Sea Kings claim five league championships

The 2005-06 Corona del Mar High boys’ athletic year was highlighted by the volleyball team, which won a share of the Pacific Coast League title and reached the CIF Southern Section Division II championship match.

The Sea Kings’ sporting fortunes were also buoyed by the water polo team, which captured a league championship and reached the CIF Division I semifinals.

Additionally, strong seasons were posted by several other squads and individual athletes.

Volleyball: A young team made a valiant effort to repeat as CIF Southern Section Division II champion, but came up just short.

Coach Steve Conti’s Sea Kings lost to Valencia of Valencia in five games in the championship match.

CdM, co-champion of the Pacific Coast League, finished 27-6, 11-1 in league.

Senior middle blocker Scott Slaughter was a first-team All-CIF Division II selection and also earned the Most Valuable Player award at the Orange County All-Star match.

Juniors Adam Smith and Phil Bannon were second-team Division II picks and sophomore middle blocker Gus Ellis was a third-team honoree.

Slaughter also was named the Pacific Coast League’s Co-Most Valuable Player with Tesoro’s Jeff Zornig.

Bannon and Smith were first-team all-league performers, while Ellis and Blaine Nelsen were second-team picks.

Slaughter’s road to MVP-status was not a smooth one. After joining the volleyball team late from basketball, he suffered an abdominal strain and missed 2 1/2 more weeks.

Once Slaughter got healthy, he started clicking and so did the Sea Kings. Slaughter was dominant at the net as a blocker and a hitter. He was the key figure in a semifinal victory over host Santa Barbara.

Water polo: The Sea Kings won the Pacific Coast League title with an undefeated league record and reached the CIF Division I semifinals before falling to Back Bay rival Newport Harbor in overtime, 13-12.

The Sea Kings (17-4, 5-0) were led by seniors Jacob Murphy and Tom Money, who formed a stellar one-two punch under first-year coach Barry O’Dea.

Money emerged as one of the best drivers in Orange County and Murphy developed into a force as a two-meter man. Both were first-team All-CIF Division I selections.

Murphy signed to continue his career at UCLA and Money signed to play for USC.

Tennis: The team shared the Pacific Coast League title and reached the CIF Division I quarterfinals.

The stellar singles play of sophomore Fabian Matthews, as well as strong doubles play, sparked the Sea Kings.

Coach Tim Mang, who was named National High School Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Assn., teamed Matthews with star doubles player Dustin Hladek in the CIF individual tournament, and the duo went on to capture the CIF doubles title.

Watching them play separately, Mang believed their styles would mesh well in doubles competition, so he made the move to put them together.

With Hladek’s great volley and Matthews’ excellent ground strokes and serve, the duo was nearly unstoppable.

In the semifinals, they defeated Troy’s Jeffrey Kamei and Brian Fang, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Matthews and Hladek pulled together for a huge third-set win.

Matthews and Hladek topped Chris Ho and Billy Grokenberger of Santa Barbara, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the championship match.

Baseball: After claiming a tri-championship in league, Coach John Emme’s squad lost, 2-0, to Westminster in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IIl playoffs.

The Sea Kings finished 17-9, 8-4 in league.

Juniors Jake Lemmerman and Austin Elliott, as well as senior Eric Eadington were first-team all-league honorees.

Junior Vinnie St. John was a second-team selection.

Lemmerman, who batted .429 with four home runs and 25 RBIs and played stellar defense at shortstop, was named Newport-Mesa Player of the Year.

Cross country: An undefeated league season was followed by a third-place finish in the CIF Southern Section Division III finals, sparked by junior Tim Scott who was 19th with a time of 16 minutes, 3 seconds.

The Sea Kings reached the CIF State championships, where they finished seventh in Division III.

Senior Jack Turner was 34th in 16:29 at the state meet in Fresno.

Football: A 6-6 season was highlighted by the program’s first CIF playoff victory since 1995.

The Sea Kings defeated Garden Grove, 28-7, in the first round of the CIF Division IX playoffs.

Coach Dick Freeman’s squad then neary upset No. 2-seeded La Habra in the quarterfinals, but fell, 8-7.

The Sea Kings were led by senior Shaun Mohler, the Newport-Mesa Defensive Player of the Year, and senior Matt Burgner, a Georgetown-bound All-CIF defensive end/fullback, who had 12 sacks and holds the school career record with 36.

Mohler, an inside linebacker who also played quarterback, running back and receiver, recorded 113 tackles. He earned All-CIF Division IX recognition and was named first-team All-Southern Section (all divisions).

Mohler and Burgner represented the South in the Orange County All-Star Football Game, after which Burgner was named Defensive MVP.

Basketball: The team erased memories of a bad 2004-05 season by rebounding in 2005-06.

The Sea Kings went 16-12, 9-3 in league, good for a second-place tie with University. CdM lost to Gahr, 90-71, in the first round of the CIF Division III-AA playoffs, despite sophomore center Stefan Kaluz’s 25 points.

Senior guard/small forward Ryan Lance and Kaluz were a potent one-two scoring punch, combining to average more than 30 points per game.

Slaughter, a forward, was strong on the boards.

Lance led the team with 15.6 points per game and 42 steals. He was second on the team in assists (75) and third in rebounds (5.2 per game).

Kaluz emerged as a potent inside threat, averaging 14.9 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game. Kaluz was also second on the team in blocked shots with 53.

Kaluz leads the way for what appears to be a bright future under former Costa Mesa High Coach Ryan Schachter, who took over when Ryan Curry resigned in May after a five-year tenure in order to move to Idaho.

Soccer: The Sea Kings reached the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs and almost upset No. 4-seeded Woodbridge, but lost on penalty kicks and finished 10-9-3.

Senior defender Paul Knezevic was a first-team all-league pick and senior midfielder Jon Udahsev represented CdM on the second team.

Golf: The team finished 12th in the CIF Southern Section South Coast Team Divisional.

David Su won the league individual title and finished tied for fourth at the CIF Southern Regional.

The team finished 12-5, 8-4 in league.

Track and field: Coach Bill Sumner’s squad finished third at league finals, where Scott bested the field in the 1,600 meters in 4:26.46.

Scott was seventh (4:23.37) at the CIF Southern Section Division III finals.

Swimming: Sophomore Yutaro Yamashita emerged as the squad’s top swimmer, leading the team to fourth place at league finals and a 15th-place showing at CIF Southern Section Division II finals.

Yamashita was fifth at the section finals in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.54) and sixth in the 500 free (4:44.24).

Murphy won the consolation heat of the 100 breaststroke (ninth overall) in 1:00.96.

Wrestling: Senior Bijan Ahmadi finished sixth in the 152-pound weight class at the CIF Southern Division finals.

It was the third consecutive season Coach Gary Almquist’s program has had an athlete place in CIF.

Ahmadi went 4-3 in seven CIF matches. Lacrosse: The club team defeated Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 9-8, to clinch a spot in the Orange County Lacrosse Assn. playoffs.