On sand, court and turf

Laguna Beach athletes turned in some sterling performances in volleyball, tennis, basketball and more.As 2005 comes to an end, it’s time to look back at some of the outstanding performances local teams and athletes put forth during the past 12 months.

Below is a recap of some of the top achievements, as reported to the Coastline Pilot:

Winter and Spring

The Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team went on an unprecedented ride by winning the first league championship in the sport in school history. The program hosted its first-ever playoff game, which Laguna won, 52-43, over St. Monica. The Breakers’ season ended in a second-round loss to No. 5 seed St. Mary’s Academy of Inglewood, 66-51.

“What a thrill to get that first CIF win ever on our home floor,” Howard said. “I was glad the kids could share it with their friends and family that night.”

Five Breakers earned All-Pacific Coast League honors, led by junior forward Claire Bevacqua, who was named the league’s most valuable player. Bevacqua also earned the distinction of being named first-team All-CIF-Southern Section.

Ivan Kovacevic, a senior forward on the boys’ team, was named co-MVP of the Pacific Coast League and first-team All-CIF.

For the second straight year, the boys’ basketball team won its first-round playoff game but lost to Serra in the second round.

Following the end of the basketball season, boys’ coach Mark Hill and girls’ coach Stacy Howard announced their resignations. Their replacements were Bret Fleming and Nicholas Ilagan, respectively.

Justin Rovin secured a CIF-Southern Section title by winning the 110-meter hurdles in a personal-best time of 14:83 at the track and field championships at Cerritos College.

Also at the meet, Jeremy Eaton ran the fastest school time (1:58.5) in the 800-meters in the last 15 years, and Sean Fuszard’s time of 4:28.1 in the 1,600 was the fastest mile at the school in 15 years.

Aman Bhatia won the Pacific Coast League title in the boys’ 1,600 in a time of 4:29. Other titles were won by Jeremy Eaton in the boys’ 800, Rovin in the boys’ 110- and 300-hurdles, the boys’ 4 by 400 relay team, Brittany Clark in the girls’ 100 and Addison Doud in the shotput and discus.

In boys’ volleyball, Laguna defeated Santa Ynez in a second-round sweep to advance to the quarterfinal round of the CIF-SS playoffs. It was the 25th time in the 32-year history of the playoffs that Laguna reached the quarterfinal round.

Senior Luke Morris was named first-team All-CIF Division II, and senior Andrew Chapel made second-team.

In swimming, Laguna qualified nine athletes for the CIF-Southern Section Preliminaries at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. Qualifying for the competition were Ryan Fair (100 free, 50 free, 4 by 100 relay, 4 by 50 relay); Cameron Brinkman (4 by 50 relay); Trevor Frimond (4 by 100 relay, 4 by 50 relay); Shawn Pflender (100 backstroke, 4 by 100 relay), Adam Kaplan (100 free, 50 free, 4 by 100 relay, 4 by 50 relay) and the girls’ 4 by 50 free relay team that was composed of Breanna Dupliesa, Jessica McKee, Erin Reid and Brittany Forrest.

The boys’ 4 by 50 relay, which had broken seven school records earlier in the season, qualified second overall in the preliminaries with a time of 1:29.73.

“The overall success of this year is due to the outstanding effort put in by each and every swimmer,” coach Rick McKee says. “They worked extremely hard, and they are enjoying the fruits of their hard work.”

The school year ended with basketball and volleyball player Ivan Kovacevic being named the male athlete of the year in the Pacific Coast League.

It was the first time the honor was bestowed on a Laguna athlete in the 10-year history of the award.

“I’m happy to receive the honor, and once it kicked in, once I heard that I was the first Laguna athlete to win the award, I felt very proud,” said Kovacevic, who is now at UC Berkeley.

Summer and Fall

During the summer months, Laguna Beach High graduate Rachel Wacholder, class of 1993, teamed with Elaine Youngs, formerly of El Toro, to stun the world’s No. 1-ranked women’s team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, in a 21-15, 21-16 sweep in the women’s final of the Huntington Beach Open. Wacholder had been referred to as a “rising star” by the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals.

The girls’ 14-and-under and 12-and-under teams from Laguna Beach Age Group Water Polo qualified to compete at the Junior Olympics in San Jose.

The Laguna Beach High athletic program and several of the city’s youth teams enjoyed success during the fall and winter seasons.

Laguna’s girls’ volleyball team won the Pacific Coast League championship and moved on to the semifinal round of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. The Breakers’ Stephanie Darnall was named co-MVP of the league.

Darnall and teammate Dana Hutchinson, a sophomore outside hitter, were named first-team All-CIF Division IV. Junior setter Mychaela Miller was named second-team.

Senior center Mike Dick was named to the second-team All-CIF Division I boys’ water polo team.

Some of the top highlights on the youth stage included the Laguna Beach Club Soccer boys’ under-15 team winning the Bronze South Division championship in Coast Soccer League action, and nine local youths medaling at the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation Orange County Cross-Country Championships.

A year after winning it all, the Laguna Beach High boys’ cross-country team again made it to the podium at the state cross-country championships at Woodward Park in Fresno by finishing in third place in the Division IV race. Laguna’s girls’ team finished 12th in Division IV.

At the CIF finals meet at Mount San Antonio College, Laguna’s boys were third and the girls’ fifth in their Division IV team standings. Boys’ team members Max Mullender, Aman Bhatia and Andrew Raub, and Alex Crawley of the girls’ team, all earned All-CIF honors.

During the final weeks of the year, it was time for the Laguna girls’ tennis team to shine.

Laguna captured its first Division I championship in the sport by defeating top-ranked Peninsula for the second time this year, 10-8, at Claremont Club. The Breakers also won a share of the Pacific Coast League championship in Greg Weiss’ final year as head coach.

“To share the league title and now win a CIF championship, well, it doesn’t get any better than this,” Weiss said. “This is just a great way to go out.”

Two weeks later, senior Claire Rietsch and junior Lyndsay Kinstler teamed to win the doubles title at the CIF-SS Individual Tennis Championships at Seal Beach Tennis Center.20051230iqfj1mkn20051230ia8qejkf(LA)Above, Laguna Beach’s Tess Grogan and Brittany Clark celebrate a win over Northwood. Left, Rachel Wacholder of Laguna Beach hits past a block at the Huntington Beach Open. Wacholder and teammate Elaine Youngs won the title at the event.20051230ile94nncSTAFF PHOTOS / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Rhits