Ramos' big day propels Narbonne baseball past host Chatsworth

Maybe Chatsworth Coach Tom Meusborn should think twice before scheduling Narbonne next season. I'm kidding of course, though it's beginning to look as if the Gauchos have his team's number.

For the second year in a row, Narbonne dealt the Chancellors a loss on their field and in their own tournament -- this time courtesy of Salvador Ramos' single that drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning of the Gauchos' 8-5 victory.

Nellum casts giant shadow, but L.B. Poly boys step out of it at Mt. SAC

The Long Beach Poly boys’ track and field team was better known last season as Bryshon Nellum & the Jackrabbits.

With most of the attention directed at Nellum, who capped his high school career last June by becoming the first athlete to win consecutive California state titles in the 200 and 400 meters, it was easy for runners like Joey Hughes to get lost in the shuffle. Now that Nellum is running for USC, Hughes and his fellow teammates are taking advantage of the opportunity to make names for themselves.

At the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday, they took another big step out of Nellum’s shadow.

Boys' volleyball: Chancellors triumph again at Sylmar tournament

I guess you could say it was all in a day's work for Chatsworth.

The Chancellors repeated as Sylmar tournament champions Saturday and, in doing so, might have locked up the No. 1 seed for the City Section playoffs.

With most of the top-tier City schools there, it was ironic that Chatsworth beat Paraclete, a Southern Section team, in the finals. To get there, though, the Chancellors had to knock off Reseda, Franklin, Poly, Venice and Verdugo Hills--teams they could meet again in May. 

Newport Harbor upsets No. 1 Valencia in Santa Barbara title match

Seemingly every top-notch boys’ volleyball program from the Southland entered this weekend’s Santa Barbara/Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions showcase. The 16-team field featured seven teams in StudentSportsVolleyball.com’s top 25 national rankings, including three of the top five.

But there’s going to be a new No. 1 the next time those rankings are released.

That’s because Newport Harbor upset Valencia, the online publication’s top-ranked team, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 15-10, in the championship match Saturday at Santa Barbara High.

(Pictured: Valencia's #23 Skylar Seymore prepares to spike the ball as Newport Harbor's #20 Kyle Caldwell and #6 Tucker Peleuses ready for a block.)

Roosevelt makes it a rough ride for Eastern League opponents

We're over halfway through the baseball season and the City Section race seems as wide open as it's been in years. A half dozen teams, maybe more, have a realistic shot of reaching the finals at Dodger Stadium, and you can count Roosevelt among them.

After a rocky start the Rough Riders are rounding into postseason form behind the arms of Martin Villanueva and Chito Alvarez and the bats of Eddie Almeda and Joey Calderon. Almeda had two home runs and four RBIs and Calderon added three hits as the host Rough Riders mercied Downey Calvary Chapel, 10-0, in their tournament Saturday.

Roosevelt is closing in on its third straight Eastern League crown and eighth in the last 10 years. Pitching and defense are the staples of Coach Scott Pearson's program and one reason the Riders have won 42 straight league games and are 46-0-1 in their last 47.

Track and field: Storrs, Hughes put on a show in 200 meters at Mt. SAC

The last of the sprints just finished here at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, and the boys' 200 meters didn't disappoint. Rodney Storrs of Corona Santiago edged Joey Hughes of Long Beach Poly to win in a wind-legal 21.38 seconds, the second-fastest time in the state this season.

Hughes, third in the 400 at the state championships last June, was second in 21.40, the third-fastest mark in the state this season.

It's cold and windy here in Walnut, so the fact that they were able to produce solid wind-legal times was somewhat of a surprise.

Akawkaw Ndipagpor of Long Beach Poly, the state leader in the 400, scratched from that event earlier, but displayed her speed in winning the girls' 200 in a wind-aided 24.11.

-- Dan Arritt

-- Image from exemplars.ysimste.ca

Track and field: Less than full fields for 400s at Mt. SAC Relays

Nothing to write home about in the 400 dashes today at the Mt. SAC Relays.

Nico Reaves of San Diego Lincoln won in 47.54 seconds, as an already thin field was made thinner when Rahim Moore of L.A. Dorsey was disqualified for a false start.

The girls' field was even smaller, as five girls got into the blocks and one false-started, making it easier for Carlyle Davis of L.A. Marlborough to win in a pedestrian 55.74.

The girls' 400 originally included national leaders Akawkaw Ndipagbor and Jasmine Joseph of Long Beach Poly, and Long Beach Wilson standout Angele Cooper, but they scratched.

Another reason why track and field is a tough sell in this country -- a lot of the time, races don't live up to expectations.

-- Dan Arritt

-- Image from niketalk.yuku.com

Football: Chadwick QB Magee commits to Arizona State

You guys like to keep track of this stuff -- commitments and signings. So here's a good one...

Chadwick quarterback Andy Magee has committed to play at Arizona State.

Magee, who considered UCLA and USC, threw for 3,668 yards and 50 TDs on 251 of 387 passing this season for Chadwick and had 6,503 yards and 72 TDs over the past two years.

Softball: San Pedro's Koria ties state career home run record

Just call her the Queen of Clout.

With one mighty swing to lead off the bottom of the third inning, Perelini Koria made history Saturday morning in El Segundo, belting her 38th career home run in San Pedro's 9-1 victory over Harvard-Westlake. Guess it's no wonder why the Pirates' senior catcher is bound for the University of Arizona.

Koria (pictured at right) equaled the mark established by former Oakland Bishop O'Dowd and University of Nebraska star Jennifer Lizama, who hit 38 homers for the Dragons from 1993-96. Saturday's blast was Koria's sixth four-bagger of the season. She hit seven homers as a freshman and eight as a sophomore before tying the state single-season record with 17 last spring.

San Pedro ace Taylor Petty didn't pitch in either of the Pirates' games Saturday at the El Segundo tournament and remains tied for the City career wins record.

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Photo: www.media.rivals.com

Track and field: 100 dashes not as fast as advertised at Mt. SAC

The boys' 100 meters didn't quite live up to expectations talent-wise, as Arcadia Invitational champion Randall Carroll of Los Angeles Cathedral scratched from the event at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

That opened the door for his primary rival, Charles Saseun of Rancho Cucamonga, to win in a wind-aided 10.54 seconds.

Saseun, runner-up in the state finals as a sophomore last season, used a late surge to blow past early leader Chris Owusu of Oaks Christian.