Runner

The U-12 Slammers Maroon team finished runner-up in the prestigious Slammers Summer Classic tournament last weekend. The entire team is comprised of former Corona del Mar AYSO All-Stars that have just recently moved over to the Slammers Club soccer team. This was their second club soccer tournament. The boys played outstanding defense over the four games played. They allowed only five shots on goal and only two goals scored. In the championship game they were forced to play with no substitutes and narrowly lost 1-0 to a team from Anaheim.

Often, but even more so since my Daily Pilot commentaries began appearing, a friend will open a conversation with, "You're a runner ... " I tell myself, "OK, for the sake of this chat, I'll pretend I'm a runner. " The friend probably visualizes me running like the L.A. Marathon winner, with long graceful strides as she breaks the ribbon at the end of 26.2, doing five-minute miles. However, running down Bayside, I look more like a short-stepping elf, tripping along the bike lane.

There have been some great female runners at Newport Harbor High, such as Amber Steen, Whitney Blue, Maggie Hanson and Buffy Rabbit. The next in line appears to be Paige Tennison. She's a different type of runner for sure, one who excels in long distances. In track and field, she has become a star runner in the 3,200 meters. Tennison is a junior, so she hesitates to put herself among the school's greatest of all time. She knows she has work to do before that happens. "It would be an honor to be even considered as they are," Tennison said.

It's a moment Connor Rose attempts to put behind him each time he laces up his shoes and begins to run. The Sage Hill School junior was competing in last season's Academy League cross country finals. At the first-mile marker, the Lightning's top runner was right where he wanted to be in second place, awaiting the perfect time to pass. Then a pain started slowly in his stomach before bursting down into his legs. "Then the first guy passed me," Rose said. "Then two of my teammates passed me."

COSTA MESA - Ninety feet is how far the Estancia High baseball team was from tying the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. The go-ahead run was leaning off first base. The players knew what was at stake at home against Segerstrom on Friday, the Costa Mesa Division title of the Newport Elks Tournament. If those two runners score, the Eagles win their first Newport Elks Tournament crown in the program's history. The players had no idea they could make history, because Estancia Coach Nate Goellrich said he doesn't bring up that sort of stuff.

Melissa Mead says she likes to run. She especially enjoys longer distances. She thrives on long courses. It's as if she finds extra energy when the ground converts from pavement to grass, to dirt, to hills toward the finish line. She's also no stranger to change and transformation away from running. There were dreams of being a star runner at Iona College in New York, where she received education for her initial desired interest to become a doctor. But just as the road turns during those long distances, so did her life.

These days many people don't know what to think of Julie Allen, the former Corona del Mar High School standout distance runner who is now at the center of a horrific 10-car accident. When I think of Julie, I think of the athlete. I also think of the person. When I think about reporting on her high-school career nine years ago, I remember a very sweet girl. But now mystery surrounds her after she died Saturday. She drove on West Coast Highway well above the speed limit, police said, and went into oncoming traffic.

CYPRESS ? Faced with the opportunity to knock off a talented team with a postseason pedigree Saturday at Oak Knoll Park, the Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Corona del Mar 14-year-old Pony All-Stars found themselves in a pickle. Make that two pickles. The pickles in question were initiated by two attempts to execute the same delayed double steal with runners on first and third. The first ? with Cypress All-Stars on the base paths ? resulted in a crucial run that wound up being the difference in a 3-2 Cypress victory in the championship semifinals of the District Tournament.

Cross country running is not easy. In fact, it is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports one can find. The cross country athletes, teams and coaching staffs are usually lost amongst all the hype of the football and basketball seasons, but Woodbridge High's cross country teams have made noise, and a lot of people are taking notice. The Woodbridge girls' team, led by Nicole (Coco) Evans, qualified for the CIF state meet after finishing second in CIF Southern Section Division III Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

Tony Altobelli HUNTINGTON BEACH - The Costa Mesa American Little League Yankees and the Huntington Valley Angels combined for 18 strikeouts Monday in the District 62 Area 1 Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately for Mesa, the locals were on the receiving end of more punchouts, resulting in a 3-2 opening-round loss on the Majors diamond at the Robinwood Little League field. "I've come to three of these TOCs and I'm 0 for 3," Yankees Coach Stein Cozad said.

The UC Irvine women's cross country program has earned a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA based on its Academic Progress Rate. The Anteater team's score ranked among the top 10 percent in its sport for 2011-12, the most recent year in the report. This is the third consecutive year that the UCI women's cross country program has earned the award. A total of 976 Division I teams from 268 schools, out of 346 Division I colleges and universities, were recognized with the award for 2011-12.

Jake's coaching helped our friend, Jill, clock a personal best at the OC Half Marathon. I hope to benefit from Jake's know-how and flash a smile as big as Jill's when I complete the L.A. Marathon later this year. Yet when I read Jake's email directing me to keep a runner's log, my eyes glazed over. "If you start with 25 miles a week, increase by 10% with a drop back every four weeks. In 20 weeks you are running 125 miles a week ... count running miles only, no walks or hikes.

It's tremendously fitting that an inspirational half-marathon runner in Sunday's OC Marathon has the first name of Hope. Hope Zayas, a 42-year-old Costa Mesa resident, has used hope amid great despair in the form of breast cancer over the past year while training to run in her first half-marathon. The recent terror at the Boston Marathon has caused security to intensify at the OC Marathon, which starts at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and ends at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa.

OC Marathon registration is up following Monday's terrorist attacks in Boston, race organizers said. Organizers are witnessing an outpouring of support on social media for the Boston Marathon victims and Orange County runners appear to want to compete in their honor. "The numbers continue to flood in," said Race Director Gary Kutcscher. "Very few are voicing enough concern that they are choosing not to run. [We've had] a number of people who said, 'I wasn't planning on running because of a slight injury, but now I want to run in support of Boston.'" In addition to those registering in support of the Boston victims, Kutscher also explained that the Newport Beach-to-Costa Mesa race had stepped up a marketing and advertising effort planned well before the tragedy with full-page ads in the Daily Pilot and other publications.

Melissa Mead ran in the Boston Marathon for the first time Monday. She will remember it more now because of the two bombings near the finish line at the historic race. Mead was among at least 35 runners from the Newport-Mesa area who ran in the world's oldest and most prestigious footrace. Mead, of Costa Mesa, is a Newport Harbor High School and UC Irvine alumna. The 23-year-old said she finished the race in about 3 hours, 49 minutes, some 20 minutes before an explosion went off near the finish line.

IRVINE — There is a difference between missed opportunities and blown opportunities. And, based on the decibel level of UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie's postgame address to his players, the latter had more to do with the Anteaters' 2-1 Big West Conference loss to visiting Cal State Northridge on Saturday. It was the Matadors' first win at Anteater Ballpark since 2005, as they had lost 10 straight at UCI. UCI (22-9, 4-4 in conference), which is now 11-7 in games decided by two or fewer runs, failed to get a hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Often, but even more so since my Daily Pilot commentaries began appearing, a friend will open a conversation with, "You're a runner ... " I tell myself, "OK, for the sake of this chat, I'll pretend I'm a runner. " The friend probably visualizes me running like the L.A. Marathon winner, with long graceful strides as she breaks the ribbon at the end of 26.2, doing five-minute miles. However, running down Bayside, I look more like a short-stepping elf, tripping along the bike lane.

Melissa Mead says she likes to run. She especially enjoys longer distances. She thrives on long courses. It's as if she finds extra energy when the ground converts from pavement to grass, to dirt, to hills toward the finish line. She's also no stranger to change and transformation away from running. There were dreams of being a star runner at Iona College in New York, where she received education for her initial desired interest to become a doctor. But just as the road turns during those long distances, so did her life.

Parisa Esfahani's heart swells every time she learns of Orange County residents participating in community programs focused on alleviating poverty. A three-time participant in Concern America's Walk out of Poverty, Parisa, 18, of Costa Mesa, recalls her mother, who is "very passionate about … everything," frequently raising the topic of impoverished communities. Eager to broaden "privileged minds and vision," Parisa, then a student at Estancia High School, introduced the initiative to members of her Advanced Placement Spanish class and the National Honor Society.