Orange County Roundup : Stewart Is Grand Marshal for Truck Jamboree

Ivan Stewart, off-road racing champion, will be the grand marshal for the first Budweiser California Truck Jamboree beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Stewart, a Toyota factory driver, earned the nickname “Iron Man” when he became the first competitor to drive the entire route of the Baja 1000.

More than 200 custom street and off-road trucks are expected to compete for cash prizes and trophies in classes that include classic (Ford and Chevrolet pre-1959), compact trucks, off-road vehicles and full-size trucks. The best-of-show winner will be awarded a trophy and $250.

Several monster trucks also will be exhibited.

For more information, call 364-1745.

The Huntington Beach Lions Club will be host of the second annual California State Championship Triathlon Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier.

More than 1,200 triathletes are expected to compete in the event, which begins at 7 a.m.

Prizes include a trip for two to Hawaii. For more information, call Bob Thomason at 891-7756.

More than 200 lifeguards from California will compete for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes at the Bud Light Ocean Festival Sunday at the Manhattan Beach Pier.

The event, last of a 10-part series, will be highlighted by the Individual Ocean Iron Man competition at 1 p.m.

The Iron Man event involves a 400-meter swim, a 600-meter paddleboard, a 800-meter surf ski (a kayak-like vessel), and a 1,000-meter dory boat race.

Following the same course, the Ocean Iron Man relay begins at 3 p.m.

Four-time Iron Man champion Mitch Kahn and his 1986 champion team from San Clemente will lead the field in the relay.

The festival begins with the Masters 1,500-meter swim at 10 a.m.

Other events include a two-man team dory race at 11:30 a.m.; a sand-castle building contest at 12 p.m.; a 1,000-meter surf ski competition at 1:30 p.m., and a 1,000-meter paddleboard race at 2 p.m.

Admission to compete is $10 per event. The sand castle contest is free and open to the public. The event is free for spectators.

For more information, call (213) 457-2440.

Chapman College’s men’s soccer team will make its 1987 debut tonight at 7:30 when it hosts its alumni at Chapman Stadium.

The Panthers, ranked as high as third in Division II in 1986, will feature 13 returning players, including senior striker Rick Snyder, the leading scorer the past two seasons, and junior goalkeeper Keri Bello, a starter in 12 games after transferring from Golden West College last year.

The alumni roster includes two-time All-California Collegiate Athletic Association halfback Doug Neely and four of the Panthers’ 10 ten career scorers: Eddie Alvarez (No. 1 with 100 points), Mike Perry (fifth, 58), Moi Garcia (sixth, 56) and John Reynolds (10th, 35).

The Costa Mesa Seniors Softball organization is seeking players age 55 and older for its two slow-pitch softball teams.

The season, which begins in late September, will feature a 26-team league from several Orange County cities.

Costa Mesa teams practice Saturdays from 9-11 a.m. at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa. Games are played on Sundays at Murdy Park and Greer Park in Huntington Beach.

For more information, call Peter Similuk at 957-2515.

The Newport Harbor Lawn Bowling Club will host a Coast League tournament Friday, Sept. 4, beginning at 10 a.m.

Eight local lawn bowling clubs--Casta del Sol, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Newport Harbor, Recreation Park, Saddleback, Santa Ana and The Groves--will compete.

The tournament is open to the public. For more information, call 644-4138.

Around the Area Southern California Christian High School’s cheerleading squad won top honors in the national cheerleading championships held at UCLA last week. Wendy Ondrak, a senior, won Outstanding Cheerleader and a trip to the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii Christmas Day.