Female Athlete of the Week Danielle Domenichelli won Big West titles for UCSB in the 5,000 and 10,000 last week. Her time in the 5,000, 16:39.22, was one second short of conference meet record.

After an up-for-grabs race in the Channel League, the Dons finished first, the Royals second and the Chargers third.

“I’m proud of that because it’s a clean sweep over the Ventura schools,” said Santa Barbara assistant coach George Rempe at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon, the last of the year.

“That’s really a good thing. Even though we try to beat each other’s brains out, when it’s all said and done it’s nice that it’s all in Santa Barbara,” he added.

For the Dons, it was their fourth title in five years and their ninth since the league re-shaped itself 12 years ago. They sealed it with two wins over Buena last week, led by seven RBIs and three homers from Collin Dewell, who also made a fantastic catch in centerfield and pitched some solid innings in relief.

Rempe also introduced juniors Spencer Fraker and Nick Below. Fraker was the team’s starting left-fielder until he busted his ankle early in the season, but he will be back next year and Rempe described him as “one of the most metally tough kids I’ve ever coached.”

Below, who can play infield, outfield and pitcher, is at the top of his class academically.

The Dons open up the playoffs on Friday with a home game against either Los Osos or A.B. Miller.

BASEBALL

DOS PUEBLOS: What a week it was for the Chargers, who won their final three games to make the playoffs.

“We had a fun practice on Monday. I wanted the kids to have fun, because I was kind of assuming it was our last practice of the year,” said coach Nate Mendoza.

That’s not because he felt his squad didn’t have a chance to win its games. Rather, he thought that the playoffs were already an impossibility. After the next day’s 9-2 loss at Harvard-Westlake, he was certain they couldn’t get in.

But the Chargers played like everything was on the line, winning three games in three days to make it. Male Athlete of the Week Steven Reveles, a junior shortstop, was the catalyst of the offense as any good leadoff man should be. He had a game-tying two-run double in the bottom of the seventh as DP came back from a 5-0 deficit against San Marcos to win in walkoff fashion.

The next day against Campbell Hall, he led off with a triple and also hit a solo homer. In Friday’s play-in game against Buena, he hit a leadoff homer and went 3-for-3 with a walk.

Mendoza pointed out an interesting local-sports trivia fact about the Reveles family, noting that Steven’s older brother Michael and father Val (who was at Harry’s on Monday) were also recipients of the award during their careers.

Also tagging along were two baby-faced freshmen who played like veterans during the crucial week. Ben York, who hit over .300 as the team’s starting second baseman this year, had three hits in the comeback against San Marcos. Gabe Speier, meanwhile, was the winning pitcher against the Royals and Bulldogs, giving up a total of three runs over eight innings.

Mendoza thanked rival coaches Rempe and Rob Crawford (of San Marcos) for their encouragement during the week, as both made phone calls to Mendoza before the Buena game to wish him luck.

“It was great having that support, especially from teams you’re trying to beat all the time,” said Mendoza. “Especially San Marcos, because we’d just gotten into a huge battle with them on Wednesday. For him to call me two days later and wish me luck showed a lot of class, and I appreciate it very much from both you guys.”

DP hosts Loyola on Tuesday.

SAN MARCOS: The Royals’ road to the playoffs also provided a great storyline. They began their conference campaign at a lowly 1-4, but won six of their last seven. Last year was the team’s first postseason berth in 12 years, and making it in back-to-back seasons proves the turn-around is no fluke.

“San Marcos High School’s history in baseball has not been the most impressive, and so we’re excited to see a change in that,” said Crawford.

He wanted to bring players with him to the luncheon, but those who had the free period were busy bonding over hot dogs at their own “selection show.” The team was huddled around the computer in anticipation of the 1 p.m. release of the CIF brackets, which ended up telling them that they would host Tuesday’s wild-card game against Nipomo.

UCSB: Nearly every coach used some time at the podium to thank the Round Table for all that it doesn, including UCSB’s Bob Brontsema.

“It’s a pleasure to come here and see how the youth of America grows and what they’ve done, how well they’ve done and how they do it. It’s a pleasure to be here,” he said.

The Gauchos still have hopes of finishing in the top half of the mighty Big West this season, and pitcher Jesse Meaux salvaged the weekend series over nationally ranked UC Irvine with a stellar complete-game, one-run victory on Sunday. They play at UCLA on Tuesday before finishing up with two conference series against UC Davis and Pacific.

SPECIAL OLYMPIAN OF THE MONTH

This month’s honoree is Ivan Diffenderfer, who is a standout in bocce ball, floor hockey and tennis. His coach, Sue McHugh, said that Diffenderfer has a “wicked forehand” on the tennis court.

“It’s such an honor to have him on any team,” said McHugh. “He has the best attitude I’ve seen… Ivan gives 110-percent and is so supportive of his teammates. He’s so positive that it makes being a coach a wonderful thing.”

TRACK AND FIELD

SAN MARCOS: The Royals had an outstanding meet at the CIF Prelims over the weekend, including a first-place finish and school record (3:56.56) in the 4×400 relay. The finals will be this weekend in Cerritos.

Coach Marilyn Hantgin introduced assistant coach Anthony Garibay as well as four of her top female athletes. Marie Brashears picked up her best time in the 800 meters over the weekend and also ran on the record-breaking relay team. Sophomore Kailyn Koopmans, meanwhile, won her heat in the 400. Elysia Hodges ran the 4×400, 4×100 (third place), 200 and 300 hurdles. Her time in the hurdles (25.60) placed her fourth all-time in the school record books.

Hannah McDaniel passed another runner on the anchor leg of the 4×400 and is moving on in four events.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: For the second consecutive week, the Female Athlete of the Week is a member of the UCSB Track and Field team. Danielle Dominechelli won Big West titles in the 5,000 and 10,000 last week, and her time in the 5,000 (16:39.22) was one second short of the meet record.

TENNIS

SANTA BARBARA HIGH: So far, so good for the mighty Dons, who bet Redondo Union 15-3 in the first round of CIF and Westlake 14-4 in the second round. Next up is a road match at Woodbridge on Tuesday, and should the Dons advance they’ll face Corona del Mar, which knocked out Dos Pueblos last week.

Coach Steve Geremia introduced senior captain Matt Baum, who won a 3-set match in a victory over CDM earlier in the year. Also at the luncheon were Chris Grant and Logan Liddell, who comprise the Dons’ No. 3 doubles squad. Their job, according to Geremia, is to beat the other team’s No. 3 team, and if they don’t beat the No. 2 opponent they need to wear them out as much as possible.

The Dons will also have Channel League champion Chase Melton and two doubles teams competing at the CIF Individuals at Cate on Friday.

SOFTBALL

DOS PUEBLOS: The Chargers took second in the Channel League after a roller-coaster season.

“We ended up very nicely after a slow start, and it’s that old adage ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish… I’m very proud of the team,” said assistant coach Lee Harris.

He introduced two players who are stars on the diamond and in the classroom. Freshman Agnetta Cleland carried a 4.4 GPA and led the league in on-base percentage at .528. Sophomore Hannah Harris will be honored at Monday’s SBART Hall of Fame Banquet as Player of the Year after finishing in the top three in every major offensive and pitching category. She pitched 20 complete games on the year, and carries a 4.2 GPA.

The Chargers will open CIF play at Cabrillo on Thursday.

BISHOP DIEGO: The Cardinals were happy to finish above .500, having picked up wins over the likes of Carpinteria and Santa Barbara High this season. The team is petitioning for its first playoff appearance since 2003. Athletic Director Dan Peeters introduced sophomore catcher Victoria Swan, who carries a 3.5 GPA, and freshman Dani Devries, who has made several key plays over the year. She carries a 4.2 GPA.

SWIMMING

BISHOP DIEGO: The Cardinals’ two-person swim team was also in the house. Freshman Joshua Chevez, who is a straight-A student with a talent for singing, had personal bests times in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke at the Frontier League finals.

Shannon Slaught, meanwhile, is the most dominant swimmer in the league, earning titles in the 50 free and 100 breast. She went to the Division IV finals, finishing third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 breast. She’s shaved an incredible seven seconds off of her time in the 100 breast over the past six months, and has a realistic shot at becoming the school’s first-ever CIF swimming champion next year.

THE BIG CHECK: Randy Weiss of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust proudly presented SBART President Catharine Manset-Morreale with one of those big checks you see at golf tournaments or on a game show. It was for a big amount as well, $10,000, to go towards continuing sponsorship of the weekly luncheons.

“It’s all about celebrating all kids and all athletes, regardless of the challenges they have. It’s the whole package, and it’s our pleasure to be your luncheon sponsor,” said Weiss. ‘We’re there for the long haul.”

“It’s such an honor to have him on any team,” said McHugh. “He has the best attitude I’ve seen… Ivan gives 110-percent and is so supportive of his teammates. He’s so positive that it makes being a coach a wonderful thing.”

Laguna Blanca’s Seth Judson will be attending Stanford next year after a phenomenal high-school career. He currently holds a 4.64 GPA with a course-load including AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP Biology, Greek and Illustration. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction, a member of the Cum Laude Society and receipient of the Yale University Book Award.

Judson has played varsity soccer and lacrosse all four years of high school and also played two seasons of football and ran cross-country as a freshman.

“He’s been a tremendous leader to his peers. He definitely has respect and leads by example. He’s just a quality individual,” said Laguna Athletic Director Mike Biermann.

Santa Barbara High assistant baseball coach George Rempe provided a perfect example of what hard work can do at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.

The three players (all lefties) he brought to Harry’s — Collin Dewell, Pepe Gil and Cameron Gniadek — are the founding fathers of what Rempe refers to as ‘The Night Crew.”

After practices in the fall, Dewell started to stay until after dark to work on his hitting with Rempe. Pretty soon, Gil and Gniadek joined in.

“These three have gone above and beyond when it comes to trying to be the best they can… Now all three wear me out almost every day after regular practice,” said Rempe.

The not-so-big-surprise is that all three are hitting over .300 in Channel League play, have multiple home runs and are near the top of the ranks in RBIs. The league title can still go to either Santa Barbara, Buena or San Marcos, but the Dons control their own destiny and can clinch it with two wins over Buena this week.

“I brought these three hard-hitters to the luncheon only after they understood that I was going to put pressure on them as a group. That pressure is that ‘The Night Crew’ will have to play a big role in our games this week if we are to win the Channel League,” said Rempe.

BASEBALL

SAN MARCOS: After a 1-4 start in league play, the Royals have rattled off four consecutive wins and will need to win three more this week to have a shot at the league title. Two of those games are against Ventura, while the other is a make-up contest with DP.

“We’re in a position where we could win the Channel League, but really our goal right now is to just be in the playoffs. Just to kind of clear it up, if we beat Ventura on Tuesday we guarantee ourselves a Channel League playoff spot,” noted coach Rob Crawford.

Along with Crawford were his corner outfielders, right-fielder Anthony Patolo and left-fielder Peter Greeney. Both were key contributors in the team’s seven-game errorless streak. Greeney is headed to UCSD next year while Patolo will be close by at USD.

“It’s amazing to watch these guys do what they do best,” said Crawford of their defense.

UCSB: Associate Head Coach Tom Myers pointed to three aspects of this year’s roller-coaster season — consistency, development and health. The Gauchos (20-22, 6-9 Big West) have been unlucky when it comes to health, as five key contributors are likely done for the year.

As far as consistency goes, he pointed to the reliable performances of pitcher Mario Hollands (4-3 on the season), infielder Trevor Whyte (hitting over .300 as the lineup’s only lefty) and Sunday starter Jesse Meaux (7-3 on the season).

With player development, there’s been nothing more promising than six-foot-9 hurler Sam Phippen, a Gaucho basketball player who hadn’t pitched since high school but recently came out of the bullpen for the Gauchos. He struck out two in an inning this weekend.

“I think I field two or three calls a week from a professional scout asking when Sam is gonna throw,” said Myers.

UCSB plays at Pepperdine on Tuesday.

TRACK AND FIELD

SAN MARCOS: Male Athlete of the Week Shane Rowan is mentored by Royals jumps coach Erica Downing. Downing’s dad, Paul Menzel, held the school’s triple-jump record for 40 years until his daughter’s pupil broke it at last week’s Channel League Championships. Rowan, a junior, jumped 45 feet, 5.25 inches at La Playa Stadium on Friday and earned himself a meal from Menzel as part of a deal between the two.

Head Coach Marilyn Hantgin brought Rowan as well as fellow jumper Nate Reid, who made 42-10 at the Channel League meet to move on to CIF. Danish exchange-student Villads Joergensen is a multi-talented hurdler, thrower and sprinter who will be moving on to the postseason in the 300 hurdles. Katelyn Rheinschild ran a 26-second personal best to qualify in the two-mile, while sprinter Courtney LaViale set personal records in the 100 and 200 to qualify.

The Royals will be competing at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa on Saturday.

CARPINTERIA: The Warriors hosted the Tri-Valley League finals on Thursday, which coach Van Latham said was dominated by powerhouse programs from Oaks Christian and Oak Park.

“They took away the honors as far as team championships, but we had a number of outstanding performances. We just didn’t have enough of them, as we’re a little down on numbers this year,” said Latham.

John Bustillos qualified for CIF in the shot put with a throw of 46-10, placing him on the school’s top-20 list. On the girls side, luncheon attendee Lacey Bushey broke her own freshman records in the 200 and 400 at the league finals, finishing second in the TVL in the 400. She also qualified for CIF with the Warriors’ 4×400 relay team.

Kelsey Drain was also part of that 4×400 team and was the county frosh/soph champion in the 300 hurdles. Finally, Shelby Dunlap broke the 15-year-old school record in the 300 hurdles and qualified for CIF in four events.

The Warriors host the CIF Division IV preliminaries at 11 a.m. There are a host of state-ranked track stars who will be on hand for the event.

WESTMONT: Don’t look now, but the Warriors have a shot at earning a national title before summer arrives. Javelin-throwers Brent Lagace and Andrew Kolodinski have been nothing short of phenomenal since picking up the trade just recently (Lagace during last school year, Kolodinski in January). Lagace shattered the school record with a throw of 223 feet at the GSAC championships, and Kolodinski isn’t too far behind at 219 feet.

Coach Russell Smelley reported that the Warriors have a total of four athletes qualified for nationals with five provisional qualifiers, including San Marcos High alum Kristin Hempy in the javelin. This weekend’s competition at the CSULA Last Chance Qualifier will hopefully grow that group before it shoves off for the NAIA Championships.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: UCSB’s Barbara Nwaba won the Big West heptathlon championship with a score of 5552 points, breaking her own school record by more than 300 points. The result ensures her a spot in the NCAA Championships and will likely be among the national leaders. The second-place finisher, Desirae Gonder of Cal State Northridge, was just 40 points behind.

BREAKERS BASKETBALL

General Manager Eric Burkhardt was at Harry’s to remind everybody that there is quite a show being put on every Saturday by our very own professional sports franchise.

The Santa Barbara Breakers have been ranked in the top 14 of all minor-league basketball teams since first being formed three seasons ago. Those rankings include the NBA Developmental League, the IBL and more.

“You have one of the best teams in the country right here,” said Burkhardt.

The Breakers, who feature former UCSB sharp-shooter James Powell, find themselves in unfamiliar territory (second-place in the WCBL) after a close loss last weekend. They’ll host the first-place Newport Surf this Saturday at 7:15 p.m.

TENNIS

SANTA BARBARA HIGH: The Dons have won 10 straight Channel League boys tennis titles, and Steve Geremia said it’s also been at least 10 years since anyone but a Don has been a singles or doubles champion in the league. He introduced two-time reigning singles champion Chase Melton, who has beaten nationally ranked players throughout his career. Also at Harry’s was two-time defending league doubles champion Chris Williams and teammate Jim Vaughan.

The Vaughan-Williams duo went undefeated this year in the face of a daunting schedule.

“If you give these guys a forehand, you’re gonna be going home early,” said Geremia.

The fourth player he brought was Dan Diaz, who has battled wrist injuries this year and still managed to make it to his second consecutive league title match in doubles.

The Dons, seeded second in the Division I playoffs, will begin their run against against a wild card team on Wednesday.

SAN MARCOS: The Royals started 5-0 and ended up at 10-8 in an up-and-down regular season. It was still enough to earn a home match in Tuesday’s opening round against Aliso Niguel at the John Stoney Tennis Courts. The Royals have beaten ranked teams in the top three divisions this season, including a victory over Ventura last week.

Coach Jarrod Bradley was accompanied by Petar Jivkov, the squad’s lone ranked player. Jivkov, only a freshman, has a “phenomenal inside-out forehand” according to Bradley, and has a big potential. He’s already battled some tough players, including getting to a match-point against the likes of Vaughan.

Also at Harry’s was Parker Funk, a lefty with a crafty serve and has improved tremendously this season, according to Bradley. The winner of Tuesday’s match will face the top-ranked team in Division I, University High in Irvine.

DOS PUEBLOS: Coach Liz Frech began by thanking Randy Weiss and luncheon sponsor Santa Barbara Bank and Trust for providing towels and balls at last week’s Channel League Championships. She also introduced Mary Edstrom and Victoria Brown, two of the team moms who were at the luncheon with their sons, Christian Edstrom and Austin Cano.

Edstrom and Cano were at Harry’s along with the third senior “Musketeer” of the Chargers’ squad, UCSB-bound Sasha Gryaznov.

“We have nine seniors, and forgive me if I get choked up, but we’re going to miss all of them when they graduate,” said Frech.

The Chargers finished up at 13-6 and will play at Loyola High in the first round. All three of the “Musketeers” represented DP proudly at the prestigious Ojai Invitational.

WESTMONT: The Golden State Athletic Conference has been incredibly tough in men’s tennis this season, so tough that the Warriors finished fifth in the conference but are still ranked No. 8 nationally.

Coach Mark Basham introduced two Brazilian players who have made a big impact, Carlos Lima and Tiago Hayashi. Basham says that when he’s fully healthy Lima is one of the best doubles players in the entire NAIA, while Hayashi, a lefty, has been the squad’s most improved player on the season.

On Saturday, the team leaves for nationals in Mobile, AL, where it hopes to make it to at least the quarterfinals.

SOFTBALL

SAN MARCOS: Hantgin pinch-hit for coach Alex Sheldon and introduced sophomore catcher Emily Dietz and pitcher Corrine Yingling. The Royals dropped a pair of games to DP last week, but Sheldon noted that he was particularly proud of the team’s defense late in the season. He also mentioned that Yingling pitched her best game of the season against DP last week.

CARPINTERIA: Latham spoke on behalf of coach Henry Gonzales in reporting that he Warriors have responded to a 4-game losing streak with a 4-game winning streak and are hoping to finish in second place in the Frontier League. A tough game against Nordhoff is on tap.

Female Athlete of the Week Barbara Nwaba of UCSB won the Big West heptathlon championship with a score of 5552 points, breaking her own school record by more than 300 points. The result ensures her a spot in the NCAA Championships and will likely be among the national leaders. The second-place finisher, Desirae Gonder of Cal State Northridge, was just 40 points behind.

Considering we live along the planet’s largest body of water, it sure is tough to find a place to swim in this town.

The pools at Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos are out-of-order this week, so everything aquatic — including the Channel League swimming prelims — has been moved to San Marcos High.

“We’re just waiting for UCSB’s pool to go down so we can have everybody in the whole town coming to swim with us,” joked Royals girls coach Brian Roth at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon. “It’s been a little challenging the last couple of days, but its fun to see all of your friends at the pool.”

Roth’s team may have been beaten handily by Santa Barbara High last week, but the Royal girls scored more points than they’ve ever tallied against the Dons with Roth at the helm. He brought two of the most dedicated athletes in the school’s aquatics program, Rose Koper and Jade Fitzgerald. Koper has excelled in the 200 and 500 freestyle, while Fitzgerald has managed to balance club water polo games with her swimming this spring. Roth thanked both of them for their dedication to the program.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, CATE SCHOOL: After winning the Phil Womble Ethics Award as a junior last year, Cate cross-country star Mackenzie Walsh was back to be honored as the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Walsh, who hails from Montana, ranks as the fourth-fastest girls runner in Cate history and is also one of the most active students on campus. She carries a 3.9 GPA taking classes including AP Spanish, AP Comparative Government, AP Calculus, Genetics, Orchestra and more.

Outside of the classroom, she has recorded a personal-best time of 19 minutes, seven seconds in cross-country and has been the team MVP three times. She is the captain of that squad as well as the captain of the lacrosse team, and will likely participate in both when she attends Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. She plays violin in the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony and is the editor on the school yearbook.

“Hamilton College is getting a good one with Mackenzie,” said athletic director Wade Ransom in the understatement of the millennium.

SWIMMING

SAN MARCOS BOYS: The Royals’ biggest highlight from the Santa Barbara matchup came in the JV competition, as Sean Wilhite dropped an amazing six seconds off of his personal best time in the 100 breaststroke and was actually faster than any of the varsity swimmers in the event.

James Sweeney won both the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke for the JV squad against the Dons, and Ben Battles will compete in the 200 and 500 freestyle for the varsity squad in Wednesday’s prelims.

SANTA BARBARA: Coach Mark Walsh said that the meet with the Royals was really competitive and praised San Marcos for the strides made in the program.

He brought along part of Santa Barbara’s youth movement, including freshman twins Sophie and Maddie Trabucco, who just started swimming two years ago but are already making big contributions at the varsity level. Maddie, who was the starting goalie for Walsh’s water polo team, is the program’s best female breaststroker and is also on a pair of relay teams. Sophie, meanwhile, has been flirting with CIF consideration marks in her events all season, including coming within three seconds in the 500 freestyle last week.

On the boys side, freshman Evan Robertson plays varsity water polo and is already the third fastest male swimmer at Santa Barbara High. Colton Chard, who is also a football player, came out for the swim team last year and is already the program’s No. 4 swimmer.

DOS PUEBLOS GIRLS: The Chargers suffered their first loss of the season last week, by just four points to Mater Dei. But, like the powerhouse water polo team, the Chargers are near the top of the heap in swimming. Coach Leslie Wiggins-Roth introduced two water polo stars who, she thanked for treating swimming “as more than just a spring workout.”

Alex Hill, who will play at Berkeley next year, has been swimming the grueling 200 IM as well as the 100 breaststroke. Junior Kiley Neushul has dominated as a member of the 200 medley relay as well as 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

BASEBALL

CARPINTERIA: When you mention St. Bonaventure High and unbeaten streaks, people will generally think of the Seraphs’ eight undefeated years of football in the Channel League (they will not be in the conference next season).

But St. Bonaventure also had a 34-game winning streak in the Tri-Valley League for baseball until Trevor Madden and the Carpinteria Warriors ended it last week. Madden, a junior, hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning as Carpinteria beat the Seraphs 8-6 in comeback fashion. He also pitched the final two innings and picked up the win.

Coach Pat Cooney pointed out that the Warriors have split with every team that they’ve played twice, which would be a good result against the likes of undefeated Oaks Christian in their pair of matchups this week.

Along with Madden was Victor Garcia, whom Cooney described as “sneaky good.” Garcia has had four hits this year that have either tied or won games, including a two-run single that tied things up in the St. Bonaventure game and led to extra innings.

DOS PUEBLOS: According to coach Nate Mendoza, the Chargers’ split against Buena last week was a bit backwards.

“We lost a game we should have won, and won a game we should have lost,” he said.

The one they lost wasted a gem by sophomore Joe Huthsing, who was one of the three players Mendoza brought to Harry’s. Huthsing gave up five hits and one run (unearned) over eight innings in the 6-3 loss. He also hit a 3-run homer in the game.

The next game was won when luncheon attendee Cory Micheel hit a game-winning grand slam in the top of the seventh inning. Micheel, a 4.6 GPA student, is a senior captain heading for Cal Poly next year.

Mendoza also introduced young freshman Gabe Speier, who is 4-3 with a pair of saves on the year and got the win in the second game. The Chargers play San Marcos three times to close out the regular season.

SANTA BARBARA: The Dons have a one-game lead in the Channel League and get to sit back and watch everybody else play one another this week. Santa Barbara still has a pair of games against Buena, but this week is a bye week. Assistant coach Geroge Rempe noted that every team in the league is within two games of the Dons, meaning that with just two weeks to go any team is capable of inning the title.

The Dons, who are now 18-4, carry 19 players on a roster that includes 11 seniors. Rempe said that it can be a challenge to coach a team of that size with so many seniors because playing time can be scarce. However, seniors Jake WIlhoite and Mitch Cunningham are a pair of seniors who have always done whatever they can to better the program, even if they don’t get on the field as much as other players.

WESTMONT: The Warriors season ended with a doubleheader split against Azusa Pacific, and Tim Leary fittingly capped off one of the greatest individual seasons in program history with a golden performance. In addition to an outstanding pitching performance (complete game, seven innings, four hits allowed, one run, 2-1 win, 86 pitches of which 62 were strikes (72.1%)), Leary also hit the game winning solo home run. He hit two home runs on the day, giving him the Westmont single-season record at 16.

The Warriors finished the season at 13-34 overall and 9-26 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

UCSB: The Gauchos beat USC and UC Riverside last week before losing the latter two games of the series to the Highlanders. Halfway through the Big West season, the Gauchos are in the middle of the pack in the conference with a chance to finish second or third and possibly earn a regional bid into the postseason.

VOLLEYBALL

SAN MARCOS: Last week was a good one for the Royals, who beat Buena, went down to Angels Stadium to be honored as CIF Academic Champs and then beat Santa Ynez.

“This group is talented, sharp and fun-loving,” said coach Roger Kuntz of his team, which takes on Dos Pueblos on Tuesday.

He introduced his two kill-leaders, captain Jackson Kunz and outside hitter Zach Yinger.

LAGUNA BLANCA: The Owls are 8-5 and 6-1 in the Condor League, and will likely share the league title with rival Cate if both reams can beat Dunn this week. Not only is junior Spencer Dusebout in charge of running the offense as a setter, but he also leads the team in aces.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Hitting two triples in a game is rare. Hitting two triples in the same inning is unheard of. Carpinteria High’s Myriah Diaz did just that, driving in six runs on those two triples in a win over Malibu last week. In the Warriors’ next game, she hit a two-run homer as the Warriors defeated San Marcos.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: When you mention St. Bonaventure High and unbeaten streaks, people will generally think of the Seraphs’ eight undefeated years of football in the Channel League (they will not be in the conference next season). But St. Bonaventure also had a 34-game winning streak in the Tri-Valley League for baseball until Trevor Madden and the Carpinteria Warriors ended it last week. Madden, a junior, hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning as Carpinteria beat the Seraphs 8-6 in comeback fashion. He also pitched the final two innings and picked up the win.

Cate School senior Mackenzie Walsh

Walsh, who hails from Montana, ranks as the fourth-fastest girls runner in Cate history and is also one of the most active students on campus. She carries a 3.9 GPA taking classes including AP Spanish, AP Comparative Government, AP Calculus, Genetics, Orchestra and more.

Outside of the classroom, she has recorded a personal-best time of 19 minutes, seven seconds in cross-country and has been the team MVP three times. She is the captain of that squad as well as the captain of the lacrosse team, and will likely participate in both when she attends Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. She plays violin in the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony and is the editor on the school yearbook.

“Hamilton College is getting a good one with Mackenzie,” said athletic director Wade Ransom in the understatement of the millennium.

Putting on a track meet can be exhausting work, but it was a welcomed task for Russell Smelley and the Westmont Athletics Department this past weekend. The Warriors got to put their new state-of-the-art track facility on display to the rest of the Golden State Athletic Conference as they hosted the conference championships.

Smelley reported that everything went smoothly at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.

“It’s really a superior facility that the college has built,” said Smelley, who has run the program for over 30 years. “After 33 years of college coaching, I have not seen any facility better for the college athlete to compete on than what we have there right now. We hope to host a lot of meets in the future.”

Two Westmont athletes earned GSAC titles, and the men’s javelin throw was particularly intriguing. Brent Legace won the event with a school-record mark of 68.15 meters. His friend and teammate, Andrew Kolodinski, broke the record right before that with a throw of 64.77 meters. Both marks earned automatic qualification into the NAIA National Championships. The women’s winner was Kasey Kearin, who bested the field in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 1.75 inches.

Smelley said he couldn’t have pulled off the meet without the help of Sports Information Director Ron Smith, as well as the baseball team and the workers at the school’s Physical Plant.

TRACK AND FIELD

CARPINTERIA: Van Latham has been running track meets at Carpinteria High for decades, and it’s been a busy couple of weeks for the longtime coach. Two weekends ago the Warriors hosted the 91st annual Russell Cup, which included 43 schools and 1,500 athletes. This past weekend they hosted the County Championships, which featured well over 1,000 athletes.

In between those two events, Carpinteria hosted a dual meet with Tri-Valley League foe Oak Park. Latham thanked the other Santa Barbara schools at the County Meet for their help in setting up the facility.

“It’s a big undertaking. It’s very difficult to run two major invitational meets back-to-back, and without them we wouldn’t be able to do it,” he said.

It’s a rebuilding year for the Warriors, who have not been competitive as a team in most meets, but have been exceptionally competitive when it comes to personal-best marks. Latham and the Warriors set a goal at the beginning of the season to have each athlete record six personal-bests during the year. The season isn’t over, and they’ve already done it 444 times — 6.09 per athlete.

He introduced Grant Coleman, who pr’d in the 800 over the weekend, and Melissa Tovar, who took second in the county in the frosh/soph mile. Also at Harry’s was Trinidad Martinez, whom Latham described as “as valuable as anybody on the team” due to his willingness to help the program in any way possible.

DOS PUEBLOS: The Chargers won the Grand Sweepstakes at the County Championships for the second straight year in a close battle with San Marcos. Chargers coach Dave Kuderka also knows how laborious it can be to run a meet, and said that relying on team captains to help out is a big key.

He introduced Nathaniel Block, an 800-meter runner whom he described as “a captain’s captain.”

“He’s reminding me I need things before I remember I need things, which is great to have” said Kuderka.

Hurdle captain Chris Gomez has consistently under 16 seconds in the 110 hurdles, while Tim Park has excelled in numerous events. He cleared 12-6 in the pole vault on Saturday and also pr’d in the 100. Sprints captain Cliff Lekas ran 11.15 in the 100 and id hoping to break the 11-second barrier by the end of the season.

Michelle Gee won the 110 hurdles on Saturday and also broke a 27-year-old school record in the 300 hurdles, finishing second to San Marcos’ Elysia Hodges.

SAN MARCOS: It’s difficult to win Athlete of the Week twice in a season, but San Marcos junior Hannah McDaniel has done it in the span of three weeks. McDaniel won the high jump, 200 and 400 at the County Championships, and also anchored the 4×400 relay team which set the meet record.

“She’s one of the most amazing athletes at San Marcos in a long time,” said coach Marilyn Hantgin.

Also winning multiple medals was luncheon atendee Bennie Kirkwood, who was tops in the high jump and 110 hurdles. Hantgin also introduced senior J.D. Duran, who was on the winning 4×100 team and also posted strong times in the individual sprints. On the girls side, Hantgin brought along Kailyn Koopmans, a double-winner in frosh/soph events, and varsity 800 winner Marie Brashears.

SANTA BARBARA: The Dons, unfortunately, do not have a regulation track at Peabody Stadium, so they have to go to La Playa Stadium twice a week for practice. Assistant coach Jess Martinez introduced four seniors, including long-jumper Michael Troley.

“He practices on a cruddy pit at Santa Barbara High School, yet he goes over 18 feet and that’s marvelous for us,” said Martinez.

Also there for the luncheon were jumper Christina Miller and sprinters Bert Esparza and Liz Cuthbert.

BISHOP DIEGO: Cardinals coach Matt Capritto took a moment to thank Hantgin and the Royals for allowing Bishop to use its facilities for practice. He was joined by Bruce Garcia, a football player who came out for track to improve on his core strength. He ended up winning the shot put at the first Frontier League meet. Also at the luncheon was three-sport varsity athlete Janelle Kohler, a senior and the team’s top female thrower.

BASEBALL

SBCC: Taking a vote was hardly even necessary for the Male Athlete of the Week this time.

SBCC’s Zach Edgington, a 6-1 left-hander, baffled Ventura last Thursday with a school-record 21 strikeouts in a 4-2 baseball victory at Pershing Park. Edgington gave up one earned run and held the Pirates to six hits in his second complete game of the year. He struck out the side in the first and ninth innings and didn’t walk a batter until there were two outs in the ninth.

“That was a pitching performance like I’ve never seen,” said 10th-year SBCC coach Teddy Warrecker.
Edgington (6-3), who has a 2.74 ERA, struck out at least two batters in eight of nine innings. Eight of his Ks came with batters looking at strike three, including all three outs in the ninth.

He ranks second in the state in strikeouts with 97, just seven behind Kyle Petter of El Camino.

The Vaqueros (19-14, 9-8) are in third place in the WSC North with three games remaining and Warrecker feels his team will get a playoff berth if they finish in third.

SBCC has three games in four days this week — Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at home against Hancock, Thursday at Cuesta and Friday at 1 p.m. at home vs. Cuesta.

UCSB: The last time the Gauchos were 17-17 was in 1983, after which they went on to win 25 of their next 28 games.

“I’m anxious, really anxious to have history repeat itself with this deal,” said coach Bob Brontsema.

The most important news out of the program, however, is that pitcher Nick Capito is okay. The junior lefty took a line drive right between the eyes in Saturday’s game at Long Beach State.

“That’s something you never want to see in your lifetime,” said Brontsema.

The coach believes that the ball first hit the bill of his cap, and the bill bent downwards in between the ball and Capito’s forehead. Miraculously, he’s even told Bronstema he wants to pitch in Tuesday’s home game against USC.

WESTMONT: The Warriors split a doubleheader against 15th-ranked Point Loma over the weekend, and coach Robert Ruiz has an extra edge on the opponent heading into the GSAC season’s final series against Azusa Pacific.

“It’s the college that I coached at for the last five years. I recruited and coached almost every kid in the lineup, so hopefully we’ll have a good scouting report and a good plan against them,” said Ruiz.

He brought along Charles Whitman, a fifth-year senior from Baltimore who has been playing this season with a torn labrum. Despite that, he went 4-for-7 in the doubleheader and had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the Westmont victory.

DOS PUEBLOS: The Chargers turned their season around last week, posting back-to-back wins against Santa Barbara to jump right back into the thick of the Channel League race at 3-4. Coach Nate Mendoza brought along two whiz-kids who played a big part in the wins.

ASB President Matt McClenathen, who carries a 4,2 GPA, went 4-for-7 over the two games. Senior Class President Bradley Tirador, a 4.0 student, pitched a complete game against the Dons on Friday that Mendoza called the best performance he’s seen in his two years as coach.

SANTA BARBARA: Dons assistant coach George Rempe congratulated the Chargers for playing so well against Santa Barbara, citing it as an example of this year’s Channel League being the most competitive he’s ever seen. The Dons are a half-game behind first-place Ventura heading into Tuesday’s home game against the Cougars.

Rempe recognized Will Martin and Robert Crawford. Martin, a pitcher, has been dealing with an injury but has served as a pinch-runner numerous times this season. Crawford, son of San Marcos coach Rob Crawford, plays third base and had his first homer of the season against DP. The younger Crawford, who was the top student in the SBHS junior class last year, wore a blue shirt to Harry’s.

“I assume he’s wearing blue to honor his dad instead of wearing green,” joked Rempe.

SAN MARCOS: The elder Crawford took responsibility for the shirt.

“Since he doesn’t shop for himself, all we buy him is blue shirts,” he chided.

The Royals beat Buena twice last week and are also in the thick of the league race, as no team is more than a game-and-a-half out of first place. Crawford’s three luncheon guests have all been key contributors this year. Junior outfielder Lino Reveles has saved a lot of runs with his glove in left field, while Jimmy Brakka — the team’s only sophomore — had three hits in a win over Buena last week.

Senior Shane Wieland has battled injuries this year, but returned to the mound in a 2-2 ballgame and pitched three scoreless innings against Buena.

BISHOP DIEGO: The Cardinals split a pair of games against rival Carpinteria last week, and Hank Vanderfin turned in a memorable performance in the first game. Carpinteria went up 9-0 in the first inning, but Vanderfin came on in relief and pitched nine scoreless innings as the Cardinals chipped away and eventually won 10-9 in the 10th.

Coach Casey Cloud also brought along senior first baseman Joe Salda, who had been a catcher for three years before yielding those duties to his little brother, Jon, this year. Cloud said that he has been a great older brother all season.

VOLLEYBALL

SANTA BARBARA: Chad Arneson and the Dons are hungry for payback against Dos Pueblos after the Chargers snapped their 40-game Channel League win streak earlier this season. They’ll get the chance when DP visits J.R. Richards Gym on Tuesday night.

Arneson introduced two sophomores — Casey Slaught and Holden Ploch — who are showing flashes of future stardom this season. He also brought along Mark Outwater, who has stepped in at the libero position and provided solid defense for the Dons.

SAN MARCOS: The Royals are 9-8 and took the Dons to five sets last week before eventually falling a bit short. They are in the hunt for the third and final playoff spot out of the Channel League. Coach Roger Kuntz introduced sophomore Spencer Johnson, who is in his first year of volleyball but already has quite an arm-swing. He recently blasted one down the line that went into Kuntz’s thumb, and the coach still can’t move it around all that well.

Also at Harry’s were Ben McKenzie and John Workfield, the team’s new setter. The Royals won the CIF Academic Championship and will be at Angels Stadium on Tuesday night to be honored.

SOFTBALL

SAN MARCOS: Aaron Solis pinch-hit for coach Alex Sheldon, who had classes to teach during the luncheon. The Royals have one of the best all-around freshman athletes in town in Hannah Ball, who is a three-sport varsity player as a ninth-grader. She’s hitting over .500 on the season and recently had a grand slam against Santa Barbara. Solis also introduced Natalie WIlliams, who is hitting over .300 in her third year as a varsity player.

BISHOP DIEGO: Tom Beamer’s Cardinals are 10-9 on the year, but have fallen victim to the “one bad inning” disease in most of their losses. Beamer even waved his checkbook in the air offering payment to any coach who had the cure.

He brought his two team captains, Diana Sleep and Annette Gonzales. Both are hitting .400, and Gonzales was wished a happy birthday by the large crowd packed into the Ranchero Room.