Corona

Chase Wheatley moved from Illinois two years ago and has zoomed toward the top of the Corona del Mar High boys' golf team lineup in a season of winning, a lot of winning. The Sea Kings come off their first undefeated season (22-0), with seniors Mike Moorhead, John Davenport and Brian Mull helping the team go 40-0 in Pacific Coast League matches during their four years. "Things happen naturally," Wheatley, a junior, said of this season's run. "It's been pretty simple: just go out, play and not think too much.

At the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sam Mikulak, a Corona del Mar High alum, gained more notoriety, especially scoring the highest in the all-around Thursday. Cheers for Mikulak could be heard throughout the HP Pavilion in San Jose, especially from Team Sam, a group of fans supporting Mikulak. Team Sam did not have many opportunities to cheer during the men's finals Saturday. Mikulak, who had been third in the overall standings, competed only in the pommel horse because of a sprained left ankle from his performance on Thursday.

Orange Coast College sophomore setter Michael Ensign tops three Pirates named first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference in men's volleyball as conference Player of the Year. Ensign, a 6-foot-5 product of Corona del Mar High, helped guide the Pirates (15-5) to the conference title and a berth in the state title match. He had 667 assists, 81 digs, 28 kills, 10 ace serves, nine solo blocks and 36 block assists. Joining Ensign on the first team are fellow Pirates Chris Van Vuuren and Dillon Emery.

Former Corona del Mar High standout Taylor Dent will face No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic today in the second round at Wimbledon. Dent defeated Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, in the first round. He also previously won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw. Beating Chela, who is ranked No. 50 in the world, already qualified as a minor upset for Dent. He is currently ranked No. 96 but has been ranked as high as No. 21, in 2005. Dent is in his seventh Wimbledon and has made it past the first round for the fifth time.

S urfers are still wearing their wetsuits, but it's getting closer to the time of year when they're going to start showing up on the beach in just swimsuits or rash guards. Ocean water temperatures increased by 10 degrees in two weeks, going from a relatively chilly 55 degrees to 65 degrees, said Capt. Mike Halphide of the Newport Beach Fire Department. "The surf is clean, the water is warming up and even though it's drizzling, there are at least 50 surfers along that half mile stretch near the Santa Ana River," said Halphide, referring to the body of water that separates Huntington Beach from Newport Beach.

CORONA DEL MAR - Two of the best basketball players in Tuesday's game between Corona del Mar High and Woodbridge sat for much of the fourth quarter. Sixteen seconds into the fourth, Max Stone, CdM's No. 1 scorer, left the game, but it was Coach Ryan Schachter's decision to pull the senior. With 5:12 left to play, Woodbridge's Jason Gregson walked off the court. His coach, John Halagan, wasn't the reason why. Gregson, the team's second leading scorer, picked up his fifth foul and fouled out. It turned out the Sea Kings didn't need Stone, while Woodbridge could've used Gregson down the stretch.

CORONA DEL MAR — Early Tuesday afternoon, the pressure was already on the Corona del Mar High boys' tennis team before any balls were struck. The players heard that No. 1 singles player, Villanova-bound senior Ryan Peyton, wouldn't be at the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinal match due to the stomach flu. Hours later, the pressure was still on, this time applied by a couple of pesky Palos Verdes doubles teams. And, as they have all season, the CdM doubles players responded.

CORONA DEL MAR — Standing atop of an SUV, Bryan Burke did his best to watch a soccer game without stepping foot onto the Corona del Mar High campus Friday. The Sea King senior was supposed to be playing in that game, a CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal against Saddleback, but he was charged with two yellow cards in the second round Wednesday. So he played it safe, cheering on his teammates. But late in the second half, a silence came over him and suddenly it was OK to come down from the car and onto the field.

CORONA DEL MAR — At Corona del Mar High, the back slide is a designed offensive strategy, rather than a shortcoming the girls’ volleyball coaches have to guard against. The scheme, which calls for a hitter to angle her approach in a more parallel arc, starting near the middle of the floor and flaring toward the antennae where she encounters a backset and seldom any blockers, came in handy for the Sea Kings Thursday night. The play was one of several that helped the No. 2-seeded hosts earn a 25-10, 25-23, 25-22 win over Arcadia in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.

CORONA DEL MAR — The Harbor Day School eighth-grade girls' volleyball team avenged its only loss of the season with a two-game victory over Corona del Mar in the Coastal Athletic League playoff championship Friday at Harbor Day. Harbor Day won 25-15, 25-21. Trailing 13-11 in the first game Harbor Day went on an 11-1 run to take command. The Seahawks trailed only once in the second game, 1-0. Sarah Buckingham, who missed the team's regular-season match with a sprained ankle, had five kills, including the match winner, and four aces.