Mustangs

COSTA MESA - At the end of the sixth inning, the Costa Mesa High softball team gathered near the dugout and yelled, "Estancia!" The players then lined up to slap hands with rival Estancia. The Mustangs believed Thursday's Orange Coast League home game was over. It wasn't, but it might as well have been. The teams played one more inning, going the normal seven. The Eagles added three runs to their 23-12 rout, helping them sweep the Battle for the Bell series against Costa Mesa for the second straight year.

COSTA MESA - Costa Mesa High's Orange Coast League swimming dual meet began a half hour early on Wednesday. The timing wasn't an inconvenience for the Mustangs. They traveled just across town to compete at rival Estancia. The Mustangs accommodated the Eagles and with good reason. Estancia boys' coach John Carpenter said he and many of the school's swimmers planned to attend a funeral after the meet. The meet ended in time for them to do so. The start time didn't affect the results between the two schools in the pool.

COSTA MESA — The Estancia High baseball team rang up its opponent well before the actual bell on the Paul Troxel Trophy at home plate. In three games against rival Costa Mesa this season, the Eagles pounded out 38 hits and 36 runs. They produced their latest runs under the lights at TeWinkle Park on Wednesday, and their bats shined bright in a 12-0 rout of the Mustangs. Estancia swept the three-game series against the Mustangs and beat them for the 10th straight time. The Battle for the Bell is Estancia's for the fourth straight season and three of those have been clean sweeps.

COSTA MESA - Spring break is this week for Costa Mesa High. The boys' volleyball team doesn't have much time off, though. The Mustangs went to school on Monday and prepared for an upcoming Orange Coast League match. The next day, they returned to the gym to play host to their rival, Estancia. Costa Mesa senior Noah JeyaRajah said it was still a little hard getting up for the Eagles during spring break. And it showed in the first set on Tuesday, as the Eagles jumped out to a seven-point lead.

Costa Mesa High junior guard Kyle Hefner is a first-team All-Orange Coast League performer in boys' basketball. Hefner led the Mustangs (10-17, 5-5 in league) to a share of third place in league and the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs. He averaged 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. Costa Mesa junior guard Sean Comer, who averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 assists and three rebounds per game, made the second team, along with Estancia junior guard Josh Mendoza and senior guard Ben Beck.

COSTA MESA - The suspense has not been there this year in the Battle for the Bell boys' tennis matches. The Estancia High program is up, while Costa Mesa is down. But, for the Eagles, Thursday's 17-1 Orange Coast League victory at Costa Mesa High provided good practice for a big match down the road. Estancia (12-4, 4-1 in league) plays at first-place Laguna Beach on April 9. The Breakers, who have won the last five league titles, won the teams' first meeting, 11-7. Estancia Coach Carlos Beltran said Laguna's top player, senior Teague Hamilton, missed that match with a wrist injury.

Estancia High junior guard Celia Duran shared the MVP award in the Orange Coast League after helping the Eagles earn their second league title in three years. Duran was joined by Estancia teammates, senior post player Gianna Jason and freshman point guard Maya Van Den Heever, as first-team all-league selections. Costa Mesa senior forward Molly Settles and junior point guard Danielle Obong were also on the first team. Duran averaged a team-high 16.3 points, five assists and four steals per game for the Eagles, and was second with 4.6 rebounds per contest.

Costa Mesa High seniors Kellie Thorsness and Aubry Hill, Estancia seniors Alexis Paul and Ilene Umansky and Mesa junior goalie Kaitlin Hill have all earned first-team honors in the Orange Coast League for girls' water polo. Thorsness, a co-captain along with Aubry Hill, led the Mustangs (17-9) with 96 goals, 12 assists and 26 steals. She helped Costa Mesa finish second in league and return to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Thorsness' goal total placed her second in single-season annals in program history, only behind Sarah Bowman, who scored 122 goals in 2005.

COSTA MESA - Ricardo doMonte is the new boys' volleyball coach at Costa Mesa High. The person who referred him to the job is his friend Paul Muñoz, the coach at the rival school, Estancia. Muñoz might be regretting his decision after Thursday. The new man in charge of the Mustangs led them to their first win of the season, a 31-33, 25-22, 25-12, 25-15 result coming in an Orange Coast League opener at Estancia. Through eight matches, the Eagles are winless. It took the Mustangs seven matches to end their losing skid.

COSTA MESA - Near the bleachers behind the backstop at Estancia High, the Paul Troxel Trophy was in full display. The trophy is what the Estancia and Costa Mesa baseball programs play for each year. The winner of the rivalry gets to ring the trophy toward the end of Orange Coast League play. A teenager rang it in the first inning of the league opener between the Eagles and Mustangs on Friday. It might have been premature to do so, but the sound is an all too familiar one for the Eagles.