2000 Year-ender: Something old, something new millennium

Barry Faulkner

Like a well-worn odometer, the calendar rolled over with the new

millennium, aligning three zeros that infused many with a sense of new

beginning.

And in the Newport-Mesa athletic community, there was, in fact, plenty

new under the 2000 sun. There was, also, more of the same, often to an

enhanced degree.

The quadrennial Summer Olympic Games provided a fresh landscape for

the sporting feats of established local stars and Newport Harbor High

teenager Aaron Peirsol’s homespun humility reflected the complex wonder

of the Olympic arena through a refreshing prism.

The area’s premier sporting event, the Toshiba Senior Classic,

produced a novel and premature ending, while Costa Mesa High product

Dennis Paulson stunned the seemingly stodgy and sanctimonious

scorekeepers at Augusta by claiming the first-round lead at the Masters.

Orange Coast College football and Estancia High boys soccer enjoyed

noteworthy, yet surprising success.

More predictably, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer penned their

universally known names into local golf lore.

And, top prep programs at Back Bay high schools Newport Harbor and

Corona del Mar, competing for the second year in different leagues and,

by CIF mandate, against playoff competition with similar enrollment,

continued their familiar dominance in sports like boys volleyball, boys

water polo, girls tennis, girls running and football.

This blend of old and new combined to form the Top 10 sports stories

of the last 12 months, as selected by the Daily Pilot sports staff.

Here’s a closer look:

1. Aaron Peirsol wins silver - Though there was a higher place on the

medal stand after his featured event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in

Sydney, Australia, no one reached bigger heights among local athletes all

year.

A three-time CIF Southern Section champion swimmer at Newport Harbor

High, this affable, unaffected 17-year-old made an entire community pound

its collective chest by capturing an Olympic silver medal in the

200-meter backstroke.

Only an Olympic record-setting performance by world champion and

American teammate Lenny Krayzelburg was enough to deny Peirsol gold.

Peirsol, who handed Krayzelburg his first loss in four years earlier

in the summer at the Janet Evans Invitational at USC, finished in

1:57.35, just .59 behind the 24-year-old Krayzelburg’s gold-medal effort.

It was Peirsol’s second-best time in the event, serving notice to

Krayzelburg, who, like Peirsol, plans to compete at the 2004 Games in

Athens, Greece, that he’ll have to hold the young standout off -- if he

can -- for 48 more months.

Peirsol’s performance added to his local celebrity. He was recognized

at a school pep rally, as well as at halftime of the homecoming football

game at Harbor. He was also given his own day (Dec. 2) in Newport Beach,

which included a parade along the Balboa Peninsula.

2. Local golf - While network television cameras focused on some of

the marquee events to grace local layouts, the inner circle of the

Newport-Mesa club golf scene also produced memorable moments in 2000.

Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson combined to win the Senior PGA Tour

portion of the made-for-television Hyundai Team Matches, completed Dec.

18.

Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf (PGA), as well as Julie Inkster and

Dottie Pepper (LPGA) also won their respective categories at sun-splashed

Pelican Hill Golf Club.

The Toshiba Senior Classic’s sixth edition, Feb. 28-March 5 at the

Newport Beach Country Club, featured legendary Arnold Palmer, 70, who

played his first competitive round in Orange County.

Newport-Mesa’s flagship golf event, however, also featured a

regrettable first, as rain washed out the final round, enabling Allen

Doyle to claim the $195,000 winner’s share. Doyle’s two-round total (136)

edged Jim Thorpe and Howard Twitty by one stroke.

Costa Mesa High product Dennis Paulson captured national headlines by

earning the first-round lead at the Masters.

Locally, Tom Sargent helped Mesa Verde Country Club win the inaugural

Jones Cup, while Marianne Towersey won her third straight Tea Cup Classic

to highlight the Daily Pilot Club Championship Series.

3. Newport Harbor High football -- Coach Jeff Brinkley’s Sailors

overcame a mediocre start (1-1) to reach their fifth CIF Southern Section

division title game in nine seasons. But they could not overcome Sea View

League rival Irvine, which beat them for the second time, 14-0, for the

Division VI championship, before an overflow crowd of 8,000, Dec. 8 at

Orange Coast College.

Seniors Chris Manderino and Alan Saenz spearheaded the 11-3 campaign,

which, combined with the 13-0-1 CIF championship season of 1999 set the

program record for most wins in consecutive years.

Manderino, shifted from quarterback to tailback midway through the

second game, rushed for 2,141 yards and scored a Newport-Mesa District

single-season record 31 touchdowns, while also playing well at outside

linebacker. He was named Sea View Offensive MVP and Newport-Mesa MVP.

Saenz, an All-CIF middle linebacker as a junior, repeated as

Newport-Mesa Defensive Player of the Year and shared Sea View Defensive

MVP laurels after leading the team in tackles for a second straight year.

One highlight was a 35-16 semifinal upset of top-seeded and previously

unbeaten La Mirada.

Other all-district performers were seniors Garrett Troncale, Ian

Banigan, Travis Trimble, Scott Lopez, Nick Moghaddam, C.J. Collins, Andy

Rankin and Ryan Spruth, as well as juniors Brian Gaeta, Morgan Craig,

Robert Chai and Bryan Breland.

4. Back Bay boys water polo -- For the first time in the rich

traditions at Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools, both won

CIF Southern Section championships, bringing each’s total to 11 CIF

crowns.

Newport Harbor (26-5), co-coached by Brian Kreutzkamp and Bill

Barnett, topped the Division I field, defeating Foothill, 15-9, in the

title game Nov. 22 at Belmont Plaza. It was the Tars’ first section

championship since 1984 and their first final appearance since 1987.

Senior Peter Belden earned CIF Division I and Sea View League Player

of the Year recognition, while senior teammates Ryan Cook and Steven

Jendrusina were first-team All-CIF honorees.

Seniors Brandon McLain (second team) and Joey Snelgrove (third team)

were also All-CIF.

CdM, guided by U.S. men’s Olympic team coach John Vargas, won Division

II with a 15-7 thumping of Pacific Coast League rival University in the

Nov. 22 title game, also at Belmont.

Senior Garrett Bowlus and junior Michael March were named CIF Division

II Co-Players of the Year, while sophomore Artie Dorr (first team),

junior Sherwin Kim (second team) and junior Bobby Messenger (third team)

were also All-CIF.

In the only meeting between the two powerhouses, CdM won, 12-11, in

the title game of the S&R; Cup Oct. 2 at Heritage Park in Irvine.

5. Back Bay boys volleyball -- For the second straight season, Corona

del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools met for the CIF Southern Section

Division I championship, with CdM avenging a 1999 title-match loss with a

15-3, 6-15, 15-12, 9-15, 15-6 triumph, May 27 at Cypress College.

It was the fourth section crown for the Sea Kings, their second in

three seasons, as Stanford-bound senior setter Kevin Hansen led the way,

en route to CIF Division I and Newport-Mesa Player of the Year

recognition.

Coach Steve Conti’s Sea Kings finished 22-1 and also placed senior

Greg Stampley (first team) and Alec Hanson (third team) on the All-CIF

squad.

Newport Harbor, led by Stanford-bound senior outside hitter Billy

Clayton, finished Coach Dan Glenn’s 14th season 17-6, with four of those

losses coming to CdM.

Clayton was a first-team All-CIF choice and senior setter Kent Turner

earned second-team recognition.

It was the sixth CIF final appearance for each school, both of which

are assured of not meeting again in next year’s Division I final, with

the passage of a controversial CIF rule that forbids schools with smaller

enrollments from moving up for the playoffs to compete against bigger

schools.

6. Local Olympians -- Misty May and Chris Oeding were among a handful

of locals who represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

May, a Newport Harbor High product and two-time NCAA Player of the

Year at Long Beach State, spurned the indoor national team, instead

pairing with Holly McPeak to earn a hastily garnered qualifying berth in

beach volleyball.

Taking just eight months to outpoint FIVA Tour rivals who had a

24-month qualifying window of opportunity, May and McPeak advanced to the

quarterfinals at Bondi Beach, before falling to Brazilians Adriana Samuel

and Sandra Pires, 16-14, to settle for fifth place.

Oeding, the U.S. men’s water polo captain who starred at Corona del

Mar High and UC Berkeley, helped the Americans advance out of pool play.

But the veteran playmaker, working under CdM boys and girls coach John

Vargas, did not get enough help to avoid an 11-10 quarterfinal loss to

Russia, which eliminated Team USA from medal contention.

Heads-Lane, a former Newport Harbor track and field standout, finished

seventh in the 175-kilo class in weightlifting.

Lindsay Davenport, a Palisades Tennis Club member, opened defense of

her 1996 gold medal as the top seed, but withdrew after an opening-round

victory due to a strained left foot.

7. Orange Coast football -- One heartbeat; two seasons. That about

sums up the diverse, yet harmonious and memorable ride Coach Mike

Taylor’s Pirates (6-5) experienced the first season of the new

millennium.

After an 0-3 start, which included just one OCC touchdown, the Pirates

upset perennial power Mt. San Antonio (ranked No. 4 nationally at the

time), 26-25, on a last-second Rob Pate field goal.

OCC then kept eyebrows raised by upsetting Pasadena City, followed by

a school single-game yardage record (628) in a blowout of Golden West.

The Bucs then added to the five-game winning streak with thrilling

conquests of Palomar and Santa Ana, the latter a three-overtime epic

which fastened the “destiny” tag to their season as firmly as chinstraps

cinched down their helmets.

After a stumble at Fullerton, OCC topped Saddleback to clinch their

first winning record in seven years. The win also wrapped up the Mission

Conference Central Division co-championship (with Palomar) and put the

Pirates into the Dec. 2 Strawberry Bowl, its first postseason appearance

since 1993.

Cerritos topped OCC, 31-17, in the finale at Cerritos College, but it

did little to diminish the satisfaction of Taylor’s troops, a dozen of

whom earned all-conference honors.

8. Estancia High boys soccer -- Fueled by explosive talent and a

community that rallied behind them, Coach Steve Crenshaw’s Eagles

outscored 22 opponents, 122-14, en route to the CIF Southern Section

Division IV title.

They capped a 20-1-1 season with a 5-2 title-game triumph over over

top-seeded Bishop Montgomery, March 4 at La Mirada High, which extended

their season-ending winning streak to 17 games.

The season-long offensive onslaught was keyed by senior forwards Esaul

Mendoza and Cesar Terrones, who scored 46 and 34 goals, respectively.

Their exploits helped earn them the nickname “Aguila (Spanish for Eagle)

Assassins.”

Mendoza, who had three hat tricks in the playoffs and averaged 2.3

goals per game, was the CIF Division IV Player of the Year.

Estancia seniors Terrones, Irving Islas and Edson Anaya were also

first-team All-CIF choices and senior goalie Hilario Arriaga was

third-team All-CIF.

As word of the team’s dominance spread, the crowds that came out to

watch grew, until an estimated 1,000 took in the championship game.

Estancia’s 122 goals were fifth-best in section history, despite its

failure to schedule any tournament games during the holiday break.

9. Back Bay girls tennis -- Relegated to lower divisions by a CIF

Southern Section rule forcing schools to compete in the playoffs against

schools of like enrollment, Corona del Mar High breezed to the Division

IV crown, while Newport Harbor was the Division III runner-up. Both

finals were held Nov. 20 at the Claremont Club.

Top-seeded CdM, coached by Andy Stewart and led by singles standouts

Anne Yelsey and Brittany Reitz, defeated Calabasas, 13-5, in the final,

after winning 50 of 54 sets en route to the title match.

Stewart’s squad finished 25-2 and Reitz went on to become the first

Orange County player to win the CIF Division I singles crown since 1990

and was the second CdM player to earn the prestigious title.

Yelsey, forced to default by a scheduling conflict in the CIF

individual tournament, won the Pacific Coast League singles title by

defeating Reitz, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.

CdM’s Leslie Damion and Brittany Holland were PCL doubles champions.

Coach Fletcher Olson’s Newport Harbor squad, lost to Palm Desert,

12-6, in the Division III final, after winning 49 of 54 sets the first

three rounds.

Kelly Nelson defeated fellow junior and teammate Megan Hawkins, to

claim third place in the Sea View League individual tournament.

10. Corona del Mar High girls running - Liz Morse, the kind of special

athlete that comes along about every generation, capped a glorious

four-year running career by leading CdM to a CIF Southern Section

Division III team championship in track and field last spring.

Her noteworthy track season, after leading the school to section and

state cross country titles the fall of 1999, included: individual titles

in the state 800 (posting a then-national-best time of 2:08.16); the

Southern Section Masters 800; the section Division III 400 and 800, as

well as a leg on the victorious 1,600 relay; the 200, 400, 800 and 1,600

relay at the Orange County Championships; and Pacific Coast League 400

and 800.

But, defying logic, the CdM running machine kept on rolling, even

after the Pacific Coast League Athlete of the Year, who shared the same

honor in the Newport-Mesa District, pranced off to Princeton.

Coach Bill Sumner’s CdM centipede, including seniors Katie Quinlan,

Jenny Cummins, Diana Hossfeld and Lindsay Yourman, juniors Season

Merservey and Katherine Morse, as well as sophomore Jennifer Long, came

back to win state and section titles in Division IV last fall, with the

top five finishing within a minute of one another at the Nov. 25 state

meet in Fresno.