BREAKING NEWS
* The City Section gives final approval on March 10 to realign teams in the Valley, creating three six-team leagues and eliminating two eight-team conferences each comprised of two four-team leagues.
* Michael Preis of Chatsworth, a forward for Cal State Northridge, is selected to play for the U.S. under-23 national soccer team and makes his international debut on April 7 against Brazil in Sao Paolo.
* Amy Skieresz, a seven-time NCAA champion in track and cross-country from Agoura High, decided in April to pass up the indoor and outdoor track seasons in 2000 and the chance to surpass the NCAA record of nine individual titles by Suzy Favor of Wisconsin. Skieresz graduated this month from Arizona.
* Gary Barlow, Valley College football coach for two seasons, announced on May 4 that he would resign and return to his hometown of Stockton and San Joaquin Delta College to become an assistant.
* Greg Winslow, a 1982 Buena High graduate, on May 18 becomes the men’s basketball coach at Ventura College, which suspended the program for two years after a series of violations. Winslow was the San Bernardino Valley coach the previous two seasons.
* Dick Dull, 53, is hired May 26 as athletic director by Cal State Northridge. Dull was athletic director at Maryland during the Len Bias tragedy.
* The Times learns on May 27 that Cal State Northridge launched an internal investigation about possible NCAA rules violations in the football program. An anonymous letter triggered the investigation.
* Carl Ferrill, who has a .780 winning percentage as a head football coach on the junior college and university levels, is hired on June 3 by Valley College to replace Gary Barlow.
* Barry Zito, former Pierce College and USC pitcher, is selected ninth overall in the baseball amateur draft by the Oakland Athletics on June 2. Scott Rice of Royal High is the first high school player from the region selected. The Baltimore Orioles chose him in the supplemental first round with the 44th overall pick.
* Maureen LeCocq of Chaminade, who finished a varsity career with 14 consecutive shutouts and 92 scoreless innings, is selected the Gatorade Circle of Champions national softball player of the year on June 5.
* A civic group, including several members of the Cal State Northridge Presidential Advisory Board, gathers June 9 to call for a review of the hiring of Dick Dull as athletic director. Supporters of candidate Robert Arias are unable to prevent the hiring of Dull.
* When Nevada announced it would leave the Big West Conference on June 9, speculation begins that a domino effect could result in Northridge leaving the Big Sky Conference to join the Big West. As other football-playing members of the Big West leave in the fall and the Northridge baseball team joins the softball team as associate members of the Big West, the Big West Conference says Northridge and Riverside are being considered for membership. By December, Big West officials have visited Northridge twice and it appears an offer will be tendered as early as January.
* The Times learns on June 10 that Northridge reported several minor violations of NCAA rules among six sports programs since ’97. The investigation of the football program continues.
* Larry Mohr resigns as football coach at Canyon High on June 18. Mohr had been given a letter of warning after allegations that he was associating with a female student at Canyon after school hours.
* Mike Kunes of Chatsworth is selected City baseball player of the year for the second consecutive season on June 18.
* Damian Scribner is relieved of his duties as Crescenta Valley girls’ basketball coach and placed on unpaid administrative leave in June pending an investigation into alleged inappropriate behavior with a female student.
* Nancy Ma, an All-Big Sky Conference volleyball player at Cal State Northridge, transfers to Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school, because she is 26 and no longer eligible to play NCAA sports.
* In late June, officials at Cal State Northridge begin confirming that assistant football coach Rob Phenicie will be leaving the program, presumably forced out as a result of the investigation of potential NCAA rules violations.
* Michael Abraham, former Cal State Northridge women’s basketball coach, pleads guilty in July to a charge of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He is sentenced on Dec. 3 to 18 months in federal prison.
* Brent Carder, football coach at Antelope Valley College, announces on July 13 that he will file a request to investigate whether Chuck Lyon and his assistants at College of the Canyons were recruiting players at an Antelope Valley high school all-star game. Lyon denies the allegations and the charges are eventually dropped.
* Cal State Northridge fires football coach Ron Ponciano on July 16, citing substantial NCAA violations in the program. The university spent two months investigating claims raised by an anonymous letter charging 20 violations of NCAA rules.
* It is learned on July 20 that Darryl McDonald, Alemany High boys’ basketball, who took the Indians from a winless league record to the Mission League title in his first season, was a registered sex offender hired unknowingly by the Mission Hills school and by his other employer, North Valley YMCA. McDonald is suspended by Alemany and the YMCA. He would later plead guilty in December to submitting false fingerprints for an employment background check.
* Cal State Northridge hires former assistant football coach Jeff Kearin, who had left after the 1998 season to join John Robinson’s staff at Nevada Las Vegas, as interim coach on July 22. After guiding the Matadors to a 5-6 season, 4-4 in Big Sky Conference play, Kearin is given a four-year contract on Dec. 20.
* Cal State Northridge gives baseball Coach Mike Batesole a four-year contract on July 22.
* Dave Bessler, who was twice dismissed as girls’ volleyball coach at Van Nuys High, is rehired to coach the team, it is learned in early August.
* Courtney Young, a sophomore All-American girls’ basketball player at Crossroads High in Santa Monica, announces on Aug. 6 she will transfer to Buena High in Ventura. The Bulldogs open the 1999-2000 season ranked No. 7 in the nation.
* Cal State Northridge’s student senate votes, 14-0, to put a referendum on the fall ballot to seek students to approve a fee hike to help build a football and soccer stadium, a baseball stadium and a recreation center. The referendum is eventually delayed because of problems with the proposal and finally canceled.
* Cal State Northridge releases a 130-page report on Aug. 12 regarding the investigation of the football program, stating former coach Ron Ponciano committed a litany of NCAA rules violations and suggesting the program be put on probation for two years. Among the violations are misappropriation of funds, oversight of a non-university bank account and providing players with improper payments and meals.
* The Archdiocese of Los Angeles places longtime Alemany High Athletic Director Dudley Rooney on paid administrative leave on Aug. 27 in the wake of the disclosure that former boys’ basketball coach Darryl McDonald was a registered sex offender. Rooney was later fired. After a grievance process, he returned to the school as a teacher and softball coach.
* Dean Bradshaw resigns on Sept. 13 as coach of the Simi Valley boys’ basketball team after an 11-year tenure filled with success and controversy. Bradshaw, who had a 215-81 record, said he wanted to spend more time watching his teenage son play.
* The City Section changed the name of its playoff formats on Sept. 22 for the third time in three years, keeping the City Championship as its top playoff division and changing the lower division from City Division to City Invitational playoffs. Until two years ago, the major championship had been the 4-A Division and the lower playoffs the 3-A Division.
* Jon Garland, from Kennedy High, out-duels Barry Zito, from Pierce College, in game three of the triple-A World Series on Sept. 23. Garland’s Charlotte club defeated Zito’s Vancouver team, 4-2.
* Keith Borges and Craig Wall, former assistant coaches with the Cal State Northridge football team, file claims of $3 million each on Oct. 8 against the university for loss of jobs. The two had been reassigned to the physical education department in the wake of the investigation that led to Ron Ponciano’s dismissal as coach.
* The Big Sky Conference on Nov. 3 suspends Gentry Green of Cal State Northridge, a freshman forward from Canyon High, for one game for her role in a post-game fight in a 1-0 victory over Idaho State on Oct. 31.
* Nine football players at Crescenta Valley High are suspended in early November for one or two games for their part in the misuse of a credit card. The Falcons win the first game after the suspensions but lose the second to finish in a three-way tie for first in the Pacific League.
* Bill Redell, successful football coach at St. Francis High, announces on Dec. 6 he will leave the Golden Knight program to start the program at Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
* Catrin Nilsmark of Sweden wins the third, and final, Valley of the Stars LPGA tournament at Oakmont Country Club on Feb. 14 when Annika Sorenstam three-putts on the first playoff hole.
* The Northridge women clinch the Big Sky basketball title with a 60-47 victory over Weber State on Feb. 25, culminating a season that began in the fall of ’98 with the arrest of then-coach Michael Abraham on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
* The Ventura College women’s basketball team wins the Southern California regional and advances to the state tournament with a 70-55 victory over Santa Ana on March 5. The Cougars make it to the state final before losing, 62-60, to Sierra.
* John Garfinkel of Highland finished third in the state at 160 pounds and Trevor Clocherty of Ventura placed fourth at 140 pounds in the state wrestling championships on March 6.
* Chatsworth’s girls’ soccer team defeats San Pedro, 1-0, to win its fourth consecutive City Championship on March 6. The Chancellors are 204-19-5 in their 11-year history with nine section titles.
* El Camino Real’s boys’ soccer team wins its first City Championship with a 1-0 victory over Locke on March 6.
* Hart’s girls’ soccer team wins a share of the Southern Section Division II title by playing to a 1-1 tie with Woodbridge on March 6.
* Chaminade’s girls’ soccer team ties Bishop Montgomery, 1-1, on March 6 in the Southern Section Division IV championship to earn a share of its third consecutive section title.
* Poly beats Jefferson, 59-53, to win the City Division boys’ basketball title on March 6.
* Chaminade wins, 45-40, over Corona Del Mar for the Southern Section Division III-A boys’ basketball championship on March 6.
* Santa Clara defeats Pasadena Poly, 75-52, to win the Southern Section Division V-AA boys’ basketball title on March 5.
* The Master’s College men’s basketball teams wins the Far West regional and advances to the NAIA tournament with an 87-77 victory over Christian Heritage on March 6.
* The Northridge women’s basketball team wins the Big Sky tournament with a 79-65 victory over Portland State on March 6. The Matadors fell, 71-59, to No. 4-ranked Colorado State in first round of NCAA tournament.
* Harvard-Westlake beats Rosary, 72-50, to win the Southern Regional Division III girls’ basketball title and advance to the state final.
* Santa Clara defeats El Cajon Christian, 93-55, to capture the Southern Regional Division V boys’ basketball title and advance to the state final.
* Taft wins the boys’ volleyball City Championship by upsetting No. 1-seeded Monroe on May 14. Kennedy wins the City Division final.
* Crescenta Valley captures its second consecutive Southern Section Division II boys’ swimming title on May 15.
* Granada Hills wins the City Section girls’ swimming title for the fifth consecutive season by finishing 128 points ahead of El Camino Real on May 19.
* Cal State Northridge women’s track team wins the Big Sky Conference title on May 22; the men finish second.
* Cal Lutheran wins the West Regional and advances to NCAA Division III baseball championships.
* El Camino Real captures its 12th City Section softball title as Ashley Redlin pitches a one-hitter on May 25.
* Taft wins its second consecutive City Section girls’ track and field title, 82-78, over Birmingham on May 27. Taft was second to Dorsey in the boys’ meet.
* Harvard-Westlake wins its third consecutive section title by defeating Irvine University, 10-8, on June 2 in the Division II boys tennis championship match.
* Chatsworth downs Poly, 17-7, on June 3 to win its second City Championship baseball title of the ‘90s. The Chancellors were runners-up three times in the decade. Cleveland won the City Division title, 3-1, over Huntington Park.
* Chaminade routs Bloomington, 10-0, on June 4 to capture the Southern Section Division IV softball title, its first in school history.
* Grace Brethren wins the Southern Section Division VI baseball title by defeating Rio Hondo Prep, 6-2, on June 4.
* Hart sends longtime Coach Bud Murray out a winner by beating Righetti, 10-9, for the Southern Section Division II baseball title on June 5.
* Cornerstone Christian captures the Southern Section Division VI softball title with a 4-0 victory over Boron on June 5.
* Blaine Bussey of Taft, Josh Spiker of Ventura and Lauren Fleshman of Canyon capture state track and field titles. Bussey won at 400 meters, Spiker and Fleshman at 3,200 meters.
* Tim Hogarth of Chatsworth wins the California Amateur golf title by beating Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill on the second playoff hole, the 38th the two played on June 26.
* Encino resident Hana Kim of Brentwood High wins the Southern Section girls’ golf title on Nov. 16 and her sister, Ina Kim of Harvard-Westlake, wins a three-way playoff for second.
* Granada Hills High wins the girls City Championship tennis title on Nov. 19 with a 4-3 victory over Carson.
* Ventura College earns a share of the Western State Conference football title on Nov. 20 with a 38-25 victory over Santa Barbara. The Pirates (9-1, 5-1 in league play) would lose the WSC Bowl title to co-champion Hancock, 20-13, on Dec. 4.
* La Canada High beats Crescenta Valley, 12-6, on Nov. 23 to claim the Southern Section Division III boys’ water polo title.
* Anita Siraki of Hoover High in Division I, Rae Stumbough of Nordhoff in Division IV, Tom Kubler of Viewpoint High and the Flintridge Prep boys’ team in Division V won state cross-country championships on Nov. 27.
* Grace Brethren High defeats Heritage League rival Faith Baptist, 33-25, on Dec. 4 to win the Southern Section Eight-Man Large Schools Division football title and finish unbeaten in 12 games.
* Moorpark College wins the state junior college wrestling title on Dec. 4 by defeating Palomar, 107 1/2-98. Arsen Aleksanyan of the Raiders wins the 133-pound title while teammates Juan Roman (141) and Cristobal Gonzalez (184) were second.
* Westlake High claims its first Southern Section football title under 11th-year Coach Jim Benkert with a 24-21 victory over San Luis Obispo in the Division IV championship on Dec. 10.
* Hart High defends its Southern Section Division III football title by defeating cross-town rival Valencia, 34-6, on Dec. 11.
* St. Bonaventure High wins the Southern Section Division XI football title on Dec. 11 by defeating Nordhoff, 22-15, in the final minute.
* Paraclete lands its third consecutive Southern Section title with a 43-6 rout of Kilpatrick on Dec. 11 in the Division XII title game.
RETIREMENTS
* On March 29, Lou Cvijanovich, 72, of Santa Clara High, the winningest boys’ basketball coach in state history with 829 victories, 15 Southern Section championships and three state titles, retires.
* On May 5, Bud Murray, 63, of Hart High announces he will retire at the end of the year. The Indians win their first Southern Section title in Murray’s 22 years at the school. He won more than 500 games.
* On May 20, Jack Sidwell of Chatsworth High says he will retire after 11 years. He started the soccer program and guided the Chancellors to nine City Section titles.
* On June 25, Clyde Richards of Burbank High announces he is retiring after 13 seasons and 12 consecutive Foothill League tennis titles. The Bulldogs were 166-2 in league play and won the 1993 Southern Section Division III title.
PASSINGS
* Dennis Shearer, 52, a popular girls’ basketball coach at Louisville, on Jan. 15, of complications from leukemia.
* George Ker, 76, who coached football, track and field and cross-country from 1958-89 at Valley College, on April 13.
* Marty Siegel, 79, an assistant baseball coach, scorekeeper and booster at Cleveland High for more than 25 years, at his home on May 1.
* Paul Sutton, 41, longtime athletic director and coach at Providence High in Burbank, on Aug. 19, at his home in Simi Valley of complications from colon cancer.
* Dave Marshall Jr., 33, an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Royal High, on Dec. 27, of complications from lymphoma.
STREAKS
* Saugus ended Hart’s girls’ basketball Foothill League winning streak at 47 games with a 39-33 upset on Feb. 11.
* Buena finished Channel League girls’ basketball play unbeaten this year and with a 66-game league winning streak intact.
* Sylmar sets the state football record for consecutive league wins with 69 when it defeats Van Nuys, 56-15, on Sept. 22. One week later the streak ends with a 21-20 loss to Kennedy.
* Hart finishes Foothill League football play 5-0 to extend its league winning streak to 43 games.
RECORDS
* Rafael Berumen scored 53 points for Simi Valley in a 110-81 victory over Agoura in a Marmonte League boys’ basketball game on Feb. 12.
* The Master’s College women’s basketball team set a school record with 28 victories during a season in which it qualified for the NAIA tournament with an at-large berth.
* Aaron Arnold became Cal State Northridge’s all-time leading receiver with 2,699 yards, 197 receptions and 26 touchdown catches in his career.
* Manuel White of Valencia High becomes the third football player in region history to rush for more than 6,000 yards in his career. He finished with a region-record 6,686 yards.
* Jermaine Marshall of Camp Kilpatrick set several rushing and scoring records. His 3,586 yards rushing is a single-season state record. His 59 touchdowns is a region record and two short of the state record.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
* Carlos Morales of Reseda High for boys’ soccer; Erin Misaki of Hart for girls’ soccer.
* Gilbert Arenas of Grant High for Valley and Rafael Berumen of Simi Valley for Ventura County boys’ basketball; Omelogo Udeze of Harvard-Westlake for Valley girls’ basketball and Damaris Hinojosa of Moorpark for Ventura County girls’ basketball.
* John Garfinkel of Highland High for wrestling.
* Jeanine Jackson of Harvard-Westlake for girls’ water polo.
* Philip Sheng of Thousand Oaks High for boys’ tennis.
* Cam Dickson of Royal High for boys’ volleyball.
* Josh Spiker of Ventura High for boys’ track and field.
* Lauren Fleshman of Canyon High for girls’ track and field.
* Anthony Ervin of Hart High for boys’ swimming.
* Amy Jones of Cleveland High for girls’ swimming.
* Jamie Shields of Hart High is player of the year and Mike Kunes of Chatsworth is pitcher of the year for baseball in the Valley.
* Kevin Howard of Westlake is player of the year and Chris Cordeiro of Thousand Oaks is pitcher of the year for baseball in Ventura County.
* Jodie Cox of Quartz Hill High is player of the year and Maureen LeCocq of Chaminade is pitcher of the year for softball in the Valley.
* Oli Keohohou of Newbury Park High is player of the year and Kathryn Nevard of Camarillo is pitcher of the year for softball in Ventura County.
* Roy Moon of Royal High for boys’ golf.
* Jason Falitz of Burroughs High for boys’ water polo.
* Courtney Schultz of Harvard-Westlake High for girls’ volleyball.
* Tom Kubler of Viewpoint High for boys’ cross-country.
* Anita Siraki of Hoover High for girls’ cross-country.
* Jasmin Dao of Granada Hills High for girls’ tennis.
* Patrick Norton of Hart High for Valley football, with De’Andre Scott of Alemany and Manuel White of Valencia as co-offensive players of the year.
* Chris Catalano of Westlake High for Ventura County football, with D.J. Blackledge of Buena offensive player of the year and Jordan Lampos of Westlake as defensive player of the year.
