Meek Does Well at Capital Classic

Erik Meek’s trip to Washington to participate in the McDonald’s Capital Classic High School All-Star Basketball Game was eventful as well as successful. Meek, the 6-foot-10 senior from San Pasqual and The Times’ player of the year, competed on the USA team, which scored a 114-86 victory over a team of all-stars from the Washington area Wednesday at Capital Centre in Landover, Md.

Meek, who’s committed to attend Duke University, played 16 minutes. He scored six points, had six rebounds and blocked five shots.

“These all-star games are guard-oriented,” said his coach, Tom Buck, who also made the trip. “Erik and (6-11 Huntington Beach Marina center) Cherokee Parks never touched the ball except on offensive rebounds.”

Parks, who will also attend Duke, was the game’s most valuable player. He scored 14 points and had 16 rebounds, 12 of them on the offensive end.

Meek said there were two highlights to the trip: playing against the caliber of players who were in the game and meeting President Bush.

Bush addressed the players for 10 minutes in the Rose Garden. He met with the team, then compared basketball with the nation’s recent victory in the Gulf War.

“He said playing basketball and athletics in general had a lot in common with what we were able to accomplish in the war, the teamwork and working toward a common goal,” Buck said.

Add Meek: Kryzewski told Meek about Duke’s chances against Nevada Las Vegas in Saturday’s Final Four semifinals.

“He said they were more prepared for it this year than last year (in the finals),” Meek recalled. “They had a chance to rest their legs.”

The rest, of course, is NCAA history.

Meek watched the Duke upset with friends and said he was excited about the outcome.

But Meek said he didn’t commit to Duke because of the number of times Kryzewski and Co. has reached the Final Four. It was because he thought he could fit.

“The players are great players and good guys and I can see myself playing for them the next four years,” he said.

Trivia Time: What teams competed in the county’s longest softball game and how many innings did they play?

By a hare: The top five finishers in the 100 meters at Saturday’s Sundevil Invitational track meet finished within one-tenth of a second of each other: Lincoln’s Scott Hammond (10.79), Southwest’s Riley Washington (10.84), Pius X’s Gentry Bradley (10.85), Morse’s Teddy Lawrence (10.86) and Kearny’s Darnay Scott (10.89).

And that was on a slow track softened by recent rains. Hammond’s winning time was as fast or faster than four of the past six section champions ran on all-weather tracks.

Whew.

Two-inning lunch: Sweetwater junior pitcher Lorenzo Inzunza, anticipating a couple of days off because of spring vacation and the rains, thought he would pick up some spare change by working part-time. But Thursday, Sweetwater Coach Jim Mann scheduled a makeup game for the next day.

Inzunza was obligated to work, but showed up for the game on his lunch hour.

He pitched two shutout innings, then went back to work.

Running wild: Torrey Pines’ junior Matt Tranchina stole four bases against Laguna Beach in the Pirate Classic and, through his first five games, was safe in his first eight attempts. Then he got mononucleosis.

But Tranchina’s teammates haven’t slowed down despite his absence from the lineup. The Falcons have stolen safely in 41 of 44 attempts this season.

Anthony Napoli is seven for eight and Jason Withrow and George Pappas are perfect in six attempts. Withrow stole five bases recently against Point Loma, the county’s sixth-best all-time. The record is seven in one game.

“We’re a running team,” Torrey Pines Coach Frank Chambliss said. “We’re going.”

Someone else who is going--often--is county stolen base leader Armando Sanchez of Mt. Carmel. Sanchez has been safe 17 of 19 times.

Upper Deck blues: While games in San Diego County were being rained out, three of The Times’ top four teams did play in Orange County--and took it on the chin--in the prestigious Upper Deck Classic. All three lost opening-round games. No. 1 Mira Mesa lost 5-4 to Fountain Valley, No. 2 Poway 12-0 to Capistrano Valley, and No. 4 Mt. Carmel 10-0 to Huntington Beach Ocean View.

All eight teams from the Los Angeles-Orange County area won their first games. The eight teams from San Diego, Northern California, Arizona and Washington fell into the losers’ bracket.

As it turned out, Mira Mesa--ranked third in the nation--traveled to Orange County to play against two schools from right around the corner. It lost to Poway and tied Mt. Carmel in 10 innings.

Mira Mesa and Mt. Carmel were 1-2-1 in the tournament, Poway 2-2.

Add blues: Poway was victimized by an 11-run fourth inning in its 12-0 loss.

Trivia answer: On March 5 and 6, 1976, Helix beat Bonita Vista, 2-1, in 30 innings. Helix went on to finish second to Hilltop in the county championship.

Shrine bound: The North-South Shrine All-Star football game July 27 at the Rose Bowl will feature six county players on the South squad: Kearny’s Darnay Scott and Aaron Mertens, Morse’s Teddy Lawrence, Helix’s Gary Walton, La Jolla’s John Michels and Carlsbad’s Ted Johnson.