Notre Dame Ends Loyola’s Streak

Junior sprinter Cary Harris of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won the 200 and 400 meters and ran the second leg on the victorious 400 relay team to lead the host Knights to a 65-62 victory over L.A. Loyola in a Mission League boys’ track and field meet Thursday.

The win gave Notre Dame (6-0, 6-0 in league) its first Mission League title and ended Loyola’s dual-meet winning streak at 110 and its league-title streak at 15.

Harris, best known in the 100, won the 200 in a wind-aided 22.03 seconds and the 400 in 49.24, and helped Notre Dame to a time of 42.91 in the 400 relay. He also ran a 49.5-second anchor leg on a Knight team that finished second in the 1,600 relay in a season-best 3:24.11.

Loyola (5-1, 5-1) cut a 60-44 deficit to 60-58 by sweeping the top three places in the 3,200 and winning the 1,600 relay in 3:23.19, but Notre Dame clinched the victory when junior Scott Tsuda won the triple jump at 44 feet 1 inch to give the Knights five points and their first league title since winning the San Fernando Valley League in 1989.

*

Senior Shalonda Solomon of Long Beach Poly won the girls’ 100 and 200 meters, and anchored the 400 relay team to victory to lead the defending state champion Jackrabbits to a 85-51 victory over host Long Beach Wilson in a Moore League meet.

Solomon posted hand times of 11.5 in the 100 and 23.6 in the 200 and anchored the relay team to a time of 45.6 and state-title favorite Poly handily defeated Wilson, which was missing injured sprinter Carol Rodriguez.

The victory gave Poly (6-0, 6-0 in league) its sixth consecutive dual-meet victory over Wilson, the runner-up in last year’s state championships, and its sixth consecutive league title.

*

Seniors Bryan Rodie and Josh Lubeck of Simi Valley Royal top the list of entries in today’s Ventura County championships at Moorpark High.

Rodie, who placed fourth in the 800 meters in the state championships last year, will attempt to win his third consecutive county title in that event.

He set a meet record of 1 minute 52.79 seconds last year while running in a driving rain.

Lubeck, the defending Southern Section Division I champion in the pole vault, is heavily favored to win his second consecutive county title.

The meet starts at 3 p.m.

John Ortega

*

Baseball

Saugus will need something short of a miracle to finish ahead of Valencia in the Foothill League this season, but the Centurions gained a lot of confidence for their playoff run Wednesday by defeating the Vikings, 4-0, behind a four-hitter from junior left-hander Thomas Milone and a three-run homer by junior Travis Babin.

The Centurions (15-5-1, 7-2-1) play host to last-place Burbank today, then close the regular season with two games each against Burbank Burroughs and Canyon Country Canyon, who are in the bottom half of the league standings.

Catching Valencia (13-6, 9-1), ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, will be difficult, Saugus Coach Casey Burrill said.

“All of us out here believe Valencia is the best team out here,” he said. “We firmly believe they have chance to win” a Southern Section title.

Milone (5-1) helped lower the Centurions’ earned-run average to 2.39 with his first shutout. Saugus has also been supported by senior left-hander Jason Pfau (3-2) and Babin (3-1, two saves), who have thrown one-hitters.

Dan Arritt

*

Softball

Eighth-ranked Anaheim Canyon took control of the Century League race when Kristen Aufdemberg hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Comanches a 4-3 victory over No. 21 Placentia El Dorado.

Heather Slettvet (7-5), returning to the circle after a 10-day layoff because of a kidney infection, pitched a six-hitter with three strikeouts and two walks over six innings.

El Dorado (14-5, 4-2) tied the score with three unearned runs in the sixth and Canyon committed two errors. Lisa Geer pitched the seventh, striking out two, to earn the save for Canyon (17-7, 5-1).

El Dorado plays Orange El Modena, which was 3-2 in league going into Thursday’s game against Brea Olinda, on Tuesday for second place.

*

Three-time Foothill League champion Valencia moved closer to a fourth title when Christina Ross threw her second perfect game of the season in a 1-0 victory over Newhall Hart, leaving both teams with a 5-1 league record.

Ross (11-4), who also has two no-hitters and six shutouts, drove in the only run for Valencia (16-4) with a second-inning single. She finished with eight strikeouts. Hart, which beat Ross when she threw a no-hitter in the first round of league play, is 11-8-1 overall.

Dan Loumena

*

Boys’ Tennis

Los Alamitos surged into the spotlight last season by winning 14 of its final 16 matches and advancing to the Southern Section Division I semifinals.

That streak has spilled into this season. The Griffins (15-0, 9-0 Sunset League) knocked off Sunset League rival Anaheim Esperanza, 11-7, to wrap up their second consecutive league crown. The Griffins defeated Irvine University, ranked No. 10 by The Times, 13-5, on Wednesday.

“We’re right there with the top teams,” Los Alamitos Coach Danielle Gardiner said.

The Griffins have made their run with three sophomores: No. 1 singles Taylor Leiby, No. 2 Derrick Dill and No. 3 Andrew Pham. The league singles tournament begins Wednesday.

Elia Powers

*

Miscellany

The Southern Section Council agreed to send its delegates to the California Interscholastic Federation meeting “uninstructed” so they can participate in making minor revisions to a state marketing plan that should be finished and approved May 9, section spokesman Thom Simmons said.

The council also passed its budget for next year, which includes a $10 fee increase for each team a school fields and a $2 increase in game officials’ fees over the next three years.

-- Dan Loumena