SPORTS BRIEFS : Study Started on a New CIF Section for Orange County

Orange County school officials have formed a committee to study the feasibility of forming their own California Interscholastic Federation section. Currently, Orange County’s 70 schools are members of the CIF Southern Section, which has its headquarters in Cerritos. The Southern Section, with about 500 members, is the largest of the state’s 10 geographic sections.

Kellie Bennett, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard at Cal State Long Beach, has earned a spot on the women’s West basketball team roster for the annual Olympic Festival, which will be held in Los Angeles next month.

The Compton City Council has proclaimed this week as Compton High School Week to honor the boys’ track team, which finished first recently at the state CIF meet.

Tom Caffrey has been appointed football coach at Whittier Christian High School, replacing Phil Bravo. Bravo, who had a 49-13 record, resigned to accept a job at Centaurus High in Boulder, Colo. This is the second time around for Caffrey, who resigned from the football job in 1986. Caffrey also has coached baseball at the school. The Herald football team has a 22-game winning streak and is the defending CIF Southern Section 1A champion.

Longtime St. Anthony High School assistant basketball Coach Kevin Hillsey has accepted the head coaching job at St. Pius X High in Albuquerque. Hillsey, a St. Anthony graduate, held assistant coaching positions in several sports for 10 years. St. Anthony Athletic Director Mark Veins also said the Saints are nearing a decision on a head coach to replace Tom Roanhaus, who has not been retained.

Mike Coil has resigned as the basketball coach at Whitney High School in Cerritos to pursue his college degree.

Brian Breslin, a scouting coordinator at Drake University, has been selected basketball coach at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. He replaces Tim Haley, who resigned after five seasons.

Cal State Long Beach men’s volleyball Coach Ray Ratelle has been chosen coach of the year by Volleyball Monthly magazine. He guided Long Beach to its first NCAA title. Brent Hilliard and Brett Winslow received first-team berths. Second-team honors went to Alan Knipe, and Matt Lyles was selected for the third team.

Four 49er pitchers and a Jordan High School pitcher have chosen player agent Alan Meersand as their adviser after being selected by major league teams in the amateur free-agent draft. The Long Beach players, all juniors, are left-handed pitchers Steve Whitaker (first round, San Francisco Giants) and Dennis Gray (second round, Toronto Blue Jays), and right-handed pitchers Steve Trachsel (eighth round, Chicago Cubs) and Andy Croghan (16th round, New York Yankees). Jordan pitcher Tom McKinnon (first round, St. Louis Cardinals) has also chosen the Manhattan Beach agent as an adviser. All four 49er pitchers had large roles in getting Cal State Long Beach into the College World Series.

Volleyball player Aaron Sohegian of Whittier Christian has been selected as the CIF Southern Section 2A most valuable player. Teammates Brandon Blevins, Troy Biehl and Adam McIlhenny earned first-team honors. Adam Keife and Aaron Forrister were second-team choices. Enrique Salazar (Poly) was a first-team selection in the 3A Division. Soren Tefler (Wilson) was on the second team. Third-team choices were Sidney Davidson (Poly) and Mike Tidwell (Lynwood).

La Mirada’s Krystal Meier has been chosen CIF Southern Section 3A coach of the year, and Lady Matador Jenny Hambly, an infielder, was selected player of the year. La Mirada High, which won the 3-A title, also placed infielder Amy Allingham and catcher Rose Garces on the first team. Other area selections went to St. Paul pitcher Kristy Fuentes (first team), Bellflower pitcher Amie Stewart (first team) and Bellflower utility player Shelby Maxwell (second team). Infielder Beverly Stiglbauer (St. Joseph) was a first-team choice in the 5A Division. Infielder Cristin Crigler (Whittier Christian) was a first-team choice in the 1A Division. Second-team honors went to pitcher Cindy Dykstra and catcher Cheryl Vanderkamp of Valley Christian and to pitcher Deborah Goddu and catcher Shannon Hart of Whittier Christian.

The California Seals, a baseball team in the summer Los Angeles Basin Collegiate League, is seeking sponsors to help defray $12,000 in uniform and equipment expenses. The Seals, who play at Cal State Long Beach, opened the season last weekend without uniforms. Founder and Coach Paul (Pops) Ivanovsky says his financial troubles began when a fund-raiser missed a June 1 deadline to pay money collected for the Seals. Ivanovsky says he has spent close to $40,000 of his own money on the Seals. The L.A. Basin League is the only league in California that uses wooden rather than aluminum bats. Ivanovsky can be reached at (213) 373-3805.