This time of the year is always busy -- especially for those with offspring involved in sports -- but I think this one's one for the books.

Obviously, a lot of sports are going on.  The Sunset League Track and Field preliminaries and finals happen today and Friday, this is the last week of regular season play for high school Boys volleyball - which has a HUGE showdown against Esperanza today (stop by, watch some exciting games, and make noise).  It's also showdown week for high school baseball and softball.  And throw in the end of the regular season for Los Al Girls Softball, and Saturday's SAT tests, and National Charity League's big soiree... and well, you get the picture.

Making things especially crazy for moi is that I'm involved with a telecast of this Saturday's Rossmoor 50th Anniversary Celebration shindig - which includes a parade, and a whole subsequent slew of events at Rush Park, including a classic car show, the Los Al HS Scholarship Fund's Ducks for Bucks races and to start things off in the morning - a 5K Race through the streets of Rossmoor (it's not too late to sign up -- www.tritowntrot.com).

Okay, the name could use some work, (try to say it one time fast, much less three times) but it's for a good cause.(By signing up for the Race, you can earn money for their favorite organization).  Plus, you, will also receive a card with discounts to numerous local eateries.   

The event organizers have tried hard to make this an event for the entire community -- Los Al, Seal Beach, people who tell the school district they live there -- not just Rossmoor, so come out and have some fun.  The parade already has over 2,000 participants -- so that should keep it quite busy for those on the route down Orangewood and Montecito (perhaps to be unofficially re-named The Mimosa Highway for the day).  The race kicks off things with a Kids 1K at 9:45 and the 5K at 10 am.  The parade follows at 11am.

I will find the time somewhere over the next day or so to get a full updated schedule of all the days activities posted on my www.localsports.biz website, so be patient but check it out later today or tomorrow. 

    We are now moving deeper into that honored Springtime tradition of signing up for Fall youth sports.   Los Al Pop Warner Football is already in the middle of their sign-up season.  Click here for more info.
AYSO, began its annual sign-up frenzy last Sunday, April 29 (but go to their website for details and pre-printed forms to make your life in line easier), and Friday Night Lights Flag Football will return for a second season, with signups officially beginning today (May 1).   
   Plus, not to be outdone, the Youth Center is offering a new gymnastics and cheer program for interested tots and post-tots.  For more info call (562) 493-4043, or visit their website at www.theyouthcenter.org.

   GRAD NIGHT:  The Los Al High Grad Night 2007 committee still  is looking for volunteers.  Check out their latest message here and continue to visit their website.
     And the Friends of Rossmoor School want all friend of silent auctions to mark June 1 on the calendar -- that's the date of their end-of-the year fund-raiser dinner/auction at Old Ranch Country Club.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:  I know many of you are forwarding every issue to your folks, siblings and children away at school. If you want to make things easier on yourself, just sign them up in our subscribers list near the top left column.  Or just send their address to us, and we'll add them. (Send Local Sports to someone you love... or hate, whatever the case may be.)

ADVERTISING STUFF: Thanks again to our new advertisers, and those who have made inquiries about it.  (It does put pressure on me to actually come up with interesting to say in this missive.  So maybe I should just shut up and get to the real news.)  If you're interested in advertising, here's a list of our rates. 

On to the good stuff.

Los Alamitos Griffins baseball team swept a pair of games from Marina this past week, and will face first-place Edison twice this week, with their chances of Sunset League  title on the line.

The Griffins, who play at Edison on Wednesday, then host the Chargers on Friday, are currently 9-2 in Sunset League play, one game behind Edison. 

Los Al kept pace in the standings by taking two from Marina this past week.  On Wednesday, they rallied from a 2-1 deficit going into the seventh inning, and scored nine runs to beat Marina 10-2.  On Friday, Los Al downed the Vikings 4-12.  In Wednesday's win, Griffins Mac Sullivan and Brian Tripp each had three hits while winning pitcher Cameron Tanseco allowed only one hit, giving up run on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.  He improved his pitching record to 3-1.  Marina fell to 13-8, 5-5.  Tripp improved his average to .444, second on the team, behind Travis Garrett (.480) and ahead of Logan Flagg (.430).

Last Saturday, Sullivan hit a grand slam as the Griffins trounced Newport Harbor 11-4 on Saturday afternoon in a Sunset League game make-up game which was rained out the previous day.  Junior pitcher Kyle Simon (above) picked up the win for Los Al.

Hopefully, Los Alamitos will be able to put behind them Saturday's dramatic loss to Palos Verdes in the championship game of the five-weekend long Redondo Tournament.  Los Al had a a 9-5 lead with two outs in the seventh inning when PV rallied for five runs to win the game.

Los Al downed Redondo 4-1 in the semi-finals last Saturday evening.  

Go here for team stats at Max Preps

The Los Al Griffins boys volleyball team, which racked up three Sunset League wins over the past week, will host Esperanza on Tuesday with the league title at stake.

Los Al (21-6 overall, 7-1 in league) is one game behind the Aztecs, Orange County's No. 1 ranked team.  When the two teams met on April 17 at Esperanza, Los Al won the first game, but the Aztecs stormed back to take the next three close games.

A win on Tuesday clinches the title outright for Esperanza.  A Los Al win ties the teams with one game remaining.

Of concern to coach Phil White is the health of senior Kevin Carroll who injured his knee while diving for a ball at Wednesday's practice.  Carroll sat out Los Al's lackluster 3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12) win over Edison on Thursday.  Srdjan Nadazdin had 19 kills for Los Al while Grant Metheny (above) added 16.  Greg Kroneberger had 40 assists.

Last Tuesday, Los Al swept last-place Marina (25-20, 25-17, 25-23) with the starters sitting out most of the match. 

Carroll did see some action on Saturday in the Redondo Tournament.  In Friday's matches, Los Al downed West Torrance and West Hills, then lost to San Diego power Carlsbad.  The loss forced them to play Mira Costa, the No. 1 team in Southern California, on Saturday morning in a premature battle of thr tournament's top two seeds. 

With Carroll playing, Los Al won the first game 25-23, then lost a tough 25-22 game.  The two teams battled in a 15-point game, that went back and forth and saw both teams with match points, before Mira Costa prevailed 22-20.

The game proved Los Al can play with anyone, and the loss ironically allowed Carroll to sit out the rest of the day and rest his knee for the Esperanza match.

Anna Cahn hit her sixth home run of the year and picked up her sixth pitching win as the Los Al softball team downed Newport Harbor 6-3 on Thursday and stayed atop the Sunset League standings with a 6-0 record.

The Griffins knocked seven  hits, with Cahn's homer and double leading the way.  Stephanie Tingle, Molly Khalil, and Ashley Schulz all had doubles of their own.

Los Al (16-3 overall, 6-0 in league) still holds a one-game lead over Marina.  The two teams meet at Marin on Tuesday.

Go here for team stats at MaxPreps

 The Los Al Boys track team fell to Esperanza by 11 points on Wednesday, and lost an opportunity to clinch the Sunset League championship, but they still have a chance at winning a share of at this week's Sunset League Track Finals.  Preliminaries are Tuesday, and the finals are on Friday.
   The Frosh-Soph Boys finished the dual meet season undefeated and clinched a share of the league title.  Beside the Boys Varsity, the Girls Frosh-Soph, JV and Boys JV all have a shot at a share of league gold pending their performance at the League Championship meet.

The OC Register's lacrosse correspondent reports "Losing consecutive matches to Avalon-Catalina spoiled the Griffins' Sunset League title hopes. Losing to Newport Harbor might have spoiled their hopes for an at-large berth. Los Alamitos must win its regular-season finale against Marina and get some help.

FOOTBALL:  Ken Borg has been named to the roster for the North team at the annual Brea Lions Orange County North-South All-Star game.  (OC Register, April 21)

Four local women water polo players -- two from Seal Beach and two from Rossmoor - will be playing at the NCAA championships next week at the Los Alamitos JFTB pool. 

Lauren Silver (Stanford/Wilson HS - from Long Beach-Seal Beach), Rachel Bellows (Pomona-Pitzer/Mater Dei HS/Seal Beach), and San Diego State Aztecs -- Sarah Kilgore and Danielle Pelke (both from Los Al HS/ and Rossmoor) --  will all participate in the 8-team tournament which begins Friday, May 11 and runs through Sunday, May 13.  The event is hosted by Long Beach State.

Silver's Stanford squad, the top team in the nation, and Bellow's Pomona-Pitzer earned automatic bids for winning their respective MPSF and SCIAC conference championships. 

San Diego State had the most anxious moments before learning of the invite.  The Aztecs had been ranked No. 5 in the nation, and finished with a program-best 28-8 overall record (including a school-record 14-game winning streak). But a loss to No. 4 Hawaii at the MPSF Tournament this weekend potentially could have ended their hopes for a NCAA berth.  But the NCAA selection committee gave them the invite to the eight-team tournament Monday evening and will now face Loyola Marymount in the first round next Friday.

Pelke,a freshman, had two goals and Kilgore blocked a penalty shot as the Aztecs beat No. 12 seed UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the MPSF tournament on Friday.   But in the ensuing quarterfinals match, the Aztecs couldn't overcome a shaky start and fell to #4 ranked Hawaii 19-12.

In Saturday afternoon's consolation match, the Aztecs outlasted UC Irvine 10-9 in overtime.  Pelke scored two more goals and Kilgore blocked 10 shots.  (Kilgore is having an awesome season in the goal for San Diego State, as this article attests.)

Another ex-Griffin, Robyn Kaake (LAHS '03/Rossmoor), had two goals for UC Irvine.  In first-round action, Kaake had four goals as the Anteaters beat Arizona State 13-12.  But unfortunately, UCI then had to face No. 1 Stanford which demolished them 17-5.  Stanford sophomore Lauren Silver (Wilson '05/hometown Long Beach or Seal Beach, depending on what article you're  reading) scored two goals for  Stanford.

 

In Round one's biggest upset, No. 7 seed UC Berkeley was upset by No. 10 seed Long Beach State 12-9.  Ex-Griffin Andrea Angstadt (right, LAHS '03/Rossmoor) scored a goal for the 49ers and former Griffin Lauren Burke had four saves in shared duty in the goal.  Later in the day, the 49ers fell to UCLA 17-5. with former Griffin Dayna Warzynski (LAHS '05/Garden Grove) scoring two goals.   Another former Griffin playing in the match for Cal was Erin Scully - Los Al HS '06/Long Beach)

Ex-Griffin Stacey Nelson (LAHS 05/Rossmoor), pitching in relief, struck out five and improved her record to 26-12, as her No. 20 Florida Gators softball team defeated Mississippi State, 3-2,in nine innings on Saturday.  With the win, Florida improves to 41-19 overall and 14-11 in the SEC.

Former Griffin tennis standout Gia Nafarrete (above right), now a junior at Boston College, had to wait out a three hour rain storm that ended up with their games being moved inside as her Boston College squad was defeated by Florida State at the ACC tennis championships.

Chapman College baseball team, ranked No. 2 in Division III, continued its winning way with a __ win over Pomona-Pitzaer.  Ryan Prechtl was 1-4.

Former Griffin golfer Jamie Oliver, handicapped by illness, struggled along with her San Diego State teammates as the Aztecs finished sixth at the Mountain West golf championships last week. 

Los Al alum Megan Strawther, now at Virginia Tech, had an article about her in the Press-Telegram (Los Al Alum Safe And Sound At Virginia Tech (Press-Telegram, April 20, 2007)... and was interviewed for a television news report on students returning to the Virginia Tech campus that ended up getting syndicated around the country. 

The slightly off-center in Seal Beach don't just take aim at politicians.  An over-avid fan of Sandra Bullock tried to make a bumper burger out of  her husband, Monster Garage centerpiece Jesse James, after he discovered his wife's stalker lying in their driveway last Sunday morning.

 Seal Beach hires new city manager (OC Register, April 24, 2007)

Seal Beach resident makes "swan song" movie (OC Register, April 22, 2007)

City begins Gum Grove Park Extension (OC register, April 19, 2007)

Judge allows access to Leisure World records  (LA Times, April 18, 2007)

 Bonds: Guest of dishonor:  Okay, this is not really a Seal Beach story, but it's by Marcia Smith, the OC Register columnist who apparently spends a lot of time at Main Street establishments.  Plus, she quotes a local.  So we think that's close enough to qualify.

City raises Aquatics Center fees at base (OC Register, April 19, 2007)

Planning for Vets Park at base gets underway (OC Register, April 19, 2007)

 Los Alamitos Unified school board met on Monday night and was
scheduled to consider approving a new superintendent to replace outgoing Superintendent Carol Hart, who will retire in June after eight years as head of the 9,100-student district.

Six finalist candidates met with a citizens selection committee (three parents, some businessmen, some teachers, a lot of district reps) and with school board members last Friday.  The selection committee was limited to pre-determined questions, with no one being allowed to ask follow-up questions, which frustrated some on the committee. (and Why is that anyway - is the superintendent's position now considered a civil service position?) 

It is possible that a nominee may not be presented to the board.

 The Los Al High winter drumline team captured a bronze medal last weekend at the 2007 Percussion World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.

Okay, it's a couple days late, but here's a blurb about McGaugh School getting ready for its 25^th annual Pageant of the Arts. 

 Mark Mayo, a biology teacher at Los Alamitos High School, was among 30 science teachers across the United States and Puerto Rico this year to receive an Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence, the biotechnology firm announced Wednesday.  (Press-Telegram, April 18, 2007)

 Hopkinson elementary teacher Tere Fieldson got a nice article on her in a recent Orange County Register.

Los Cerritos Wetlands leader takes lessons to LB State students. (Daily 49er, Apr. 25)

Restoring, Growing Los Cerritos Wetlands Back To Priority Status (Gazette Newspapers (Gazette Newspapers, April 19, 2007)

Long Beach area wetlands may join area "string of pearls."   (reprinted

Diver Haley Ishimatsu, 14, from Seal Beach, scored 369 points to win the 10-meter platform (and defeat an Olympic champion) at the U.S. spring diving nationals in Maryland on April 21.

Ishimatsu, who recently moved to Indianapolis to train for the Olympics, finished with 369.00 points to 365.20 for Laura Wilkinson, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2005 world champion.

It was the second national title of the meet for Ishimatsu, who teamed with Mary Beth Dunnichay, 14, Elwood, to win synchro 10-meter two days earlier.