Southern Section

The boys’ water polo teams from Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar earned berths into the CIF Southern Section Masters Tournament, scheduled Friday and Saturday at Irvine High. The Sailors (27-3), who won the Southern Section Divsision I crown Saturday with an 11-3 triumph over Northwood, are the No. 1 seed. They face Cerritos at 10 a.m. Friday to open the 16-team event. CdM (16-7), which lost to El Toro in the Southern Section Division I quarterfinals, meets Mater Dei at 11:15 a.m. Friday.

Name: Heather Deyden Born: Aug. 10, 1983 Hometown: Tustin Height: 5-foot-9 Weight: 150 Sport: Water polo Position: Goalie Coaches: Bill Barnett Favorite food: Sushi Favorite movie: "Beaches" Best athletic moment: "When I was able to be at the CIF(Southern Section Division I) championship game, (a victory over Irvine last season which she watched from the Harbor bench). It was so exhilarating." The week that was: She made six saves and scored a goal in a 15-2 league romp over Woodbridge, then made eight saves to help the Tars rally for a 7-5 nonleague triumph over powerful Foothill.

CORONA DEL MAR - Season Meservey, who helped the Corona del Mar High girls cross country team win Pacific Coast League, CIF Southern Section Division IV and CIF State Division IV titles last fall, confirmed Thursday she will transfer to Santiago High in Corona for the upcoming season. Meservey, who transferred to CdM from Aliso Niguel before her sophomore year, was a valuable member of Bill Sumner's team last year. She finished fifth at league finals, 13th at Southern Section finals and 11th at state finals.

Devin Hester, Matt Hasselbeck and Brian Urlacher would have to wait. There was hardly anything keeping Laird Hayes from watching his son play for a championship. His colleagues were missing work because of injuries. But Hayes called his boss Mike Pereira, the NFL vice president of officiating, to let him know he was not going to Seattle to work the Seahawks-Bears game. Hayes wanted to watch Andy and the Newport Harbor High boys’ water polo team play against Northwood in the CIF Southern Section Division I title game.

At Corona del Mar High, the student-athletes are doing a pretty good job of being both students and athletes. Three Corona del Mar teams are slated to be honored at Angel Stadium before the Los Angeles Angels-Detroit Tigers game April 25 for being 2006 CIF Southern Section Academic Award winners. Among Southern Section high schools with an enrollment of 1,501 or more, the Corona del Mar boys' cross country team, softball team and girls' golf team each had the highest grade point average in their respective sports.

Another year, another step closer. Sage Hill School's girls tennis team became the first squad from any sport at the school to advance to the semifinals in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. But the Lightning, seeded No. 1 in Division V playoffs, had their run end on the road Thursday when they were upset by Malibu, 10-8. Last season, Sage Hill (18-4) bowed out in the quarterfinals. The Lightning received strong play from their doubles teams, which won two games each.

Nate Miller has more time on his hands now. This bodes well for Sage Hill School’s cross country programs. Miller stepped down in July as athletic director, a position he held for almost as long as the private school has been around. Six years as athletic director. The school opened its doors in 2000. But instead of making sure every team has a coach now, he’s been focusing on assembling strong boys’ and girls’ cross country teams in his seventh year as coach.

Four Newport-Mesa players have been named second-team All-CIF Southern Section in their respective boys and girls divisions by the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association. Newport Harbor High senior Nedim Pajevic was recognized in Division II-AA, after leading the Sailors' boys team to a 16-10 record. The 6-foot-9 center, who shared Player of the Year honors in the Sea View League, averaged 15.7 points and just more than 13 rebounds for the Tars.

Barry Faulkner Though the complexity of the task defies concise explanation, Costa Mesa High senior Sharon Day thought only a few seconds before professing her keys to defying gravity. "I think you have to have speed and control at the same time," said the two-time CIF State girls high jump champion, who defended that title Saturday at Cerritos College, capping a momentous season and monumental prep track and field career. Speed and control, in fact, could also prove analogous to Day's pliable personal traits; those that allow her to balance a raging competitive fire with a cryptic cool that has rendered her virtually resistant to the most pressurized situations.

There are several things Coach Scott Kahawai likes about his new basketball job at Estancia. The tradition. The freshness. Coaching one of the area's premier players in senior guard Blake Pinto. And guiding boys instead of girls. "We weren't singing Kum Ba Yah, or anything," Kahawai said of getting acquainted with his players after spending the last two years with the Corona del Mar girls' program. "Eventually as a career move I wanted to move over and coach boys." Kahawai takes over a program off a couple of highs the previous two years.

Peri Howser ran into problems last weekend at the CIF Southern Section divisional track and field finals at Mt. San Antonio College. Her run was precisely the problem. Timing is everything in pole vaulting, and Howser's timing was off on her approach. When she got home that night and watched video with her father and coach, Fritz, she saw the issue. "I was running from two different spots," Peri Howser said. "I was kind of freaking out while I was jumping. I didn't know why I was out so far, but I figured it out that I was running from the wrong spot.

WALNUT - Marty Taylor's Saturday was over, in terms of throwing for Newport Harbor High at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field finals. He stuck around in the heat at Mt. San Antonio College, not to work on a tan. Taylor sat on the bleachers near the shotput ring to watch two throwers, his competition next week. Earlier in the day, Taylor won the discus throw with a mark of 181 feet, 5 inches, tops for all four divisions. The UCLA-bound senior's best shotput effort, a 60-4 throw, gave him the Division 2 title, but he knew it wasn't going to hold up as the meet's overall top mark.

In third grade, right before lunch, a teacher let Persis William-Mensah and the rest of the class out early. The kids found out they were going for a little exercise. William-Mensah remembers how she and the rest of her classmates lined up against a fence. The teacher ordered them to race to a tree. The first one to reach it was William-Mensah. She beat everyone, even the boys. Another teacher noticed the winner of the 50-meter race. He approached William-Mensah and told her about the track and field team at the school.

The trip from Corona del Mar High to Ojai's Libbey Park is only about 124 miles. If you don't hit too much traffic, you can get there in about two hours. CdM juniors Carson Williams and Josh Kliger were two tennis players who didn't mind making that trip three weeks ago for the 113th annual Ojai Tennis Tournament. Williams and Kliger had a strong tournament, getting to the quarterfinals of the CIF Doubles division at "The Ojai. " They enjoyed their down time as well, watching a few of the Pac-12 men's tennis matches in town.

Seniors Quan Nguyen and Ashley Tfaye have been selected as the CIF Southern Section Academic Student-Athletes of the Year for Costa Mesa High, the school announced. Nguyen and Tfaye earned the awards, which are based on non-weighted grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher, participation in varsity sports and extracurricular activities during their final year of high school. The school announced that its baseball, cross-country, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling teams were also honored by the section.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - On the field 45 minutes prior to the start, Newport Harbor High Coach Mark Todd talked about how his boys' lacrosse team began the season with JSerra. His Sailors also ended their season against the same team. They failed to beat JSerra in February and they fell short again on Tuesday. Fourth-seeded JSerra defeated No. 13 Newport Harbor, 14-4, in the opening round of the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs. The Sailors (6-12) were unable to upset a first-round opponent, which they accomplished last season.

The Corona del Mar High boys' lacrosse team earned the top seed in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs and Newport Harbor a No. 13 seed. The Sea Kings (15-2), the defending U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division champions, open at home against No. 16 Dana Hills on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. CdM is ranked No. 4 in the state by LaxPower.com. The Sailors (6-11) play at No. 4 JSerra on Tuesday at 6 p.m. - From staff reports * BASEBALL Corona del Mar 6, Ocean View 5 CORONA DEL MAR - Tyler Duncan, the winning pitcher, delivered a walk-off single that scored Brett Olson in a make-up game of the Newport Elks Tournament Saturday.

The Bird. Turtle. The Backstroke King. They are known as three of Newport Harbor High's greatest athletes. Newport Harbor's "Big Three" can also be known as among the best in CIF Southern Section history. George Yardley (basketball), Misty May-Treanor (volleyball) and Aaron Peirsol (swimming) are featured in the CIF Southern Section's "100 Athletes for 100 years," and represent the inaugural CIF Southern Section Athletes Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday. Each of the Sailors' athletes hold a special place in Newport Harbor's Long Gray Line, and went on to reach stardom in the NBA for Yardley, and with Olympic gold for May-Treanor and Peirsol.

Rob Wigod, the commissioner of the Southern Section, wants to start a debate over whether there are too many teams being allowed in the Southern Section playoffs because of Blue Book Rule 3214.1. That rule, passed several years ago, allows schools that did not earn a guaranteed entry from their league into the playoffs in every sport but football, basketball and wrestling as long as their school finished in the next place beyond that league's guaranteed number of entries and the school has an overall record of .500 or better.

In a move that has stunned much of the Orange County aquatics community, Corona del Mar High girls' water polo coach Sam Bailey resigned Wednesday to take the vacant boys' and girls' water polo head coaching positions at Beckman. Bailey's resignation comes just more than a month after he guided CdM to its first CIF Southern Section Division 1 title in girls' water polo. Bailey said Wednesday night that he also has accepted a social sciences teaching position at Beckman, which was the main reason for his decision.