SPORTS NOTEBOOK:Sher competes in inaugural meet at USC

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.

Teams of junior swimmers from Southern California, Mexico and Canada converged upon McDonald’s Swim Stadium at USC from Aug. 10-12 for the inaugural North American Challenge Cup, an event designed to familiarize younger swimmers with the feel of international Olympic-style competition.

Glendale High sophomore Katalina Sher represented Southern California, swimming in six events.

“It was really fun, I got to meet a lot of new people from not only Southern California, but also other countries,” said Sher, who placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4 minutes 32.64 seconds, eighth in the 200 freestyle (2:11.75) and helped the A-USA 800-freestyle relay team to a second-place finish (8:48.39). “The competition was really good. Everyone pushed each other and all the times were pretty close.”

Sher did not advance out of the preliminary rounds in her remaining events, the 50 freestyle (28.64), 100 freestyle (1:01.76) and the 100 butterfly (1:09.19).

During the event, swimmers from the different teams were accommodated in the university’s freshman dormitories to simulate the communal feel of an Olympic village.

Team Canada won the cup with 1,442.5 points, edging out second-place Southern California Swimming with 1,327.5 points.

The beginning of a new season, and a new sport, is quickly approaching for the Glendale Community College Women’s golf team.

In its inaugural season, the team, which will be coached by Kirt Kohlmeier, is in the final stages of filling out its roster following an open tryout on Aug. 15 at Griffith Park.

With the release of their official schedule, the Vaqueros are gearing up for their season opener. The team will travel to participate in the Santa Barbara Invitational on Sunday and Monday. Western State Conference play will begin Sept. 10 with a match at Bakersfield.

The Vaqueros, who have five players and are seeking more, will play their home matches at Oakmont Country Club.

The Glendale-based Olimpiakan Reservner Water Polo Club Titans recently placed eighth at the National Junior Olympics in the 12-and-under bracket.

More than 100 teams competed in the tournament, which was held July 28-31 in Cupertino. The Titans were one of 24 teams to advance.

The Titans opened the tournament with a 6-2 victory against the San Diego Shores. They then suffered an 8-4 loss to CVAC, pushing them into the second bracket.

Glendale responded with a 4-3 victory against Greenwich before earning a 5-2 win against the SoCal Team.

The two wins pitted them in the tournament’s seventh-place game. Glendale then dropped an 8-7 decision to the 605Drivers Team.

The Titans scored 37 goals in the tournament. Asatur Galfayan, Arman Momdzhyan, Vahan Atanyan and Vardan Mamikonyan starred for the Titans, who were coached by Vahan Arakelyan.

The San Gabriel Valley Cobras 12-and-under baseball team, went 8-2 during the Cooperstown National Baseball Tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y., in late July.

The Cobras, which feature several local players, advanced to the tournament’s championship game before falling to the Orange County Hawks. They reached the title contest with a victory against an undefeated team from Maryland.

The Cobras are coached by Tom Callahan, Michael Jarrard and Mark Gustovich. Tommy Callahan, Christian De La Torre, Wolfgang Ehrgott, Tommy Gustovich, Joseph Harrison, Jonah Jarrard, Marcos Martinez, Alec Montenez, Royce Park, Chris Reed, Mark Segobia and Austin Wilson competed on the Cobras.

The Junior and the Senior team In-Sync won Gold at the USA Roller Sports National Championships in Omaha, Neb. The event was held in late July.

The Junior team (8-15 years old) beat the defending champions from Ohio. There are 17 members on the Junior team.

The Senior team (15-53 years old) won gold for the second year in a row and fifth time in the past six years. Nineteen members make up the Senior team.

The Senior team will compete at the World Championships, representing the United States in Australia in October.