Brea Olinda’s Austin Tamagno became the first male runner since El Toro’s Brandon Bethke (2003-2004) to win back-to-back Orange County Championships on Saturday when he ran a 14:31 to capture the boys sweepstakes title.
This week, Tamagno will attempt to break his course record at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut as he competes in the Mt. SAC Invitational.
Tamagno indicated that running against top competition fuels him to faster times, as it did when he ran a 14:23 at Mt. SAC last season.
“I’m going to push myself in the beginning,” Tamagno said of the Mt. SAC Invitational. “I have to if I want to go on to get a course record.
“I don’t have Robert Brandt (of Loyola) this year. He led half the race.”
Other notable performances came out of the Orange County Championships, including the continued rise of a young and talented Valencia boys team. Juniors David Pacheco (first) and Jesus Moreno (second) led the Tigers to a 56-97 win over Mission Viejo in the Division 2 varsity race.
In the Division 2 girls race, El Toro’s Hannah Tobin emerged as the individual winner with a time of 18:11. Aliso Niguel topped Fountain Valley, 100-111, for the team title.
On Friday, it was the Yorba Linda boys that delivered an impressive display. Zack Joseph and Henry Silva took the top two spots as Yorba Linda won the small schools varsity race, 61-69, over Servite.
Nadia Tabrizi’s third-place finish led JSerra past Yorba Linda, 82-88, in the girls meet. El Dorado’s Lucina Vincent (17:41) won by 19 seconds over Northwood’s Samantha Murphy.
– ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
GIRLS GOLF
Santa Margarita and Valencia completed perfect regular seasons last week.
The Eagles won the Trinity League title while finishing 14-0, while the Empire League champion Tigers posted an 11-0 record.
Valencia has won 23 consecutive matches dating to the start of the 2014 season.
For the Eagles, this was their first undefeated season since 2009, the last in a string of three perfect seasons in a row.
Brittany Park, the Tigers’ No. 1 player, is averaging 35.8 strokes in nine-hole matches. She closed the season with a 5-under-par 32 on the front nine at Alta Vista Country Club, one stroke off Tiger Woods’ course record for boys. Woods was a varsity player for Western in the 1990s.
Parks’ round was still historic, setting a school record and a course record for girls.
Santa Margarita’s Rylie Edwards is a three-time medalist this season. She shot a 4-under-par 32 on the South Course at Coto de Caza Country Club, which set a school record on the Eagles’ home course.
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
St. Margaret’s defeated Sage Hill in five sets in the first match between Academy League rivals.
The Lightning came back Friday to defeat the Tartans in four sets, 17-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-10, behind Jamie Dailey’s 19 kills.
The impact of that victory was felt in this week’s CIF-SS Division 3AA rankings. St. Margaret’s, whic was No. 1 in the division, slipped to No. 3. Sage Hill moved up to No. 2, and Elsinore took over at No. 1.
If they stay at their current spots, a third match could come in the 3AA semifinals.
The teams met in the CIF finals in 2011, 2012 and last year.
The CIF-SS girls volleyball playoff pairings will be released Nov. 6
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
BOYS WATER POLO
Marina’s boys water polo team defeated Edison, 13-12, in a Sunset League match last week.
It was the Vikings’ first league victory since 2008.
Leo Yuno scored six goals and Luka Karaman and Joseph Lastelic, also a standout swimmer, added three apiece as the Vikings snapped a 35-match losing streak in the Division 1 league.
Marina (12-6, 1-1) led, 12-8, before Edison (0-2 in league) tied the scored, 12-12. Karaman, a transfer from Croatia and son of first-year Vikings coach Tony Karaman, scored the winner with nine seconds left.
Marina’s victory was its first in league since a 7-4 triumph against Fountain Valley on Oct. 8, 2008.
“This is very big for Marina,” Coach Karaman said in a text message.
The coach noted that 2008 was the same year Yuno started to play water polo. His son, Luka, started to play water polo in 2006, the last time Marina beat Edison in league. …
Games of the week: No. 2 Foothill plays host to No. 10 Villa Park on Tuesday in the Crestview League.
The final placement games for the North-South Challenge in Atherton on Saturday will be streamed live on the web, said Coach Brian Kreutzkamp of host Sacred Heart Prep. Mater Dei and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, which have split two games, could meet in the final at 5:20 p.m. The two-day tournament starts Friday. …
JSerra (17-3, 2-0) is tied for 10th in the county rankings this week after defeating Santa Margarita, 12-9, last week.
– DAN ALBANO
GIRLS TENNIS
Corona del Mar jumped to No. 2 in the CIF-SS Division 1 rankings that were released Monday. The Sea Kings leapfrogged Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach after topping the Mustangs, 11-7, last Wednesday in a nonleague match.
Junior Jasie Dunk went 3-0 in singles play, while Danielle Willson and Siena Sharf each went 2-1 in notching the Sea Kings best win of the season.
The schedule gets no easier for CdM this week, as it matches up with three top-10 teams in successive days. The Sea Kings host University on Tuesday and travel to Northwood on Thursday. In between, the county’s top-ranked squad will host Dana Hills on Wednesday afternoon.
The Sea Kings and the Dolphins opened the season against one another in early September, but a rainout ended the match prematurely. They’ll resume play midweek at Corona del Mar.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
BOYS BASKETBALL
Sebastian Much, a 6-foot-7 junior, transferred to JSerra, the school’s athletic director, Brett Kay, confirmed Monday.
Much was a key player last season at Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, which lost to La Mirada in a CIF State championship game.
Much was at St. Margaret’s his freshman year.
– STEVE FRYER
