Shadowlands

Looking back, 5 years ago this week.

The Costa Mesa High softball team ends a four-game losing streak with

a 6-1 victory over crosstown rival Estancia. Mustang pitchers Sonia

Correa and Niki Montgomery combine to one-hit the Eagles. Correa

maintains a shutout into the sixth inning when Montgomery takes over and

records five of the final six outs via strikeouts. In the first, Jennifer

Brunick scores for Estancia. Costa Mesa’s Julie Collett rips a double to

right-center field to score Kristin Chisholm and Collett later scores on

Krissy Genet’s bunt.

The Corona del Mar boys tennis team, which ranks No. 1 in Orange

County, wraps its first unbeaten Sea View League season in three years

with a 15-3 victory over visiting Irvine. Sea King freshman doubles

standout Shameer Chopra follows the unbeaten theme, completing his Sea

View League season with a 30-0 record, with various partners, including

junior Greg Coleman, who finishes 27-3 against league competition.

Corona’s Taylor Dent and John Cappello sweep in singles, while the

doubles teams of Andy D’Angelo and Drew Fuller as well as Sam Sharmardi

and Kai Miller also handle their competition to contribute in the

commanding victory.

Newport Harbor’s Shane Reese adds his name to the long list of

celebrated Sailor throwers in boys track and field. He wins the boys

discus in the Sea View League finals when he hurls a 161-foot 6-inch

throw, a mark that in most years is good enough to qualify for the state

meet. Reese becomes the third Sailor to win the Sea View boys discus

title in the 90s, following Tony Mancuso (1992) and Steve Gonzales

(1994). Newport Harbor also has individual shot put winners in Mancuso

(1991 and 1992), Beau Ralphs (1993) and Wade Tift (1994). Reese throwsa

personal best 165-5 earlier in the season at the Orange County

Championships to finish in third place.

Costa Mesa’s Mike Adelmund pounds a two-run homer in the fifth inning

to lift the Mustangs baseball team past visiting Laguna Beach, 6-5. Mesa

pitcher Jeremy Starns scatters eight hits and escapes the wrath of four

Mustang miscues. Matt Broesamle finishes with an RBI double while Ray

Ohrel smacks a double and scores a run.

Looking back, 10 years ago this week.

The Corona del Mar High baseball team answers a 7-0 deficit with nine

runs in the sixth and claims a 9-7 victory over University. Doing his

best Pete Rose imitation, George Chelius, a 5-10, 190-pound reliever who

enters the game in the fourth inning, belly flops at home plate, scoring

the go-ahead run. Mike Susson smacks a three-run homer in the

sixth-inning rally. Susson’s blast clears the right-field fence and cuts

the Trojans’ lead to 7-6, but Neil Weber follows with a sharp single to

left to keep the ambush going.

Newport Harbor freshman Gina Heads explodes for personal bests to win

the shot put and discus, and Sailor sophomore Kala Ross earns two

individual golds and contributes in a pair of relay triumphs in the Sea

View League girls track and field finals. Heads tops her previous best by

more than 14 inches (39-0 1/2) in the shot put. She then caps her double

by adding more than six feet to her previous best in the discus (128-9).

Other individual event winners from the Back Bay schools include boys

champions Jack Hogan (800 meters) and Jason Boyce (long jump) from Corona

del Mar, as well as Newport Harbor’s Mike Hancock (1,600) and Mancuso

(shot put).

Corona del Mar senior Gabe Speyer has a day to make his high school

career when he wins the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events to capture

Swimmer of the Meet honors in leading the CdM boys swim team to its sixth

Sea View title in seven years. CdM senior Kate Salvino wins a pair of

events and swims on one winning relay as the girls win the league title

in the most dominating performance in Coach Doug Volding’s seven-year

tenure. The CdM girls win by a 528-362 margin.

The Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team displays a great amount

of character when the Pirates roll to a 5-15, 15-12, 15-11, 15-12 victory over Long Beach City, claiming the state championship. It is Coach Bob

Wetzel’s third consecutive state title and fourth in five years. Yet,

1991 is perhaps the sweetest. “I think it’s sweeter because this year we

had less talent,” Wetzel says. “We didn’t win the conference (South

Coast) and we had to get through the (Southern California) regionals.”

OCC’s Masui Allen leads with 24 kills, two blocks and one ace, while

Lance Lyons finishes with 17 kills and Matt Winterburn adds 15.

-- compiled by Steve Virgen