STORIES OF THE YEAR : Tragedies Interrupted Triumphs

It was a year of looking for silver linings.

So when two young men died suddenly, both practicing the sports they loved, we mourned. And then we found solace in the astonishing exploits of other teen-aged athletes.

It was a year of trying to remain optimistic.

So when Northridge cut four men’s sports in response to a budget crunch and gender-equity laws, the community rose up in indignation. Something must be done, we said. And something was done.

It was a year of taking the good with the bad.

So when the once-proud Ventura College basketball program collapsed in scandal, we turned our eyes back to the high-scoring Collins twins as they carried Harvard-Westlake High to a second consecutive state title.

It was that kind of year.

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It was a year when bad news came unexpectedly of an accident at the Hart High track on an afternoon in late April. Heath Taylor, 17, was attempting a routine vault when he landed near the back of the mat and bounced off, striking his head on the adjacent asphalt.

In the days that followed, some track and field experts wondered why the hard surface, so close to the edge of the mat, had not been padded. Others wondered why Taylor had carried so far on a vault of just 10 feet, 1 1/2 feet below his personal best.

“He may have just run down the runway and, on that one occasion, got off one heck of a plant and take-off,” said Jan Johnson, an Olympic medalist and safety official with the USA Track and Field Assn.

Barely two months later, tragedy struck again. Julius Riofrir, a 17-year-old Verdugo Hills legion player, was fatally injured when he was hit in the head by a baseball that ricocheted inside a batting cage.

“Just as a seed must die to produce fruit, we must believe somehow that Julius’ death will produce good things,” Msgr. Eugene Frilot said at a funeral Mass attended by about 500 mourners. “That is our faith.”

Indeed, amid calamity, there were moments of inspiration.

At Notre Dame, not many miles east, Justin Fargas was proving himself to be one of the most talented prep athletes in the nation. Last spring, he pulled away from his Mission League rival, Alemany’s Miguel Fletcher, to win the state 100-meter dash. Come fall, Fargas ran for 2,816 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading Notre Dame to the Southern Section Division III championship game.

At Northridge, quarterback Aaron Flowers battled through injury to complete a spectacular career. Flowers finished with 6,766 passing yards and 54 touchdowns, both school records, in just two seasons.

And on the tennis court, Marissa Irvin won the junior doubles title at the U.S. Open, then returned to Harvard-Westlake and did not lose a set all season on her way to the Southern Section individual championship.

It was the first time in her high school career that the senior had found time in her busy tournament schedule to play for the Wolverines.

“This whole experience has been great,” Irvin said. “I always wanted to play for my school.”

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For better or worse, the overwhelming popularity of interscholastic athletics was accentuated in June when Northridge decided to eliminate men’s baseball, volleyball, soccer and swimming.

In the months before the announcement, the Matador athletic department had distinguished itself on several fronts. The basketball team had stormed through the Big Sky Conference tournament, losing the championship game in the final seconds and thereby losing a Cinderella invitation to the NCAA tournament. The baseball team, though snubbed by the NCAA selection committee, could take pride in its 42-20-1 season.

But the department had an $800,000 deficit and had not met requirements to provide equal opportunity for men and women athletes. So the cuts were made.

There was immediate outcry from athletes, coaches and the community at large. State Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) scrambled to come up with $586,000 in legislative funds to keep the teams alive for the 1997-1998 school year.

“Somehow you have to swallow the idea you’d like to kill them for the mistakes they’re making,” Wright said of Northridge administrators.

Apparently, those administrators came around to the senator’s way of thinking. On Dec. 22, university president Blenda J. Wilson promised to fund all sports through the spring of 1999 and indicated that she favored a “long-term commitment” to a full athletic program.

“I wish never to make another decision that would subject us to such assault,” Wilson said in a written statement.

Northridge volleyball player Pat Lufrano responded: “So she’s actually supporting us now? Cool.”

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There was no such happy ending at Ventura College. After winning state basketball championships in 1995 and ‘96, the Pirates were found to have violated state rules by providing players with money, free or reduced-rate meals and access to campus telephones, facilities and vehicles.

The program was placed on a two-year probation and Coach Virgil Watson was dismissed. The team quickly fell into disarray.

Two replacements were hired--one never showed up, the other walked away after a short time on the job. Several players said they would transfer or sit out the 1997-98 season.

Rather than field a patch-work squad, college president Larry Calderon announced in November that he would disband the team for one year.

“I feel like they stuck a dagger in my heart and cut my head off,” said Danny Herrera, a freshman forward who intended to play this season. “All of the guys are upset with the administration. I have no respect for them for what they did.”

Ventura’s woes provided a stark counterpoint to the glory of the Harvard-Westlake basketball team that pounded San Mateo Hillside, 80-50, last March to win a second state title.

The Studio City private school was carried to a 66-3 record over those two seasons by Jarron and Jason Collins, both of whom now play for Stanford. For Coach Greg Hilliard, the championship that came with the twins’ final game was bittersweet.

“There are a lot of emotions flying around,” Hilliard said. “About three-quarters of them good.”

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So it was a year of contrasts.

When two 12-year-olds were disqualified from the Woodland Hills Sunrise all-stars, their protest reached Superior Court where a judge not only refused to reinstate the players but also blamed “the egos of the parents” for dragging a child’s game into her courtroom.

At roughly the same time, Jason Gore of Valencia was making the very serious game of golf look like child’s play, leading Pepperdine to an NCAA championship.

Even as the Alemany girls’ basketball players committed 31 turnovers to let a title game slip through their fingers, teams at Santa Clara, Bell-Jeff, Buena and Oxnard rose to the occasion and won Southern Section championships.

Even as Mission College dropped its entire athletic program to save money, El Camino Real celebrated City Section 4-A championships in baseball and softball.

In a year filled with heartache and loss, it seemed all the more important to celebrate the winners.

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Staff writers Barbra Caliendo and Johannes Tesselaar contributed to this story.