Twenty-nine champs and co-champs of 22 leagues prepare for the post-season that begins Tuesday.
Now when ratings based on strength of schedule determine playoff seeds, are league banners just gym rafter eye candy for fans and newbies? Maybe, but players and coaches agree they’re a reminder of the camaraderie and journey to the top that lasts forever.
LEAGUE
TEAM(S)
W-L
OVERALL
AVERAGE/TOTAL PF-PA*
Avocado
Rancho Buena Vista
8-0
17-11
50.4 – 43.0 (1411-1204)
Central
Madison
8-0
18-8
40.9 – 36.5 (1064-950)
City
Hoover
7-1
16-12
50.2 – 49.5 (1405-1386)
Coastal
Torrey Pines
La Costa Canyon
8-2
15-13
15-13
51.4 – 46.5 (1439-1302)
54.4 – 47.2 (1522-1322)
Desert
Calexico Vincent Memorial
9-0
13-5
53.3 – 36.8 (959-663)
Eastern
Mira Mesa
10-0
17-9
47.0 – 40.4 (1221-1051)
Freelance
Hilltop
8-0
19-9
47.0 – 34.5 (1317-966)
Grossmont Hills
Grossmont
Helix
8-2
20-7
18-7
58.7 – 39.7 (1585-1073)
51.4 – 37.6 (1285-941)
Grossmont Valley
Steele Canyon
West Hills
7-1
20-8
19-7
55.0 – 35.4 (1540-991)
44.6 – 32.6 (1160-848)
Imperial Valley
Imperial
Palo Verde Valley
6-2
16-12
15-10
42.0 – 34.3 (1176-959)
42.4 – 39.5 (1061-987)
Manzanita
Warner
8-0
18-4
39.6 – 23.3 (871-512)
Metro
Bonita Vista
6-0
14-12
56.7 – 49.1 (1475-1276)
Ocean
Escondido Adventist
8-0
15-5
37.7 – 27.3 (754-546)
Pacific
Escondido Charter
10-0
17-11
50.5 – 43.9 (1414-1229)
Palomar
Mission Hills
10-0
20-8
65.1 – 44.7 (1822-1251)
Patriot
O’Farrell Charter
6-0
16-10
31.9 – 29.3 (829-761)
Pioneer
Monarch
6-0
7-12
20.1 – 28.6 (381-543)
Sierra
High Tech NC
8-0
14-2
37.7 – 23.0 (603-369)
South Bay
Victory Christian
Montgomery
7-1
19-6
17-11
51.3 – 39.4 (1282-984)
54.7 – 45.6 (1531-1276)
Summit
Horizon Prep
Bayfront Charter
6-2
13-6
14-11
35.6 – 25.5 (676-484)
34.6 – 32.5 (866-812)
Valley
Fallbrook
10-0
21-7
57.9 – 38.1 (1622-1067)
Western
Scripps Ranch
Cathedral
7-1
17-8
17-11
60.0 – 46.0 (1500-1150)
55.7 – 51.5 (1559-1442)
* Overall Points For – Points Against (Total PF-PA)
2023-24 Boys Week 7: Hats Off! Champions and Co-Champs of 22 Leagues
What’s in a league championship?
Especially in this era of power ratings and strengths of schedules and what they mean in playoff pairings and postseason division assignments, which were to be announced today.
A league title represents essentially just bragging rights, but ask the players and coaches who achieved it and what they think when banners are hoisted in gymnasium rafters.
All will agree the accomplishment still carries weight and memories that will last.
Twenty-two league champions and four co-champions were officially crowned last night and began preparing for the second season and playoffs that start Tuesday.
LEAGUE
TEAM
W-L
OVERALL
AVERAGE SCORE*
Avocado
Vista
7-1
19-9
65.1-56.1
Central
Canyon Hills
5-3
18-9
58.0-48.5
La Jolla
5-3
18-10
61.6-54.8
City
Christian
8-2
18.7
55.9-48.5
Mira Mesa
8-2
18-9
68.3-57.6
Coastal
La Jolla Country Day
11-1
22-5
60.3-48.8
Santa Fe Christian
11-1
20-8
59.3-51.4
Coastal North
Carlsbad
10-0
26-2
74.3-59.0
Desert
Calipatria
9-0
19-3
56.3-40.2
Eastern
University City
7-1
20-8
62.6-56.7
Grossmont Hills
Monte Vista
9-1
20-8
65.3-50.2
Grossmont Valley
Steele Canyon
8-0
15-13
58.3-57.7
Imperial Valley
Calexico Vincent Memorial
6-2
17-7
61.3-53.6
Imperial
6-2
13-15
56.0-59.0
Manzanita
Warner
8-2
16-12
43.9-37.5
Julian
8-2
14-9
43.7-42.8
Metropolitan Mesa
Montgomery
8-0
26-2
70.1-41.2
Metropolitan South Bay
Victory Christian
6-0
18-9
70.8-60.4
Ocean
Tri-City
12-0
18-10
64.1-46.5
Pacific
St. Joseph
9-1
18-9
61.6-55.1
Palomar
Mission Hills
9-12
21-7
61.4-51.2
Patriot
High Tech Mesa
7-1
9-17
39.0-54.2
Pioneer
Monarch
8-2
16-8
48.9-39.5
Sierra
The Cambridge
8-0
18-2
53.6-36.6
Summit
High Tech Chula Vista
8-0
21-4
74.3-47.7
Valley
Mt. Carmel
9-1
16-12
62.8-59.5
Western
St. Augustine
8-0
24-4
73.0-56.0
*All Games.
2023-24 Girls Week 6: Mission Hills, LJCD March On, Westview Moves Up
No. 1 Mission Hills rolled past Rancho Bernardo, 69-17, and Poway, 86-32, and La Jolla Country Day outscored Francis Parker, 61-54, and Grossmont , 60-42, to stay No. 2 in the poll.
It was not a good week for Poway, which also lost to Westview, 72-54. The Wolverines also beat San Marcos, 58-45, and their 2-0 week moved them from fifth into a third-place tie with the Titans.
This weekend’s playoff Open Division seedings reveal are expected to match the poll, headed by Mission Hills and La Jolla Country Day. Rancho Bernardo, despite the 50-point loss to the Lady Grizzlies, could contend for the D-I top seed, and Francis Parker and The Bishop’s look to be favored in D-II.
*First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings. NR/Not ranked.
The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.
Records as of Monday, Feb 5.
2023-24 Boys Week 6: The Playoffs Are Coming! The Playoffs Are Coming!
It’s wrap-up week in the San Diego Section, as the regular season ends Friday, Southern California postseason pairings are posted Saturday, and the second season starts with regional playoffs next week.
Carlsbad, Montgomery, St. Augustine, and Torrey Pines remained 1 through 4 in the weekly Union-Tribune poll, and there was no change from last week’s 5 through 9.
Carlsbad and Montgomery each could finish with 26-2 records, although The Aztecs likely will be the No. 1 seed in the Open Division off their 63-55 win over Carlsbad early in the season
Carlsbad, averaging 74.3 points game and 11-1 all-time against Sage Creek (14-12), will attempt to repeat its earlier, 84-55 victory over the Bobcats tonight and will finish against 14-12 El Camino, which earlier gave the Lancers an argument before bowing, 58-54.
Montgomery has Mater Dei (15-11) and San Ysidro (6-20) on its plate after shocking Torrey Pines in a head scratcher, 44-19. The Aztecs alternately used 2-3 and 3-2 zone defenses against the Falcons, who trailed, 9-2, after one quarter and 25-5 at the half. Falcons coach John Olive reportedly was seen talking to himself as the Falcons boarded their bus for the ride to Del Mar from Mission Bay and the Battle of the Bay event.
St. Augustine (22-4) faces a troublesome Mission Bay (17-10) and closes against San Diego (8-18). The Saints beat Mission Bay, 80-62, and San Diego, 70-42, in January. Torrey Pines (19-7) has a rematch of a 73-44 win over El Camino and ends with No. 7 La Costa Canyon (18-6), which extended the Falcons to overtime before bowing in an earlier Coastal League North game, 67-65.
John Maffei’s weekly Union-Tribune poll.
#
TEAM
RECORD
POINTS
PREVIOUS
MAX-PREPS
CAL-HI SPORTS
1
Carlsbad
24-2 (9)
152
1
8/9
15/15
2
Montgomery
23-2 (8)
150
2
17/20
21/21
3
St. Augustine
22-4
138
3
21/21
20/20
4
Torrey Pines
19-7
108
4
40/37
30/30
5
La Jolla Country Day
21-5
104
5
59/58
NR/NR
6
La Costa Canyon
18-6
81
7
58/65
NR/NR
7
Mission Hills
20-6
71
8
76/80
NR/NR
8
Santa Fe Christian
18-7
57
6
98/88
NR/NR
9
Cathedral
17-8
21
9
106/102
NR/NR
10
Rancho Buena Vista
18-9
12
NR
133/126
NR/NR
Others receiving votes Mission Bay (17-10, 10 points), San Diego Southwest (24-2, 8), San Marcos (20-6, 3), Victory Christian (16-8, 1).
First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings followed by previous. Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.
Records as of Monday, Feb. 5
VOTING PANEL
John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops
Steve Brand, Eric Williams, Freelance writers
John Kentera, Freelance Contributor
Rick Smith, partletonsports.com
Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com
Bodie Silva, scorebooklive.com
Braden Suprenant 97.3 FM The Fan
Steve Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9-FM
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee
Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
Tom Helmantoler, Advisor Southern Conference
Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association
Maxpreps
1973 Track: Jefferson and Banks Carry the Day in 55th State Meet
Elijah Jefferson went where no San Diego County athlete had gone in 45 years.
Willie Banks won an event that was known by another name when it was last contested 34 years before.
Jefferson became the first from the area since 1929 to win the 100-yard dash in the state track meet when he followed a wind-assisted :09.4 in the Friday trials with a :09.6w in the finals.
Banks’ 49-7 ¼ effort won the triple jump, an event not part of the meet since 1939, when it was known as the hop, step, and jump.
Twelve years and 14 days later, June 16, 1985, in Indianapolis, Banks set a world record of 58-10 ¾, a mark that was not surpassed for 10 years.
The gold medals by Jefferson and Banks were the most for the San Diego Section since 1966, when Terry Rodgers of Hilltop (880), Tim Danielson of Chula Vista (mile), and Doyle Steel of San Diego (long jump) were individual winners.
Jefferson’s victory at Community Stadium in Woodland—he would repeat in 1974—equaled Jimmy Willson’s 1929 triumph when Willson won the 100 (:09.8) and 220 (:21.4) and led San Diego High to the team championship at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Oceanside’s Willie Banks dominated the triple jump for more than a decade, from high school through the Olympics and at worldwide venues.
5/3/73
GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @MOUNT MIGUEL
Greg Baer became the fourth Grossmont shot putter to reach 60 feet when his best attempt measured 60-10 ½.
Baer, who also won the discus preliminary at 164-7, sensed he was in for a good day. “I thought I’d probably do well when my first throw went fifty-nine. I never do much on my first put.”
Baer’s father, Marlin Baer, was the Foothillers’ coach from 1956-68 and had another son, Brad, who became one of many in the school to throw at least 54 feet since 1950:
DISTANCE
NAME
EVENT
DATE
61-6 ¼
Ed Speed
@Granite Hills
3/14/61
61-5 ¾
Jim Wade
Southern Section
5/25/57
60-10 ½
Greg Baer
Grossmont League trials
5/4/73
60-4 ½
Dick Bronson
vs. Point Loma
4/23/54
59-2 ¾
Dewey Taylor
vs. Chula Vista
4/17/59
59-2 ¼
Brad Baer
vs. Mount Miguel
4/6/62
58-4 ¾
Clyde Wetter
Southern Section
5/19/51
58-2 ½*
Hal Norris
Southern Section
5/20/50
55-10 1/2
Richard Grise
vs. Helix
4/10/64
54-11 ½
Mel Kemp
City Prep League
5/7/54
54-6 ½
Richard Loftus
vs. Helix
3/16/54
*Norris was granted an extra trial after the competition at the state meet 5/27/50 and reached 60-3.
Curt Hampton of El Cajon Valley was second to Baer with a toss of 60-1 1/2 and five other shotputters had marks of 51-7 or better.
EASTERN LEAGUE TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Sophomore Elijah Jefferson won a head-to-head sprint matchup with Lincoln’s Lanard Morris, clocking :09.9 and :21.8 to Morris’ :10.1 and :22.1.
Jefferson, whose best 220 had been :22.4, caught and passed Morris on the turn and held serve down the long stretch.
Wally Henry of Lincoln won his heats, :14.6 in the 120-yard high hurdles, and :20.5 in the 180 lows.
5/8/73
AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @VISTA
Robert Mosley of Oceanside took three events, 120 high hurdles (:14.8), 180 lows (20-4), and long jump (22-4 ½).
Vista’s Bill Harvey sailed the discus to a meet record of 172-6.
5/11/73
EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM.
Danny Miller, a transfer from El Centro Central, ran strongly all season for Morse but in the shadows of Crawford’s Elijah Jefferson and Lincoln’s Lanard Morris, until today.
Miller set a meet record when he won the 220-yard dash in :21.4, extending his arms skyward and looking back at Morris (:21.8) and Jefferson (:21.8).
Jefferson meanwhile tied James Milton’s league record of :09.5 in the 100, nudging Morris (:09.7) and Miller (:09.8).
The sophomore Jefferson made a stunning debut.
AVOCADO LEAGUE FINALS, @ORANGE GLEN
Humberto Barajas of Vista ran 4:24.2 and 9:33.4 for a mile-two-mile double and teammate Al McClure won the high jump at 6 feet, 6 ¼ and was second in the triple jump at 45-1 ½.
The Panthers’ Jay Semensow hurled the shot 57-11 ½, with teammates Cary Cotten (56-3 ¼) and Bill Harvey (53-6) following.
Willie Banks of Oceanside set a triple jump record of 45-6 ½ in the new event and the Pirates’ Robert Mosley won the 120 high hurdles in :14.6 and long jump at 23 feet.
GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @MOUNT MIGUEL
Greg Baer went 60-8 ½ and led a flock of shot putters that included El Cajon Valley’s Curt Hampton (59-9 ¾) and Jerry Barrows (57-11 ½), and Fahl (55-1/4) and Ehman (53-0), Baer’s Grossmont teammates.
El Capitan outscored Helix, 51-50, for the team title and led with 15 qualifiers for the Section trials. Granite Hills (36), El Cajon Valley and Grossmont followed the leaders with 32 points each.
SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINAL, @RAMONA
Donald Tavie ran the 100 in :10 and 220 in :22.1 to lead San Diego Military, which won to the team title with 61 ½ points to runner-up Mountain Empire’s 38.
Tavie’s 220 bettered the record of :22.4, set in 1965 by Ryan of La Jolla Country Day.
WESTERN LEAGUE, @MESA COLLEGE
Jim Geddes of La Jolla cleared 6-4 ½, breaking the record of 6-4 by Don Sing of Kearny in 1967 and Mike Breen of Clairemont ran 9:19.4 in the two-mile erasing the 9:19.8 by teammate Dale Fleet in 1971.
Aguirre of Madison tied Fleet’s 9:19.8 in second place.
Madison’s Bruce Girasole, defending San Diego Section 100 and 220 champion, and Kearny’s Ron Means were byed into the Section trials.
Girasole pulled up after 100 yards in the 220 and Means bailed after 50 yards in the same race.
Both were fighting leg muscle problems.
La Jolla’s Dan Carlsson, County leader at 1:55.8 in the 880, withdrew with a knee injury.
METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @MAR VISTA
Jose Medina of Hilltop tripled with a :20.5 win in the 180 low hurdles, 21-7 long jump, and 6-3 in the high jump, edging Bethea of Castle Park on number of misses.
Mike Frankson of Sweetwater took the 100 in :10.1 and repeated with a :22.3 220.
Jefferson (second from left) ran :09.5 to win sizzling Eastern League 100. Others (from left): Lanard Morris, Lincoln; Danny Miller, Morse; Leonard Moore, Lincoln; Eddie Stewart, Morse.
5/18/73
SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
Cold, windy weather was a surprising factor at a time of year when the elements favor the athletes. Still, there were some moments.
—Danny Miller of Morse and Elijah Jefferson of Crawford tied the record of :21.4 in winning their respective 220 heats.
—Miller and Jefferson were :09.8 winners in the 100 heats. Lanard Morris won a third 100 and third 220 heat in :09.9 and :21.6.
—Defending champion Bruce Girasole of Madison couldn’t go because of a persistent leg injury.
—Vista’s Cary Cotten improved by more than two feet with a 58-11 ½ shot put and teammate and defending champion Jay Semensow made the cut, seventh at 56-8.
—Mike Malec of Clairemont (4:14.9) and George Pullen of Grossmont (4:15.9) won mile heats.
—Oceanside’s Willie Banks, nursing a hip problem, missed in the 120 high hurdles and long jump, the latter in which Banks was defending champion, but qualified with one jump at 44-7 in the new event triple jump, won by El Capitan’s Bill Tobert at 45-0 ½.
5/26/73
SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM
The wind was slightly more than the allowable 4.473 miles per hour but it took nothing away from Elijah Jefferson’s sensational 220-yard dash, in which Jefferson refused to be run down by Lincoln’s Lanard Morris and Morse’s Danny Miller.
The Crawford sophomore raced to the lead on the Balboa Stadium curve and fought off his pursuers down the stretch, finishing in :20.9, holding off Morris (:21.1) and Miller (:21.2) in one of the great sprints in County history.
Jefferson also won the 100 in a meet-record tying 9.6, with Morris (:09.7), Miller (:09.8), Lincoln’s Leonard Moore (:09.8), and Sweetwater’s Mike Frankson (:09.9) chasing.
Rick Fields (left) of Bonita Vista edged Don Marin of Carlsbad with 1:56.9 880 to Marin’s 1:57.1 in CIF Trials, while Greg Baer of Grossmont qualified with 57-71/2 shot put.
BAER MARKET
Grossmont’s Greg Baer, the County leader and holder of the County’s third longest shot put in history at 60-10 ½, was third and did not qualify for the following week state meet.
Baer’s best was 59-0 ¾, third to the 60-9 1/2 by El Cajon Valley’s Curt Hampton and 59-2 ¼ by Vista’s Cary Cotten.
Lincoln won its eighth team champion in the Section’s 13 seasons with 36 points, with Vista, 26, Morse and Oceanside, 24 each, and Oceanside, 23 following.
With Wally Henry leading off, Lincoln also won the 440 relay in :41.8 and Henry won the 180 low hurdles in :19.1.
Oceanside’s Robert Mosley tied the 120-yard high hurdles record of :14.1 and won the long jump at 23-7 ¾. The Pirates’ Willie Banks set a record of 48-7 ¼ in the new event triple jump.
Vista’s Al McClure high jumped 6 feet, 7 inches, same as La Jolla’s Jim Geddes, who won on fewer misses. Vista’s Bill Harvey won the discus at 177-5 ½, and Clairemont’s Mark Malec clocked a 4:12.5 mile.
6/2/73
55TH STATE TRACK TRIALS, @WOODLAND COMMUNITY STADIUM
EVENT
NAME
SCHOOL
MARK
PLACE
100
Jefferson
Crawford
:09.4w
1T
Morris
Lincoln
:09.7w
7T
220
Jefferson
:21.4w
3rd
Morris
:21.7
6T
440
Moore
Morse
:50.5
15T
Riggins
Helix
:50.7
17T
880
Fields
Bonita Vista
1:58.6
17th
Eisenhart
Hoover
1:58.8
18th
Mile
Malec
Clairemont
4:17.7
9th
Pullen
Grossmont
4:23.0
17th
120 High Hurdles
Mosley
Oceanside
:15.0
20th
Henry
Lincoln
—
—
180 Low Hurdles
Henry
:19.0
8th
440 Relay
Lincoln
:41.7
2T
Morse
:42.4
11T
Mile Relay
Morse
3:22.0
18th
Crawford
3:29.8
26th
High Jump
Geddes
La Jolla
6-4
1T
McClure
Vista
6-2
9T
Long Jump
Mosley
Oceanside
22-7 ½
13T
Wilkinson
Clairemont
22-4
16th
Triple Jump
Banks
Oceanside
49-1
1st
McClure
Vista
—
—
Shot Put
Hampton
El Cajon Valley
56-3
10th
Cotten
Vista
55-9 ½
12th
Discus
Harvey
Vista
180-6
6th
Cotten
170-1 ½
12th
Pole Vault
Hagans
Orange Glen
13-3
12th
Yarberry
Hilltop
—
—
6/2/73
55TH STATE FINALS, @WOODLAND COMMUNITY STADIUM
Robert Mosley of Oceanside signaled :14.1 victory in San Diego Section 120 high hurdles.
