Middleton Shines in Italian All-Star Basketball Game

Larry Middleton, a former athletic standout at Taft High who now is playing basketball professionally in Italy, scored a game-high 35 points in the Italian League all-star game in Rome last Saturday.

Middleton, an All-City Section selection in basketball and baseball as a senior in 1983, played for the South, which won, 182-176. Middleton also played at Valley College and Clemson. Former Laker Michael Cooper of the South was named the game’s most valuable player.

Richard Dice of Alemany High and Ryan Kieling of Crespi shared the Mission League’s most-valuable player award in a vote of the league’s football coaches.

Crespi quarterback Cody Smith was named the league’s back of the year, and John DiSante of Notre Dame was the league’s lineman of the year.

Dice, a junior tight end, caught 50 passes for 818 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in nine games. Kieling, a senior wide receiver in his first season of football, caught 63 passes for 898 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in 11 games.

Westlake quarterback Todd Preston, who threw for 2,427 yards this season, has been named the Ventura County offensive player of the year by the Ventura County Coaches Assn. Santa Paula wide receiver Dustin Magdaleno was the offensive player of the year for small schools.

Other honorees included Rio Mesa’s Frank Tinoco (defensive lineman of the year, large schools), Fillmore’s Jason Rangel (defensive lineman of the year, small schools), Thousand Oaks’ Bryce Elliott (offensive lineman of the year, large schools), Santa Paula’s John Reyes (offensive lineman of the year, small schools), Royal’s Tim Ross (defensive back of the year, large schools) and Oak Park’s Mike Stern (defensive back of the year, small schools).

John Anthony has been hired as the Cal Lutheran sports information director. Anthony a former sports information director at Biola, also handled publicity duties for the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 last year. He will assume full-time duties Jan. 1.

Rob Bittner, a 1990 graduate of Tulane where he was captain of the tennis team, has been hired as the Cal Lutheran men’s tennis coach, replacing Paul Steele.

Kellie Chase, a 1986 graduate of Arkansas, has been named the women’s tennis coach at CLU, replacing Carla DuPuis, who remains as assistant director of athletics and women’s volleyball coach. Chase was an assistant director of tennis at a Vermont resort.

Matt Griffin, a Cal Lutheran senior who is majoring in English and has a 3.7 grade-point average, has been named an NAIA cross-country scholar-athlete for the second time in three years.

The Moorpark College baseball staff will hold a camp from Dec. 26-28 for players aged 10 to 15. Sessions will last from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Information: 805-482-7985 or 805-483-0815.