Poor air quality affecting athletics

As the Santa Ana winds continue to change direction, so do the sports schedules for Newport-Mesa high schools and local colleges, due to the fires in Orange County.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District ordered all outdoor athletic activities canceled Monday. At UC Irvine, Vanguard University and Orange Coast College, practices were either canceled or moved indoors.

No one is certain when outdoor practices and games will resume. It depends on whether the air quality, threatened by smoke, gas and dust, remains unhealthy in the Newport-Mesa area.

With the current situation and the fires not fully contained, Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said Monday night “it doesn’t look promising” that Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor will return to their regularly scheduled athletic events in the Newport-Mesa area today.

“The Air Quality Management District said the air was at the unhealthy level and we felt it was in the best interest of our students to keep them safe and away from the high level of pollutants in the smoky air,” Hubbard said. “It’s my understanding that most school districts [in the county] are taking the same approach. We are being safe to make sure our kids are safe.”

Corona del Mar Athletic Director Paul Orris said each of the Newport-Mesa schools were informed Monday morning that outdoor practices and contests would be canceled. That was also the case at Sage Hill School, a private school in Newport Coast, said football coach Pete Anderson.

None of the teams at UCI, Vanguard and OCC conducted their normal soccer, cross country, volleyball, water polo and golf practices, according to school officials, who noted that their teams worked out inside fitness centers on treadmills, bikes and elliptical machines.

UCI and OCC will evaluate whether to conduct today’s scheduled practices and games, while Vanguard has postponed its men’s soccer match, scheduled today, at San Diego Christian in El Cajon, Vanguard Sports Information Director Beth Renkoski said. If the air quality improves, school officials said everything will return to normal.

The Golden West League girls’ golf individual final, including Costa Mesa and Estancia, was postponed Monday, as was the Sage Hill boys’ water polo match at Beckman in Irvine.

The Newport Harbor girls’ volleyball match at Sunset League rival Fountain Valley went off as planned Monday.

“It wasn’t a home [match] for us and it’s not our [match] to cancel,” said Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn. “It really was not my decision. [Boys’ Athletic Director Eric Tweit] called the AD [at Fountain Valley] and said it was OK. It’s an indoor event. I didn’t have to cancel my economics class [Monday], so why this?

“I had my kids ready to play. This a big part of our season.”

This time of year is crucial in high school sports with league finals and the postseason right around the corner. Any setbacks can only a hinder a team, something Estancia girls’ golf coach Art Perry is well aware of with his 37 years of coaching.

Estancia, along with Costa Mesa, were supposed to tee off for the first day of the two-day league tournament. The top three golfers advance to a CIF Southern Section individual regional match on Nov. 1. Perry was looking forward to watching his top three, senior Taylor West, freshman Ashley Peters and sophomore Kim Haycraft, compete for those three spots.

“They were ready to go and they worked hard this weekend and then they get this news,” said Perry, who’s hoping the league finals will get underway today, giving Estancia enough time to get ready for the section team finals, scheduled Monday at El Prado Golf Course in Chino. “We just couldn’t do anything, not even practice, but things happen. You just have to roll with the punches.”

Anderson was looking forward to Sage Hill’s football practice Monday. It’s the day his Lightning condition hard.

“I’m sure the guys were a little happy about [not having to run],” said Anderson, whose Lightning, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division, are coming off an exciting 36-35 nonleague win at Linfield Christian Friday. “We’ll just go through walk-throughs and watch a lot of film.”

Watching video is something Tweit said the Sailors’ football and boys’ water polo programs are used to on Mondays.

But not the Sage Hill boys’ water polo team. However, the Lightning’s match at Beckman wouldn’t affect Sage Hill’s second-place standing in the Academy League.

“They’re so close to the fires,” Sage Hill Coach Tom Norton said of the Patriots. “[Beckman Coach Peter Muller] just called me to make sure I knew the game was [postponed]. I then talked to my athletic director [John Poffenberger] and he said we also couldn’t practice.

“We’re just going to have a video session at school later, like I’m sure everyone else is doing right now.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.