October 2008 Archives

For Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks and its star quarterback Ryan Kasdorf, the games are getting bigger - more important, more at stake, and, supposedly, more pressure.

With a powerful, accurate arm and nerves of steel, Kasdorf continues to rise to the occasion.

He completed 22 of 28 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns Friday in a surprisingly easy 37-17 victory over Serra League rival Crespi of Encino before a sold-out crowd of about 5,000 at Crespi.

In just eight games, Kasdorf has passed for a school-record 2,406 yards, breaking Dayne Crist's 2007 record of 2,168. Kasdorf also has tied Ryan Bowne's 1995 school record of 26 touchdown passes.

Coming in, the one knock against Kasdorf was he had not participated in high-pressure games, but there was plenty of pressure Friday and Kasdorf responded by completing his first 11 passes.

"Ryan has proven he can play with the best. He's a great quarterback," Notre Dame receiver James Flynn said. "This is huge, a really big league win."

The victory was Notre Dame's 13th over the past 14 games against Crespi (6-2, 0-1), avenging a loss to the Celts last year that cost the Knights the league title.

"It was a little surprising that we were able to perform so well," Kasdorf said. "I just tried to stay calm and focused and to manage the game, and we came out with the win."

Kasdorf connected with Flynn on touchdowns of 2, 26 and 49 yards, and he also passed 37 yards to Tyler Ruiz for a touchdown. Kenny Boggs added a 1-yard touchdown, and Crespi also scored on a safety on an intentional grounding call against Crespi in the end zone.

Flynn finished with seven receptions for 116 yards, and his three touchdowns gave him 13, tying a school single-season record held by three former Knights.

"We came in and played our butts off and gave it our all," Flynn said. "The 13 touchdowns are nice, but I'd really like to win a CIF championship and a state championship. I believe we can do it if we keep playing well."

Notre Dame (8-0, 1-0) totaled 469 yards - while giving up 262 -- as the Knights scored more than 30 points for seventh consecutive game.

"Crespi is a great team but we were more hungry," Notre Dame linebacker Jordan Barrett said. "We came out and performed.
Crespi's Bryan Bennett completed 20 of 35 passes for 184 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

"We just didn't come out and execute and we needed to do," Crespi offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu said. "We'll move on and keep our heads up high and forget about this. We've got to win the next two games starting next week with Bishop Amat."

Crespi scored on a 6-yard run by Jeremiah McKibbins and a 24-yard field goal by Christian Nastos.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

ND 7-16-14-0-37
C - 0-10-0-7-17

ND-Flynn 2 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
C-McKibbins 6 run (Nastos kick)
C-FG Nastos 24
ND-Safety, intentional grounding in end zone
ND-Ruiz 37 pass from Kasdorf (Kasdorf run)
ND-Flynn 26 pass from Kasdorf (kick failed)
ND-Flynn 49 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
ND-Boggs 1 run (Lluis kick) 37-10
C-Segal 14 pass from Bennett (Nastos kick) 37-17

STATS
Passing:
ND: Kasdorf 22-28-325
C: Bennett 20-35-184
Rushing
ND: Boggs 16-88
C: McKibbins 10-59
Receiving
ND: Flynn 7-116
C: Stanton 11-94

Oaks Christian 54, Oak Park 0
Taft 57, Chatsworth 14
El Camino Real 62, Granada Hills 38
Highland 31, Lancaster 21
Notre Dame 37, Crespi 17
Grace Brethren 60, Villanova Prep 14
Rio Hondo Prep 53, Viewpoint 0
Birmingham 44, Cleveland 6
Arleta 35, North Hollywood 7

Ed Babayan, basketball coach at Pierce College, is doing a little moonlighting these days.

If it isn't hard enough to recruit and coach at the community college level, try coaching junior high girls.

Babayan is doing just that, coaching the sixth grade girls basketball team at A.G.B.U. school in Canoga Park.

Babayan is the athletic director for the k-12 school and it is in his contract that he coaches one team per season.

"Coaching grown men and junior high girls is obviously very different but I am loving doing both," Babayan said. "They balance each other out."

Not a big surprise, but Notre Dame quarterback Ryan Kasdorf is performing brilliantly once again. The junior completed his first 11 passes and has thrown for 227 yards and three touchdowns through two quarters to help stake the Knights to a 23-10 halftime lead over host Crespi before a sellout crowd.

Kasdorf has completed 16 of 20 passes.

gerry.gittelson

Notre Dame looked very good on its first possession, driving 76 yards for a touchdown, culminating with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Kasdorf to James Flynn.

The drive gobbled nearly six minutes.

Crespi is coming back, though, and they're at the 10. Stay tuned.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Checked in with Joe Fauria, the former Crespi standout tight end now at University of Notre Dame, and Fauria is fully up to date about tonight's Crespi-Notre Dame showdown that begins in just a few minutes.

Fauria has a friendly bet going with Fighting Irish teammates Dayne Crist and Anthony McDonald, both of whom played at Notre Dame High last year: The loser must wear the school colors of the winner for a whole day -- head to toe, including a hat.

gerry,gittelson@dailynews.com

Matt Dominguez, the former Chatsworth standout infielder drafted in the first round of the 2007 Major League draft, has undergone elbow surgery to remove bone chips from left (non-throwing) elbow. The rehab period is three to four weeks.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Well, I'm here in Encino more than two hours early for the Notre Dame-Crespi game, but so is mighty Eric Sondheimer, so we've been fighting for the best press-box seat (only two seats) -- but it's all good.

You can already feel the excitement in the air. People are in line waiting at the gate for the place to officially open -- no presale tix were distributed -- and if you ask 10 peeps who is going to win, five will say Cresi and five will Notre Dame. it's that close.

Always love coming to Encino, as I grew up on Encino Avenue right next door to tennis legend Vic Braden and across the street from Dragnet's Jack Webb (only saw him once though).

I'll update when I can ...

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Milken Community of Los Angeles will be hosting an eight-team tournament for boys basketball teams Dec. 1-4

Here is the schedule:

Monday Dec. 1
Milken vs. New Community Jewish, 3 p.m.
Malibu vs. Vasquez, 4:30 p.m.
Highland Hall vs. Yeshiva, 6 p.m.
Pacifica Christian vs. Shalhevet, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday Dec. 2
Milken vs. Shalhevet, 4:30 p.m.
Yeshiva vs. Vasquez, 6 p.m.
Pacifica Christian vs. New Jewish Community, 7:30 p.m.
Malibu vs. Highland Hall, 9 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 3
Milken vs. Pacifica Christian. 4:30 p.m.
Highland Hall vs. Vasquez, 6 p.m.
New Community Jewish vs. Shalhevet, 7:30 p.m.
Malibu vs. Yeshiva, 9 p.m.

The final day, Thursday Dec. 4, will pit corresponding teams from pool 1 and pool 2.

Here is the schedule for the Crescenta Valley 2008 Falcon Classic.

It is a 12 team tournament with pool play and then bracket play.

Nine of the 12 teams are from the region.

Monday Dec. 1
Montclair Prep vs. Sylmar, 3:15 p.m.
West Ranch vs. Thousand Oaks, 4:45 p.m.
Whittier vs. Oaks Christian, 6:15 p.m.
Simi Valley vs. Villanova Prep, 7:45 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 2
Pasadena vs. West Ranch, 3:15 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Montclair Prep, 4:45 p.m.
Grant vs. Oaks Christian, 6:15 p.m.
Crescenta Valley vs. Villanova Prep, 7:45 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 3
Grant vs. Whittier, 3:15 p.m.
Thousand Oaks vs. Pasadena, 4:45 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Sylmar, 6:15 p.m.
Crescenta Valley vs. Simi Valley, 7:45 p.m.

Games continue Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Hey, Jeremiah McKibbins, Uncle Sam wants YOU!

It sure seems that way for the Crespi High running back, considering Army offered him on Tuesday and Navy offered him on Thursday.

Always nice to get two DI offers over a three-day period. A good showing tonight could mean a lot more attention, as McKibbins and the Celts (6-1) play host to Notre Dame (7-0) in a Serra League showdown streamed live at dailynews.com. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Just got word from Antonio Bray, and the Canyon High junior said his eligibility appeal has been denied, so the decision disallowing the running back to play for one full year because of a transfer violation will be upheld.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Crespi receiver Kevin Cummings has been offered by San Diego State, according to scout.com.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Eddie Russ, Jr. is having a crazy year for Antelpe Valley College -- as in crazy good.

He has returned six kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns this season -- plus he returned an interception for a touchdown, too.

Russ is also a top track runner, and that's where he gets his speed.

gerry,gittelson@dailynews.com

Valencia plays host to Hart on Friday in one of Southland's most heated rivalries. The host Vikings (6-1, 2-0) are looking to stave off Saugus (4-3, 2-0) for the league title, while underdog Hart (3-4, 1-1) is hoping to qualify for the playoffs for the 20th time in coach Mike Herrington's 20 seasons.

"It will interesting," Valencia coach Larry Muir said. "I think we have to make sure we hold onto the ball for a long period of time, and that means we have to stop the run. And our playmakers have got to make plays."

Hart defeated Valencia 10 times in a row before the Vikings finally ended the streak in 2004 with a 29-10 victory -- also ending Hart's 65-game league winning streak.

Hart holds a 12-1-1 advantage, including two playoff victories.

A rundown:

2007 - Hart 21, Valencia 21

2006 - Hart 22, Valencia 15

2005 - Hart 17, Valencia 14

2004 - Valencia 29, Hart 10

2003 - Hart 42, Valencia 35

2002 - Hart 39, Valencia 15

*2001 - Hart 42, Valencia 13

2001 - Hart 26, Valencia 0

2000 - Hart 21, Valencia 7

*1999 - Hart 34, Valencia 6

1999 - Hart 42, Valencia 21

1998 - Hart 38, Valencia 14

1997 - Hart 45, Valencia 23

1996 - Hart 37, Valencia 7

*Playoff victory

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Knight's Christian Bush is the Golden League's hottest running back, rushing for 1,260 yards and 10 TDs, including an 80-yarder. Last week, Bush rushed 245 yards against Lancaster after totaling 242 yards the previous week against Quartz Hill.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Former Crespi OL Steve Eck and QB John Sullivan, both of whom graduated in 1972, are slated to be inducted into the Crespi Hall of Fame on Saturday in a campus ceremony hosted by Fox Sports' Chris McGee, a Crespi alum.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Cleveland is 4-3 under new coach Vinnie Johnson, as the Cavaliers have totaled one victory than they had in the 25 games prior to Johnson's arrival from Birmingham, where he was an assistant and head JV coach.

Last year, Birmingham defeated Cleveland 82-0 - one of the most lopsided routs in area history - and the rematch is Friday at Cleveland.

"You know, it's just another game, and Birmingham is a tough opponent - to me they're the best in the City," Johnson said. "But 82-0? We should give a little better fight than that."

Johnson said he has several players with the potential to succeed at the next level, including WR/S Curtis Hudson, QB Tim Brown, WR Travion and WR Tavarus Sterling.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

After 11 years as a San Fernando assistant, Eddie Alcantar was due for a head coaching job, and he has one at Grant High, taking over for Devin Eillsion, who has been at Grant for five years and will remain on campus as a teacher.

"Eleven years? I definitely think I'm ready to be on my own. I'm ready to go," Alcantar said.

Grant's top returning players are Hugo Torres and Enrique Osuna.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Former Saugus cross country standout Katie Dunn captured her first Western State Conference individual title Tuesday, clocking 19 minutes, 14 seconds on the 5-kilometer course at Waller Park in Santa Maria to lead the Vaqueros to their third consecutive team championship.

It was the sixth victory in seven races for Dunn this season, including her second conference triumph, along with a win Oct. 10 at the WSC preview meet at Verdugo Park in Glendale.

It also marked the third year in a row a GCC female runner has captured the conference title, with Tove Berg accomplishing the feat the past two years.

Justina Sadauskaite (19:24) finished second for defending state champion GCC (22), which placed five scoring runners in the top eight to post a convincing win over Cuesta (132). GCC's gap between Dunn and eighth-place finisher Rosa Del Toro was 70 seconds, the best pack the Vaqueros have had all season.

Angie Gonzalez took fifth in 20:14 and Brigette Fernandez was sixth in 20:15, all receiving first-team all-conference honors for the Vaqueros, who will look to capture a third straight Southern California championship Nov. 7 in Bakersfield.

Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta graduate Nathan Sellers finished second in the men's 4-mile race for the Vaqueros (47), who defeated defending WSC champion College of the Canyons (87).

After winning the preview meet Oct. 10, Valley College's Andrew Salg captured the individual title.

Westmark of Encino, a school for students with learning differences, is having a good eight-man football season.

The Lions are 6-1 heading into a game against Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (7-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Pierce College.

"I don't know how big of a game it's going to be for us because we barely have enough kids to play - too many injuries," Westmark coach Kevin Fox said. "I've had three quarterbacks get hurt - one tore a ligament in his shoulder, one tore his ACL, and the last one has a bone chip in his knee."

Westmark's top players include backs Jordan Haven, Clifton Jones and Bryan Mandell, receiver Max Mason (10 touchdowns) and defensive lineman Aaron Domio (13 sacks).

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Seems Fillmore is a bit spooked about something, according to Ventura Star blog: No Holloween costumes allowed for Friday's game against visiting Santa Paula.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

As much as I'd love to rattle off 61 highlights in honor of the 61 years that the Mt. SAC Invitational has been in existence, even I don't have that much to write about the largest -- and greatest -- high school cross country meet in the nation.

So, the next best thing is to pick out 30 achievements that really stood out Friday and Saturday -- mostly Saturday -- in honor of the 30th anniversary of former Burbank High standout Jeff Nelson setting the true 3-mile Mt. SAC course record of 14 minutes, 32 seconds in 1978.

Nelson jokingly mentioned Saturday that he thought about bringing cupcakes to Mt. SAC to present to the meet directors in honor of his accomplishment, which has since been improved upon by four individuals, albeit on the revised 2.91-mile layout. The cupcakes would've fit right in on a warm day in Walnut, because it was one big party for local runners all weekend long.

Without further adieu, here is the Mt. SAC Thirty-something in honor of Nelson's historical feat:

30. Since I didn't get to talk to Golden Valley's Rob and Chris Evans, I have to credit www.donsdiary.net for this one. Golden Valley sophomore Raziel Morales ran 21:44 last year, but improved to 16:46 in Saturday's Div. II varsity race to be the Grizzlies' No. 4 runner. That's a 4:58 drop folks. I know plenty of teams that didn't drop half that much from last year.

29. Flintridge Sacred Heart's Andrea Kropp, one of the nation's top high school swimmers, continues to progress with every race in her debut cross country season. Kropp was the top finisher for the victorious Tologs in their Div. IV-V girls' varsity race Friday, taking sixth in 20:17.

28. Agoura senior Katie Klezek (19:27) took 10th Friday in the Div. III girls' sweepstakes race.

27. In a race that saw Burbank's Greg Dotson (16:21) finish fourth and Valencia teammate Falco DiGiallonardo (16:39) take 11th, Andrew Berumen (sixth, 16:30) enjoyed a big breakthrough Saturday as Valencia's No. 1 runner in the Vikings' Div. I varsity race.

26. Birmingham's Rico Gutierrez clocked 16:15 Saturday to take fourth in his Div. I varsity race, giving the Patriots more confidence in their pursuit of the City Section title. Quartz Hill's Zach Risinger was right in front of him in 16:11.

25. Flintridge Prep closed the gap significantly from its last meeting with Woodcrest Christian at the Clovis Invitational, taking third in the Div. V boys' sweepstakes race with 72 points. Paul Weitekamp (16:12) took seventh for the Rebels, who trailed Woodcrest Christian (47) and Arizona small school power Hopi (55).

24. Although the times were representative of running during the middle of the day Saturday, Highland had three girls finish in the top five in its Div. I girls' varsity race to take second behind Escondido (48 points). Caylie Choate (19:20) was second, Jessica Smith (19:29) placed fourth and Marilyn Cortina (19:36) was fifth for the runner-up Bulldogs (86 points).

23. Oaks Christian's Charlie Petrie (16:05) finished sixth Friday in the Div. IV boys' sweepstakes race.

22. Hindered by injuries all season, Royal took another step toward securing a possible berth in the Southern Section Div. I final by winning its Div. I boys' varsity race with 110 points. Travis Edwards (16:05) finished eighth for the Highlanders.

21. A great battle took place in a Div. II girls' varsity race between Newbury Park and Canyon, with the Panthers prevailing 62-64. Brynne Shannon (18:58) delivered her best race of the season for Newbury Park, placing fourth, just ahead of Canyon's pack of Alyssa Selve (18:58), Hayley Parkinson (19:06) and Jessica Gatton (19:15), which finished fifth through seventh. Jenny Mallen (19:15) was eighth for Newbury Park.

20. In that same race, Hart (140) took third behind Newbury Park and Canyon, but Grace Zamudio came through with a strong performance for the Indians, placing third in 18:57.

Fred Winborn rushed for a game-high 129 yards on 21 carries, scoring three first half touchdowns to lead College of the Canyons to a 52-29 Western State Conference victory over Ventura Saturday night at Cougar Stadium in Santa Clarita.

After Ventura (3-4, 0-3) took an early 7-0 lead when James Jackson returned a blocked punt 18 yards for a touchdown. But COC (8-0, 4-0) came roaring back, scoring 35 unanswered points.

Winborn scored on a pair of one-yard runs and from two yards out. Hayo Carpenter caught a pair of first half touchdown passes of 3 and 19 yards from Joey McClellan in the second quarter. McClellan completed 19 of 23 passes for 217 yards.

Taveon Burke returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a score and Sean Quinn added a 13-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

Here's the story I just filed after visiting the good folks at Canoga Park High.

By Ramona Shelburne
Staff Writer

His eyes were puffy and red, his heart heavy. Every step assistant coach Chris Lugo took out on the Canoga Park High football field Friday night made the lump in his throat grow bigger.

But this is where he was supposed to be. His father, longtime Canoga Park football coach Rudy Lugo who passed away Tuesday after a two-year battle with lung cancer, would want it that way.

``This field,'' Chris Lugo said. ``Is the place we shared the best times of our lives.''

Both sides observed a moment of silence for Rudy Lugo, 60, before Canoga's game against Firebaugh High of Lynwood Friday night. The players on the other side of the field had probably never heard of the man known affectionately in these parts as ``Mr. Canoga,'' the guy who grew up down the street from the school, starred as a baseball player and football player, came back to teach and coach just as soon as he graduated from college, then never left the sidelines for the next four decades, but on this night, in one quiet moment, the silence spoke volumes.

Crespi looks very sharp tonight, as the Celts lead St. Francis 20-0 at halftime.

It has been Crespi quarterback Bryan Bennett's night from the very beginning. He completed 9 of his 10 first 10 passes and by the end of the first half was 14 of 17 for 200 yards and a touchdown.

Crespi's Christian Nastos kicked field goals of 37 and 23 yards in the first half.

Kevin Cummings scored Crespi's first touchdown on a 38-yard pass from Bennett, breaking free at the last moment in the end zone on a long pass down the left sideline.

On Crespi's next possession, the Celts drove 50 yards on eight plays, as Bennett completed five passes for 59 yards, including a 22-yarder to Jeremiah McKibbins, and Chris Carter scored on a 1-yard run.

Crespi has outgained the Golden Knights 226-30, as St. Francis' standout running back Dietrich Riley has been held to 19 yards on nine carries.

St. Francis' Justin Sciarra was constantly forced out of the pocket by a Crespi's blitzing defense. Through two quarters, he managed just one completion in six attempts for 5 yards.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Big game here at Crespi tonight -- in fact, the Daily News game of the week -- as the Celts play host to St. Francis in a showdown between two of the area's top parochial schools.

Fans just trickling in, kickoff coming up soon.

Crespi, led by quarterback Bryan Bennett, is the favorite, but St. Francis has looked good, so who knows what's going to happen?

Will update when I can ...

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Three weeks before the first day of practice, West Ranch girls' basketball coach Ron Manalastas has resigned, according to The Signal.

West Ranch was 12-15, 1-9 in the Foothill League last season.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

With plans to graduate to 11-man football beginning next season, second-year program Sierra Canyon is trying to go out with a bang. The Trailblazers (6-0), ranked fifth in the Southern Section eight-man poll, have outscored opponents by an average of 38 points heading into tonight's 7:30 game vs. Montclair Prep (3-3) at Pierce College.

"Our team is comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores. We're a very young team," Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. "We are going to continue to grow as a program."

Receiver Shane Harrison has 11 touchdown receptions in four games.

"He is a stud," Ellinghouse said.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

It's been 41 years since Paraclete finished as the 1967 Southern Section small-schools co-champion after tying Calipatria 7-7 in the final, and former coach Joe Slavin, now 73, still remembers the touchdown that got away that night, costing the Spirits an outright title.

"It was a cold night at Palmdale High, and with about two minutes left, our sophomore quarterback, Butch Trosin, had a receiver all by himself in the end zone, but we had the wrong guy in and he dropped the pass," Slavin said. "I remember looking at my assistant coaches and telling them we had the wrong guy on the field. He was fast but he couldn't catch.

"Calipatria was good, but we were better. We should have won the game."

Some of Paraclete's top players included Grant Gillis, who would go on to be a sportwriter for the Antelope Valley Press, along with John Mahoney, Ken Barnes and Gary Worford.

"It was a fun environment, a small town back then," said Slavin, now in Arroyo Grande. "The school had opened just a couple of years earlier, and our first year we were 0-9, then 3-5-1. In those days, just about everyone on the team played three or four sports."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Dakota Fanning, the 2007 Kids Choice Award winner for favorite movie actress, is a Campbell Hall cheerleader.

Fanning has strong family ties to sports, as her mother played pro tennis and her father played minor league baseball. Her grandfather is former NFL quarterback Rick Arrington, and her aunt is ESPN reporter Jill Arrington.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Averaging 248.3 yards rushing per game, Malibu's Sean Conrad (1,490 yards, six games) has a shot to break into the Southern Section single-season top 10 if he keeps the pace and Malibu (5-1) can extend its season in the playoffs. Here is the list:

SOUTHERN SECTION SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING LEADERS

Rank Yards Player School Year
1. 4,495 Tyler Ebell, Ventura 2000
2. 3,586 Jermaine Marshall, Kilpatrick 1999
3. 3,523 David Dotson, Valley View 1991
4. 3,438 Chad Kackert, Grace Brethren 2004
5. 3,398 DeShaun Foster, Tustin 1997
6. 3,263 Chris Hanks, Cathedral 1997
7. 3,233 Toby Gerhart, Norco 2005
8. 3,219 Oscar Arzu, Sierra Vista 1996
9. 3,194 Darrell Scott, Moorpark 2006
10. 3,124 Kenyon Barner, Notre Dame/Riverside 2007

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Village Christian of Sun Valley's 6'10 forward Bak Bak committed to Cal today after officially visiting the school over the weekend according to Kevin Aust, the schools athletic director.

Bak transferred to Village Christian just over a year ago this month but did not play basketball on any level last season for the Crusaders.

Bak was a regular on the travel circuit and certainly gained steam in his recruitment with several nice showings last spring and summer.

Bak certainly makes the Crusaders a top small schools team in the region

El Camino Real returning shortstop Alex Mejia has committed to an Arizona baseball scholarship.

"Arizona is getting a quality player -- in the classroom and on the field," El Camino Real coach Josh Lienhard said. "He's a well rounded kid."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Rudy Lugo, who coached football at Canoga Park for 39 years, the last 25 as head football coach before retiring in 2007, died Tuesday at home after a long battle with cancer. He was 60.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

For years, neighbors always were reminding Paul Janson that he was living in John Elway's old house on Tulsa Street in Northridge, and Janson says he had a feeling the Hall of Fame quarterback from Granada Hills High would show up one day.

Sure enough, Elway did show up Monday, but Janson didn't expect an entourage of two dozen production workers that arrived with Elway as part of an upcoming TV show, "Homecoming."

"I heard the door knock and thought someone might be trying to sell me something, and it was John Elway saying hi and asking how I was doing - with 20-something camera people behind him," Janson said. "I was startled. I didn't want to let all of them in - just John -- because you know how it is: The beds weren't made, and I had my work files spread out all over the floor."

Janson and Elway hung out in the backyard, where Elway looked up and "reminisced about jumping off the roof into the pool and sneaking back home through the sliding glass door late at night," Janson said. "I actually talked to him for a long time, and he seems like a real nice guy."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Rojello "Rocky" Magdaleno, a longtime community baseball figure and the grandfather of 10-year Major League pitcher Russ Ortiz from Montclair Prep, died Tuesday. He was 84.

Magdaleno lettered in baseball and track at San Fernando High, served in WWII, and coached at various youth leagues in Van Nuys, North Hills and Encino. He also worked as a letter carrier.

"He had an influence on hundreds of kids," said grandson Shad Ortiz. "We did not have a dad in the picture, and he stepped up to be our father figure and male role model. I remember playing catch with him in our front yard in Van Nuys and going to Buddy's bataway on Van Nuys Boulevard, where it was seven pitches for a quarter."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Best wishes to Taft of Woodland Hills football coach Matt Kerstetter's 1-year-old son, Tyler, who undergoes corrective hip surgery Thursday morning.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Lancaster's national soccer center is the site for the 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer Regional Championships on June 15-21. A crowd of up to 10,000 is expected, as the tournament is part of the U.S. Soccer National Championships, the USA's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Austin Walker, a top returning junior shortstop at Crespi, committed to a UC Irvine baseball scholarship a couple of weeks back. Not to be outdone, three days later Walker's brother, Adam, a Crespi senior, committed to play Lacrosse at Div. III Fontbonne University in St. Louis.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Harvard-Westlake easily won game two, 25-15, and now lead 2-0 in a key Mission League match against rival Flintridge Sacred Heart.

The Wolverines have won three consecutive matches dating back to last year against the Tologs, who won league championships in 2003, 04, 05 and 06 before the Wolverines claimed the title last year.

The Wolverines won game one 25-22 and lead 22-11 in game two.

Too much powerful outside hitting and blocks up front.

Stay tuned for more updates....

Meeting for the first time since Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood beat Flintridge Sacred Heart of La Canada in a four game match in the Division I-A final last season, the teams are tied at 14 in game one of an important Mission League match.

Stay tuned.....

The entries for the 61st Mt. SAC Invitational have been posted. To find out which teams are competing in which races, click here (PDF file):

And to look at the complete race schedule for Friday and Saturday, click here (PDF file):

Quick observations on some of the races:

Race 64 (8:40 a.m. Saturday) -- Although the Saugus girls' varsity team is scheduled to run at 9:40 a.m., get there in time to see the Centurions compete in the JV national championship race. Although Danielle Hernando will be in Virginia attending a wedding, with Nicole Penick and Alex Hampton free from club soccer conflicts and scheduled to run in this race, Saugus possesses the necessary depth to sweep this event and the varsity sweepstakes race, similar to winning the sweepstakes and rated races at Woodbridge and the frosh/soph and varsity races in Clovis.

Race 66 (9:15 a.m. Saturday) -- Simi Valley's Liberty Miller is the only legitimate local presence in this girls' individual sweepstakes race, but a stellar matchup between Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo's Jordan Hasay and San Clemente's Alex Dunne could unfold.

Race 67 (9:40 a.m. Saturday) -- It will be interesting to see how much resistance, if any, Southern Section Div. I powers Dana Hills of Dana Point, Trabuco Hills of Mission Viejo and Great Oak of Temecula put up against Saugus in the girls' varsity team sweepstakes race.

Saugus clocked an all-time Mt. SAC course record of 89:34 -- with a 52-second separation between the five runners -- at last year's invitational, then returned to lower that mark to 88:22 at the Southern Section Div. I final, with a 38-second gap between No. 1 and No. 5.

West Ranch and Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta are among the 17 teams entered in this race.

Race 68 (10:05 a.m. Saturday) -- Southern Section Div. II heavyweights Loyola and Thousand Oaks square off for the first time in the boys' team sweepstakes race and will be joined by Div. I powers Buchanan of Clovis, Dana Hills of Dana Point and Arcadia.

Race 69 (10:25 a.m. Saturday) -- If the course isn't completely set ablaze by all the fast times being produced in the previous five races, then this field should do the trick.

The big rematch between Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Zack Torres (No. 1 in Div. I) and Foothill of Bakersfield's Chris Schwartz (No. 1 in Div. III) -- they were separated by a second at the Clovis Invitational -- headlines an incredible field that also includes Palma of Salinas' Tyre Johnson (No. 1 in Div. IV), Ayala of Chino Hills' Tyler Reed, Camarillo's Heyden Wooff, Lancaster's Pedro Zaragoza and Saugus' Alec Nelson and Brandon Jauregui.

Saugus graduate Katie Dunn suffered her first setback in six races Saturday for the Glendale Community College women's cross country team, finishing second to defending state champion Crystal Reed of Orange Coast College at the Santa Barbara City College Invitational.

But the Vaqueros -- ranked No. 3 in Southern California -- gained a better perspective on how they match up with No. 2 Orange Coast following a 45-54 loss in the team competition.

Reed, who lost to Dunn by 16 seconds Oct. 3 at the Southern California preview meet in Bakersfield, covered the 3-mile course Saturday in 18 minutes, 20 seconds.

The freshman Dunn, who began her career with wins at Ventura, Pierce, Cuesta, Bakersfield and the Western State Conference preview meet, was second in 18:54. But defending state champion Glendale had all five of its scoring runners finish ahead of Orange Coast's fifth runner and the Vaqueros were separated by 72 seconds, allowing them to close the gap considerably from the 45-point deficit between the teams in Bakersfield.

Justina Sadauskaite (19:22) took fourth, Brigette Fernandez (19:35) finished ninth, Angelina Gonzalez (20:03) was 19th and Rosa Deltoro (20:06) placed 22nd for Glendale, which competes next in the WSC championship meet Oct. 28 at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.

Dunn's opportunity for a third showdown with Reed will come at the Southern California finals Nov. 7 back in Bakersfield.

Harrier Magazine's Marc Bloom released his third edition of the Super 25 national cross country team rankings and the Saugus girls remain at No. 2 behind two-time national champion Fayetteville-Manlius of New York. Dana Hills of Dana Point (No. 19) is the only other California team in the top 25. For the complete list of girls' and boys' rankings list click here:

Marc Bloom and Dyestatcal.com editor Rich Gonzalez released their latest California regional poll for boys' and girls' cross country. Saugus remains No. 1 in the girls' rankings and Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta is No. 7. Loyola of Los Angeles is No. 2 and Thousand Oaks is ranked No. 5 in the boys' top 10. For the complete boys' and girls' rankings, plus teams on the bubble, click here:

Dyestat.com editor Steve Underwood has released his third edition of the national cross country individual rankings and despite winning all but one race this year, Saugus sophomore Kaylin Mahoney isn't in the top 25 anymore. Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Zack Torres vaulted to No. 14 on the boys' list following his stellar performance at the Clovis Invitational. For the complete boys' rankings, click here:

And to see the latest top 25 girls' rankings, with Mahoney, Saugus senior Brianna Jauregui and Oak Park junior Melissa Skiba all among the honorable mention selections, click here:

Jordan Farmar won a City Championship at Taft in 2004, played at UCLA and now is a key reserve guard with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Steve Smith suited up for the Toreadors and played one year with Farmar in 2003. Smith is now a key part of the NFL's New York Giants offense catching passes from 2008 Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.

This upcoming season, Taft will have six players suit up for Division I colleges.

Garrett Green (class of 2007), a 6'10 forward is at LSU, Calvin Haynes (class of 2006) is a guard at Oregon St., Chano Rashiduddin (class of 2006) is at UTEP, Larry Drew (class of 2008) is at North Carolina, Eugene Phelps (class of 2008) is at Long Beach St. and Bryce Smith (class of 2008) is at San Diego St.

Two other players who started their careers at Taft but transferred are also playing college basketball. Oscar Bellfield is at UNLV and Pierce Brooks is at Glendale College this season after spending one year at San Francisco in 2007-2008.

Pretty impressive for a San Fernando Valley school located in Woodland Hills on the corner of Ventura Blvd. and Winnetka Ave.

Coach Derrick Taylor also believes another player, Terrance Joiner, who briefly was at Taft a few years ago is on a Division I roster, as is Dominick Brumfield and Bernard Kamwa, two players who were at the center of Taft's ban from the 2007 playoffs.

After this current season is over, senior Justin Hawkins will be at UNLV in 2009-2010 and Taylor says that Terran Carter and Michael Williams will have scholarships to D-1 schools as well.

In above their heads against state power Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks, the Alemany Warriors tried all sorts of early trick plays Friday - a couple of pooch kicks, a fake punt, a flea flicker.

The problem was, nothing worked.

Using gadget plays was not a bad idea, but Notre Dame executed too well and was always alert.

And with Alemany having its difficulties stopping Notre Dame's potent passing offense, it was no surprise the favored Knights won 44-17 in a nonleague showdown before a standing-room-only crowd of about 4,000 at Alemany.

Notre Dame's Ryan Kasdorf completed 20 of 27 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 12-yard run, and Kenny Boggs added three touchdowns on runs of 2, 2 and 1 yard, as the Knights (6-0) remained undefeated while handing Alemany (5-1) its first loss.

Kasdorf, a junior coming off a school-record 418-yard passing performance, has thrown for 1,902 and 19 touchdowns. Kasdorf added 78 yards rushing, as Notre Dame amassed 524 yards.

They'll be more in Saturday's Daily News ... or when the clock strikes 12 on our web site.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

A last-minute update: St. Francis' all-purpose back Dietrich Riley, one of the area's top players, is definite tonight against visiting Bishop Amat -- good news for the Golden Knights (5-0) because Bishop Amat (4-1) is by far their toughest opponent so far.

Riley, recovering from a back injury that has sidelined him one week, was questionable as of Wednesday. The junior already has scholarship offers from USC and UCLA, so that tells you how much of an impact player he is.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Last time, it was a tribute to the $11 parking fee to watch the first Foothill League cross country meet at Castaic Lake.

Since there is no cost to watch cross country races at Central Park, this list is in honor of the Saugus girls' frosh/soph team, which took the top 13 spots Thursday at the second league meet.

Here are the lucky 13 that caught my eye Thursday to make the cut:

13. Canyon's Matthew Gavin wins the boys' junior varsity race in 17:05, making him the only runner outside of Saugus to emerge victorious Thursday. The Cowboys also won the boys' JV competition, denying Saugus a sweep of all six races.

12. A week after charting times for her Saugus teammates at the Clovis Invitational, Ashley Stewart returns from injury to win the girls' JV race in 19:14 for the victorious Centurions, who took the top four spots.

11. Saugus' Logan Smith wins the boys' frosh/soph race in 16:36, a mark that would've cracked the top 20 in the varsity race. Smith and Ashton Herbert (17:04) placed in the top three for the victorious Centurions.

10. Nicole Penick surged to a second-place finish in the girls' frosh/soph race in 18:42 -- she ran 19:26 last year -- then went to club soccer practice for two hours. Penick said afterward, "I just can't give up soccer." But the upside is limitless for the sophomore, who will run Oct. 25 at the Mt. SAC Invitational thanks to no club soccer conflict that day.

9. Hart of Newhall's Sam Peckham is believed to be the first freshman in league history to break 16 minutes, finishing seventh in 15:54. Even if he isn't the first to run sub-16, it's a strong performance nonetheless. Jimmy Kelley's school record (15:25) probably won't last for long.

8. Valencia's Austin Veiga was a key factor in the Vikings defeating Golden Valley 27-28 at the first league meet at Castaic Lake, finishing in 22nd, one spot ahead of Grizzlies freshman Danny Carrillo. On Thursday, Veiga finished ninth in 16:01 and Andrew Mayeda (16:12) and Andrew Berumen (16:19) provided support to help the Vikings defeat Golden Valley 28-29, keeping them in second place entering the Nov. 6 league final.

7. Saugus sophomore Stephanie Bulder has delivered several outstanding performances at the varsity level this year, but her victory in the frosh/soph race (18:29) was her first individual win of the season. The effort was a PR by 81 seconds at Central Park and would've placed her No. 7 on the Centurions' roster.

The 24th annual Simi Valley Tip-Off Classic is set for December 2-6.

Here is the schedule for Dec. 2 in bracket order:

Golden Valley vs. Dos Pueblos, 3:30 p.m. at Camarillo High
Stockdale of Bakersfield vs. Newbury Park, 5 p.m. at Camarillo High
Chaminade vs. Camarillo, 6:30 p.m. at Camarillo High
Saugus vs. Santa Barbara, 8 p.m. at Camarillo High

Valencia vs. Knight, 3:30 p.m. at Simi Valley High
Ventura vs. El Camino Real, 5 p.m. at Simi Valley High
Simi Valley vs. Littlerock, 6:30 p.m. at Simi Valley High
Buena vs. Burroughs, 8 p.m. at Simi Valley High

For more information, contact Christian Aurand at caurand@sbcglobal.net

Canyon of Canyon Country should be a contender if not the favorite in the Foothill League this season with the addition of three key transfers.

The Cowboys picked up juniors Vanessa Aguilar from Grant of Van Nuys, Alexa Davison from Cleveland of Reseda and sophomore Brieanna Perkins from Quartz Hill.

Canyon also has a promising freshman prospect in 6'1 forward Mariah Meuborn.

The Rose City Roundball Classic boys basketball tournament at Pasadena High is set for December 1-6.

The tournament has 16 teams and features three area programs.

Here is the field:

Pasadena
Muir
Sylmar
Cleveland
Van Nuys
Fremont
Dorsey
Compton
L.A. Marshall
L.A. Jordan
Maranatha
Eisenhower
Etiwanda
Arroyo Valley
LaVerne Luthern
Canyon Springs

Halfway through the regular season in football and only six teams have unblemished records.

The question is who will go the longest before losing.

Here are the six unbeatens:

Notre Dame (5-0)
Oaks Christian (5-0)
Alemany (5-0)
Thousand Oaks (5-0)
St. Francis (5-0)
Malibu (5-0)

I was talking with Sylmar coach Bort Escoto while watching a full slate of NFL games this afternoon and Escoto said he is trying to set up a scrimmage with Windward of Los Angeles.

Normally this would just be a another low-key scrimmage but Sylmar features UCLA-bound Tyler Honeycutt and Windward has Renaissance Academy transfer Anthony Stover, who also recently committed to the Bruins.

Escoto gave no actual date or time but did say he was going to call Windward coach Miguel Villegas and try to make it happen.

More to come as details become clearer.

Stay tuned...

Jeremy Tyler, one of the top-10 players in the country in the class of 2010 will not be staying in California to play college basketball.

Tyler, from San Diego High, committed to Louisville over the weekend according to CardinalSports.com.

The 6'10 center averaged 23 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks last year as a sophomore and was named the state sophomore of the year by Cal-Hi Sports.

It was a record setting night for College of the Canyons sophomores Hayo Carpenter and Fred Winborn.

At the rate the COC continues to dominate opponents, many more records are bound to be broken.

Carpenter and Winborn combined to score six touchdowns as the Cougars (6-0, 2-0) routed Moorpark 48-3 in Western State Conference game at Cougar Staduim Saturday night.

Carpenter set the single-game record with 225 receiving yards on 12 receptions, breaking the previous mark of 214 yards set by Mark Hamilton against Glendale in 1998. He scored two touchdowns, returning the opening kickoff 95 yards and hauling in a 14-yard pass from Brad McClellan in the second quarter.

Winborn scored four touchdowns, tying the career mark of 29 which was set by J.J. Arrington (2001-2002). He scored on runs of 14, 12, 3 and 1 yard and finishing with 74 yards on 12 carries. The former Grant of Van Nuys running back broke the career mark for most carries with 240, breaking the old record of 233 held by Marcel Marquez (2004-2005).

COC, which entered with the second ranked offense in the state - averaging 523 yards per game, put the game out of reach early scoring 27 first quarter points and building a 34-3 lead at the half.

McClellan was the workhorse for the Cougars, rushing for a game-high 155 yard on 18 carries and throwing for 298 yards on 19 of 26 passing. The sophomore scored on a one-yard run to cap an 11-play, 76 yard drive in the middle of the fourth quarter.

The COC defense, which ranks third in the state allowing 223 yards per game, held Moorpark (3-2, 0-1) to 53 yards rushing and allowed just nine first downs.

Led by sophomore Kaylin Mahoney, one of three girls to break 18 minutes Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational, the Saugus girls' cross country team placed eight individuals among the 30 fastest runners in the entire meet at Woodward Park in Fresno, all within a 48-second span of each other on the 5-kilometer course.

The Centurions' official varsity team time was 91:27, but the combined efforts of their five fastest runners was 91:24, factoring frosh/soph winner Karis Frankian (18:28) as the team's No. 4 runner, to go along with Mahoney (17:50), Brianna Jauregui (18:08), Amber Murakami (18:28) and Anne Randall (18:30).

Keri Molt was Saugus' No. 5 runner in the varsity race in 18:31. Stephanie Bulder (18:35) and Danielle Hernando (18:39) were right behind Frankian in the frosh/soph race.

For the complete listing of team times and individual results, click here:

Trailing 21-0, Mojave's homecoming game Friday against Silver Valley was called late in the second quarter after Mojave's Darren Johnson lay motionless for 30 minutes and was airlifted to the hospital, according to a story in the AV Press.

According to the story, Johnson is doing OK. The school homecoming dance also was canceled.

gerry,gittelson@dailynews.com

You can bet Oaks Christian is a bit bummed St. Bonaventure lost to Long Beach Poly 12-7 on Friday, as the richocet effect of the defeat might eventually cost Oaks Christian a state bowl berth in Div. III.

Here's the logic:

St. Bonaventure already has defeated Crespi, and a win over Long Beach Poly -- considered a state favorite in Div. I -- combined with St. Bonaventure winning the rest of its coming games (probably will happen) would have made St. Bonaventure a strong candidate to represent the South in the new, highest "open" division of the bowl series, a step higher than being named the Div. III representative.

Being chosen for the "open" division is an anointment that goes to the best team, regardless of division, and St. Bonaventure might have fit into that categroy -- and left a spot in Div. III for Oaks Christian, assuming the Lions can win a sixth consecutive section title (probably will happen, too).

Now, if St. Bonaventure wins out and takes the Northern Division championship, and Oaks Christian, playing less worthy nonleague and playoff opponents, wins the lesser Northwest Division, the nod in Div. III probably would probably go to St. Bonaventure over the Lions.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

El Camino Real of Woodland Hills' Brett Schmitt continued his march toward a City Section individual title Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, covering the 5-kilometer layout in the extra-large school boys' varsity race in 15 minutes, 49 seconds to finish fourth.

Esperanza of Anaheim's Elliot Myers (15:44) won the race and Paramount (102 points) was victorious in the team competition, which featured several area programs.

Quartz Hill finished third (192), Burbank was fourth (193), Canyon took seventh (227) and Highland of Palmdale placed ninth (248). Thanks to Schmitt and sophomore Sean Padgett (12th, 16:17), ECR took 11th (276).

Canyon's Anthony Pizzo (16:06) took eighth, Valencia's Falco DiGiallonardo (16:09) placed ninth, Burbank's Greg Dotson (16:10) rounded out the top 10 and Canyon's Thomas McGuan (16:16) finished 11th.

Highland sophomore Dylan Alexander (16:18) was 14th and Golden League counterpart Zach Risinger (16:30) of Quartz Hill finished 17th.

With Alex Dunne clocking the fastest time of the day (17 minutes, 34 seconds) at Woodward Park in Fresno and San Clemente placing all seven of its runners in the top 17 on the 5-kilometer course to score 49 points, the battle became for second in the extra large school girls' varsity race Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational.

Although Canyon of Canyon Country (112 points) took third to Arcadia (106), the Cowboys had a number of strong performances, led by a fifth-place finish from Hayley Parkinson (18:59) and a ninth-place effort from Alyssa Selve (19:07).

Valencia's Lauren Bloom (19:01) placed seventh and teammate Megan McDaniel (19:35) was 13th, Canyon's Jessica Gatton (19:42) took 19th and Quartz Hill's Kelsey Elder (19:45) rounded out the top 20 to help the Rebels finish fourth with 172 points.

Oak Park's James Goldstein set a fast early pace in the boys' varsity small school race Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, but Woodcrest Christian of Riverside's Jake Jeanson and La Salle of Pasadena's Austin Williams surged in the final mile to take first and second on the 5-kilometer course.

Jeanson clocked 15 minutes, 37 seconds, with Williams finishing in 15:44.

Goldstein placed third in 15:51, Gareth Morl was seventh (16:18) and Omar Levy finished 10th (16:28) for Oak Park, which took second behind Woodcrest Christian in the team competition. Woodcrest Christian (81:39) recorded 64 points and Oak Park (82:31) had 76.

Despite having one runner place in the top 25, Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge (85:22) relied on its depth to place third with 173 points.

Paraclete of Lancaster (87:38), with two runners in the top 20, took 10th with 291 points.

Melissa Skiba said her goal was to run under 18 minutes on the 5-kilometer course at Woodward Park in Fresno at the Nov. 29 state meet.

The Oak Park junior might have to reevaluate her goals for the Div. III state championship following her performance Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational.

Skiba clocked 17 minutes, 48 seconds to win the girls' varsity small school race over Valley Christian of San Jose's Jennifer Bergman (18:03), edging Saugus' Kaylin Mahoney (17:50) for the No. 2 time of the day by a female runner.

Less than an hour after the conclusion of Skiba's race, San Clemente's Alex Dunne won the girls' varsity extra-large school race in 17:34.

La Reina of Thousand Oaks, behind a third-place finish from junior Sarah Pearson (18:34), a sixth-place effort from Rachel Brajkovich (18:55) and a 20th-place finish from Tara Blanchard (19:49), won the small-school team competition with 97 points, ahead of Mayfield of Pasadena (105). Oak Park, which included a 16th-place result from Sarah Kiner (19:43), was fourth (164).

Paraclete of Lancaster sophomore Melissa Bauer finished eighth (19:19) for the Spirits, who took sixth with 220 points.

Three of the state's top runners engaged in a thrilling battle that went down to the wire in the boys' sweepstakes race Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, with Foothill of Bakersfield's Chris Schwartz prevailing by the narrowest of margins over Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Zack Torres and Buchanan of Clovis' Jonathan Sanchez on the 5-kilometer layout.

Schwartz, the top-ranked runner in Div. III, outkicked his two competitors in the final 100 meters to win in 15 minutes, 9 seconds. Torres, the No. 1 runner in Div. I, delivered a head-first lean that would've made his father Phil -- C.V.'s baseball coach -- proud to get the nod for second in 15:10.

Sanchez, Buchanan's top runner making his seasonal debut after being sidelined with injuries the first month, also clocked 15:10. His effort helped Buchanan win the race with 85 points, ahead of Thousand Oaks (147).

Buchanan, competing with its full roster for the first time this season, recorded a team time of 78:10, with Thousand Oaks clocking 79:11.

Palma of Salinas' Tyre Johnson, the top-ranked runner in the state in Div. IV, placed fifth (15:15).

Sean Gildea was the top runner for the Lancers, finishing 10th in 15:19. Kevin Joerger was 19th in 15:41 and Asher Lober clocked 15:46 to place 26th.

Lancaster's Pedro Zaragoza took 12th (15:24).

Often overshadowed by Saugus, the Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta girls' cross country team continued its progress Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, taking second in the girls' sweepstakes race with 140 points.

Mountain View, the second-ranked team in the state in Div. II behind Saugus, won with 134 points. Mountain View's team time was 94:18, with C.V. -- ranked No. 5 in the state in Div. I -- clocking 94:38.

West Ranch, ranked No. 10 in Southern Section Div. I, finished seventh with 184 points and Highland of Palmdale placed 11th (238).

After running as fast as third through the 2-mile mark, West Ranch junior Bailey Miller finished sixth (18:18), with Highland sophomore Caylie Choate took 11th (18:31).

Michelle Callister was the top finisher for C.V., taking 12th in 18:33. Carlotta Pham provided support by taking 17th (18:43) and Megan Doeding cracked the top 25, placing 24th in 18:51.

West Ranch sophomore Jennifer Owen was 21st (18:47) and freshman teammate Ashley Welker took 27th (18:55).

The domino effect is in full effect for the Saugus cross country program and whether it's girls or boys, the Centurions keeping knocking off one team after another.

Saugus junior Alec Nelson took second in the large school boys' varsity race Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, clocking 15 minutes, 41 seconds on the 5-kilometer course and senior teammate Brandon Jauregui finished fourth in 15:45 for the Centurions, who won the team competition with 113 points, recording a narrow victory over Granada of Livermore (116).

Edison of Huntington Beach junior Matt McElroy won the race in 15:37.

Joey Eledge was the Centurions' No. 3 runner, taking 22nd in 16:17. Kevin Heinemann finished 33rd (16:24), with Camden McAllister (53rd) and Ryan Melton (54th) both clocking 16:43.

Anne Randall is back.

Unfortunately for the rest of the competition in California, the Saugus girls' cross country team never goes away.

The Centurions -- ranked No. 2 nationally by Harrier Magazine -- placed five runners in the top six in the large school girls' varsity race Saturday at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, finishing with 18 points and clocking an impressive team time of 91 minutes, 27 seconds on the 5-kilometer layout.

Saugus clocked a course-record 90:49 at last year's state meet to win its second straight Div. I title.

Sophomore Kaylin Mahoney won in 17:50, with senior Brianna Jauregui taking second in 18:08, validating their status as the top two runners in the state in Div. II, according to Dyestatcal.com.

Amber Murakami finished fourth in 18:28 and Randall, a senior who has been an instrumental part of Saugus' past two state titles, enjoyed a breakthrough effort after struggling the first month of the season by taking fifth in 18:30.

Senior captain Keri Molt was sixth 18:31 and Courtney Wilson clocked 20:01 to finish 39th.

Thousand Oaks' Allie Lopez finished 33rd (19:52) for the Lancers with 191 points.

After running stride for stride with sophomore teammates Stephanie Bulder and Danielle Hernando past the 2-mile mark Saturday in the girls' large school frosh/soph race at the 30th annual Clovis Invitational, Saugus freshman Karis Frankian relied on a late surge to win in 18 minutes, 28 seconds in the first race at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Bulder was second in 18:35, another impressive drop from her 19:58 effort last year on the 5-kilometer course, and Hernando took third in 18:38 for the Centurions, who won with 17 points and a team time of 94:31.

After running in fourth for the majority of the race, freshman Katie Shirley took fifth in 19:13. Alex Hampton relied on a magnificent kick in the final 200 meters to hold off Long Beach Poly's Elliott Gentile for sixth, as both runners clocked 19:37.

Amy Haukka gave Saugus six runners in the top 10 with her ninth-place effort (19:50) and Emily McCarty rounded out the Centurions' effort, taking 16th (20:08).

Long Beach Poly (100:29) took second with 77 points and Oak Park (102:01) was third with 79.

NORWALK - Better late than never for Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks and its
prolific quarterback, Ryan Kasdorf.

Make that way better.

A power outage caused a delay of more than an hour for Notre Dame's nonleague showdown Friday against Servite of Anaheim at Cerritos College, but Kasdorf and Co. were more than ready when the lights finally went on.

Kasdorf, a junior, passed for a school-record 418 yards, completing 27 of 37 passes and four touchdowns in a 31-24 victory.

Halfway through his junior season, Kasdorf already has established himself as one of Notre Dame's all-time greatest quarterbacks. In five games, the junior has passed for 1,577 yards and already holds five of the Notre Dame's top seven single-game performances.

The power outage lasted for so long that the game almost didn't happen. But just as some spectators were getting into their cars and leaving, the lights turned on and everyone scurried back to their seats.

There seemed a good chance someone would make an early mistake because of the delay, and sure enough Notre Dame's Brandon Glass fumbled the opening kickoff out of bounds at the 2.

But the gaffe did not affect Notre Dame, as the Knights drove 98 yards on 14 plays, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Kasdorf to Tyler Ruiz. The key play was an improvised fake punt, as Brandon Lluis was about to kick the ball but saw an opening at the last moment and ran for 28 yards.

After passing for 371 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown one week earlier in a victory over Saugus, Kasdorf was even hotter. In the first half, the junior completed 13 of 21 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 35 yards rushing, as Notre Dame led 17-14.

In the first half, Notre Dame also scored on a Chris McNeill's 7-yard reception and Lluis' 21-yard field goal.

Lluis tried a second fake punt on the last play of the first quarter and was tackled on his own 8, and Servite cashed in one play later on a 8-yard touchdown pass from Cody Fajardo to Anthony Ferraro.

Servite rallied in the final minutes before Notre Dame's Chris McNeill sealed the victory by intercepting a pass at the 2 with two seconds remaining.

It was past 10 p.m. by the time the second half started.

Fajardo completed 7 of 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and Greg Portis added 52 yards on eight carries, including a 13-yard run.

Servite was outgained in the first half 263-133.

Notre Dame defensive back Tom Drachkovitch returned after missing two games because of a knee injury. He started at defensive back and came through with several tackles in the first half.

Kasdorf keyed an 81-yard touchdown drive in six plays to open the second half, completing 5 of 6 passes on the series, culminating with a 53-yard scoring pass to Kenny Boggs in which Kasdorf had every faked out by looking right, then turning to his left at the last moment to hit a wide-open Boggs near the sideline.

Notre Dame 31, Servite 27

Notre Dame 7-10-7-7-31
Servite 0-14-0-10-24

ND-Ruiz 23 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
S-Ferraro 8 pass from Fajardo (kick failed)
ND-FG Lluis 28
S-Portis 13 run (Samooti run)
ND-McNeill 7 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
ND - Boggs 53 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
S-Samooti 1 run (Echeverry kick)
ND-Flynn 10 pass from Kasdorf (Lluis kick)
S- FG Loftus 35

A list of halftime scores from Area times.....

San Pedro 31, Sylmar 0
Valencia 22, Westchester 0
Highland 7, Littlerock 6
Pasadena 45, Hoover 0
St. Francis 38, El Rancho 0
Burbank 9, Crescenta Valley 0
El Camino Real 14, Panorama 0
Kennedy 14, Granada Hills 12
University 14, Cleveland 8\
Moorpark 28, Simi Valley 0

Just in time, poof -- the lights came on at Cerritos College for tonight's Notre Dame-Servite that almost didn't happen because we've been sitting in pitch dark waiting for the electricians to fix the electricity.

So it's looks like 20 minutes till kickoff. Boy, will I be pressed to make deadline tonight.

I'll update when I can.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

OK, the latest here at Cerritos College in Norwalk, where the lights are not working -- which could mean the Notre Dame-Servite game would be canceled.

According to a Servite source, a crew of electricians are en route to troubleshoot the problem -- with no guarantee -- and hopefully someone will figure out a way to get the lights on because it is PITCH DARK out here -- and it's almost 8 p.m.

The talk is the teams would rather not play Saturday, but there is no confirmation on a alternate plan.

Even if the electricians can fix the problem, word is the game won't happen until at least 9 p.m. or later. If that's the case, I would prefer it be postponed until tomorrow -- at least we can get the result in the paper that way.

So for now, repeat after me: "Let there be light."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Some dark news to report here at Cerritos College in Norwalk, as the stadium lights aren't working as Notre Dame and Servite prepare for a scheduled game, and a secruity person is telling spectators they have to leave the standium "for safety reasons."

I talked with the facility electrician, Les Bell, and he said there is a problem with the "transformer" and that he recommends the game be canceled. This was twenty minutes ago, and Bell said he would try one more thing to get the lights on from a different circuit, but it does not look good.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," said Notre Dame coach Kevin Rooney, in his 29th year.

"It's crazy," said Servite coach Troy Thomas.

It's not clear if the game would be postponed or canceled. I'll try to provide an update -- if my computer battery can hold out, as there is no electricity in the press box either.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Glendale Community College freshman cross country talent Katie Dunn, who led Saugus to back-to-back Div. I state titles, won for the fifth time in as many meets Friday at Verdugo Park in Glendale, leading the defending state champion Vaqueros to a convincing victory at the Western State Conference preview meet.

Dunn, coming off an impressive 16-second victory over reigning state champion Crystal Reed of Orange Coast a week ago at the Southern California preview meet in Bakersfield, cruised to a mark of 19 minutes, 3.46 seconds on the 5-kilometer layout to triumph over teammate Justina Sadauskaite (19:41.92).

Dunn and Sadauskaite helped GCC -- third last week in Bakersfield -- place five runners among the top six finishers to score 18 points. Bakersfield was second with 114, with a team time nearly 10 minutes behind the Vaqueros, who are seeking a fourth consecutive WSC title.

Valley College's Andrew Salg, the winner last week in Bakersfield, continued his impressive season with another victory Friday on the 6-kilometer course (21:00.56).

Former Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta standout Nathan Sellers (21:12.69) took fourth for GCC, which had all five scoring runners finish in the top 16 to prevail in the team competition with 47 points, ahead of Cuesta (85). College of the Canyons' Stephen Kent was fifth (21:16.06) for the fourth-place Cougars (110), the defending WSC champion.

The Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic is set for December 26-30.

The 16-team tournament features top teams from the state including local teams Taft and Sylmar.

Here is the preliminary bracket in order with first round games slated for Dec. 26:

Modesto Christian vs. Merced, 7:30 p.m.
Sylmar vs. Inglewood, 4:30 p.m.
Sheldon vs. San Leandro, 10:30 a.m.
Etiwanda vs. Turlock, 9 a.m.

Sacramento vs. Ripon, 12 p.m.
Colony vs. Clovis East, 3 p.m.
Skyline vs. East Bakersfield, 1:30 p.m.
Taft vs. Beyer, 6 p.m.

Westchester High of Los Angeles is hosting its annual boys basketball tournament Dec. 1-6.

Here is a list of the 16 teams scheduled to participate including three local teams.

Taft
Dominguez
Westchester
Leuzinger
Bishop Montgomery
Windward
Inglewood
Peninsula
Morningside
Gardena
Hawthorne
Washington Prep
King-Drew
Carson
Birmingham
Arleta

Valencia quarterback Dominick Solley, who's missed three games (all victories) because of an ankle injury, is back in the starting lineup tonight for the Vikings (3-1) against visiting Westchester (1-3).

"I'm 100 percent," he said.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Fairfax High of Los Angeles will be hosting the "State Preview Classic" on January 31.

Here is the schedule:

Girls game: Taft vs. Fairfax, 1:30 p.m.

The following are all boys games:

Santa Monica vs. El Camino of Oceanside, 3 p.m.

Price of Los Angeles vs. Torrey Pines, 4:30 p.m.

Campbell Hall of North Hollywood vs. Long Beach Poly, 6:30 p.m.

Taft of Woodland Hills vs. Etiwanda, 8 p.m.

Ranny Lowe, a top returning shortstop for Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, has committed to Pepperdine, where he'll join fellow Knights' returning infielder Kelly Dugan.

As a junior, Lowe batted .289 with 21 runs to help Notre Dame to the Southern Section Div. III championship. Lowe transferred to Notre Dame from Montclair Prep.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta senior cross country star Zack Torres, coming off a victory Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational, ascended to No. 7 in the West Regional individual rankings, according to Mile Split Network.

Torres, the state's top-ranked runner in Div. I, is one of five California individuals ranked in the regional top 12, along with Loyola of Los Angeles sophomore Elias Gedyon at No. 11.

Torres will have an opportunity to race against No. 1 Chris Schwartz (Foothill of Bakersfield) and No. 5 Tyler Valdes (Dana Hills of Dana Point) in Saturday's sweepstakes race at the Clovis Invitational at 10 a.m. at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Schwartz is the state's top-ranked runner in Div. III and Valdes leads the state's top-ranked team in Div. I. Also entered in the sweepstakes race is Palma of Salinas' Tyre Johnson, the state's top-ranked runner in Div. IV.

The Mission Prep Christmas Classic boys basketball tournament is annually one of the best early-season tournaments in the country.

Top teams from throughout the nation are invited and the 2008 version is no slouch.

Taft of Woodland Hills, Campbell Hall of North Hollywood and Sylmar are three area teams participating.

Taft will feature UNLV-bound Justin Hawkins, Campbell Hall has Colorado-bound Keegan Hornbuckle and Sylmar's Tyler Honeycutt is headed to UCLA. Also, Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga features kendall Williams, a junior guard already committed to UCLA.

Here is the field, which has two divisions.

The tournament field below:

National Division
1. Taft (Woodland Hills, CA)
2. Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, CA)
3. Sheldon (Sacramento, CA)
4. Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
5. Kentwood (Kentwood, WA)
6. Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, VA)
7. Marshall (Chicago, IL)
8. Sylmar (Sylmar, CA)

Elite Division
1. Mission Hills (San Marcos, CA)
2. Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, CA)
3. Rio Americano (Sacramento, CA)
4. Campolindo (Moraga, CA)
5. Fremont (Los Angeles, CA)
6. El Dorado (Las Vegas, NV)
7. St. Joseph (Santa Maria, CA)
8. Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Following a school-record performance on the 3-mile Crescenta Valley Park course at Saturday's Staub/Barnes Invitational en route to winning the Div. I girls' varsity race in 17 minutes, 50.50 seconds, Saugus sophomore cross country runner Kaylin Mahoney was named state girls' athlete of the week by Dyestatcal.com.

Mahoney, the state's top-ranked runner in Div. II, also ascended to No. 4 in the West Regional individual rankings, according to Mile Split Network. Three California runners are among the top four in the regional top 12, including No. 1 Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo and No. 3 Molly Grabill of Rancho Bernardo.

Thought I would pass along this email from Rick Charls, an administrator at Granada Hills Charter High School.

Although I love his enthusiasm, the Highlanders have not really been able to parlay lower level success into varsity victories the past 10 or so years.

But you never when things can change. Here is the email with some slight editing.

Future Looks Bright For Granada Hills Basketball

The future looks bright for the Granada Hills Charter High School boys basketball team. Both the freshman and sophomore teams are currently undefeated this year. The freshman team has been extremely impressive averaging 80 points per game and winning by an average of 50 points, including a 92-14 win over Birmingham. Led by center Chris Johnson and guard Jabril Murphy, the freshman team beat the sophomore team (last years undefeated West Valley League champs) by 20 in a recent scrimmage.

I just got off the phone with Taft coach Derrick Taylor and he couldn't be happier about the upcoming season.

You can't blame him when he says, "I have 21 guys on varsity right now and they all can play. I have to find a way to drop some guys down to JV."

Taylor may have the most talent-laden team in the area.

Taft returns seniors Justin Hawkins, Terran Carter and Michael Williams. Hawkins is headed to UNLV, Carter is receiving interest from CSUN, Montana St. and Boston College and Williams is looking at Northern Arizona as a possible place to unleash his lethal 3-point stroke.

The Toreadors also are welcoming several newcomers who are turning heads during sixth-period basketball class.

Taylor has been impressed by David Shepard-Dykes, a point guard from Oxnard.

"If we had our first game today, he would be the starting point guard," Taylor said.

The other newcomers are 6'7 junior De'Andre Daniels from Renaissance Academy, junior Bryce Jones from View Park Prep, sophomore Dominique Evans from Van Nuys and Dorsey's Sam Natt.

Don't forget about freshman Landon Drew either.

"Landon is going to play a lot," Taylor said. "He is so far ahead because he has grown up in a gym practically."

Taylor is also high on sophomores Khiry Williams and Spencer Dinwiddie.

"One college recruiter told me he thinks we have 13 Division I players when it's all said and done."

Two items from Calabasas High.

Dave Goosen has been named girls basketball coach.

Goosen has coached boys teams at Venice, Burbank and Reseda.

This will be his first stint coaching girls.

Goosen inherits a program that has not fared well the last several years. The Coyotes were 0-14 in Marmonte league play last season.

The boys program received good news as Jordan Coleman has transferred from Granada Hills.

Coleman was a standout for the Highlanders on the JV team as a tenth-grader but is expected to crack the starting line-up for Calabasas.

Granada Hills coach Don Loperena was unhappy to see his budding star leave but wishes Coleman the best.

"He moved in with his dad, who got custody this summer. It's all legit. Jordan is a super athlete and would have been a centerpiece for us."

No surprises in the Marmonte League boys' cross country ranks Tuesday, as Thousand Oaks followed its stellar performance Saturday at the Pepperdine Invitational with a strong effort against Simi Valley and Newbury Park at Cal Lutheran.

The Lancers -- ranked No. 3 in the state in Div. II -- showcased tremendous depth in defeating Simi Valley 18-37 and Newbury Park 16-40, with Andrew Snyder, Sean Gildea, Kevin Joerger and Asher Lober all finishing within two seconds of each other, Snyder prevailing in 17:02.

Westlake defeated Calabasas 19-44, with Garrett Drogosch recording the victory for the Warriors in 16:05.

Royal recorded a 17-42 victory over Agoura and swept the top five spots -- Paul Jesson (16:30), Korey Joakum (16:40), Sean Davidson (16:59), Sean Upson (17:19) and Christian Garza (17:21) -- against Moorpark in a 15-50 win. Agoura got past Moorpark 15-47.

In a showdown that could go a long way toward deciding the Marmonte League champion, Simi Valley -- ranked No. 6 in Southern Section Div. II -- prevailed on a No. 6 runner tiebreaker Tuesday in its showdown with No. 9 Newbury Park at Cal Lutheran after the teams finished in a 28-28 tie.

Simi Valley junior Liberty Miller cruised to victory, covering the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 37 seconds, well ahead of Newbury Park's Jenny Mallen (20:40).

Simi Valley's Nicole Rietveld finished third (20:50). Newbury Park's Nikki Baker was fourth (20:59), Leana Goetze took fifth (21:03) and Courtney Chasen placed seventh (21:21).

The Pioneers, who trailed 23-34 on the projected score at the 2-mile mark, rallied behind the performances of Meagan McNally (eighth, 21:28), Kimberly Rowland (ninth, 21:37) and Amanda Bongiovanni (10th, 21:39) to force the tie.

Amanda Miller, Simi Valley's sixth runner, finished ahead of Newbury Park's Nos. 5 and 6 runners to secure the victory.

Simi Valley also defeated Thousand Oaks 18-44 and Newbury Park prevailed 17-44 over the Lancers.

In other Marmonte League girls' results: Westlake defeated Calabasas 25-36; Royal got past Agoura 22-35 and Moorpark 15-47, and Agoura handed Moorpark a 17-45 setback.

Here are this week's state divisional rankings, compiled by Dyestatcal.com editor Rich Gonzalez:

GIRLS DIVISION I
1. Dana Hills, Dana Point (Southern), 2. Great Oak, Temecula (Southern), 3. Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo (Southern), 4. Torrey Pines, San Diego (San Diego), 5. Crescenta Valley, La Crescenta (Southern), 6. Murrieta Valley, Murrieta (Southern), 7. Esperanza, Anaheim (Southern), 8. Fountain Valley (Southern), 9. Buchanan, Clovis (Central), 10. El Toro, Lake Forest (Southern)

GIRLS DIVISION II
1. Saugus, Santa Clarita (Southern) , 2. Mountain View (Central Coast), 3. Canyon, Anaheim (Southern), 4. Newport Harbor, Newport Beach (Southern), 5. Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach (Southern), 6. Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills (Sac Joaquin), 7. Carondelet, Concord (North Coast), 8. El Modena, Orange (Southern)
9. Simi Valley (Southern) , 10. Ayala, Chino Hills (Southern)

GIRLS DIVISION III
1. St. Ignatius, San Francisco (Central Coast), 2. Lutheran, Orange (Southern), 3. Aptos (Central Coast), 4. Foothill, Santa Ana (Southern), 5. Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa (North Coast), 6. Campolindo, Moraga (North Coast), 7. Corona del Mar, Newport Beach (Southern), 8. Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates (Southern), 9. St. Lucy's Priory, Glendora (Southern), 10. Agoura, Agoura Hills (Southern)

GIRLS DIVISION IV
1. St. Mary's College, Berkeley (North Coast), 2. La Reina, Thousand Oaks (Southern), 3. JSerra, San Juan Capistrano (Southern), 4. Carmel, Carmel Valley (Central Coast), 5. Mayfield, Pasadena (Southern), 6. Templeton (Southern), 7. Flintridge Sacred Heart, La Canada Flintridge (Southern) , 8. Laguna Beach (Southern), 9. Oaks Christian, Westlake Village (Southern), 10. Paraclete, Lancaster (Southern)

GIRLS DIVISION V
1. Woodcrest Christian, Riverside (Southern), 2. Chadwick, Palos Verdes Peninsula(Southern), 3. Mission College Prep, San Luis Obispo (Central), 4. Sage Hill, Newport Beach (Southern), 5. Crystal Springs Uplands, Hillsborough (Central Coast), 6. College Prep, Oakland (North Coast), 7. Mt. Shasta (Northern), 8. Marin Academy San Rafael (North Coast), 9. San Francisco University, San Francisco (North Coast), 10. Castilleja, Palo Alto (Central Coast)

BOYS DIVISION I
1. Dana Hills, Dana Point (Southern), 2. Buchanan, Clovis (Central), 3. Vista Murrieta, Murrieta (Southern), 4. Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo (Southern), 5. Upland (Southern), 6. Arcadia (Southern), 7. Davis (Sac-Joaquin), 8. Corona (Southern), 9. El Toro, Lake Forest (Southern), 10. Poly, Long Beach (Southern)

BOYS DIVISION II
1. Loyola, Los Angeles (Southern) , 2. Mountain View (Central Coast), 3. Thousand Oaks (Southern), 4. Redondo Union, Redondo Beach (Southern), 5. Saugus, Santa Clarita (Southern) , 6. Jesuit, Carmichael (Sac-Joaquin), 7. Del Campo, Fair Oaks (Sac Joaquin), 8. De La Salle, Concord (North Coast), 9. Woodbridge, Irvine (Southern),
10. Claremont (Southern)

BOYS DIVISION III
1. Petaluma (North Coast), 2. Campolindo, Moraga (North Coast), 3. St. John Bosco, Bellflower (Southern), 4. Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates (Southern), 5. Foothill, Santa Ana (Southern), 6. Barstow (Southern), 7. University City, San Diego (San Diego), 8. St. Ignatius, San Francisco (Central Coast), 9. Aptos (Central Coast), 10. Oak Park (Southern)

BOYS DIVISION IV
1. McFarland (Central), 2. Big Bear, Big Bear Lake (Southern), 3. Laguna Beach (Southern), 4. Morro Bay (Southern), 5. Palma, Salinas (Central Coast), 6. Harvard-Westlake, Studio City (Southern) , 7. Paraclete, Lancaster (Southern), 8. Maranatha, Pasadena (Southern), 9. Colfax (Sac Joaquin), 10. San Rafael (North Coast)

BOYS DIVISION V
1. Woodcrest Christian, Riverside (Southern), 2. San Francisco University, San Francisco (North Coast), 3. Flintridge Prep, La Cananda Flintridge (Southern) , 4. Poly, Pasadena (Southern), 5. Berean Christian, Walnut Creek (North Coast), 6. Thacher, Ojai (Southern), 7. Sage Hill, Newport Beach (Southern), 8. Western Christian, Covina (Southern), 9. Webb, Claremont (Southern), 10. Chadwick, Palos Verdes Peninsula (Southern)

Following her fourth victory in as many races Thursday at the Tri-Valley League meet at Malibu High, Oak Park junior Melissa Skiba remained the top-ranked runner in Div. III, according to the Dyestatcal.com state individual rankings compiled by Doug Speck and Mike Kennedy.

Skiba also boasts victories in the junior class race Sept. 12 at the Seaside Invitational, Sept. 17 at the Oak Park Invitational and Sept. 27 in the Div. III race at the Stanford Invitational.

La Reina of Thousand Oaks junior Sarah Pearson, once the top-ranked runner in Div. IV, is No. 6 and Paraclete of Lancaster sophomore Melissa Bauer is No. 9.

Following a victory Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park, Crescenta Valley senior Zack Torres remained the top-ranked runner in the state according to the Dyestatcal.com individual rankings compiled by editor Rich Gonzalez.

Torres took second Sept. 20 in the boys' sweepstakes race at the Woodbridge Classic and has since followed that performance with victories at the first Pacific League meet Sept. 23 and again Saturday on his home course.

Lancaster's Pedro Zaragoza is fifth in Div. I.

After strong performances Saturday, Camarillo sophomore Heyden Wooff and Saugus junior Alec Nelson are ranked fifth and sixth in the Div. II state rankings, with Loyola of Los Angeles' Elias Gedyon still holding on to the top spot.

Wooff and Nelson finished second and third behind Torres at the Staub/Barnes meet.

Oak Park's James Goldstein is No. 6 in Div. III and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village's Charlie Petrie is sixth in Div. IV. The duo placed first and second at Thursday's Tri-Valley League meet at Malibu High.

Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge's Paul Weitekamp is No. 9 in Div. V.

When the first set of state individual rankings were released Sept. 9 by Dyestatcal.com, Saugus' Brianna Jauregui wasn't even in the top 10 (see below).

GIRLS DIVISION II
1. Kaylin Mahoney (Saugus-SS)
2. Jacque Taylor (Casa Grande, Petaluma-NCS)
3. Elizabeth Apgar (Lincoln, San Diego-SD)
4. Nicole Hood (Carondelet, Concord-NCS)
5. Hillary Hayes (Edison, Huntington Beach-SS)
6. Heather Cerney (Carondelet, Concord-NCS)
7. Diana George (Livermore-NCS)
8. Stephanie Barnett (Leland, San Jose-CCS)
9. Liberty Miller (Simi Valley-SS)
10. Amber Murakami (Saugus-SS)

Less than a month later, the senior is No. 2 in the state behind sophomore teammate Kaylin Mahoney, according to Dyestatcal's Doug Speck and Mike Kennedy (see below).

GIRLS DIVISION II

1 SS Kaylin Mahoney SO Saugus
2 SS Brianna Jauregui SR Saugus
3 SDS Elizabeth Apgar SR Lincoln (San Diego)
4 SS Desiree Alexander SR Newport Harbor (Newp Bch)
5 SS Hillary Hayes SR Edison (Huntington Beach)
6 CCS Mary Reynolds SR Mountain View
7 NCS Jacque Taylor JR Casa Grande (Petaluma)
8 NCS Nicole Hood JR Carondelet (Concord)
9 SJS Brooke Holt SO Granite Bay
10 SS Savannah Pio SO Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach)

Jauregui won the senior class race Sept. 12 at the season-opening Seaside Invitational, then placed fifth Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic -- Mahoney took fourth -- and followed with second-place finishes behind Mahoney at the Sept. 25 Foothill League meet and Saturday's Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park.

Just gave Larry Drew, Jr. a holler, and the former Taft High kid is doing great as a freshman at North Carolina -- though the basketball wunderkind concedes he misses Los Angeles.

"Oh,of course I miss L.A. It was my home," Drew said. "But it's really nice out here in North
Carolina. The gym is nice, the arena is nice. And it's 7 to 1 girls' ratio,"

Not that Drew has had much time to chill because even though it's not basketball season, the sport consumes him "24 hours day" -- including daily four-hour conditioning workouts the likes of which he has never seen.

"We do a lot of conditioning and a lot of lifting weights -- a lot," Drew said.

Meanwhile, Drew just might have a chace to play significant minutes or even break into the starting lineup.

"That's the plan. Whoever gets the job done will be playing," Drew said.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Marti Sementelli, a sophomore baseball player at Burbank High, pitched a no-hitter Sunday to lead a team from New England to a 3-0 victory to win the women's national baseball championship in Tucson. The 5-foot-2 right-hander allowed three hits and struck out nine in seven innings.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Not typically known as a hotbed of talent, the Antelope Valley will have two intriguing players in 2008-2009.

Highland of Palmdale has received transfer Devin Bray from Koutze High in Texas. Bray moved in the summer from his mothers house in Texas to live with his father.

"He will average 20 points a game," Highland coach Jeff Smith said. "Devin is a huge addition because we lost almost everybody to graduation."

Another player turning heads in the desert is 6'6 freshman Kayvon Washington. Washington is at Lancaster High and was a middle-school standout at Park View Junior High last year.

"I heard a lot about him but he went to school on the other side of town so I knew we weren't going to get him," Smith said. "I hear he is a good one. A lot of my older guys know who he is."

It will be fun to see which Western Division teams can remain undeated. Five of the top eight in this week's Southern Section poll have not lost a game -- No. 1 Alemamy (4-0), No. 2 Santa Monica (4-0), No. 5 St. Francis (4-0), No. 7 Paramount and No. 8 Lynwood (3-0-1).

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

After a week out of the top 10 in Div. I-AA, Flintridge Sacred Heart in La Canada returned at No. 9. Harvard-Westlake stayed in the top 10 as well in Div. I-AA, at No. 7.
Valencia moved back into the top 10 as well. The Vikings are No. 10 in Div. I-A. Saugus is tied at No. 9, setting up a meeting of top 10 teams in their Foothill League match on Tuesday.
Top-ranked Santa Barbara plays at Harvard-Westlake on Saturday in a nonleague match.
La Canada stayed at No. 1 in Div. II-A, which continues to be the best represented division in the area. La Reina, Oaks Christian, Oak Park and Oxnard are all in the top 10 in Div. II-A
Village Christian remains the top team in Div. III-A. Golden League rivals Quartz Hill and Littlerock are in the top 10 in Div. III-A. They meet on Wednesday in their first league match.
Grace Brethren in Simi Valley is No. 1 in Div. IV-A and Santa Clarita Christian tops the polls in Div. V-A.
Here is a look at the polls released Monday:

Div I-AA
1. Mira Costa
2. Wilson L/B
3. Los Alamitos
4. Orange Lutheran
5. Newport Harbor
6. Lakewood
7. Harvard-Westlake
8. Dana Hills
9. Flintridge Sacred Heart
10. Long Beach Poly

Div. I-A
1. Santa Barbara
2. Marymount
3. Dos Pueblos
4. El Toro
5. Laguna Beach
6. Upland
7. El Dorado
8. Canyon/Anaheim
9. Arroyo Grande
9. Saugus
10. Valencia

Div. II-AA
1. Redlands East Valley
2. Corona Del Mar
3. Bishop Montgomery
4. South Torrance
5. Santiago/Corona
6. Diamond Bar
7. Corona
7. Riverside Poly
8. Walnut
9. South Hills
10. Beckman

Div. II-A
1. La Canada
2. Elsinore
3. La Reina
4. Oxnard
5. Oaks Christian
6. Oak Park
7. Troy
8. Cypress
9. El Rancho
10. St. Bonaventure

Div. III-AA
1. Village Christian
2. Brentwood
3. Palm Desert
4. Warren
5. Quartz Hill
6. Bonita
7. Valley Christian
8. La Quinta
9. Charter Oak
10. Littlerock

Div. III-A
1. Mayfield
2. San Gabriel
3. Chadwick
4. Santa Monica
5. Bell Gardens
6. Westridge
7. Cerritos
8. San Dimas
9. La Mirada
10. Ganesha

Div. IV-AA
1. Whittier Christian
2. Calvary Murrieta
3. Viewpoint
4. Arrowhead Christian
5. Sage Hill
6. St. Margaret's
7. Dunn
8. Mary Star of the Sea
9. Ontario Christian
10. Laguna Blanca

Div. IV-A
1. Grace Brethren
2. Nordhoff
3. Notre Dame/R
4. Big Bear
5. Bishop Conaty
6. Upland Christian
7. Desert Christian/BD
8. La Puente
9. Desert Chapel
10. Villanova Prep

Div. V-AA
1. Santa Clarita Christian
2. Xavier Prep
3. Fairmount
4. Milken Community
5. Saddleback Valley Christian
6. Connelly
7. Faith Baptist
8. Victor Valley Christian
9. Hillcrest Christian/GH
10. Hesperia Christian

Div. V-A
1. Pacficia Christian
2. Wildwood
3. Marywood-Palm Valley
4. Cornerstone Christian/C
5. Eastside Christian
6. Cornerstone Christian/W
7. Nuview Bridge
8. Calvary Baptist
9. Death Valley Academy
10. Hillcrest Christian/TO

Wow, the wizard Erik Boal set a Daily News pronog record by going 40-3 this past weekend, measuring in at 93 percent -- rather amazing for a 43-game slate. He has taken over the No. 1 spot by two games (over yours truly) --- but hey, it's still early ...

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

To no one's surprise, the Saugus girls' cross country team captured the overall sweepstakes title Saturday at the 41st annual Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park, an award given to the program with the fastest combined time from all seven varsity runners, five JV runners and five sophomore runners.

But the boys' sweepstakes title didn't go to defending Foothill League champion Saugus or Div. I power Corona, but rather Canyon of Canyon Country.

Canyon produced a combined mark of 299 minutes, 38 seconds from its 17 runners, ahead of Corona's 299:49. Saugus would've been a leading candidate for the sweepstakes title, but the Centurions had only four JV athletes compete, thus making them ineligible for consideration.

Canyon still holds the boys' sweepstakes record of 290:04, set in 2002.

By winning the team titles in all four races, the Saugus girls were an easy choice for the sweepstakes title, clocking a combined mark of 338:55, breaking the meet's sweepstakes record of 344:33 set by Canyon in 2003.

Remember Danny Carillo?

If not, he's a freshman runner at Golden Valley who was involved in one of the closest finishes of the year at the first Foothill League meet Sept. 25, taking 23rd in 17:23.9, just behind Valencia's Austin Veiga (17:23.6).

It was that narrow margin between the two runners that decided second place on the Castaic Lake course, as Valencia defeated Golden Valley 27-28 in the double-dual meet scoring format.

Obviously Carillo was plenty motivated when he competed Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational, the first time he had raced since that result at the league meet.

With coaches Chris and Rob Evans electing to split up their varsity lineup into different grade-level races, Carillo triumphed in the Div. I freshman race in 17:27.82. Although he was the Grizzlies' sixth-fastest runner on the day -- with junior Seth Totten (15:49.69) leading the way with a fifth-place effort in the Div. I varsity race -- it was an important confidence boost for a young runner and an improving program.

Veiga, a senior, didn't compete Saturday for Valencia, as several area teams had athletes missing due to SATs, confirmation or club soccer tournaments.

The second Foothill League meet is Oct. 16 at Central Park.

The Saugus girls volleyball team lost to Canyon of Anaheim in the championship game of the Kennedy La Palma tournament in Orange County on Saturday.
Saugus, winners of 12 straight matches entering the tournament, defeated Narbonne and host Kennedy La Palma in pool play before meeting Cypress in the playoff portion of the tournament.
Saugus defeated Cypress, the reigning Div. III-AA champs and ranked No. 8 in Div. II-A, in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Canyon of Anaheim won in two games, 25-20, 25-20.
Saugus senior outside hitter Katie Estes had 44 kills and 27 digs in the tournament. Saugus senior setter Alyssa Terwall had 70 assists. The loss to Canyon was the first for Saugus, which won the Tri City Tournament last month.
Saugus plays Valencia on Tuesday, the second Foothill League match of the season for both teams. Valencia was 10-0 in the Foothill League last year.

I guess you have to win every race you're entered in to maintain your position in Dyestat's top 25 national individual rankings, compiled by Dyestat.com editor Steve Underwood.

Saugus sophomore Kaylin Mahoney, who began the year ranked No. 13 nationally, dropped to No. 21 in this week's rankings, the move coming after she won two of the first three races she entered, and before adding another victory Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park.

Mahoney won the sophomore class race Sept. 12 at the Seaside Invitational, posting the fastest time by a 10th-grader on the Sanbuenaventura State Beach course, in addition to winning the first Foothill League meet Sept. 25 at the Castaic Lake course.

Mahoney also took fourth in the sweepstakes race Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic, finishing behind No. 6 Sarah Andrews of The Woodlands in Texas and No. 23 Alex Dunne of San Clemente, along with Christine Adams of Esperanza of Anaheim, who is listed among the honorable mention athletes.

Mahoney is the No. 3 runner from California, behind Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo's Jordan Hasay (No. 2) and Rancho Bernardo's Molly Grabill (No. 13).

Oak Park junior Melissa Skiba, with four victories to her credit, is an honorable mention selection.

Looking back at the results from Saturday's 41st annual Staub/Barnes Invitational, it's clear that when it comes to the numbers game, opponents can't match up with the Saugus girls' cross country team.

The Centurions had 35 female runners compete in four races at Crescenta Valley Park, with six completing the 3-mile course in under 19 minutes. Of the 36 other schools that ran Saturday, only four individuals broke the 19-minute barrier.

Saugus had 11 of its girls record a mark under 20 minutes, or 31.4 percent of its athletes. Of the other 449 runners who competed in the nine female races, 21 girls eclipsed the 20-minute barrier (4.6 percent).

The Centurions took the top three spots in three races and swept the top five in the Div. I-II sophomore race, winning the team title every level.

Varsity race: 1. Kaylin Mahoney 17:50.50, 2. Brianna Jauregui 18:17.79, 3. Stephanie Bulder 18:24.45

JV race: 1. Ashley Stewart 20:20.82, 2. Natalie Malone 20:30.90, 3. Danielle Schaefer 21:13.34

Sophomore race: 1. Danielle Hernando 18:46.43, 2. Merissa Kado 19:53.15, 3. Amy Haukka 19:54.30, 4. Nicole Casillas 20:53.76, 5. Morgan Graham 21:03.59

Freshman race: 1. Karis Frankian 19:05.96, 2. Emily McCarty 20:21.38, 3. Jenay Jauregui 20:42.76

If you didn't have the words "Saugus", "Crescenta Valley" or "Thousand Oaks" on your racing singlet, it might have been easy to be overlooked Saturday at either the Staub/Barnes Invitational or the Pepperdine Invitational.

Here's a quick look at some of the other highlights from a busy Saturday of racing across the state:

-- Hart of Newhall's Grace Zamudio (19:22) and Jordan Walsh (19:45) took first and second at the College Park Invitational in Oxnard, leading the Indians to the team victory with 35 points.

-- Also in Oxnard, Burroughs of Burbank's Western Nelson (15:43) finished second in the boys' race at the College Park Invitational, as the Indians were runner-up with 48 points.

-- Golden Valley's Seth Totten (15:49.69) was fifth in the Div. I boys' race at the Staub/Barnes Invitational, trailing Crescenta Valley's Zack Torres, Camarillo's Heyden Wooff and Saugus' Alec Nelson and Brandon Jauregui.

-- El Camino Real of Woodland Hills' Brett Schmitt (15:44.25) took sixth in the boys' sweepstakes race at the Pepperdine Invitational. Teammate Sean Padgett was 13th (16:09.64), with Burbank's Greg Dotson taking 12th (16:07.04).

-- Highland of Palmdale's Caylie Choate was the top female athlete outside of Saugus at the Staub/Barnes Invitational, taking fourth in Div. I in 18:26.23. West Ranch's Bailey Miller placed fifth (18:29.95) and Crescenta Valley's Michelle Callister (sixth, 18:37.74) and Carlotta Pham (eighth, 18:44.89) both cracked the top 10.

-- Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge's Dot Silverman won the Div. III girls' race at the Staub/Barnes Invitational in 19:29.78.

With his family, friends and even the school's security guard in attendance Saturday at Crescenta Valley Park, Zack Torres finally won an invitational race in his final career trek on his home course.

The Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta senior clocked 15:24.01 on the 3-mile layout to win the Div. I boys' race at the 41st Staub/Barnes Invitational, moving into second all-time in program history on the C.V. Park course behind Nathan Sellers.

Not a bad way to end a week that included him being selected C.V.'s Student of the Month and featured the Dodgers' sweep of the Cubs in the National League Divisional Series.

Phil Torres, Zack's dad, once played in the Dodgers' minor league system, as well as the Houston Astros system, and is currently the varsity baseball coach at C.V.

"With all the publicity I've received from Dyestat, people are looking up to me and expecting big things from me," Zack Torres said. "It's nice to have the freshmen looking up to me as a role model. It's important for me to be a leader for these freshmen and set an example for them of what this program is all about."

Torres has certainly earned the right to be called one of the state's top runners and a leading contender for the Div. I state title. He took second in the boys' sweepstakes race Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic in a school-record 14:26 and followed it up with a victory at the first Pacific League meet Sept. 23, before overcoming an illness that had slowed him during the week to deliver a win Saturday.

"The last month of my life has never been this great," Torres said. "To have the support and to be shaking hands with all these runners. It was pretty cool to have everybody at Woodbridge cheering for me. I'm just trying to represent the program the best I can and it was just a great experience."

Torres will get a preview of the state course next Saturday at the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno. Torres finished sixth in Div. I at last year's state meet in 15:25.

"He's just very driven and very motivated," C.V. coach Mark Evans said. "He wants to keep up with the top runners. He's disappointed that he didn't run faster than (Nathan Sellers' 2005 program record), but that's just the way he is."

Aside from Loyola of Los Angeles' Elias Gedyon, there might not be another sophomore male runner in the state racing with as much confidence as Camarillo's Heyden Wooff.

For the second time in three weeks, Wooff boldly tried to match Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Zack Torres stride for stride over 3 miles, as the duo staged an impressive battle Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational at C.V. Park.

Just like Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic, Torres (15:24.01) got the better of Wooff (15:35.14), but it wasn't for a lack of effort on the Camarillo standout's part, who lowered his time from last year's Staub/Barnes meet by more than a minute.

"I wanted to try to stay with him as long as I could," Wooff said. "I wanted to keep him in sight the whole time. I just didn't want to let him get away."

Just like at Woodbridge, Torres' margin of victory over Wooff -- 14:26 to 14:38 -- was more than 10 seconds, but it was never easy for the C.V. senior, who overcame an illness that had slowed him throughout the week to finally win the Staub/Barnes title in his final career race on his home course.

"My goal this year was to run any race under 15 minutes and I already did that at Woodbridge, so that was exciting. Just having everybody cheering for me gave me that extra boost," Wooff said. "Now, I want to make it to CIF finals and place top three in Div. II."

If Wooff continues to perform at his current level, he might be battling Loyola's Gedyon for a Southern Section title and a spot in the top three at the state meet Nov. 29 in Fresno.

"(Heyden) ran a great race," C.V. coach Mark Evans said. "He really went after (Zack) and I admire that."

Joey Eledge was dry-heaving in the last mile.

Kevin Heinemann mistimed his lean near the finish line.

And Alex Ruther got passed at the last second by La Canada's Jon Wu.

Yet, for all the things that didn't go right for the Saugus boys' cross country team Saturday at the Staub/Barnes meet, the Centurions still recorded the fastest time in the Div. I race and nearly captured the title for the first time in program history.

Corona won the race with 68 points, followed by Del Campo of Fair Oaks (70) and Saugus (72). The Centurions, led by the third- and fourth-place efforts of Alec Nelson (15:36.28) and Brandon Jauregui (15:47.93), clocked 81:42, ahead of Corona's 82:02 and Del Campo's 82:09.

Corona entered the meet ranked No. 8 in the state in Div. I and Del Campo was No. 6 in Div. II. Saugus had ascended to No. 4 in the state -- second in the Southern Section -- in Div. II earlier this week.

"I thought we'd be way behind Corona," Saugus coach Rene Paragas said. "I can't believe that even with all of that happening, we still had a shot. To be only four points behind Corona is encouraging."

Heinemann took 21st (16:39.46), Eledge was 24th (16:45.04) and Ruther finished 32nd (16:53.69) for the Centurions, who will compete next Saturday at the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park, the site of the Div. II state meet Nov. 29.

What is it like to have coaches, parents, runners and spectators watching your every stride and race in admiration?

Welcome to the world of the Saugus girls' cross country team.

At Saturday's Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park, local aficionados were treated to the Centurions -- ranked No. 2 nationally by Harrier Magazine -- putting on another record-setting performance, which, to no surprise, was the subject of much discussion by people of all ages throughout the park.

From the time they took the starting line to many minutes after the conclusion of the Div. I varsity race, Saugus was under a microscope. Even in the freshman, sophomore and JV races, spectators and fellow runners were in awe of the Saugus' depth, which translated into team victories at all four levels, as well as individual wins by Kaylin Mahoney, Ashley Stewart, Danielle Hernando and Karis Frankian.

After looking at the meet results posted on a wall adjacent to the restrooms, one West Ranch female runner said, "God, I hate Saugus. They win everything."

Then she paused and said, "No, actually I love them. I just wanted to say that in case there were any Saugus parents standing around."

It's a situation the Centurions have become accustomed to the past three years.

"Those expectations only give us more motivation to do well," sophomore Stephanie Bulder said.

Saugus' 22-point total is the second-lowest winning effort in the meet's 41-year history. Agoura, which finished second nationally in 1990, won the sweepstakes race that year with 19 points.

"I think we've focused really well so far," senior Brianna Jauregui said. "We did amazing last year and we've only improved our times. But our main goal is to get first at nationals."

That opportunity is still two months away in Portland, Ore., at the Nike Cross Nationals.

Until then, Saugus will remain the standard by which every girls' team in California is measured.

"Our goal was just to try and break up their top five or their top seven," Crescenta Valley coach Mark Evans said. "They're the No. 2 team in the nation for a reason. But we still want to go out and race against them and keep going at it because it will only make us better."

Former Saugus cross country standouts Katie Dunn and Shannon Murakami were in attendance Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park and this year's Centurions didn't disappoint two of the program's all-time greats with their performance.

Kaylin Mahoney lowered Dunn's program record on the 3-mile C.V. Park course by winning the Div. I race in 17:50.50 to help the Centurions prevail with 22 points.

Saugus also lowered its own course record set at last year's Foothill League final to 92:02.

With UCLA not competing this weekend after a trip to Stanford last weekend, Murakami was able to attend the meet to watch younger sister Amber, who took seventh in 18:41.51.

Dunn, a freshman at Glendale Community College, returned to the area a day after recording her fourth victory in as many junior college races, defeating defending state champion Crystal Reed of Orange Coast College 18:10 to 18:26 at the So Cal Preview meet Friday in Bakersfield.

The biggest surprise of the first month of the cross country season, not only at Saugus High, but perhaps the entire area, has been the performance of sophomore Stephanie Bulder, who continued to turn heads with her effort Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational.

Bulder, who finished fourth last year in the meet's Div. I frosh/soph race at Crescenta Valley Park, placed third in the Div. I varsity race Saturday, helping Saugus -- ranked No. 2 nationally by Harrier Magazine -- lower its own course record to 92:02 and produce a convincing victory with 22 points. Host C.V. took second with 67.

Bulder ran 20:08 at the Staub/Barnes meet last year and 20:21 on the C.V. Park course to finish third at the frosh/soph level at last season's Foothill League final.

On Saturday, she clocked 18:24.45 to finish behind teammates Kaylin Mahoney (17:50.50) and Brianna Jauregui (18:17.79).

"I didn't want to go out super-hard because it's a tough course," Bulder said. "I was feeling it at the end, but I was just trying to finish strong."

After finishing second to Mahoney in the sophomore race Sept. 12 at the season-opening Seaside Invitational and runner-up to freshman Karis Frankian in the frosh/soph race Sept. 25 at the first Foothill League meet, along with being the Centurions' No. 4 runner Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic, Bulder called the first month of her season "a dream."

"She's been a huge plus for us this season," Saugus coach Rene Paragas said. "It doesn't matter if it's a big race or a small race, she comes through no matter what."

Saugus' Danielle Hernando expressed concern before the Div. I-II girls' sophomore race Saturday at the Staub/Barnes Invitational because of a blister on her right foot that was causing her discomfort.

The race wound up being a uncomfortable experience for the other 58 runners in the field, as Hernando blocked out the pain to run 18:46.43, which not only was good for a margin of victory of more than a minute over teammates Merissa Kado (19:53.15) and Amy Haukka (19:54.30), but a mark that would've placed her No. 5 in Saugus' varsity lineup. Hernando also shattered the soph/frosh meet record of 19:07.77 set by Colfax's Sara Howard in 2006.

"I couldn't feel my foot. It went numb the last mile," Hernando said. "But as soon as I took my shoes off (after the race), it felt a lot better."

Saugus' varsity team broke its own course record at Crescenta Valley Park with a mark of 92:02. However, if Hernando's time had been factored in as the No. 5 runner instead of Keri Molt (18:48.23), the mark would've been lowered to 92:00. The Centurions' top five runners produced a time of 92:08 at last year's Foothill League final, which included Kaylin Mahoney's 18:31 at the frosh/soph level.

"Being No. 5 is good, but I can still be humbled (by my teammates)," Hernando said. "But I'm really excited (about the time)."

Although she competed in the rated race instead of the sweepstakes race Sept. 20 at the Woodbridge Classic, Hernando was Saugus' seventh runner overall and tied for 36th out of nearly 3,900 female runners at the meet.

Hernando finished third in the sophomore race -- behind Mahoney and Stephanie Bulder -- at the Seaside Invitational and placed third again behind freshman Karis Frankian and Bulder in the frosh/soph race at the first Foothill League meet Sept. 25.

For being the top local boys' cross country team, Thousand Oaks hasn't garnered nearly the same amount of attention as the No. 1 girls' team in the area, Saugus.

But the Lancers appeared content to compete under the radar the first few weeks of the season, not running their full varsity lineup at the Oak Park Invitational before cruising to an Marmonte League victory Sept. 25 over Agoura and Westlake.

However, in the past 72 hours, Thousand Oaks has turned up the intensity on the competition and the results have been quite impressive.

Following a 17-41 league win Thursday over Royal of Simi Valley, the Lancers -- ranked No. 8 in the state in Div. II -- recorded their most significant victory Saturday at the Pepperdine Invitational, winning the boys' sweepstakes with 41 points.

Arcadia, ranked No. 4 in the state in Div. I, was runner-up with 53 points, and Barstow -- the state's top-ranked team in Div. III -- took third with 78.

"I think they were shocked," Thousand Oaks coach Shawn Morris said. "Heck, I'm shocked."

Kevin Joerger finished third for the Lancers, covering the 3-mile course in 15:33.40, and Sean Gildea (15:38.74) placed fourth. Gildea's effort was even more impressive, considering he and fellow senior Hans Weidman took SATs earlier Saturday and arrived at Pepperdine 30 minutes before the start of the race.

"We didn't even know if we were going to be able to run the whole team together," Joerger said. "I'm really amazed."

Asher Lober (seventh, 15:46.74), Andrew Snyder (ninth, 16:00.18) and Donald Morrow (19th, 16:23.59) rounded out the scoring quintet for Thousand Oaks, which clocked 79:22. Arcadia, which won the seeded race Sept. 27 at the Stanford Invitational, recorded a team time of 79:52 and Barstow -- Div. II winner last Saturday at the Bell-Jeff Invitational -- clocked 80:52.

Two future UCLA Bruins will be playing on January 24, 2009 in the San Fernando Valley.

Sylmar's Tyler Honeycutt and Modesto Christian's Reeves Nelson will be the featured attractions as part of a six game slate in the War on the Floor Extravaganza.

Here is the tentative schedule:

2009 WAR ON THE FLOOR BOYS HOOPS
ONE DAY EXTRAVAGANZA

SATURDAY JANUARY 24, 2009.
SITE T.B.A.

THE MATCH-UPS:
ALL GAMES, ONE SITE

SYLMAR VS. CLEVELAND 7 p.m.
CAMPBELL HALL VS. MODESTO CHRISTIAN 8:30 p.m.
CHATSWORTH VS. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (girls) 5:30 p.m.
VAN NUYS VS. RENAISSANCE ACADEMY 12:30 p.m.
PACIFIC HILLS VS. PRICE 3:30 p.m.
MONTCLAIR PREP VS. 29 PALMS 2:00 p.m.

Even with one of its top offensive weapons sidelined, College of the Canyons appeared at full strength in its 42-21 Western State Conference victory over host Allan Hancock of Santa Maria.

Winborn, who ranks second in the state averaging 155 rushing yards per game, sidelined with an undiscloded injury, B.J. Iverson carried the load rushing for 103 yards on 12 carries.

Brad McClellan and Joey Frias both passed for over 100 yards. McLellan completed 7 of 11 passes for 149 yards including a 20-yard scoring pass to Jovan Leacock in the first quarter that gave COC a 7-0 lead.

Frias finished with 139 yards on 5 of 11 passing with touchdown passes of 80 yards to Nate Jones (two receptions for 113 yards) and 35 yards to Hayo Carpenter for 35 yards in the second quarter. Frias also added a six-yard scoring run in the closing seconds of the first quarter.

COC, who averages a state best 530 yards per game, built a 35-7 halftime lead. The Cougars host Moorpark Saturday., Oct. 11.

To view Alex Valladares' video account of the Saugus cross country program running "The Beast", click here:

Note: Since the video is uploaded in the Quicktime program, it's best viewed on a Mac. We apologize for any viewing difficulties you might encounter (especially near the end) and are trying to enhance the video quality in an attempt to have it reloaded ASAP.

Former Saugus cross country standout Katie Dunn managed to hold off defending state champion Crystal Reed of Orange Coast College at the Southern California Preview meet in Bakersfield, but the reigning state champion Vaqueros suffered their first loss of the season Friday.

Dunn, who sat out last week's meet in Chino Hills because of illness, made it four victories in as many races with her effort of 18 minutes, 10 seconds on the 5-kilometer layout at Kern County Soccer Park. Reed was timed in 18:26 for Orange Coast, which placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 20 to score 48 points.

Reed led the first mile, but Dunn took over the lead near the 2-mile mark en route to the convincing victory.

Southwestern (95:09) had four runners finish in the top 10 to also score 48, but Orange Coast (94:54) secured the victory on a sixth-runner tiebreaker (No. 24 to No. 84).

Glendale (97:03), which didn't have another runner place in the top 10, took third with 93 points. Antelope Valley College's Melissa Olmos took ninth in 19:12.

In the men's competition, Valley College's Andrew Salg won the 4-mile run in 20:22. Orange Coast captured the team competition with 92 points and Glendale took sixth with 236.

The Vaqueros return to competition next Friday at the Western State Conference Preview meet at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta.

Ryan Kasdorf came through with a performance for the ages Friday, passing for 371 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown - a whopping 519 yards total offense - to carry Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks to a 52-28 victory over visiting Saugus.

Kasdorf, a 6-foot-2 junior, completed 13 of 20 passes, connecting with Chris McNeill for touchdowns of 68 and 78 yards and James Flynn for touchdowns of 67 and 83 yards.

Kasdorf scored on a 38-yard run and nearly scored another long touchdown but stumbled and fell untouched at the 3 on an 87-yard run.

Notre Dame (4-0) totaled a school-record 693 yards, breaking the mark of 574, set in 1997 against Bishop Montgomery.

Saugus (2-2) was hard to stop, too. Led by quarterback Desi Rodriguez and running back Ryan Zirbel, the Centurions totaled 534 yards. Rodriguez completed 15 of 26 for 149 yards and one touchdown, and he rushed for 151 yards on 27 carries, including two touchdowns. Zirbel carried 22 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yarder, and he had five receptions for 55 yards.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

On Friday afternoon I went over to Campbell Hall of North Hollywood to cover the 3 p.m. non-league game between the Vikings and two-time defending Northeast champion St. Margaret's of San Juan Capistrano.

I love going to Campbell Hall because the coaches, athletic trainer, athletic director and everyone on the Campbell Hall sideline treats me so well.

Drew Kempf (trainer) sets me up in his office with internet connection, coach Russell Gordon welcomes me on the sideline in the team box so I can keep track of the stats accurately and Juan Velasquez (Athletic Director) always invites me to the after game meal.

I can't say the same for the St. Margaret's sideline.

I went over there for the second half partly to get out of the sun and partly to get a little closer to former Canyon of Country coach Harry Welch.

After a few minutes, I was approached by Welch's wife who asked me to leave the team box because I couldn't produce my press credential, which I left in the car.

I told her my purpose, had a clipboard in my hand and was chatting with Jake Downey, a local video reporter.

Hardly a threat to anyone.

I also explained I just wanted to keep stats and I wasn't spying for any other teams.

I couldn't believe it.

it's 42-14 Notre Dame over Saugus at the half here at Notre Dame, a combination of Notre Dame being very good and Saugus being very bad.

Notre Dame has amassed 519 yards on 20 plays - an average of 26 yards per play - to forge a 28-point halftime lead.

Notre Dame's Ryan Kasdorf has completed 10 of 12 passes for 329 yards and four touchdowns of 68, 67, 78 and 78 yards. He also has rushed for 106 yards, including an 87-yard run.

No question, Notre Dame executed smoothly, and it's clear Kasdorf, a junior, is a rising star. But Saugus was clueless on defense, as the majority of Kasdorf's completions were to wide-open receivers.

With Saugus having to replace 11 starters on defense this season, growing pains were expected. Nevertheless, this is the fourth game of the season, which should be enough time to at least figure out which guys should be where on basic pass patterns. If the Centurions don't improve, or perhaps make major changes, there is no way they'll keep pace with Foothill League rivals Canyon, Valencia and Hart of Newhall.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

By Lauren Peterson

Danielle Kang, a former Oak Park golfer who transferred to Westlake before the start of the school year but has been sitting out the season while awaiting her family's move to a new home in the Warriors' attendance area, will not play this season.

"That's for sure," Westlake coach Dave Costley said. "It would have been really nice to have her, but we're fine. I told the girls we're going to go about our business."

Westlake (15-0) has done just that, scarcely missing a beat while going 11-0 in Marmonte League play without Kang, projected immediately upon her transer to be the Warriors' No. 1 player.

Kang, a junior who played on the Oak Park boys' golf team last year because that school does not have a girls' team, enrolled at Westlake this fall with the expectation that she and her mother soon would be moving into a home in the Westlake attendace area that the family had bought.

Escrow on the home fell through, however, and a second home the family recently purchased was found to be located in the Thousand Oaks High attendance area, a development in which allows Kang to still attend Westlake if she chooses, and has filed the correct school-of-choice paperwork, but which also made her ineligible for varsity athletics for a year.

With Westlake having just one junior-varsity match on its schedule and Kang's skills far beyond that level, anyway, she has opted to sit out the season and work on her game on her own.

Kang has been invited to play in an international junior tournament in Japan in mid-October, and would have missed at least one of four regular season-ending Marmonte League tournaments in any case.

That absence would have rendered her ineligible for Southern Section individual playoffs because the Marmonte League tournaments serve as the qualifier for individual postseason competition.

Still, Kang -- who won the girls' freelance tournament last year to qualify for the Southern Section individual final -- potentially could have provided a significant boost to Warriors' fortunes in postseason team competition.

"Certainly, we'd have gone farther in the playoffs with her," Costley said. "We're going to miss her, but this is something that, at this point, it's beyond her control, and beyond our control."

Assuming Kang remains at Westlake, she will be eligible to play next season.

Notre Dame is dealing with major injuries heading into tonight's game against visiting Saugus here in Sherman Oaks, as starters Tom Drachkovitch (defensive back) and Taylor Cressy (offensive guard) are not available.

Drachovitch has been out with a knee injury since the second week of the season, and Cressy (shoulder) was injured against Birmingham last week.

They're about to kickoff. Notre Dame is 9-0 in the series, but that does not faze Saugus coach Jason Bornn.

"I wasn't even here for half of those losses, and the ones I was here for we were still growing," Bornn said.

The first eight loses were by 14 points or more. Last year's result was closer -- 38-35 -- but still a Notre Dame victory.

I'm side by side right now with noted wordsmith Sean Ceglinsky from the L.A. Times, so I will try to really be on point tonight. I'll update when I can -- probably at halftime and after the game.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Check out David Lassen's column on Newbury Park football and its coaching staff -- good stuff.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Saugus brings its 12-0 record and Tri City tournament championship to the Kennedy La Palma tournament in Orange County on Saturday.
Saugus has Narbonne, Western of Anaheim, Mary Star of the Sea and Kennedy of La Palma, the host school, in its pool for the tournament.
Mary Star of the Sea is ranked ninth in the Southern Section Div. IV-AA poll.
Cypress, the eighth ranked team in Div. II-A, is entered in the tournament, as is Canyon of Anaheim. Even though Canyon of Anaheim has a losing record, Saugus coach Zack Ambrose considers the team one of the favorites to win the tournament.
Saugus is ranked 10th in Div. I-A and is coming off a win over Canyon of Canyon Country on Thursday to open Foothill League play.

Brandon Hagy, a senior a Westlake High School, has committed to play golf at UC Berkeley.
Hagy won the Thousand Oaks City Amateur tournament last weekend and was selected to play for the United States in the Honda International Junior Golf Championship later this month in Japan.
Danielle Kang, also from Westlake High School, has been selected to play in the Honda Interational Junior Golf Championship.

The Saugus girls volleyball team swept visiting Chaminade in three games to stay undefeated and improve to 11-0.
Senior Kati Estes had 11 kills and two blocks and senior setter Alyssa Terwall had 22 assists for Saugus.
Senior Kacie Crawford had five kills, four blocks and six digs and freshman Jaclyn Clark had eight kills and 11 digs.
Saugus opens Foothill League play on Thursday against Canyon and then plays in the Kennedy La Palma tournament on Saturday.

Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park have risen to the top of the Marmonte League standings and are both 3-0 against league opponents.
Thousand Oaks was expected to be on top of the standings, but Newbury Park, with wins over Moorpark, Agoura and Westlake, is a bit of a surprise.
Next up for Newbury Park is Simi Valley on Thursday. Thousand Oaks plays Calabasas, winless in three league games this year.
Thousand Oaks went undefeated last year in league and senior Kat Luft said it's something the team wants to do again.
"It's definitely a goal for us," Luft said. "It's always a goal for everyone at the beginning."
Here's a look at the standings in the Marmonte League:

1. Thousand Oaks 3-0
2. Newbury Park 3-0
3. Royal 2-1
4. Simi Valley 2-1
5. Moorpark 1-2
6. Westlake 1-2
7. Agoura 0-3
8. Calabasas 0-3

Granada Hills, El Camino Real and Chatsworth all posted wins in their first West Valley League volleyball matches.
Cleveland, Birmingham and Taft all lost.
Here is a look at the West Valley League standings after one game:

1. Granada Hills 1-0, def Birmingham


2. El Camino Real 1-0, def Taft


3. Chatsworth 1-0, def. Cleveland


4. Birmingham 0-1


5. Cleveland 0-1


6. Taft 0-1

The Southern Section girls volleyball polls were released on Monday. Thousand Oaks and Flintridge Sacred Heart were knocked out of the top 10 in Div. I-AA. Harvard-Westlake was dropped to No. 7.
La Canada, Village Christian and Santa Clarita Christian held the top ranks in their respective divisions. La Canada is No. 1 in Div. II-A; Village Christian is No. 1 in Div. III-AA and Santa Clarita Christian is No. 1 in Div. V-AA.
Div. II-A remains strongly represented by La Reina, Oxnard, Oak Park and Oaks Christian.
Littlerock cracks the top 10 in Div. III-A at No. 5, oddly one spot ahead of No. 6 Quartz Hill.
Here's a look at the rankings:

Div. I-AA
1. Mira Costa
2. Wilson/LB
3. Los Alamitos
4. Lakewood
5. Newport Harbor
6. Orange Lutheran
7. Harvard-Westlake
8. Dana Hills
9. Rosary
10. Esperanza

Div. I-A
1. Santa Barbara
2. Marymount
3. Dos Pueblos
4. El Toro
5. Laguna Beach
6. Upland
7. Notre Dame Academy
8. El Dorado
9. Arroyo Grande
10. Saugus

Div. II-AA
1. Redlands East Valley
2. Corona del Mar
3. Bishop Montgomery
4. South Torrance
5. Corona
6. Diamond Bar
7. Glendora
8. Walnut
9. South Hills
10. St Lucy's

Div. II-A
1. La Canada
2. Elsinore
3. La Reina
4. Oxnard
5. Oak Park
6. Oaks Christian
7. Fullerton
8. Cypress
9. Santa Fe
10. California

Div. III-AA
1. Village Christian
2. Brentwood
3. Palm Desert
4. Warren
5. Littlerock
6. Quartz Hill
7. Bonita
8. Valley Christian/C
9. La Quinta/LQ
10. Charter Oak

Div. III-A
1. Mayfield
2. San Gabriel
3. Chadwick
4. Santa Monica
5. Gabrielino
6. Westridge
7. San Dimas
8. Cerritos
9. La Mirada
10. Ganesha

Div. IV-AA
1. Whittier Christian
2. Calvary Murrieta
3. Viewpoint
4. Arrowhead Christian
5. St Margaret's
6. Ontario Christian
7. Dunn
8. Sage Hill
9. Mary Star of the Sea
10. Laguna Blanca

Div. IV-A
1. Nordhoff
2. Big Bear
3. Notre Dame/R
4. Bishop Conaty
5. Upland Christian
6. Desert Chapel
7. Desert Chr/BD
8. Twentynine Palms
9. Grace Brethren
10. Villanova Prep

Div. V-AA
1. Santa Clarita Christian
2. Coastal Christian
3. Xavier Prep
4. Saddleback Valley Chr
5. Victor Valley Christian
6. Milken Community
7. Connelly
8. Lighthouse Christian
9. Hesperia Christian
10.Hillcrest Christian/GH

Div. V-A
1. Pacifica Christian
2. Wildwood
3. Marywood-Palm Valley
4. Cornerstone Chr/C
5. Lee Vining
6. Cornerstone Chr/W
7. Eastside Christian
8. Nuview Bridge
9. Calvary Baptist
10. Trinity Lutheran