Del Toro goes out on top for Long Beach
The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Rosa Del Toro (Glendale Community College, 2010) senior, Long Beach State cross-country: The former Vaquero finished off her collegiate career in the NCAA West Regional the way she started her senior season — out in front for Long Beach State.
Del Toro was the 49ers’ top runner in the 6,000-meter race at Stanford Golf Course on Nov. 12, as she finished 19th overall in 20 minutes 49 seconds. She missed qualifying for the NCAA Championship by one place and one second.
Long Beach took 11th place out of 31 teams with 332 points. Del Toro’s current 49er and former teammate at GCC, Nina Moore, took 77th in 21:55.
The University of Washington grabbed the women’s team title with 50 points and Jordan Hasay of Oregon won the women’s race in 19:44.
“We’re a little bit disappointed with our performances today,” Long Beach Coach Patrick Cunniff told the school’s website after the race. “But we’re really proud and happy how our season as a whole went. Our runners competed hard at a very tough regional. We’re very proud of Heath Reedy and Rosa Del Toro being our all-regional finishers and very proud of our student-athletes on how they competed throughout the season.”
Reedy was the top finisher for Long Beach’s men. He ran the 10K race in 29:52 for 18th place. The 49ers’ men took ninth out of 25 teams with 288 points.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized Del Toro and Reedy with all-region awards for being among the top-25 individuals in the competition on Nov. 15.
“This is a great reflection of our program and our great student-athletes,” Cunniff said. “To have two of our athletes finish in the top 25 and receive all-region honors is a great accomplishment for them and everyone involved with Long Beach State cross country.”
Rian Younker (St. Francis High, 2009) Cal Lutheran football, junior: The Kingsmen fell to Linfield College in dramatic fashion Saturday, 30-27, in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs after a 38-yard field goal attempt by Cal Lutheran was blocked in the final 33 seconds.
Cal Lutheran (8-2) came back from a 17-point first-half deficit to give Linfield all it can handle. The Kingsmen’s defense rallied, as their defensive back Justin Haulcy-Bateman returned an interception 14 yards for a touchdown, cutting the score to 30-27 in the fourth quarter.
The Kingsmen had two shots to tie the game — the first on a 49-yard goal that was missed with 6:22 to go in the fourth quarter and again on the 38-yarder that was blocked with 33 seconds left. It was Cal Lutheran’s fourth straight loss to Linfield in three years.
Younker had another big game for the Kingsmen, as he had three tackles in the game, including a sack. He finished the season with 40 tackles (21 solo, 19 assisted) and a team-high 12.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four quarterback hurries.
“It doesn’t matter if we lose by 100 or lose by one, it still stings,” Cal Lutheran Coach Ben McEnroe told the school’s website Saturday. “There is not a good way to lose, so we will sit on this in the offseason and go back to recruiting on Monday. We have already started, and our goal is to play these guys in the playoffs again.”
Jenna Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2009) sophomore, University of Washington volleyball: The Huskies are looking to close out the regular season and enter the NCAA Tournament on a roll. Orlandini continues to anchor Washington on defense with a team-high 401 digs as the team’s libero.
The former Tolog also has racked up 75 assists and 23 aces.
Washington is currently ranked No. 11 in the country and carrying a three-match winning streak with one more to go in the regular season when it travels to Washington State on Thursday at 7 p.m. before the NCAA Tournament, which begins Dec. 1.
After falling to No. 5-ranked Cal, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, at home on Nov. 12, Washington (21-7, 13-7 in Pac-12) has swept Utah, Colorado and Washington State.
Orlandini helped her team defeat Utah, 25-18, 27-25, 28-26, with 19 digs and two assists in the match on Friday. She also had 14 digs and three assists in the win against Colorado, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20, on Saturday. The Huskies also dropped Washington State, 25-14, 25-21, 25-14, Tuesday, behind nine digs, four aces and two assists from Orlandini.