Buzzer-beater highlights year’s accomplishments

Another prep sports school year has gone into the books. As has been the case in years past, several local teams and athletes reached the pinnacle of their respective sports.

Below is a listing of some of the top prep highlights reported to the Independent during the 2010-11 school year.

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September-December

The Marina girls’ golf team turned in a perfect Sunset League season to capture the program’s second league title in four years.

The Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions title game played Nov. 3 again came down to a showdown between Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor. As was the case a year ago, it was the Sailors who got the best of the host Oilers, this time by a 2-0 score at Huntington’s Sheue Stadium. The teams have played in the last four championship games, with Huntington winning the title in 2007.

Huntington shared this year’s Sunset and Orange County Tournament of Champions titles with Newport Harbor. The Oilers’ Brooke Berns, a senior midfielder, was named co-MVP with Newport Harbor senior Stephanie Storch of the Sunset League.

Two area football teams, Edison and Ocean View, qualified for the CIF playoffs. Edison, which was dethroned as Sunset League champion by Los Alamitos, lost in the first round of the Pac-5 Division playoffs to Santa Margarita. Ocean View, the third-place team from the Golden West League, dropped a tight first-round Southern Division game to Corona del Mar. Both local teams ended the year 7-4.

The Ocean View boys’ water polo team made nice run through the CIF Division 7 playoffs. The Seahawks, who finished second in the Golden West League, won twice in the postseason before falling in the semifinals to top-seed Santa Ynez.

The Marina boys’ and Edison girls’ cross-country teams qualified for the CIF Cross-Country Championships.

The Brethren Christian girls’ volleyball team, which finished second in the Academy League behind St. Margaret’s, played the Tartans for the CIF Division 4AA title in late-November, falling in three games.

Huntington Beach senior setter Jianna Bonami and Edison junior opposite Cassie Strickland were named to the All-CIF Division 1AA team.

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January-June

The only CIF Southern Section championship won by a local school during the 2010-11 school year came in girls’ basketball. It happened during late-winter and was captured by Edison. Senior Bonnie Samuelson stole an inbounds pass in the closing seconds and turned to hit the winning shot before the clock expired, to give the top-ranked Chargers an exhilarating 45-44 victory over No. 2 Troy in the Division 1A final March 3 at Anaheim Arena.

“It happened so fast, that I wasn’t sure if it was real,” said the Stanford-bound Samuelson. “I really can’t believe it.”

Dan Wiley took Edison to a Southern Section final in his third year as head coach. Edison, which went 10-0 to win the Sunset League, won its first section title since 1987 and second overall.

Samuelson was named Player of the Year and Wiley was Coach of the Year on the All CIF-Southern Section/SCIBCA 2010-11 girls’ basketball team (Division 1A).

In boys’ basketball, Edison shared the Sunset League title with Los Alamitos and Ocean View was in a three-way tie with Segerstrom and Loara for the Golden West League championship. The Chargers and Seahawks, along with Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Brethren Christian, all advanced to the CIF playoffs.

Edison point guard Dylan Garrity, who ended his four-year varsity career as the boys’ program leader in four categories (points scored, assists, games played and career games record), became the first player in the 42-year history of the Edison program to have his jersey (No. 5) retired.

Four wrestlers from the Sunset League won individual titles at the CIF Southern Section Individual (Inland Division) Championships at Roosevelt High in Corona. The four individual champions were Dean O’Bourke (119-pounds) of Fountain Valley, Alex Anunciation (130) and Colin Navickas (140) of Marina and Brenton Visnoski (145) of Edison. Edison qualified four athletes and Marina and Fountain Valley one each to the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield. Advancing to State from Edison were Visnoski (sixth-place, 145), Erick Zumwalt (140), Cameron Bustos (152) and Greg Meline (160), Anunciation (fifth-place, 130) of Marina and O’Bourke of Fountain Valley.

Edison, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Ocean View all reached the boys’ volleyball playoffs, but each fell in their opening matches.

Marina won the 2011 Sunset League boys’ tennis title. Parker Glore of the Vikings repeated as the league’s singles champion and teammates Roy Nielsen and Toma Harmelink took the doubles crown.

The Edison girls’ team easily captured a championship and Edison and Los Alamitos shared the boys’ title at the Sunset League Swimming and Diving Championships at Newport Harbor High. Marina’s Nick Soedel won the boys’ 50-yard freestyle in a league-record time of 20.57 seconds and also won the 100 free in 44.87.

Several local athletes won individual titles at the CIF-SS Division 1 Swimming and Diving Championships at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach. In the girls’ team standings, Edison finished fourth and Fountain Valley was eighth. In the boys’ team standings, Edison placed sixth, Huntington Beach was 30th and Fountain Valley 46th. Fountain Valley’s Shelby Webber was a two-time CIF champ in the girls’ 200 IM and 100 free, Marina’s Nick Soedel won a title in the boys’ 100 free and Princeton-bound Michael Hauss of Edison won the 200 free in a personal-best time (1:38.14), the second-fastest time for an Edison swimmer. Hauss also placed sixth in the 100 free (45.66), which also is the second-fastest all-time time at Edison. Winning consolation titles were Josh Smith (boys’ 100 free) and freshman Devin Newton (girls’ 200 IM) of Edison.

The Fountain Valley’s boys’ track and field team captured the Sunset League championship. At the CIF-SS Track and Field Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk, Fountain Valley’s Hassan Ilyas won the Division 1 boys’ 300 hurdles and placed eighth in the triple jump, Marina’s Karl Baranov was sixth and Fountain Valley’s Luis Morales seventh in the 1,600, and Ramon Vargas of Huntington Beach came up with a pair of third-place finishes (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles).

In girls’ Division 1, Catherine Martinez of Fountain Valley was third in the 1,600 and Sara Van Dyke of Marina was fifth in the 800. In girls’ Division 2, freshman Amanda Honn of Huntington Beach took fifth in the 3,200, Oilers Ashley Donohoe was sixth in the discus and Amy Loschiavo fifth in the pole vault. For Edison, Lauren Grego was ninth in the 800 meters, Anna Lindsey seventh in the long jump and Karen Snapper and Monica Danielson were sixth and ninth, respectively, in the pole vault.

Baranov, Vargas, Van Dyke and Honn all qualified for the CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis in May.

The Ocean View and Marina softball teams saw their title runs end in extra-inning losses in the quarterfinal round of the CIF playoffs. The Seahawks and Vikings lost to teams (Dos Pueblos and Santiago/Corona, respectively) that would go on to win division championships. During the season, Marina Coach Shelly Luth surpassed the 400-win mark at the school.

The Edison baseball team was ranked No. 1 in CIF Division 1 throughout the season, but the Chargers fell to Lakewood in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. In early June, Edison pitching sensation Henry Owens realized a childhood dream when he was selected (36th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball’s 2011 First-Year Player Draft. Owens had committed to Miami last October. Christian Lopes, shortstop for Edison who had signed with USC, was taken in the 7th round (229th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays.