Opening event of the marathon 56^th Arcadia Invitational was Friday afternoon, April 4, followed by a Saturday spectacular that goes from not long after sun-up to late-night TV.

San Diego Section boys and girls Friday participated in many events, some with four classifications, Invitational, Open, Seeded, and Rated.  “Rising Stars” events below, usually are reserved for freshmen or promising upper class entries.

Arcadia, probably  the premier meet in the country, signals the start of the season’s second half, ending under a usually warmer than warm sun in the 104th state meet at Clovis’ Buchanan High May 24-25.

San Diego Section Friday results:

BOYS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
Open 3200	Aidan O’Toole	Sage Creek	9:14.08	10th
	Adrian Welton	Westview	9:20.24	20th
Seeded 4×200 Relay	Atilano, Leyva, Bruhn, McCotter	Cathedral	1:29.32	5th
Rated 4×800 Relay	Walker, Brotman, Stevenson, Evans	Carlsbad	8:15.02	12th
	Dobrowolski, Rowan Hannaman, Stevens, Brenner	Westview	8:18.83	16th
Invitational 200, 200, 400, 800 Relay	Phillips. Arrington, Jr., Jones, Cloyd	Mount Miguel	3:33.33	2nd
Rising Stars Discus	Lawson Grace	Westview	131-4	20th
Rising Stars Pole Vault	Dylan Yarbrough	San Dieguito	14-10	1st
	Leo Sun	Del Norte	13-10	3rd
	Ethan Heldman	La Jolla Country Day	13-10	5T
	Brandon Moore	Torrey Pines	13-10	7th
	Tyler Suhar	Torrey Pines	13-4	10T
Rising Stars Long Jump	Vincent Jones	Mount Miguel	21-2	6th
	Kevin Allen	Helix	20-7	12T
Rising Stars Triple Jump	Zeshaun Daley	Oceanside	44-1 1/4	2nd
	Jordan Julien	Mt. Carmel	37-6 1/4	15th

GIRLS

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
Rated 3200	Hannah Aguirre	Patrick Henry	10:43.59	1st
	Gabriella Peters	Sage Creek	10:46.12	3rd
Seeded 3200	Scarlett Martin	Cathedral	10:49.34	8th
	Winter Moritz	University City	10:50.38	9th
	Alexandria Pena	Cathedral	10:51.25	10th
	Kirra Fisk	La Jolla	11:01.70	15th
	Ayanna Hickey	The Bishop’s	11:04.80	19th
Open 3200	Isabella Ramos	Point Loma	10:51.19	4th
	Darcy Ray	University City	11:14.37	22nd
Rated 4×200 Relay	Barclay, Dickens, Fuller, Burkhardt	Steele Canyon	1:41.99	1st
Invitational 4×800 Relay	Zimmer, Hellman, Bickler, Bonomi	Cathedral	9:24.13	5th
	Russo, E. Echsner, P. Echsner, Hong	Del Norte	9:29.85	8th
Seeded 4×800 Relay	Long, Hennigan, Li, Arciaga	Westview	9:56.56	16th
	Mayer, Aalaei, Plezia, Gray	La Jolla	10:06.33	20th
Invitational 4×1600 Relay	Bonomi, Zimmer, Gibson, Hellman	Cathedral	20:57.39	3rd
	Shannon, Hong, Russo, Enyedi	Del Norte	21:37.23	9th
Seeded 100, 100, 200, 400 Relay	Ewing, Barclay, Dickens, Burkhardt	Steele Canyon	1:48.29	1st
Rising Stars Pole Vault	Caitlin Khieu	Del Norte	10-9	11th
Rising Stars Long Jump	Devyn Harper	Long Jump	16-6	7th
Rising Stars Triple Jump	Lillian Cook	Steele Canyon	37-1 ¼	1st

Elijah Jefferson’s quest for a record, third consecutive state meet 100-yard dash championship was short circuited by the blindingly fast start (a “flyer”, some suggested) on the Balboa Stadium track by Kevin Williams of San Fernando.

Jefferson had tied his  meet record of :09.4 in the trials and Williams, known for tremendous acceleration at the sound of the starter’s pistol, or before, had won his heat in :09.5.

Williams’ :09.4 victory in the final tied the record first set by Santa Rosa Montgomery’s Mel Gray in 1967, equaled by Jefferson in 1974 (he also was first in 1973) and by West Bakersfield’s Joel Andrews in 1975.

Billy Mullins of Los Angeles Hamilton won the 220 championship in :21.1, with Jefferson fifth in :21.4, behind Williams’ fourth-place :21.3.

Jefferson went onto to compete for the University of Arizona.  Williams returned to ‘Fernando in 1976 but was disqualified for a false start in the state 100 finals in Berkeley.

Williams had an excellent football and track career at USC but died at age 38 in 1996.

Williams was employed as a railroad brakeman and was killed with another brakeman when the train on which they were working derailed and crashed in flames in a steep canyon on the Cajon Pass north of San Bernardino.

WOODS EDGES HUNT

Vista’s Jay Wood scored a rare victory over Patrick Henry’s Thom Hunt in the state mile, finishing third in 4:10.8, with Hunt fifth in 4:11.2.

Woods did not qualify out of the San Diego Section meet in the two-mile. Hunt won in 9:11, but Hunt finished 19^th in 9:30.2 in the state meet, behind Crawford’s Glenn Best, 18^th in 9:27.2

Hunt had season bests of 4:07.8 in the mile and 9:02.6 in the long race.

5/11-30/75

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FINALS, @GRANITE HILLS

Christian scored 106 points, 50 more than Army-Navy, and won the team championship.

The Patriots were first in nine events and set two individual records, Edwards with a 4:40.9 mile and Blyth with 10:30.6 two-mile.

AVOCADO LEAGUE TRIALS, @VISTA

Jay Woods of Vista had the day’s best mark, 1:58.5 in the 880. Thomas of Vista clocked :50.5 in winning a 440 heat.

GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION QUALIFYING, @POWAY

Kathy Devine was off her national record holder form of 52 feet, 3 inches, with the shot in 1974, but finished far ahead of the field with an eight-pound shot put of 46-6.

GIRLS SAN DIEGO SECTION QUALIFYING, @MADISON

Grossmont’s Carolyn McDonald was a double winner with a 2:23.6 880 and 5:32.2 mile.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE TRIALS, @GRANITE HILLS

“I had a hard workout Monday and I just using this as another one,” said Helix’ Steve Wiggins, who was attempting an 880-440 double and eased to victories in 1:59 and :50.

“I’ll go hard in the 880, then if disaster strikes I still have the 440 to fall back on, said Wiggins.”

El Cajon Valley’s Mark Malone led shot putters at 58 feet and discus throwers at 168-11 after a 195-foot attempt in practice.

Mount Miguel qualified 21 for the finals, Grossmont 20, and Helix, 18.

EASTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Ned Armour of Morse was a triple winner.  Armour’s victories were in the 120 high hurdles (:14.5), 330-yard lows (:38.6), and long jump (22 feet, 8 inches).

Elijah Jefferson of Crawford and Thom Hunt of Patrick Henry were double winners. Jefferson ran :09.7 in the 100 and :21.4 in the 220 and Hunt logged a 4:15.7mile, second fastest in the state, and 9:14.2 in the two-mile.

Crawford’s Phil Hendrick was second to Hunt in each race in 4:16.5 and 9:16.7.

Jefferson also ran a leg on the Colts’ 440-yard relay, which turned in a state-leading time of :41.8 and Armour helped Morse to a second-place finish in :42.4.  Lincoln was third in :42.5

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE FINALS, @CASTLE PARK

Lennie McNeill of Sweetwater took down a league record that had stood since 1937, leaping 23 feet, 2 ½ inches in the long jump, landing beyond the 22-8 7/8 by Oceanside’s Bill Huntales 38 years before.

Montgomery’s Clint Bradburn turned a meet record :49.5 440.  Fifteen minutes later Bradburn with a best of :39.1, was a nonqualifying fourth the 330 low hurdles in :40 as Castle Park’s Bob McCurdy won in a league-record :39.4, bettering the :39.5 by Bradburn in the trials.

WESTERN LEAGUE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Don Brown, struggling to find his alignment with the 30-inch barriers (“step” in more esoteric terms), had suddenly took the County lead the previous week with a :38.4 race in the 330-yard lows.

The Clairemont athlete, known primarily as a quartermiler, turned around and lowered his mark to :37.9.

Kearny’s Mike Bussey was a double winner in the 100 and 220 at :10 and :22.2 and anchored a :42.5 victory in the 440 relay.

AVOCADO LEAGUE FINALS, @VISTA

Oceanside’s Arvli Ward, with bests of :10 and :50.5 coming into the meet, ran the 100 in :09.9 and 440 in :49.6.

Jay Woods of Vista edged Shannon Laird of San Marcos, 4:18.3 to 4:18.4, in the mile, and doubled back with a 9:28.6 two-mile victory.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE FINALS, @GRANITE HILLS

Steve Riggins’ quest for an 880-440 double was in place until Mike Cardwell of Mount Miguel stormed past the astonished Riggins in the last 100 yards to win the 880 in 1:55.7, with Riggins clocking 1:55.9.

“I saw Riggins’ mouth drop open as I went by,” Cardwell told Nick Canepa of the Evening Tribune.  “I knew I had him then.  He’s been saying all week than no one can catch him over the last 220.”

Cardwell also got Mount Miguel off to a good start with a :49.6 opening leg in the mile relay, in which the Matadors set a meet record of 3:24.8 after Riggins returned to win the 440 in :49.4.

Mark Malone of El Cajon Valley and Kris Lettow of Helix waged duels of weights.

Malone hurled the shot 58-11 ½ and discus 170-8, Lettow 56-11 1/2 and 170-5, respectively.

Helix won the team championship with 50 points to Grossmont’s 48, and Mount Miguel’s 41.

SAN DIEGO SECTION TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

Crawford and Patrick Henry each had 11 qualifiers, followed by Vista, 9; Morse, Lincoln, and Bonita Vista had  8 each.

Kearny’s :41.8 in a 440 relay heat tied for first in the state with Crawford.  The Colts’ Elijah Jefferson posted a :09.6 100 into a 4.5 miles-an-hour wind, eased to a :21.7 220, and helped Crawford to a :41.9 relay win.

Helix’ Steve Riggins (1:54.3) topped Henry’s Paul Becklund (1:55.7) with a career-best 880, and Riggins made it a double with a :49.4 440.

The two leaders in the mile, Vista Jay Woods (4:15.7) and Henry’s Thom Hunt (4:16.5) won their heats.  Mount Miguel logged a county best 3:21.9 in the mile relay.

SAN DIEGO SECTION FINALS, @BALBOA STADIIUM

Patrick Henry scored 27 points, Crawford 25, Morse 23, Santana 22, and Helix 20 in spirited battle for the team championship.

The meet started fast, with Crawford’s :41.5 440 relay, tying Lincoln’s 1968 record.  Kearny was second in :41.9, followed by Lincoln, :42.1, and Patrick Henry and San Diego, each at :42.7.

Elijah Jefferson set a record of :09.5 in the 100 and smoked the Balboa curve and straightaway for a :21.1 220, also a record.

Jefferson, along with San Diego’s Carl Sanford (1963) and Madison’s Bruce Girasole (1972), had run :09.6 (1973, ’74).  Johnny Mack Ellis of Lincoln had timed :21.4 in 1966.

“I talked to Johnny this week and he said the record had been :21.4 too long,” said Jefferson. “He really wanted me to break it.”

Jefferson was on a mission.  “It would be my last chance to set San Diego CIF records, so I wanted to get them.  I also wanted some fast times before the state meet.”

Donald Brown of Clairemont ran :37.6 in the 330-yard low hurdles, bettering the :37.8 in last week’s trials by Helix’ Craig Evans, who was runner-up in :37.8.

Thom Hunt of Patrick Henry won the mile in 4:13.1, topping Vista’s Jay Woods (4:15.7), and backed it up with a 9:11 victory in the two-mile.

6/6/75
57TH BOYS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Elijah Jefferson	Crawford	:09.4	1T
	Chuck Benbow	Kearny	:10.1t	—
220	Jefferson		:21.36	6T
	Ron Edmerson	Lincoln	:21.6	14T
440	Steve Riggins	Helix	:48.7	6T
	Clint Bradburn	Montgomery	:48.9	9th
880	Paul Becklund	Patrick Henry	1:52.3	3rd
	Riggins		1:54.5	13T
	Rick Kruger	BonitaVista	2:02.8	—
Mile	Jay Woods	Vista	4:13.2	2nd
	Thom Hunt	Patrick Henry	4:15.3	5th
120 High Hurdles	Ned Armour	Morse	:14.5	15th
	Bruce Byerly	La Jolla	:15.1	19T
330 Low Hurdles	Craig Evans	Helix	:37.7	12T
	Donald Brown	Clairemont	—	—
440 Relay		Kearny	:42.0	9T
		Crawford	—	DQ
Mile Relay		La Jolla	3:22.5	13th
		Bonita Vista	—	—
High Jump	Jay Keesling	Escondido	6-2	19T
	Greg Rackley	Escondido	6-0	—
Long Jump	Ned Armour	Morse	22-8 ¼	11th
	Lennie McNeill	Sweetwater	21-4 ¼	—
Triple Jump	Gary James	Lincoln	46-8	10th
	Jesse Cabill	Oceanside	45-3 ½	17T
Shot Put	Chris Lettow	Helix	55-1 1/2	18T
	Terry Anderson	Santana	54-9 ½	19th
Discus	Lettow		168-1	4th
	Anderson		161-4	12th
Pole Vault	Gene Moss	Mar Vista	13-3	13T
	Jim Belue	Santana	13-3	13T

 FIRST GIRLS STATE TRACK TRIALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Dennis Becton	Morse	:11.3	12T
	Andiva Taylor	Clairemont	:11.4	14th
220	Taylor		:25.2	12th
	Becton		:25.6	16th
440	Vanessa Thompson	San Diego	:58.8	11T
	Beth Howell	San Dieguito	:59.4	14th
880	Carolyn McDonald	Grossmont	2:19.0	8T
	Howell		2:19.0	8T
80 Low Hurdles	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	:10.9	5T
	Carmen Williams	San Diego	:11.2	13T
440 Relay		Vista	:49.1	6T
		Morse	:49.5	10th
200, 100, 100, 800 Medley		San Dieguito	1:52.6	14th
		Point Loma	1:59.7	17th
High Jump	Chris Remmling	San Dieguito	5-2	1T
	Patti Stafford	Clairemont	5-1	10T
Long Jump	Taylor		18-5 ¾	1st
	Joyce Bell	Kearny	17-1 1/4	12th
Shot Put	Kathy Devine	Mission Bay	49-1	1st
	Annette Chandler	Poway	36-9 ½	17th

6/7/75

57^th BOYS STATE TRACK FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
100	Elijah Jefferson	Crawford	:09.5	2nd
220	Jefferson		:21.4	5th
880	Paul Becklund	Patrick Henry	1:53.8	6th
Mile	Jay Woods	Vista	4:10.8	3rd
	Thom Hunt	Patrick Henry	4:11.2	5th
Two Mile	Glenn Best	Crawford	9:27.2	18th
	Hunt		9:30.2	19th
440 Relay		Kearny	:42.0	5th
Discus	Chris Lettow	Helix	159-5	8th

 SECOND GIRLS STATE FINALS, @BALBOA STADIUM

EVENT	NAME	SCHOOL	MARK	PLACE
440	Vanessa Thompson	San Diego	—	—
880	Beth Howell	San Dieguito	2:12.8	3rd
	Carolyn McDonald	Grossmont	2:15.2	5th
Mile	Jody Massey	Poway	5:10.6	8th
80 Low Hurdles	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	:10.9	4th
440 Relay		Morse	:49.8	6th
		Vista	—	9th
High Jump	Chris Remmling	San Dieguito	5-7	2nd
Long Jump	Karen Taylor	Point Loma	18-4 ¾	2nd
Shot Put	Kathy Devine	Mission Bay	42-3 3/4	1st
Discus Exhibition	Kathy Middleton	Poway	115-0	7th

The girls from Grossmont and Montgomery closed the San Diego Section basketball season on losing notes in championship games in Sacramento.

Montgomery (25-12) dropped a 56-50 decision to Oakland High (23-10) in the Division V final and Grossmont (27-8) was beaten in D-IV, 42-29, by Eureka St. Bernard (30-5).

But a losing performance probably was the highlight of the boys’ and girls’ 2023-24 season.

Studio City Harvard-Westlake (33-3) won the  state Open Division championship, 50-45 over Richmond Salesian after edging Eastvale Roosevelt, 63-59, for the Southern championship that followed an epic battle in the Southern semifinals with Carlsbad.

‘Westlake survived the Lancers, 73-72.  Carlsbad’s  performance, after losing to the same team, 83-44, in the season opener, was such that it climbed from 16^th to 10th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports poll and is ranked eighth in the state by Max-Preps.

Carlsbad’s other loss was to Montgomery. 63-55, in December.

Junior Jake Hall led the Lancers with a 20.7 scoring average.

Hall (23) and Carlsbad Lancers were 30-3. Courtesy, Max-Preps.

Angel Ochoa of St. Joseph was the San Diego Section scoring champion with a 35.3 average and 1,024 points for the 19-10 Crusaders.

Mount Miguel’s girls team was 4-21, but not because of Jaelene Hughes, who averaged 38.7 points and scored 903.

 

 

It was another great season by coach Mike Morrow’s San Diego High Hilltoppers, who won their second Southern Section championship in the last three seasons.

(San Diego also won the team championship in track and field and reached the finals in football, losing, 13-12, to Santa Monica).

The Hillers were 69-16, a .812 winning percentage,  since Morrow returned from the war to coaching the Hilltoppers in 1946.

San Diego (26-3) lost to Compton, 3-2, in the finals of the Pomona 2030 Rotary Club tournament but slammed the Tarbabes, 24-0, in the Coast League season.  They also lost two games to the powerful Tucson Bears, but were 4-2 against the Arizona club in home-and-home series.

POSTSEASON LACKS

This would be incredible by 21st century standards.

There still was half of the Metropolitan League season remaining when CIF boss Seth Van Patten announced that Grossmont would represent the league in the playoffs.

Grossmont and Point Loma were tied for first with seven games remaining, but the Pointers declined.

“Grossmont seems to be more fortified in the pitching department and could stand the strain of three games in a week, whereas on us the burden  might weaken our chances for the Metro flag,” Pointers coach Hilbert Crosthwaite was quoted.

The playoffs would begin before the league season was completed.

Van Patten often found it necessary to fill a bracket while regular-season games still were to be played.

The playoffs held no great attraction to some teams and leagues.

4/16/48

“Under a stifling April sun,” wrote Gene Earl of The San Diego Union, San Diego’s Eddie Simpson singled home John Switi in the ninth inning for an 8-7 triumph over Hoover in Balboa Stadium.

Simpson and Neale Henderson each had three hits for the Hilltoppers and Joe Brown and Don Jordan two apiece.

Bill McColl was the losing pitcher but he kept the Cardinals in the game with three hits, all “hard hit” doubles.

—Art Preston struck out 14 and gave up three hits and Dick Rand socked a three-run home run in Grossmont’s 11-3 win over visiting Oceanside.

—Yoko Takeshita drove in three runs with a tie-breaking eighth-inning double and Eddie Serrano homered as Point Loma outlasted La Jolla, 10–7, despite three hits each by the Vikings’ Charlie Way and Eddie Whitehead.

—Al Hooper, Terry Shaw, and Frank Castro clubbed home runs as newcomer Chula Vista whipped Escondido, 16-9, at Sweetwater.  Don Silcock homered for the Cougars.

—Dick Bartz had four hits in five times at bat, drove in four runs, and pitched a three-hitter in Kearny’s 7-5 win over Sweetwater.

—Gene Green was 2 for 5 with a triple and single to lead errorless St. Augustine to an 8-3 win at Brown Military, which erred four times.

4/18/48

Bill McColl pitched Hoover to a 7-4 win over Pasadena and the Cardinals completed a doubleheader sweep, 13-1 over Pasadena Muir as part of Coast League scheduling that sent teams from the North on combined weekend trips.

McColl and Larry Nenna had two hits each and Leroy Darnell drove in four runs in the opener.  McColl had two hits and four runs batted in and Bill White gave up three hits in the seven-inning nightcap.

4/19/48

Brown Military made it three straight Southern League victories, 11-9 at Vista.

—Grossmont and Point Loma each improved to 4-1 in the Metropolitan League, the Foothillers 13-4 over Chula Vista and the Pointers 6-3 over Kearny in eight innings.

—Sweetwater, which was behind, 8-1, in the fifth inning, scored its first league win, 15-14 over Escondido.  Earl Holbrook singled in Dave Brennan with the winning run in the seventh inning.

4/23/48

San Diego (8-0) clinched the Coast League championship, hammering Pasadena, 9-1, in Balboa Stadium, while Hoover (5-3) was dropping an 11-7 decision at Compton as loop play concluded.

Hoover’s Bill White “was even wilder” than the 50-mile-an-hour winds, walking 11 batters.  San Diego’s Andy Stagnaro struck out 14 and walked none.

—Point Loma beat Escondido, 13-1, and Grossmont topped La Jolla, 7-3, to remain tied for first in the Metropolitan loop.

The Foothillers trailed, 3-2, in the eighth inning and mounted two late rallies.  The Pointers’ Eddie Serrano took the bite out of the Cougars by allowing only five hits and stroking a pair of doubles.

—Reserve outfielder Huddy McWilliams hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Kearny nipped Oceanside, 8-7.

4/27/48

San Diego collected 12 hits but needed Frank San Filippo’s triple that scored Neale Henderson in the 11th inning to claim a 2-1 win over the Submarine Force at Navy Field.

—Tom Boehlke’s single in the fifth inning was the only hit for Kearny, which dropped a 2-0 decision to the Foothillers’ Art Preston.

—Tom Browning struck out 12 batters in five innings and Mal Vargas hit a grand slam home run in the first inning as Point Loma beat Sweetwater, 13-0, and finished the first round of play with a 6-1 record, tied for first with Grossmont.

5/1/48

San Diego opened a three-game series in Tucson, Arizona, and scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning and then held on for an 8-7 victory.

Frank San Filippo’s 400-foot, three-run home run was the clincher after the Hilltoppers had fallen behind, 7-4, when the Bears scored four runs in the eighth inning.

Ray Irving hurled a scoreless bottom of the ninth for coach Mike Morrow’s visitors before 1,350 persons.

—Outhit, 14-8, visiting Point Loma took advantage of seven Chula Vista errors to score an 11-10, Metropolitan League victory and remain tied for first, matching the 7-1 record of Grossmont, which rolled 1-7 Escondido, 15-4.

5/2/48

Hoover completed a 19-5 season with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Bonita, 12-6 and 5-4.  Bill McColl was unavailable to coach Les Cassie’s team as McColl was competing in theall-Coast League track meet at Balboa Stadium.

5/3/48

Home Brown Military won its fourth consecutive Southern League game, 15-5, parlaying 12 hits and seven San Dieguito errors.

Pedro Mesa was 4 for 4, Red Wright doubled and tripled, and Morris (Dude) Hedrick pitched Fallbrook to a 6-2 win against visiting Ramona.

5/7/48

Grossmont put an end to Point Loma’s Metropolitan League hopes, embarrassing the Pointers at home, 8-1.  The Foothillers pounded out 15 hits and Art Preston shut down the Pointers on three hits.

Grossmont improved to 9-1 in league play. Point Loma and La Jolla were tied for second, each 7-3.

5/9/48

Two games remained in the Metro League but Grossmont had been informed days earlier by Southern Section boss Seth Van Patten that the Foothillers would meet Brown Military in the first round of the playoffs.

Point Loma, at the time still with a mathematical chance to catch John Hancock’s La Mesa squad and with an earlier, 8-6 win over Grossmont, had informed Van Patten that it would not be party to the postseason.

Metro loop squads over the years often declined postseason invitations.

San Diego High was scheduled to take on Imperial Valley titan Calexico the following day.

5/10/48

Grossmont warmed up for Brown Military with a 6-2 win over Oceanside, while the Cadets beat Julian, 12-3.  La Jolla whacked Point Loma, 11-3, to take a one-game lead for second place.

Vikings pitcher Bud Releya set down the Pointers on eight hits and contributed a home run, matched and then some by catcher Charlie Woy’s two home runs.

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS.

San Diego 19, @Calexico 1

The Hilltoppers led, 8-0, in the fourth inning, when they exploded for 10 runs.

It would be a happy but long ride back over the Laguna mountains for coach Mike Morrow’s team, so the game mercifully was called after both teams scored in the seventh inning.

Don Jordan homered, Frank San Filippo was 3 for 3, and Neale Henderson had two triples and a single to pace the Hillers’ 16-hit attack.

5/13/48

Grossmont 15, @Brown Military 3.

There were two rounds of games left on the Metro schedule but the playoffs got under way with Grossmont knocking off Brown Military of the Southern League, 15-3.

The Cadets took a 3-0 lead on their Pacific Beach diamond in the first inning when Phil Milligan tripled with the bases loaded after a couple singles and a walk.

Grossmont pitcher Art Preston settled down and Preston’s and his teammates’ bats came to life with a 17-hit onslaught as coach John Hancock’s team scored at least one run in the third through seventh innings and two more in the ninth.

Preston doubled and tripled, drove in six runs, and shut out the Cadets over the last eight innings.

5/14/48

Grossmont backed into a tie Metropolitan League championship after sustaining a 10-3 loss to Chula Vista on the Sweetwater diamond while Oceanside eliminated La Jolla, 7-6.

The standings, with one round remaining, showed the Foothillers (10-2) with a two-game lead over the Vikings (8-4).

Far down in the standings, Escondido (2-8) erupted for a 20-6 victory over visiting Sweetwater (1-9).

Assigned game umpires stiffed Point Loma (7-4) and host Kearny (6-5). The arbiters failed to show, probably thinking the game was at Point Loma.

5/15/48

SOUTHERN SECTION QUARTERFINALS

San Diego 12, Grossmont 0, @Lane Field.

About 700 persons were in attendance as coach Mike Morrow’s Hilltoppers continued to drive the opposition into submission, claiming a fourth win over coach John Hancock’s team, following 22-5, 5-1, and 7-6 victories.

San Diego collected only seven hits, but three Grossmont pitchers issued 14 bases on balls, beginning with three in a row followed by Curtis Everett’s single that put starter Art Preston and the Foothillers in a 2-0 hole in the first inning.

The Hilltoppers’ Andy Stagnaro allowed one extra base hit, Preston’s double, and three singles to Jack Graham, among the losers’ seven.  Stagnaro teammates Everett and Joe Brown each had two hits.

5/20/48

SOUTHERN SECTION SEMIFINALS

San Diego 5, @Newport Beach Newport Harbor 1.

It was a semifinal game for San Diego but a quarterfinals game for the Sailors.  A Newport Harbor victory would have advanced it to the semifinals.  San Diego needed one victory to gain the finals.

Such was the peculiar status of the postseason, a time of constant juggling by commissioner Seth Van Patten in search of filling brackets for an event that wasn’t embraced by all of Van Patten’s CIF constituents.

Andy Stagnaro, soon to be named Southern California player of the year, saw his 22-innings scoreless streak end when the Sailors bunched two hits and a couple errors and scored an unearned run in the ninth inning in San Diego’s 5-1 victory.

Frank San Filippo tripled with Joe Brown and Don Jordan on base to give the Hilltoppers a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

San Fillippo homered in the ninth inning for a 5-0 lead after a two-run eighth that featured Don Jordan’s single, which was followed by three walks, an error, and wild pitch.

5/22/48

Arlan King hit two home runs and Ramona, scoring four runs in the bottom of the bottom of the 10^th inning, after San Dieguito had taken an 8-5 lead, pulled out a 9-8 victory.

—Halbert Crow’s two triples and 14 additional base hits by Crow’s Grossmont teammates, plus five Kearny errors, allowed the Foothillers to close their season on a winning note, 14-0, and with a 12-2 league record.

—First-year Chula Vista slugged La Jolla, 14-7, and gained a tie for third place, each with an 8-6 record.  Point Loma (9-4) was scheduled to play a makeup game with Kearny (7-6) but clinched second with an 11-8 win over Sweetwater.

5/25/48

The umpires showed and the rescheduled game of the May 10 postponement was a 4-2 Point Loma (10-4) victory over Kearny (7-7).  Hunter Browning spaced 10 hits and pitched the Pointers’ victory.

5/29/48

Grossmont’s Art Preston hit safely 23 times in 45 at-bats to lead the Metropolitan League with a .511 average.  Preston also was the most productive pitcher with an 8-1 record and .889-win percentage.

Twenty-seven players hit at least .300 in league play.  The 27^th was La Jolla outfielder-first baseman, Bob Skinner, who played 12 seasons and coached or managed in a long major league career.

Skinner had 11 hits in 37 times at bat for a .300 average.

6/5/48

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS, @LANE FIELD

Glendale Hoover 1, San Diego (26-3) 20, @Lane Field.

Described as “lengthy and drab,” the game lasted two hours and 27 minutes and was essentially over when the Hilltoppers took a 5-0 lead in the first inning.

Andy Stagnaro (15-1) struck out nine, gave up four hits, and won his fourth consecutive playoff start.

The Hilltoppers mustered only eight hits, but four errors and the Tornadoes, without star pitcher Warren Hart, out with the flu, suffered as four pitchers issued 15 bases on balls.

San Diego executed a triple steal during a four-run seventh inning.

Tommy Martinez, Dave Jordan and Bob Evert each had two hits before the turnout of about 700 persons at the San Diego Padres’ ball park.

 6/22/58

A crowd of 1,258 persons saw a team of all-stars from the Coast League defeat a all-star squad from the Metropolitan League, 14-1, at Lane Field.  The contest was sponsored by the Breitbard Athletic Foundation with proceeds to the San Diego Kiwanis Club’s Child Care Fund.

Don Jordan of San Diego High and Robbie Boone of Compton each had three hits for the Coast League team. Boone and Bill Casey of Hoover tripled with the bases loaded to account for 6 runs.

 

 

San Diego Section boys teams exited early from the Southern California regional tournament, but No. 4 seed Carlsbad stuck around and almost knocked out No. 1.

Coach Clark Allard’s Lancers lost a semifinal battle, 73-72, at Studio City Harvard-Westlake, the same team that had routed Carlsbad, 83-44, in the season’s first game.

The Lancers led by as much as 13 points at 32-19 in the second quarter and were ahead, 41-33, at halftime.  The Wolverines nudged ahead, 55-52, in the third quarter and were in front, 65-58 in the fourth quarter before Carlsbad clawed back in the waning moments.

Boys’ Division I teams were disappointments, not only in the 0-5 record.  Examples:  No. 13 seed Redondo Beach Redondo Union ousted 4 Montgomery, 84-69.  No. 12 La Verne Damien beat 5  St. Augustine, 69-44.

The boys’ season, Open to Division V, ended After 7 seed University City lost, 68-55, to 3 Mission Hills Bishop Alemany in the D-III semifinals.  San Diego teams were 9-17 overall.

Only games with a San Diego section team are listed. Complete brackets are here.
All games played at higher (low number) seed.

	Round 1 Teams Tuesday, February 27	Round 2 Teams Thursday, February 29	Semifinals Saturday, March 2
Open Division  Wednesday, February 28		5 Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias (24-7) Southern 72 4 Carlsbad (30-2) 75, overtime	4 Carlsbad (30-3) 72 1 Studio City Harvard-Westlake (31-3) Southern 73
Division I	9 La Jolla Country Day (23-7) 59 8 L.A. Windward (29-4) Southern 74
	10 Torrey Pines (21-8) 47 7 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (30-3) Southern 89
	11 La Habra (30-4) Southern 79 6 Cathedral (19-11) 68
	12 Pomona Damien (27-5) Southern 69 5 St. Augustine (25-6) 44
	13 Redondo Beach Redondo Union (25-6) Southern 84 4 Montgomery (28-4) 69
Division II	9 Mission Bay (22-11) 57 8 Corona Del Mar (25-8) Southern 55	9 Mission Bay (22-12) 69 1 Northridge Heritage (25-9) L.A. City 74
	13 Ventura St. Bonaventure (24-10) Southern 63 4 La Costa Canyon (20-8) 75	12 Bakersfield Christian (21-11) Southern 75 4 La Costa Canyon (20-9) 68
Division III	9 Santa Barbara (24-9) Southern 81 8 San Marcos (25-7) 85	16 L.A. Price (21-12) Southern 55 8 San Marcos (26-7) 74	8 San Marcos (26-9) 60 3 Rosemead Bosco Tech (26-9) Southern 79
	11 L.A. Southern California Yeshiva (20-12) Southern 52 6 Scripps Ranch (21-12) 60	6 Scripps Ranch (21-13) 62 3 Mission Hills Alemany (22-15) Southern 76
	10 Cerritos (22-11) Southern 65 7 University City (25-8) 68	7 University City (26-8) 52 2 Hesperia (24-10) Southern 51	7 University City (26-9) 55 3 Mission Hills Alemany (23-15) Southern 68
Division IV	9 Costa Mesa Estancia (24-9) Southern 50 8 Monte Vista (23-10) 42
	11 Mission Hills (21-9) 58 6 Corona Centennial (21-13) Southern 77
	13 Rancho Buena Vista (24-9) 83 4 Rosemead Bosco Tech (24-9) Southern 87
	14 Olympian (28-4) 46 3 Mission Hills Bishop Alemany (21-15) Southern 57
Division V	12 Del Lago (21-11) 43 5 L.A. Garfield (25-3) L.A. City 66	7 Sherman Oaks Buckley (21-11) L.A. City 64 2 Mount Miguel (24-9) 53
	15 L.A. New Designs (9-7) L.A. City 39 2 Mount Miguel (24-8) 53

John Maffei’s weekly, final regular-season Union-Tribune poll and the final  Max-Preps and Cal-Hi Sports ratings, inclusive of the state playoffs.

#	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAX-PREPS	CAL-HI SPORTS
1	Carlsbad	29-2 (17)	161	1	8/9	10/16
2	Montgomery	28-3	159	2	17/20	27/20
3	St. Augustine	25-5	139	3	21/21	31/24
4	La Jolla Country Day	23-6	108	5	60/59	NR/On the Bubble
5	Torrey Pines	21-8	103	4	43/40	NR/NR
6	Mission Hills	21-8	79	8	93	NR/NR
7	La Costa Canyon	19-8	50	6	76/76	NR/NR
8	Mission Bay	21-11	64	NR	97/98	NR/NR
9	Santa Fe Christian	21-9	38	7	118	NR/NR
10	Cathedral	20-9	9	9	104	NR/NR

Others receiving votes
Scripps Ranch (20-12, 17 points), San Marcos (24-7, 156), Olympian (28-3, 10), University City (24-8, 10), Mount Miguel (23-9, 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 DeSilva, scorebooklive.com
• Braden Surprenant 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