HIGH SCHOOLS:

Christopher Griffin really couldn’t go wrong with his college choices.

Two private liberal arts schools showed interest in the Sage Hill School senior. Both colleges are located in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”

Griffin’s going there for more than fishing.

The first baseman will continue to play baseball next year. Griffin plans to attend Carleton College in Northfield.

Macalester College in St. Paul also went after one of the area’s best hitters and defensive players. Griffin is batting .438 with 16 runs batted in and four doubles, plus his fielding percentage is .986.

Top-notch numbers, his grades aren’t shabby either.

Griffin, a National Merit Scholar finalist, said he will graduate with a 3.9 grade-point average and his SAT score ranked in the top five percent nationwide. He also considered Cornell University and Dartmouth College.

“After visiting the school and talking to [Coach Aaron Rushing], it felt like sort of the school I would attend,” said Griffin, who plans to major in political science and minor in international relations. “The school is more intense than Macalester and a good fit for me.”

 Marks, and more marks in track and field from DyeStatCal.com.

Cecil Whiteside of Newport Harbor has the state’s third-best throw in the boys’ discus throw event this season.

The 187-foot, 5-inch heave by the junior at the Surf Invitational in March is almost a foot shorter than the leader’s. Daniel Swarbrick of Saugus is No. 1 at 188-4.

Whiteside ranks No. 5 in the shot put at 57-11. Teammate Ryan Andrews is No. 25 (54-0).

Newport Harbor’s boys’ 4x1600-meter relay team is No. 16 with a time of 18 minutes, 10.67 seconds. The 1,600 sprint medley relay is No. 24 (3:41.78).

In the boys’ triple jump, Corona del Mar’s Blaine Bolus is No. 13 (46-4 3/4 ).

The Sea Kings’ girls’ are No. 2 in the distance medley relay. Kim Condino, Claire Schmidt, Sarah Keddington and Melanie Powers helped CdM turn in a 12:06.18 time at the Arcadia Invitational this month, finishing behind Esperanza, which has the state’s top time at 12:02.27.

Condino is No. 24 in the state in the 800 (2:16.41).

 The Sea Kings just played in one of the toughest two-day boys’ volleyball tournaments, the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions at Santa Barbara High.

Next for CdM (18-6) is competing against the nation’s top team, Loyola of Los Angeles.

Coach Steve Conti guided the Sea Kings to a fifth-place showing after beating Dos Pueblos of Goleta, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22, Saturday. Next Saturday at 1 p.m. is a showdown at Loyola, ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll and No. 1 in the country by ESPN RISE.

“We’ve been talking about trying to connect,” Conti said of a nonleague match against the Cubs. “There was a team we were playing for years and we weren’t able to schedule a match, so now we’re playing [Loyola], a powerhouse program. They’re big, athletic, they have experience, and they’re well coached.”

Conti said this is the third time the Sea Kings will play Loyola during his 14 years at CdM. The other two meetings took place at the Best of the West. Last year, Loyola won, and in 2005 CdM won.

“We’ve never played a best three-out-of-five match,” Conti said. “This is a great challenge to play a good team on the road and it will help us prepare for the playoffs.”

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