HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Breakers’ pair performs well

Laguna Beach track and field athletes Yann Panassie and Matt Neev turned in strong performances Saturday at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

In the Division IV boys’ 1,600-meter run, senior Yann Panassie finished in fourth place with a time of 4:31.80 and freshman Matt Neev was sixth (4:32.26) in an event won by Big Bear’s Alberto Solis (4:25.81).

Neev also finished in eighth place in the boys’ 3,200 with a time of 10:15.95.

Laguna’s boys finished in 22nd place in the division standings with Serra taking first place.

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BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

No words were necessary.

The expressions on the faces of the Laguna boys’ volleyball team and Coach Lance Stewart said it all.

The Breakers suffered a devastating 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 10-15 loss to visiting Dos Pueblos on May 16 in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs, putting an end to their season.

The loss appeared to be more emotional for some players, like senior Mike Kahl, who buried his face in his jersey to hide the tears that streamed down his cheeks.

This was the seventh time Laguna and Dos Pueblos have faced off in the playoffs, and the postseason series had been tied 3-3 heading into the quarterfinal match.

The Chargers, the No. 2 team from the Channel League, were coming off a May 13 win over Pacific View League champ Camarillo.

It was a heated match between the two teams and came down to a decisive fifth game.

The Chargers showed brute force in the first two games, edging the Breakers halfway before pulling away to win both games. Both teams fought hard and played well defensively, but Dos Pueblos brought more energy to the court than the Breakers could handle.

Down two games, Laguna came back with fury in the third and forth games though, beating the Chargers by eight points and tying the match 2-2.

Shawn Merz, Lorenzo Torriero and Cooper Gwaltney had consecutive kills, and Torriero, Kahl and Jake Killian made consistent blocks that spurred the comeback.

Dos Pueblos started slipping up by serving into the net, not executing and hitting balls out of bounds.

But Laguna couldn’t complete the big rally to advance to the semifinal round.

Merz finished with 21 kills, Gwaltney had 14 kills and Clay Knapp had 43 assists.

Laguna, which won the Orange Coast League championship, finished the season 19-8.

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SWIMMING

Laguna Beach junior Preston Head swam to a 12th-place finish in the boys’ 100-yard freestyle race at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

Head swam to a time of 47.93.