Briefly In Sports

Ex-Charger Warde earns All-American honor

Former Edison High star Danielle Warde was one of four UC Irvine players named to the Assn. of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-America teams. Courtney Collyer (Santa Barbara), Jessy Cardey (Poly, Riverside) and Caitlin Haskell (Buchanan High, Fresno) also were named to the teams.

UCI had four players honored in the same year for the first time. Warde, a utility player, was named Big West Freshman of the Year for the 2011 season. She scored 60 goals, the most by a freshman in a single season at UCI. Five of those goals came in an NCAA tournament victory over Iona, which was the first win in NCAA tournament play by UCI. The Anteaters went 23-9 and won the Big West tournament title for the third consecutive year.

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Linemen get their turn in spotlight

Dana Hills took top honors and host Fountain Valley finished in third place Saturday at the 22nd annual Fountain Valley High School Lineman Competition. Varsity linemen from 12 schools — Fountain Valley, Dana Hills, Huntington Beach, St. John Bosco, Sonora, Magnolia, Los Amigos, La Habra, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Kennedy and Garden Grove — participated in the competition. La Habra finished second in an event that had linemen compete in bench press, power clean, the truck push, hurdle relay, the iron man relay and the tug-of-war.

“It was a great event that gives the guys, who grind it out in the pit, an opportunity to showcase their athletic skills,” Fountain Valley Coach John Shipp said. “These events allow the competitors to really showcase all of their skills where strength, speed and agility are a must in order to compete. In the end, the goal is to really bring these guys closer together, as they really need to work as a unit in order to be successful. There were some very talented football players in the event.”

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Local squads fare well in Chino Hills

The Huntington Beach Water Polo Club 18s and 16s teams participated last weekend at the Hale Summer Tournament in Chino Hills. The tournament, the last major Southern California event before the start of the 2011 Boys’ National Junior Olympic Championships, started Friday and concluded Sunday.

The 18U boys’ team finished second in its division. Huntington Beach soundly defeated Foothill Water Polo Club and FLO Water Polo Club before edging Rose Bowl Water Polo Club, 10-9, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Huntington easily defeated host Chino Hills Area Water Polo, 8-3. Huntington fell in the division final to San Diego Shores, 8-2. Coach Brian Anderson said he was pleased with his team’s “putting a good product in the pool” before the start of the Junior Olympics. Anderson said his squad received key contributions from John Lovat, Noah Harrison and Ian Arnold.

The 16U boys’ team also competed in the 18U Division and earned an 11th-place finish out of 32 teams. Huntington defeated Commerce, THills (Tualatin Water Polo Club, Oregon), and capped the tournament with a win over FLO Water Polo Club in the 11th-place game. Losses were to LA Water Polo Club and South Coast. Anderson said the team was paced by Jovan Jeremic, Justin Harrison and the defensive efforts of Brandon Lucia and Scott Schultz.

The Boys’ National Junior Olympic Championships start Saturday at various venues in Orange County. The tournament runs through Tuesday. The girls’ Junior Olympics open Aug. 4, also in Orange County.

— From Staff Reports