NOTEBOOK / SEAN WATERS : Santa Monica Hires Baseball, Soccer Coaches

Pete McKellar has been hired as the Santa Monica High baseball coach and Martin Perez will be the Vikings’ new soccer coach, according to Athletic Director Frank Nishimura.

McKellar and Perez played at Santa Monica and were assistants under longtime soccer and baseball coach Jose Lopez, who announced his resignation in February.

“It’s really a great thrill,” McKellar said. “I’ve always wanted to come back and be a head coach. I knew I wasn’t going to be playing forever.”

McKellar, 24, played first base for the Vikings when Lopez was an assistant in 1985-86. He played two seasons at Orange Coast College.

McKellar was an assistant under Lopez in 1992 after being an assistant for one season at Oxnard. He also has coached American Legion baseball for the past three years.

“I think Pete will be a popular choice for the players,” Nishimura said. “For a guy his age, he has a lot of baseball knowledge. He came in with great recommendations from coaches from surrounding schools.”

Perez, 33, was a right midfielder for the Vikings from 1974-77. He also played at Santa Monica College and semi-professionally for the Real Santa Monica team.

“I have worked hard for this position and I’m glad to have the opportunity,” Perez said.

He was a junior varsity coach at Santa Monica in 1991 and a varsity assistant last season. Perez is studying kinesiology at Cal State Northridge and expects to earn his degree in the fall. The Vikings were 20-5 in 1992, tying a school record for most wins in a season. They also tied a school record for most shutouts with 14.

“I think it will keep continuity in the program,” Nishimura said. “He has good organizational skills and is real knowledgeable about the sports. The decision was really well received by the players on the varsity team.”

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Volleyball: Palisades Coach Howard Enstedt benched All-City outside hitters Colin Wellman and Danny Kim for missing practice last week and it might have cost the Dolphins a victory against Venice and a top seeding in the 4-A Division playoffs.

Venice defeated Palisades, 15-13, 19-17, 6-15, 15-7.

The Dolphins won the Western League with a 9-1 record, but were seeded second in the playoffs.

“It doesn’t really matter as long as the top two seeds are in different brackets,” Enstedt said. “If we win our first two matches, we should play Venice again in the semifinals.”

The Dolphins have won eight City titles and lost to Western League rival University in the fifth game of last year’s championship. Enstedt said this is tallest team he has ever had with three starters 6-foot-5 or taller--James Turner (6-7), Wellman (6-5) and Gaby Amar (6-5).

It is also one of the most inexperienced Dolphin teams in several years. Wellman is the only returning starter.

“We suffer because we don’t have the passing team that we had last year,” Enstedt said. “Our setting has also dropped off considerably. None of these guys have played together and we’re going against teams with a lot of experience.”

Palisades beat Kennedy, 15-3, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10, on Tuesday to advance. The Dolphins will play host to the winner of the Chatsworth-Narbonne match today.

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Track: The Beverly Hills boys’ track team defeated Culver City, 94-42, to win its fourth consecutive Ocean League meet and second consecutive league title Thursday at Beverly Hills.

Mel Moultry won the long jump with a leap of 21-feet-1 1/2, the triple jump with a 45-7 effort and high jump with a 6-6 effort. Damien Smith won the 800 meters in 2 minutes 9 seconds and the 1,600 meters in 4:39.

The Normans will compete in league finals today at Mira Costa.

The girls’ team beat Culver City, 114-12, to finish 3-1. The Norman girls were second in the Ocean League.

Aisha McKinney won the discus with an effort of 100-6 1/2, breaking her school record of 97-5. She also won the shotput (30-2 1/2) and the high jump (4-6).

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Signings: Darren Mitchell, a 6-foot-4 point guard at St. Bernard, has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Washington, the player’s father said.

Milt Mitchell said his son visited Washington last weekend and “fell in love” with the school. Darren Mitchell, one of the Huskies’ first signings under new Coach Bob Bender, was also recruited by Providence, UNC Charlotte, Gonzaga and Nevada.

Mitchell averaged 18 points last season to help St. Bernard (14-17) reach the Southern Section Division IV-AA championship game. The Vikings were beaten in the final by Corona del Mar, 47-46.

Mitchell was a second-team selection on the All-Division IV and Times’ Westside All-Star squads.

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Changing schools: Junior forward Terryl Woolery has transferred from Los Angeles to Fairfax and will play basketball for the Lions next season. Woolery averaged 17 points a game and was selected to The Times’ Central City team.

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Baseball: Brentwood began the week in first place in the Delphic League with a 5-1 record.

Brentwood is 12-3, the best start in school history.

Jeremy Milken has set a school record for home runs with nine and runs batted in with 36. He has 25 hits in 52 at-bats for a .480 batting average. His slugging average is 1.115.

Junior pitcher Cedric Smith has a 5-1 record with a 1.64 earned-run average. He has 36 strikeouts and 11 walks in seven games. Senior pitcher Darren Kawaoka has a 4-1 record and 3.20 ERA.

Staff writer Rob Fernas contributed to this story.