GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD / Players to Watch

* Angela Allen, El Modena, 400, Sr.

* Ashley Bethel, Mission Viejo, 100H/100/200/LJ/HJ, Sr.

* Dana Bethel, Mission Viejo, 100H/300H/100/200/HJ/LJ, Fr.

* Sarah Bonilla, Brea Olinda, 100H/300H, Sr.

* Kellie Cramm, Laguna Beach, 200/400, Soph.

* Jessica Dahlberg, El Modena, 800, Sr.

* Denay Dominic, Canyon, 100/200, Jr.

* Heather Garritson, Buena Park, 1,600/3,200, Sr.

* Katherine Henze, Foothill, shotput/discus, Sr.

* Sarah Higham, Mission Viejo, PV/300H/HJ, Sr.

* Leslie Hoyler, Whittier Christian, Shotput, Sr.

* Jennifer Kraiman, Huntington Beach, 200/400, Sr.

* Gianna Laiola, Rosary, 400/800, Sr.

* Allyson Marquand, University, 1,600/3,200, Sr.

* Mary Moore, Woodbridge, 1,600, Sr.

* Liz Morse, Corona del Mar, 800, Soph.

* Maika Nelson, Brea Olinda, 200/400, Sr.

* Sunny Nicholas, Sunny Hills, 300H, Sr.

* Katy Rorem, Marina, PV, Sr.

* April Ross, Newport Harbor, HJ/LJ/TJ, Soph.

* Jill Santibanez, Katella, 800, Sr.

* Amanda Shanklin, Santa Margarita, 100H/300H/TJ/LJ, Jr.

* Meryl Stone, Woodbridge, 100/200, Jr.

League Favorites

Century: El Modena; Empire: El Dorado; Freeway: Sunny Hills; Garden Grove: La Quinta; Golden West: Rosary; Olympic: Calvary Chapel; Orange: Brea Olinda; Pacific Coast: University; Sea View: Santa Margarita; South Coast: Mission Viejo; Sunset: Esperanza.

Key Dates

March 20-21, Jack Bighead Relays at Santa Ana College; March 27-28, Tustin Relays; April 4, Trabuco Hills Invitational; April 11, Arcadia Invitational; April 17-19, Mt. San Antonio Invitational; April 25, Orange County Championships at Trabuco Hills High; May 23, Southern Section finals at Cerritos College; May 29, Southern Section Masters meet at Cerritos College; June 5-6, State meet at Cerritos College.

1997 Final Poll

1. Woodbridge; 2. Newport Harbor; 3. Edison; 4. Mission Viejo; 5. Foothill; 6. Santa Margarita; 7. Esperanza; 8. El Modena; 9. Marina; 10. Brea Olinda.

Notes

Top-ranked Mission Viejo bolsters its already strong team with the addition of freshmen Dana Bethel, who placed fifth in the pentathlon at the 1997 Junior Nationals, and Kendal Billingsly, who was third in the same event during 1996. Dana’s older sister, senior Ashley Bethel, is the nation’s top high school heptathlete . . . Seventh-ranked Brea Olinda has three sets of talented senior/freshman combinations, Sarah and Elizabeth Bonilla, Erin and Lindsey Kelly, and Michelle and Jenny Thune . . . Another young athlete to watch is sophomore Kellie Cramm of Laguna Beach, who won the Pacific Coast League title in the 200 and 400 meters, and was a member of the championship 400- and 1,600-relay teams . . . Rosary senior Gianna Laiola, who won the Golden West League title in the 400 and 800, underwent a kidney transplant four years ago . . . Sunny Hills’ Sunny Nicholas is the Freeway League’s top athlete.