Sonora’s revival in the Freeway League under a well-known coach is one of storylines to watch during the final week of the regular season for boys water polo.
With 79-year-old Jim Sprague at the helm with co-coach Stephen Kim, the Raiders (14-13, 5-3) are locked in a three-way tie with Troy and La Habra for second place.
Sunny Hills has clinched at least share of the league crown with a 7-1 record.
Sonora plays at Buena Park on Tuesday and plays host to La Habra on Thursday. The games, scheduled for 3:15 p.m., will be meaningful, especially for a Sonora program that finished 1-9 in league last season.
“The kids have bought-in to double workouts (morning and afternoon) and watching film,” said Sprague, a six-time CIF champion now in his second season at Sonora. “I’m still the video master.”
The Raiders feature only nine upperclassmen but have developed enough talent to contend. Senior Kyle Shubin scored twice in overtime last week as Sonora beat defending league champion Troy, 13-12.
Seniors Daniel Babashoff and Chance Lyster play 2 meters while Conrad Napier and goalie Ben Angula are promising sophomores. Babashoff’s great aunt is Olympic swimming great Shirley Babashoff, the gold medalist and world-record holder from Fountain Valley.
Sprague said the Raiders have battled to be consistent, a trait he believes has hit several other Freeway League teams.
“There’s no cinches in this league,” he said.
Tuesday’s schedules also features Foothill at rival Villa Park for the Century League title and San Clemente at Dana Hills for the South Coast League crown.
– DAN ALBANO
CROSS COUNTRY
Cross country league championships were on the line last week, and none was better than the Sunset League Finals at Central Park on Saturday. Huntington Beach’s George Gleason took the top spot with a time of 15:46, helping the Oilers scrape by Edison, 41-44.
The Huntington Beach boys captured their first Sunset League team title since 1995.
Katherine Izzo (18:41) paced Los Alamitos as it took the Sunset League girls team title. Edison’s Julia Sienski ran an 18:13 to defend her individual league championship.
In the Empire League Finals, three of the girls teams were separated at the end by a combined eight points. Kennedy’s Emily Park grabbed the top spot with a time of 18:26 as the Irish beat Valencia, 51-56. Cypress came in third with 59 points.
Laguna Beach swept the Orange Coast League Finals. The scoring quintet of Brenna Merchant, Kirsten Landsiedel, Pearl Shoemaker, Janie Crawford and Natalie Kimball took the top five spots as the Breakers dominated the girls meet.
Laguna Beach doubled up Godinez, 28-56, in winning the boys race. Costa Mesa’s Anuare Magana recorded the best time by running the 3-mile course in 15:10.
In the Pacific Coast League, Woodbridge won the boys title, 30-48, over Northwood. Corona del Mar bested Northwood, 32-53, to win the girls meet.
– ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
GOLF
Six girls in the top 30 of the AJGA Polo national rankings will tee off Thursday at Western Hills Country Club during the CIF-SS Individual Championship, including Amy Lee (Brea Olinda), Lilia Vu (Fountain Valley) and Madie Chou (Foothill).
Lee, who finished second in the Northern Individual regional, is ranked 18th, followed by Vu (19th) and Chou (30th). Last week, Chou earned medalist honors at the Northern Team Regional championship by posting a 4-under-par 68 Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai. She tied fourth in the Northern Individual Regional two days earlier at River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard, shooting an even-par 72.
Diamond Bar senior Bethany Wu holds the highest spot in the AJGA’s point standings, entering the Individual Championship tournament in second place. She is one of three players in the top 10 competing on Thursday in Chino Hills.
Wu lost the Southern Individual championship to Troy senior Ysabel Tran on a card-off. …
Tesoro senior Gordon Neale, No. 11 in the AJGA Polo boys national rankings, is an AJGA All Amerian first team selection, the sanctioning body announced on Thursday.
Neale, who recently represented the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup, has finished in the top 10 in four of his last six AJGA tournaments.
Woodbridge junior Hide Yoshihara, who finished fourth at the Junior PLAYERS Championship, has been selected a Second Team All American. Lee and Vu were second team selections.
Chou, Alyaa Abdulgahny (Corona del Mar), Beth Lillie (Troy) and Fullerton resident Stephanie Lau (Valley Christian) were honorable mentions
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS TENNIS
Capistrano Valley star Katie Ta committed to Brown last week, choosing to continue her tennis career at the Ivy League school.
Ta, the Register’s reigning player of the year, will make her decision official on Nov. 12, the first day that student-athletes can sign a national letter of intent during the early signing period.
The Cougars’ top player won the South Coast League singles title last week, making it three consecutive seasons as a league’s top individual player. In the past two seasons, Ta earned the Sea View League singles crown.
While Capistrano Valley did not qualify for the CIF-SS team playoffs, Ta will continue her season at CIF Individuals later this month. The senior advanced to the semifinals of individuals last season, and she will look to improve upon that performance in the coming weeks.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The wild ride that has been the regular season in the Sunset League finally comes to an end Tuesday night.
Huntington Beach and Los Alamitos begin the week tied for first place at 7-2. The Oilers host Marina on Tuesday, and with a victory they would clinch at least a share of the league title. The Oilers could get the outright league title if Edison defeats Los Alamitos.
In their first match, the Griffins defeated the Chargers in five sets.
Another match to keep an eye on is in JSerra against Santa Margarita in the Trinity League. If the Lions lose, they would be tied with Orange Lutheran at 3-5 in the league. That would force a one-match playoff on Wednesday at Orange Lutheran at 4 p.m.
The pairings for the CIF-SS playoffs will be released Friday afternoon. Entering the week, Aliso Niguel (1A), Sage Hill (3AA) and Saddleback Valley Christian (3A) are the top-ranked teams in their divisions.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
