Sunset League

Cooperstown has its Hall of Fame baseball weekend. Thanks to Paul Grady, Costa Mesa High is having its first Hall of Fame baseball weekend next month. One of the first things Grady wanted to do when he took over as baseball coach at Costa Mesa five months ago was bring awareness to the program. He hasn't coached a game as the man in charge of his alma mater and he already has grand plans for the program. The Costa Mesa Baseball Hall of Fame weekend is Feb. 15-16 and the first inductee will be Brent Mayne.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Newport Harbor High played in its longest boys' basketball game of the season on Friday. The game at Edison went past four quarters, right into overtime. After 36 grueling minutes, Coach Bob Torribio said the player who beat his team again didn't make that many plays against his Sailors. AJ Garrity just made the play that counted. He seems to have a knack of coming through in the clutch and breaking the Sailors' hearts in the waning seconds of Sunset League games.

NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team went into its Sunset League opener against Edison on Wednesday night as a big favorite. The Sailors are ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and the Chargers are No. 8. But Edison Coach Diggy Riley, a Newport Harbor alumnus, found a bit of inspiration before the matchup. He said earlier Wednesday he watched video of the Chargers' victory over Newport Harbor in the third-place match of the 2010 Irvine Southern California Championships.

BOYS' SOCCER Marina Tournament HUNTINGTON BEACH - Alan Alcantara had a big day, logging three goals in two games for the Sailors, who won one and lost another in tournament play Friday. Newport Harbor opened with a 2-1 loss to Redondo Beach Friday morning in a quarterfinal game with Alcantara scoring his team's only goal unassisted. The Sailors (7-4-2) rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Colton, behind a two-goal performance from Alcantara and a Manolo Laguna score.

Newport Harbor High senior setter Torey Thompson and senior libero Hunter Jennings each made first-team All-Sunset League after the girls' volleyball team placed third in league. Thompson and Jennings helped Newport Harbor (20-11, 6-4 in league) beat Marlborough of Los Angeles in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs. Thompson amassed 984 assists, to go with 75 digs, 61 kills and 25 service aces. Jennings finished with 257 digs and 17 aces. On the second team for Newport Harbor were junior middle blocker Carolyn Bockrath and junior defensive specialist Nicky Fitzsimons.

Newport Harbor High senior Dan Stevens has earned Sunset League Player of the Year honors for boys' water polo. Stevens is joined on the Sunset League first team by senior teammates Curtis Fink, Preston Lee and Andrew Silvers. Newport Harbor Coach Robert Lynn was named league Coach of the Year. Newport Harbor senior goalie Wyatt Muller, as well as juniors Mitchell Mendoza and Ryan Warde, earned second-team all-league honors. Stevens, a standout defender and co-captain bound for Harvard, was second on the Sailors in both goals (49)

Newport Harbor High senior tailback Talalelei Teaupa earned the Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year award and junior defensive tackle Ramsey Hufford shared the Defensive Lineman of the Year award in football. Teaupa and Hufford led the Sailors (7-5, 4-1 in league) to a second-place finish in league and the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs. The record in Sunset League play was the Sailors' best in 35 years and the quarterfinal appearance was the program's first in seven years.

For Corona del Mar High's Amy Matsuoka and Newport Harbor's Grace Ferrell, youth hasn't impeded them on the golf course. Experience has been on Estancia Cassie Stevenson's side. The three local golfers look to continue their impressive postseason runs. They are competing in the CIF Southern Section Individual Final at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills on Thursday. Tee time is at 9 a.m. Ferrell, a freshman, is coming off a five-over-par 79 performance, tying her for 25th place with two other players at last week's CIF Southern Section Southern Individual Regional at Recreation Park Golf Course in Long Beach.

For the second time in three years, Corona del Mar High has claimed the Pacific Coast League football title outright. The Sea Kings knocked off Woodbridge, 33-16, at Newport Harbor High on Friday, helping them improve to 4-0 in league. CdM (7-2 overall), the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, will try to go unbeaten in league play as it did two years ago. The Sea Kings' league finale is on the road against rival Beckman (3-6, 2-2 in league)

Kristen Case called it one of the top three matches she has seen as a girls' tennis coach at Newport Harbor High. The fact that seniors Megan Bathen and Kaitlyn Cosenza were involved wasn't surprising. Top-seeded Sarah Edwards and Sophia Bott of Los Alamitos edged second-seeded Bathen and Cosenza, 6-4, 6-7, 10-3, in the Sunset League doubles final Oct. 18 at Los Al. The level of play was spectacular from both duos, Case said. They both qualified for CIF Individuals, which begin Nov. 19. "It brought out the best in both teams," Case said.