Seven Chosen as Scholar Finalists

Seven high school athletes from the region are among 130 finalists for state scholar-athlete of the year awards sponsored by Arco AM/PM and the California Interscholastic Federation.

Forty-six scholarship winners--including state male and female scholar-athletes of the year--will be announced Thursday.

The local finalists are: Scott Brokaw, Chatsworth High, Mercedes Coronado, Bell-Jeff track and field, Esther Gurrola, Fillmore basketball and softball, Bismark Lepe, Oxnard cross-country and track, Stephen Martin, Oak Park cross-country and track, Damien Ritter, Monroe basketball and baseball, and Catherine Smith, Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball.

BASKETBALL

Spread the wealth: Grant junior Gilbert Arenas and North Hollywood senior Keron Wilkerson have been named co-Most Valuable Players in the East Valley League.

Arenas, a 6-foot-3 point guard, averaged 29.8 points and six assists in leading the Lancers to a share of the league title with North Hollywood. Wilkerson, a 6-4 forward, averaged 24 points for the Huskies.

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Taft seniors Brandyn Fisher and Harold Shevlin have been named co-Most Valuable Players in the West Valley League.

Fisher averaged 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds and Shevlin averaged 16.1 points and 5.1 assists for the Toreadors, who won the league title by two games.

Honors for Harrison: Hart High forward Melissa Harrison was selected Foothill League player of the year. Harrison, a 5-10 senior, averaged 16.9 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Indians (21-3).

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Kameelah Purdom of Highland High was chosen Golden League player of the year. Purdom, a senior forward who averaged 15 points a game, led the Bulldogs (18-6) to their first postseason appearance in the program’s six years.

WCC honors: Dana Sulenski, a 5-9 junior guard, was one of two Waves selected to the all-conference team and was chosen WCC player of the week.

Sulenski and teammate Jenny Frank, a 6-2 junior center, were among 11 All-WCC players chosen by conference coaches. Senior point guard Angie White was honorable mention.

Sulenski earned her first player-of-week award after scoring 45 points in victories over Gonzaga and Portland, including a career-best 27 against Gonzaga.

Sulenski’s hot hand is one of the reasons the Waves are considered a serious threat to Santa Clara in the WCC tournament. Pepperdine (20-9), which has never advanced past the semifinals, plays Gonzaga (11-15) in a first-round game at noon Thursday at Santa Clara.

FOOTBALL

Getting started at COC: New College of the Canyons Coach Chuck Lyon has reached agreement to hire former Burroughs High Coach Robert Dos Remedios as offensive coordinator. Former Canyon High linebacker Scott Blade, an assistant at Glendale College, is expected to join the program as a defensive coach. Former Valley College assistant Joey Charles also will likely join the Cougars.

BASEBALL

In the spotlight: A City Section baseball preview show will air Thursday at 10 p.m. on KLCS, Channel 58. The 90-minute program provides a look at the top high school baseball teams and players from the City Section. It will be repeated on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on March 26 at 8 p.m.

EQUESTRIAN

Ride on: Olympic riders Gunter Seidel and Steffan Peters will participate in the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair, starting Friday and running through Sunday at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. There will be shows and clinics from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.