Sports : PREPS

The largest cross-country event in the United States will conclude this weekend at Mt. San Antonio College with the high school portion of the 46th annual Mt. SAC Invitational.

CIF Division III and IV schools will compete Friday from 2:45 to 5:30 p.m. Division I and II schools will compete Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

When completed, more than 350 high schools, 30 colleges, 40 community colleges and 10 elementary schools will have taken part in the event, which began last weekend.

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The Diamond Bar girls’ tennis team entered the week 15-0 and ranked fifth in Division II with hopes of an eighth consecutive unbeaten regular season.

Seniors Christa Brown and Michelle Ravelo are the top players for the Brahmas, who won Southern Section championships in 1984, ’88 and ’89.

Diamond Bar, under Coach Gerry Davis, lost to eventual champion Laguna Beach in the semifinals last year.

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Several San Gabriel Valley schools are ranked in their divisions in girls’ tennis, girls’ volleyball, water polo and cross-country.

The Diamond Bar girls’ tennis team is ranked fifth in Division II. Pasadena Poly is fourth and St. Lucy’s is sixth in Division III. South Hills is No. 1 in Division V and Sierra Vista and Gladstone are eighth and 10th, respectively.

The Arcadia girls’ volleyball team is ranked sixth in Division II. San Gabriel is third and Wilson is sixth in Division III. Maranatha is third, South Hills fourth and Flintridge Prep seventh in Division V.

South Pasadena is No. 2 and La Canada 10th in Division III water polo. In Division VI, Wilson is second, Rowland third, Bonita fourth, Charter Oak fifth and Walnut 10th.

St. Francis is ranked fifth in Division III cross-country. Maranatha is third and Flintridge Prep is fourth in Division IV. In girls’ cross-country, Bishop Amat is third in Division II, St. Lucy’s is sixth in Division III and Flintridge Sacred Heart and Maranatha are sixth and ninth, respectively, in Division IV.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The Citrus College football team will try to extend its win streak to three games Saturday when the Owls play host to Grossmont in a Foothill Conference game.

Citrus, 2-2-1 under first-year Coach Dean Karnoski, defeated Rio Hondo, 50-35, last week. Freshman running back Ron Sanders gained 71 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Owls. Quarterback Gabe Agredano, who missed the Rio Hondo game because of a shoulder separation, is expected to return against Grossmont.

Pasadena (2-2-1) will try to regain its winning ways Saturday against San Diego Mesa. The Lancers, after upsetting Mt. San Antonio College two weeks ago, lost last week to Long Beach City College, 53-24.

Serrell Rollins gained 73 yards and scored a touchdown for Pasadena.

Mt. SAC (2-2-1) plays host to Cerritos Saturday night. The Mounties are coming off a 42-23 loss to Palomar.

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The Mt. SAC men’s cross-country team won the community college portion of the 46th annual Mt. SAC Invitational.

Riverside had the top three finishers but did not place another runner among the top 29. Meanwhile, Mt. SAC placed five runners within 40 seconds of its top finisher, Luis Baca, who was fifth in 20 minutes 28 seconds.

Mt. SAC won with 49 points. West Valley was second with 65 points and Riverside was third with 70.

The Mt. SAC women’s team finished fifth.

The Pasadena men’s team finished second and the Lancer women finished third at the Santa Barbara Invitational.

Laura Bermudez of Citrus won the women’s event in 19:14.

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The Citrus women’s volleyball team entered the week 4-0 in the Foothill Conference.

Diane Frederickson, who had a combined 20 kills in victories over Antelope Valley and Chaffey last week, is the Owls’ top hitter with 50 kills. Joy Brown has 45.

COLLEGES

La Verne’s football team is ranked 23rd in NCAA Division III heading into Saturday’s Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Redlands. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at La Verne.

La Verne (5-0) is coming off a 35-6 SCIAC victory over Whittier. Darren MacLellan gained 135 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Leopards. Ryan Campuzano passed for 205 yards and a touchdown.

La Verne is averaging a conference-leading 479.6 yards per game. The Leopards are second in defense, giving up 278.8 yards a game.

Claremont-Mudd (2-3) will try to extend its win streak to three games when the Stags travel to Occidental for an SCIAC game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Claremont-Mudd defeated Menlo, 34-21, in a nonconference game last week. John Shipp, who leads Division III in total offense, passed for 326 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 22 yards.

Pomona-Pitzer (1-4), which had a bye last week, resumes its schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday when the Sagehens play host to Whittier.

Azusa Pacific (1-4), which had a bye last week, resumes its schedule Saturday night at home against Cal Lutheran. Kickoff is at 7. Azusa Pacific lost to Chapman, 59-18, two weeks ago.

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Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the women’s title and Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont finished second and third, respectively, in the men’s event at the SCIAC eight-way dual meet last weekend at La Mirada Park.

Four women from Claremont placed among the top 15, including Gretchen Brugman, who was third in 19:24; Jennifer Stuart, fifth (19:29); Gretchen Sauer, 10th (19:43) and Jennifer Davis, 11th (19:44). Katie Burco of Pomona-Pitzer was fourth in 19:25.

Matt Newman of Claremont finished second in the men’s race in 26:36, 24 seconds behind Occidental’s Will Allan.

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Cal Poly Pomona will host the Bronco Invitational cross-country meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at Bonelli Park in San Dimas.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s team, ranked seventh in Division II in the region, won the Balboa Invitational in San Diego last weekend. Susan Armenta was the top finisher for the Broncos, finishing 11th in 19:36.

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Cal Poly Pomona will honor the accomplishments of former women’s basketball coach Darlene May at a dinner and reception Nov. 14 at the Kellogg West Conference Center.

May retired last summer because of breast cancer. Tickets for the event, which is open to fans and friends of May, are $35. Information: (909) 869-2810.

PREP OF THE WEEK

Nicolle Becker, Arcadia--Becker, a senior outside hitter, had 21 kills in a sweep against Crescenta Valley in a key Pacific League match. She also had three aces in the Apaches’ victory over Pasadena.

Becker has led Arcadia to a No. 6 ranking in Division II.

COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Saul Barrientos, Azusa Pacific--Barrientos, a sophomore forward from Baldwin Park, scored two goals in a 3-2 victory over Concordia and one goal in a 7-0 victory over Point Loma Nazarene as the Cougars assumed sole possession of first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Barrientos entered the week with seven goals and two assists.