all school practices for a P.E. grade, while others are allowed to train at private tennis academies in lieu of school practices.

“A lot of school districts, they allow gray area for the athlete,” Patel said. “You need to put the same school districts together to follow the same sets of rules. I don’t want to go into a school district where they play with their own rules like Los Alamitos and CdM.

“Fountain Valley High School is in [the HBUHSD]. They play with a different set of rules. How fair is that? They are very strict when it comes to schooling and athletics. It gives us really minus points on all fronts.”

The placing of Laguna Beach’s cross-country teams in the lower-tier Wave Division would appear to be a misstep. Both of the Breakers’ cross-country teams qualified for the CIF State meet in Division IV in 2017, with the boys’ team placing sixth in their state championship race.

The Laguna Beach boys ran 1 hour 21 minutes 17 seconds as a unit in the CIF Southern Section’s Division 4 finals, and most of that team is coming back next season.

Edison’s boys (1:26:03), who were placed in the Surf Division, finished fifth in the Sunset League finals. A significant gap was left between the Chargers and the likes of league champion Los Alamitos (1:19:39) and third-place Newport Harbor (1:22:26).

CdM also got into the Surf Division, having run 1:21:46 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 finals.

“I was a little bit surprised that we were on the bottom, but it’s fine,” Breakers boys’ cross-country coach Scott Wittkop said. “We’ll line up and run against anyone that they want us to run against.

“We’re the new kid on the block and nobody knows us. We’re also a small school. I think that was probably put into account, as well.”

With 1,037 students, Laguna Beach has by far the fewest students enrolled among the schools in the Sunset League.

Here is the enrollment for the other schools. The numbers shown reflect those reported to the CIF: CdM (1,775), Newport Harbor (2,379), Marina (2,500), Edison (2,600), Huntington Beach (3,000), Los Alamitos (3,334) and Fountain Valley (3,600).

Laguna Beach’s girls enter the Sunset League as winners of seven consecutive Orange Coast League titles, but it was not enough to elevate the Breakers to the Surf Division.

At the Riverside City Cross-Country Course, Laguna Beach (1:37:00) posted comparable team times to CdM (1:38:22) and Marina (1:38:05). The top runners on the Sea Kings (Annabelle Boudreau) and the Vikings (Marikay Scwab) were freshmen, making them teams on the rise, while the Breakers will see ace Evie Cant graduate.

Back-to-back Sunset League champion Fountain Valley (1:33:41) and second-place Los Alamitos (1:34:55) separated themselves on the same course.

Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley were the top three teams in the Sunset League in that order for girls’ golf in 2017. All three posted above .500 records overall and in league.

CdM will join the others as the fourth team in the Surf Division.

Below are the schools in their respective Sunset League divisions for the 2018 fall season:

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Surf Division: CdM, Edison, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos

Wave Division: Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach, Marina, Newport Harbor

BOYS’ WATER POLO

Surf Division: CdM, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Newport Harbor

Wave Division: Edison, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Marina

GIRLS’ TENNIS

Surf Division: CdM, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Newport Harbor

Wave Division: Edison, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Marina

BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY