Gold

Misty May-Treanor said it was surreal to return to Ensign Intermediate School in Newport Beach on Thursday, where she spoke to students and answered questions. The three-time Olympic gold medalist had not been on the campus since graduating to Newport Harbor High School, "many moons ago. " The school holds a special place in her heart, she said. Ensign was the first school she attended when her family moved to Orange County from Muscle Beach in Santa Monica. "From the moment we moved to Orange County my eighth-grade year, I felt like an outsider," May-Treanor says in her 2010 autobiography, "Misty: Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life.

A deep sadness has shadowed me concerning the death of Huell Howser. I am so grateful that Huell was able to hear what I wrote about him a month ago. His assistant called me and said that when he read the piece to Huell, it moved him to tears, and that if he could have talked to me and said so himself, he would have. Hopefully, he was made aware of the tributes to his fine work from others as well. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before his obituary appeared. Still, the sad news came as a blow to the heart.

Corona del Mar High twin seniors Stephania and Ioanna Haralabidis hope to help the Sea Kings win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls' water polo title in February. But over the weekend, the transfers from Greece earned another big title - and a gold medal. The Haralabidis sisters helped Greece's youth national team win the inaugural FINA Youth World Championships in Perth, Australia. Greece beat the United States, 8-3, in the semifinals before topping Hungary, 9-5, in the championship match on Sunday.

COSTA MESA - The Girls Incorporated of Orange County organization likes to say it is inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. Girls Inc. hosted two women who possess those attributes at a special question-and-answer session Tuesday night at its headquarters in Costa Mesa. Those two young women, Kelly Rulon and Courtney Mathewson, also happen to be Olympic gold medalists. Rulon and Mathewson, as well as Team USA assistant coach Dan Klatt, were on hand to entertain questions from about 40 girls.

An Orange County man who stole $280,000 from a woman in a fake gold investment scheme was sentenced Monday to a decade in state prison. William Scott Spalding, 47, pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of money laundering, three felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of first-degree residential burglary, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney's office. Spalding, an Irvine resident, will have to pay restitution and a fine totaling $576,000, prosecutors said.

In lime green sneakers, khaki shorts and a navy USA jacket with a gold medal around her neck, Olympian Esther Lofgren spoke Thursday afternoon to a packed house. Mariners Elementary School's third- to sixth-grade students filled the multi-purpose room to hear the gold-medal rower talk about her journey, the importance of having dreams and how to accomplish them. Talking to groups of students is nothing new for Lofgren, whose made it a point to share her experiences with others.

The Newport Beach Water Polo Club's 14-and-under boys' team captured the gold division title at the Junior Olympics at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton earlier this month. Goalie Joseph Ferraro, Ethan Clayton, Gavin Kunkle and captain Ben Morrison are Newport Harbor High incoming freshmen on the team. The rest of the squad included: Presley Boyd, Barron Banta, Cole Brosnan, Hannes Daube, Oscar Goodell, Robert McCracken, Nicolas Rimlinger, Nakua Olotoa, Ryan Hurst and Patrick McNamara.

The U.S. women's volleyball team will try to earn the country's first Olympic gold medal in the indoor version of the sport on Saturday, when the top-ranked Americans face No. 2-ranked Brazil in the gold-medal match at 10:30 a.m. (PT) at Earls Court in London. But Team USA assistant coaches Paula Weishoff and Jamie Morrison, the UC Irvine women's head coach and assistant coach, respectively, are quite familiar with success on the Olympic stage. Weishoff, in her first Olympics as an assistant coach, represented the U.S. as a player in the 1984, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.

Tumua Anae had already achieved her dream. But Thursday, the Corona del Mar High product helped make history, as she and the U.S. women's water polo team defeated Spain, 8-5, at the London Olympic Games to claim the Americans' first Olympic gold medal in the sport. Anae, a backup goalie, is one of 13 roster players for Team USA, which went 5-0-1 in the tournament. The final victory avenged the only blemish on that record, a 9-9 tie against Spain in group play. Since women's water polo became an Olympic sport in 2000, the Americans had won silver medals in 2000 and 2008, while capturing bronze in 2004.

Corona del Mar High graduate Tumua Anae will attempt to become the third local athlete to win a gold medal at the London Olympics on Thursday. Anae, a backup goalie on the U.S. women's water polo team, will help the Americans battle Spain in the gold-medal game. The two teams, both 4-0-1 in the tournament, played to a 9-9 tie in group play. Newport Harbor High graduatesMisty May-Treanor(women's beach volleyball) and Esther Lofgren (women's eight rowing) have both earned gold medals in London.