Calling the Shots:

There are two simple rules to know when you run for Coach Bill Sumner.

The coach, in his 27th year at Corona del Mar High, informs his boys and girls cross country and track and field athletes of the following standards.

“Rule No. 1: Never quit,” he says. “Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”

Those who follow the rules know that there can be success. That was seen in Fresno Saturday when the CdM girls’ cross country team captured the CIF State Division III championship. It was the Sea Kings’ second straight and seventh overall, which tied with San Francisco University High for the most in the meet’s history.

Sumner has also guided his boys’ teams to two state titles in cross country. And the total of section titles in boys’ and girls’ cross country, as well as track and field is 15.

 Sumner used but one word to describe the Sea Kings’ state title.

“Incredible,” he said.

He used that word because he stressed that this year’s girls’ team did not have a “super stud, like [former standout] Annie St. Geme,” he said.

So with that, Sumner was extremely proud of his girls, especially because of the other feat they accomplished. They recorded the third-best team time in State Division III history. With its 92 minutes, 20 seconds, CdM now owns the top three team times.

 This year’s CdM girls’ cross country team featured six seniors.

Melanie Powers, Marisa Cummings, Kristina Funahashi, Ali Hummelberg, Sarah Keddington and Amanda Garrett were the seniors who provided leadership.

So what’s Sumner to do for next year?

“Oh well, we’ll figure it out,” he said.

The Sea Kings do have sophomores Kristen Rivera and Ashlee Powers, as well as freshman Shelby Perez returning.

CdM leaves Thursday to compete in the Nike Team Nationals Saturday in Oregon.

 Megan Munce experienced an opportune moment to visit her alma mater Saturday.

The Newport Harbor High product led the TCU women’s volleyball team to a four-game win over UC Irvine at Long Beach State. She then went to the girls’ volleyball match at Newport Harbor, where the Sailors swept Huntington Beach in a CIF State Division I Southern California Regional semifinal.

“It’s awesome because I don’t think I’ll ever get that opportunity again,” Munce said of seeing the Sailors’ sweep. “It was great to see that the team has gotten so much better since I left. They make us look terrible. They are such a good team.”

Munce said she loves it at TCU and that it just keeps getting better every day. She also had some fun for the Horned Frogs Saturday.

The setter notched her 13th double-double of the season with 39 assists and 12 digs in TCU’s 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 victory in the Mizuno Thanksgiving Classic.

Munce has been enjoying a great season for the Horned Frogs (26-6), who open the NCAA Tournament against Rice Thursday in the Omaha, Nebraska Regional at Texas.

She was recently named Setter of the Year for the Mountain West Conference.

Munce guided TCU to a 13-3 record in the MWC, setting the Horned Frogs to an average of 13.2 kills per set before Saturday night’s match. She has tallied 1,092 assists in her first season as the setter, an average of 9.84 per set. Her 51 service aces on the season are tops in the MWC. Defensively, the sophomore is averaging 2.54 digs per set.

She has been even stronger in conference play with an average of 10.12 assists per set and 2.57 digs per set.

“I was laughing that I got Setter of the Year,” she said. “I had a hard time getting used to playing setter and once I got Setter of the Year, it was funny to hear that people actually think I’m good at setting because I don’t think I’m that good. It’s a work in progress.”

Munce’s coach at TCU, Prentice Lewis, helped Corona del Mar High win a state Division I championship in 1990.

 Munce wasn’t the only former player at Newport Harbor Saturday. April Ross, a former star for the Sailors, was also there to catch the match.

In between playing her busy schedule on pro beach tours, Ross has been able to see some of the Sailors’ matches this season.

She likes what she has seen.

“I’ve been super impressed every single time I’ve seen them play,” said Ross, who led Newport Harbor to three CIF section titles and two state championships in the late 1990s. “They play so fast and their defense is so good. I don’t remember our defense being that good. Cinnamon [Sary] and Kirby [Burnham] are amazing players.”

While Ross has not seen Dos Pueblos of Goleta or the teams from the north, she believes the Sailors have a great shot to win the state title this season.