Prep Rally: Rodrick Pleasant and Dijon Stanley have nothing left to prove in high school

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. The City Section baseball and state track championships produced plenty of memorable moments with one week to go in the 2022-23 sports season.

Goodbye

Dijon Stanley (left) of Granada Hills and Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra have a friendly embrace after Pleasant wins the 200 at state championships.

(Nick Koza)

It’s off to college for Rodrick Pleasant and Dijon Stanley, two of the best two-sport athletes in the nation. They’ve known each other for years and succeeded as seniors in football and track and field.

Pleasant, a defensive back and sprinter at Gardena Serra, is headed to Oregon. He set the state meet record Saturday in the 100 meters, running 10.20 seconds. He also won the 200. Stanley, a running back and 400-meter runner, won his specialty in a personal-best time of 45.77 in Clovis. He also helped Granada Hills become the first City Section team since Dorsey in 2005 to win a state boys team championship in track and field.

Both have been terrific ambassadors for the sports and examples of what can happen with hard work. Stanley insisted he could become a star in the City Section and proved it. Pleasant had to overcome living up to expectations at a school that has produced so many outstanding athletes. Now he gets to join them in Serra lore.

Sophomore Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura is just getting started after a meet-record performance in winning the girls’ 1,600. She also won the 800. Long Beach Wilson won an historic girls’ team title.

Here’s a report from the state track meet.

At the City Section baseball finals at Dodger Stadium, what a day it was for Birmingham and Sylmar, winners of the Open Division and Division I championships.

Birmingham starting pitcher Kaden Taque (18), left, celebrates with Head Coach Matt Mowry.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Birmingham defeated Carson 3-1 behind pitcher Kaden Taque. Here’s the report.

Sylmar players celebrate after Victor Carrera’s RBI single in the bottom the seventh resulted in a 1-0 win over Kennedy at Dodger Stadium.

(Craig Weston)

Sylmar defeated Kennedy 1-0 with a walk-off hit from Victor Carrera in the bottom of the seventh. Here’s the report.

Earlier in the week Daniel Flores of Birmingham threw a no-hitter in the semifinals. Here’s the report.

The baseball and softball seasons have their final week of action beginning Tuesday with the Southern California regionals.

Here’s the link to the complete schedule for baseball and softball.

Looking ahead

Tristyn Bailey (left) is the daughter of former UCLA sports stars Toby Bailey and Tracey Milburn. She’s a 5-11 volleyball player who arrives at Brentwood this fall. Her two younger brothers, Tyce and Trace, are few years away.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times.)

As soon as this week’s Southern California regional playoffs are completed for baseball and softball, it will be time to focus on the 2023-24 sports season, so why not give you a peek of what to look forward to.

Arriving at Brentwood in the fall is 5-foot-11 freshman volleyball sensation Tristyn Bailey, the daughter of former UCLA sports standouts Toby Bailey and Tracey Milburn.

Here’s the report on Bailey and other things to look forward to.

CIF issues statement

After a week of online vitriol and transphobia aimed at two runners scheduled to compete at the state track and field preliminaries Friday, neither showed up to the starting line of their scheduled 1,600-meter heats at Buchanan High in Clovis.

“The CIF is disappointed for two of our student-athletes and their families because due to the actions of others, they found it necessary to withdraw from the State Track and Field Championships out of concern for the student’s well being,” the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in California, wrote in a statement provided to The Times.

Here’s the report.

Trouble for Taft coach

Taft coach Derrick Taylor talks to his team during a time out.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Taft boys’ basketball coach Derrick Taylor, one of the most highly decorated coaches in the City Section, has been suspended since Thursday in the midst of an ongoing investigation by the Los Angeles Unified School District, he confirmed to The Times.

When asked for comment confirming the district investigation and asking about the details of Taylor’s suspension, an LAUSD spokesperson sent the following message, also sent Thursday to the Taft school community:

“We recently became aware of allegations of improper adherence to District policy regarding COVID-19 testing procedures at Taft related to students involved in some of our athletic programs. We are currently investigating this incident to ensure the well-being of students and staff and to determine if the procedures were in accordance with the applicable Los Angeles Unified policy. The District takes these concerns very seriously, and is committed to following up as needed, including providing all necessary supports to students, and ensuring appropriate personnel actions are taken.”

Here’s further information.

The whiz kid golfer

Jaden Soong, 13, is trying to qualify for next month’s U.S. Open. His parents, Chris and Sandra, are his strong supporters.

(SCGA)

Jaden Soong, a seventh-grader at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Feliz, plans to miss classes June 5, so he’ll need his mother to write a note.

There have been some funny notes for missing class dreamed up by parents and students through the years: doctor’s appointments for thumb injuries from playing video games, dentist appointments for broken teeth from roughhousing with siblings.

Soong’s excuse for missing class is extraordinary: He’ll be the only 13-year-old trying to qualify for the U.S. Open golf tournament in a 36-hole competition at Hillcrest Country Club.

Here’s a profile on the 13-year-old.

Notes . . .

Casey Morales has resigned after 18 years as baseball coach at St. Paul. . . .

Jared Honig, the highly successful girls’ basketball coach at Granada Hills, is leaving to become the girls’ basketball coach at Valencia. . . .

Josh Spiker is the new cross country coach at Ventura. He won a state title in the 3,200 for Ventura in 1999. . . .

Corona Centennial has named Sami Logan its first girls’ flag football coach. She is the daughter of 11-man football coach Matt Logan and once completed a pass playing for the Huskies. Centennial will be playing Monday night flag football games in the fall. . . .

John Muller has resigned as athletic director at St. Bonaventure to become the athletic director at Bishop Diego. . . .

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Lucas Gordon was named the Big 12 pitcher of the year. . . .

Standout senior guard Anthony Hrboka of San Pedro has signed with Pacific University of Oregon. . . .

TJ Foreman has been hired as the baseball coach at Camarillo. He was a standout player at Moorpark during his high school days. . . .

Junior soccer standout Joe Moyer from Servite has committed to Stanford. . . .

Junior pitcher Troy Cooper of Hart has committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. . . .

From the archives: Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy pitching for Granada Hills in 2016.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

A sixth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2019, former Granada Hills pitcher Chris Murphy is considered among the top pitching prospects in the Red Sox organization. He’s in Triple A and could get called up this season.

Murphy was an All-City pitcher at Granada Hills throwing 92 mph as a senior, striking out 118 in 67 2/3 innings. He signed with the University of San Diego. He’s a left-hander who has learned to throw strikes combined with his good velocity. He once struck out 17 in an eight-inning game for Granada Hills.

Here’s a look at Murphy from 2016.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams returning to his high school.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on renowned track and field coach Bob Kersee.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on distance standouts Lex and Leo Young from Newbury Park.

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