Briefly In Sports

Ortiz loses split decision

The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz, lost a split decision to Forrest Griffin on Saturday at the Ultimate Fighting Championships 106 main event in Las Vegas.

Ortiz, coming off back surgery and in his first UFC fight in 18 months, lost 30-27 and 29-28 on two of the judges’ cards. The other judge had Ortiz winning the fight, 29-28. Ortiz had beaten Griffin in 2006 in a split decision. The former light heavyweight champion’s record fell to 16-7-1.

“Forrest showed great heart,” Ortiz said in the octagon after the fight. “He put on a great show.”

Holmes headed to Dominican University

Marina High senior boys’ basketball player Brendan Holmes has signed a national letter of intent to attend Dominican University, his father, Coach Roger Holmes, confirmed in an e-mail.

Brendan Holmes is a four-year varsity starter for the Vikings. He averaged 21.5 points per game as a sophomore, upped it to 23.5 last year as a junior, which ranked him second in Orange County. The two-time All-Sunset League first-team player has also led California the past two years for three-pointers made in a season.

Dominican, a private university in San Rafael, is in its first year of NCAA Division II competition. The Penguins play in the Pac West Conference.

Huntington Beach Pop Warner Cheer wins regional title

The Huntington Beach Pop Warner Cheer Midget Green squad competed against the best of the southern United States at the Wescon Regional Championship of Cheer in Ontario on Sunday, placing second in their division.

The win qualifies the girls to face the top two teams from each national region at the Pop Warner National Cheer Championships, held Dec. 11 at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

The girls, led by their multiple national championship-winning Coach Tamara Green, will be making various public appearances around Huntington Beach, seeking community support for the team’s travel costs to represent the city on the national level. Financial donations are welcome.

For more information, e-mail treasurer@hbpwf.org.

Rustlers men’s soccer team suffers heartbreaker

The Golden West College men’s soccer team was denied a chance to advance to the Southern California Regional Finals, suffering a 3-2 overtime loss at Santa Ana College on Tuesday.

The Rustlers (14-7-1) had goals from Tanyer Vakili and David Perez, and never trailed until the overtime. With six minutes left, however, Santa Ana’s Richard Rivera got the game-winner.

Huntington Valley holding sign-ups

Huntington Valley Little League is holding its final in-person sign-ups for spring Dec. 5. Registration will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Valley fields, at 9191 Pioneer Ave. in Huntington Beach, near Magnolia Boulevard and Adams Avenue. All players must have an original birth certificate, three documents indicating proof of residency and payment for fees due. Costs are $75 for T-ball division, $120 for Little League division and $175 for both Junior division and Senior divisions. Fees will increase by $20 per player after Dec. 5.

For more information, e-mail hvll_info@yahoo.com or visit www.eteamz.com/hvll.

— Matt Szabo