Falling into place

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan

Editor’s note: The following is a review of the 2003 fall sports

season.

GLENDALE -- One area team won a CIF Southern Section title in

football, two others reached the final four in their respective

sports and 14 area programs competed in the playoffs.

It was a memorable and successful fall season for the locals, who

shined on individual and team stages.

Here’s a summary of the 2003 fall sports season:

FOOTBALL

Flintridge Prep put an end to one of the area’s longest streaks by

becoming the first local team to win an 11-Man CIF title since 1979,

when La Canada captured the CIF Northwestern Conference crown.

The Rebels capped a great year by defeating archrival Pasadena

Poly, 17-10, in the Division XIII championship game at South Pasadena

High.

Coach Marty Konrad’s Rebels (12-1) had great stories all around.

From T.C. Scotton’s 176-yard performance in the title game to wide

receiver Ramses Barden’s breakthrough season and to their stellar

defense -- anchored by linebacker Eric Sarkissian -- the Rebels had

all the makings of an unforgettable campaign.

Scotton -- who led the area with 1,619 rushing yards, 27

touchdowns and 164 points -- was the News-Press All-Area Player of

the Year, with eight of his teammates garnering All-Area honors.

Glendale (5-6) also made history in 2003, advancing to the

playoffs for the first time since 1991, before falling to No. 2 seed

Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, 46-17, in the first round of the Division

III postseason.

St. Francis (7-4) had a good season, but fell in the first round

of the Division III playoffs, losing to Palmdale, 26-0, on the road.

And for the first time since 1995, Crescenta Valley failed to

qualify for the postseason, going 4-6, which included a 38-37

double-overtime loss to Glendale, the first against the Nitros since

1991.

BOYS’ WATER POLO

The stage was set for La Canada to advance to the Division III

final. The Spartans (20-8), who won the Rio Hondo League title, had

the No. 1 seed in the division and rolled to the semifinals, with

Palos Verdes Peninsula standing in their way of a berth in the final.

The favored Spartans fell short of their goal, losing to

Peninsula, 9-5, at Pasadena City College.

Even though La Canada lost in the semifinals, it will be primed to

make another deep run next year, with the return of All-Area Player

of the Year Jordan Thompson and All-Area first-team selections Kevin

Coyne, Scott Burns and Matt Blatchley.

Thompson, a first-year varsity player, was the league’s co-most

valuable player with teammate Tom Dodson. The sophomore led the

Spartans with 75 goals and was an All-CIF first-team selection.

CV (16-12) won the Pacific League title, but lost to El Segundo,

14-13, in sudden-death overtime in the first round of the Division

III playoffs.

Led by All-Area first-team honoree Arthur Bagumyan, who earned

second-team All-CIF honors, Glendale went 14-15, falling to Temple

City, 11-9, in a Division III first-round match.

Mike Detoy (94 goals and 85 steals) helped lead Flintridge Prep to

a 21-8 record, and earned third-team All-CIF Division VI accolades.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Like usual, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and La Canada shared

the top billing in girls’ volleyball, with Flintridge Prep and Hoover

also making a name for themselves.

Behind the play of a talented senior group that included All-Area

selections Camille Cunningham, Suzanne Swenson, Courtney Turner and

KiTing Kolar, the Spartans (23-8) -- who didn’t lose a game en route

to winning the Rio Hondo League title -- went further in the

postseason than any other local squad.

La Canada -- which had the second-most wins in school history,

behind only the 1999 squad that won 24 matches -- fell to

eventual-champion Torrance Bishop Montgomery (25-9) in three games in

the semifinals of the Division IIIA playoffs.

Swenson and Turner shared the league’s most valuable player honor,

and Turner was an All-CIF Division III first-team honoree. Guided by

All-Area Coach of the Year Nancy Tinkham, the Tologs won their first

outright Mission League title in school history, overcoming a 2-7

start to advance to the quarterfinals of the Division IVAA playoffs,

where they lost to L.A. Marlborough in four games.

Flintridge Sacred Heart had five players (Brittany Esser, Kelly

Smiland, Caitlin Withers, Kelly Herbert and Katie Kriste) nab

All-Area honors.

Flintridge Prep (14-6) and Hoover (12-8) also made postseason

appearances, with the Rebels playing in the quarterfinals for the

third time in school history and the Tornadoes taking third in the

Pacific League.

Individually, no player was more dominant in the area than

Flintridge Prep’s All-Area Player of the Year Lindsay Fletcher. The

junior outside hitter and All-CIF Division IV second-team selection

set a single-season area record with 544 kills.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

There was no team better than CV, at least among local programs.

The Falcons (20-2) won their fifth consecutive Pacific League

title and advanced to the Division II semifinals for the first time

in school history. CV lost to host Santa Barbara, 11-7, on Nov. 20 in

the first semifinal playoff match involving a local team in at least

17 years.

Santa Barbara defeated Fullerton Troy, 74-70, on games to capture

the division title.

CV’s best season in program history had several good storylines,

including Lauren Hawthorne and Katie Sullivan -- the All-Area Doubles

Team of the Year -- winning their second straight league doubles

championship Nov. 5 at Pasadena High and advancing to the round of 32

in the CIF Individual Tournament on Nov. 22 at the Peninsula Racquet

Club.

Hawthorne finished her stellar four-year career with a 209-16

record and Sullivan -- a senior who started playing tennis two years

ago -- went 113-10 in her tenure.

Falcon senior Hana Im -- the All-Area Singles Player of the Year

-- shared the league’s singles title with Pasadena’s Shelly

Injejikian

Lindsay Van Amringe emerged on the scene as an imposing freshman

for Joe Thompson’s La Canada squad and made her mark early, claiming

the Rio Hondo League doubles crown with Lana Sanfilippo.

La Canada (8-10) and Glendale (8-9) each lost in the first round

of the Division II playoffs.

BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Flintridge Prep’s Tom McLean and CV’s Rusty Whisman made some

noise, but nobody took the spotlight away from Falcon senior Ben

Kessen.

Kessen, the All-Area Male Runner of the Year, defended his Pacific

League title in leading the Falcons to their fifth straight league

title. The senior also became what is believed to be the first CV

male athlete to qualify for the CIF-State Cross-Country Championships

as an individual entry.

He took ninth at the Division I final at Mount San Antonio College

in Walnut, dropping five seconds from his mark at the 56th annual

Mount SAC Invitational in October to clock a personal-best time of

15:19.

His mark of 15:50.1 at the state meet at Fresno’s Woodward Park

was good for 25th place in Division I.

The Falcons placed eighth at the Division I final. Flintridge Prep

(5-0, 3-0 in the Prep League for its 12th straight title) was second

at the Division V final and second at the state meet behind McLean.

The junior finished third at the state meet with a school-record time

of 15:56.9.

Whisman, a junior, was second in the league final in 15:57.

GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

CV, La Canada and Flintridge Prep all had strong seasons, as each

program won its respective league title.

The Spartans went 14-0, 12-0 in the Rio Hondo League and placed

10th at the Division III final, but didn’t qualify for the state meet

for the first time since 1995. La Canada senior Stephanie Lee -- the

All-Area Female Runner of the Year -- won the league’s individual

crown by clocking a personal-record time of 19:17 on the three-mile

course at Lower Arroyo Park. The Falcons (19-0, 15-0 in the Pacific

League) provided a glimpse of the future by winning their first

league title in four years. CV -- paced by freshman Shelby Pock and

sophomore Makenzie Mabry -- finished 25th out of 63 teams at the

Division I preliminaries.

Flintridge Prep (5-2, 5-0 in the Prep League) won its first league

title in school history and came in second at the Division V final

and third at the state meet.

Flintridge Sacred Heart had a strong year, as well, reaching the

Division IV state meet for the first time since 1995. It placed

fourth at the CIF final and eighth at state.

GIRLS’ GOLF

Flintridge Sacred Heart was the top girls’ golf team in the area,

finishing 16-1, 12-1 in the Mission League.

The Tologs took 13th out of 19 teams at the CIF Southern Section

Central Team Divisional at Yucaipa Golf Club.

Led by Paulina Carrillo, Marcela Campbell, Marilupe Rosas, Heather

Huh and Lauren Wheeler, Coach Andrew Holzinger’s team changed the

league’s landscape, taking second behind Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

MEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY

Paced by Chris Snyder’s 12th-place finish at the California

Community Colleges Commission on Athletics Cross-Country

Championships, Glendale Community College came in sixth with 161

points (107 minutes 28 seconds) in the 4-mile race.

The Vaqueros continued their dominant trend in the Western State

Conference, defeating Ventura, 52-79, to win their seventh straight

conference title and 14th in the past 17 years Oct. 31 at L.A. Pierce College.

WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY

Pilar Delgado finished her two-year career at GCC in style, taking

the fourth spot at the California Community Colleges Commission on

Athletics Cross-Country Championships on the 5,000-meter course at

Woodward Park in Fresno.

The sophomore clocked 18:28 and freshman teammate Itzel Vargas was

sixth in 18:41 as the Vaqueros finished fifth overall with 134 points

(97:24). Vargas (19:02) defeated Delgado (19:15) for the WSC

individual title.