High Schools:

Instead of throwing a discus, you might see Cecil Whiteside fire a different object this spring.

The UC Berkeley-bound football player is embarking on a new varsity sport at Newport Harbor High.

The senior’s decision to forego his final boys’ track and field season for baseball has thrown throwing coach Tony Ciarelli a curveball. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Whiteside said he tried out for the baseball team in hopes of participating in his fourth sport at the school.

The move is one Ciarelli said he couldn’t understand. Last season, Whiteside finished third in the discus throw at the CIF State track and field championships after defending his CIF Southern Section Masters meet title.

“I’ve never had a guy who has put so much time into throwing quit in his senior year,” said Ciarelli, who has been a throwing coach since 1979. “A lot of times you have a junior who wants to come out and try the sport and he doesn’t return the following year. Cecil’s been doing it since his freshman season. He made it to CIF every year, went to state the last two years and placed each time.

“My disappointment comes from how much he committed [to throwing] and how much time we put into each other. The reason he was noticed in football was because of throwing. When a college [football] coach sees someone throw 187 feet, they know that’s a great athlete.”

The day before Whiteside signed his letter of intent with UC Berkeley on Wednesday, he said Ciarelli wasn’t too happy with his decision to end his throwing career.

Whiteside, the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Football Player of the Year, said he turned to baseball because it was one of his favorite sports before enrolling at Newport Harbor. The idea of playing alongside his childhood friends also induced Whiteside to try out.

Ciarelli said Whiteside, who has also played basketball at Newport Harbor, gave him other reasons for not coming out for track and field.

“He told me he needed to get his classes in line, his SAT scores, and work with a tutor, all to help his grades get better, and I understood that,” said Ciarelli, adding the conversation with Whiteside took place at the football banquet last month, three weeks after the linebacker stood out at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game in San Antonio, Texas. “He never told me it was because of baseball. No disrespect to the baseball program, but it hasn’t done that well, most of it has to do with the [Sunset] league [the Sailors] play in is so competitive.

“Cecil talked about throwing and playing football in college. Arizona State and Cal wanted him to do both. He worked hard when he was here. He could’ve been a state champ and national champ. I’m not heartbroken. I still have the best group of guys [like Jake Taylor and Ryan Andrews] that I’ve had in maybe my career.”

Add Whiteside into the mix, the group is hands down Ciarelli’s best.

 When Cameron Koziarn approached Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley about trying out last summer for the football team, Brinkley figured the senior was a water polo player.

“He was a rangy guy,” Brinkley said of the 6-4 Koziarn.

Brinkley got it wrong. The longtime coach learned Koziarn was actually a kick boxer.

In his first season, Koziarn developed into a football player and kicked quite a few opposing linemen’s butts. Koziarn’s play impressed Princeton University, which Brinkley said accepted the defensive lineman.

Koziarn led the Sailors with nine hurries and made 31 tackles, three for losses.

“I wish we had him for four years,” Brinkley said, adding the 235-pounder transferred to Newport Harbor from Corona del Mar after his freshman year. “This is great for him.

“He’s been working really hard in the weight room and I see him getting up to 275 [pounds] in college.”

Brinkley said senior Ryan Iverson, another tireless worker in the gym, is looking to be a long snapper in college.

Brinkley said Colorado State and Kansas have shown interest in Iverson, a first-team All-Sunset League linebacker.

Brinkley added senior Dillan Freiberg, who shared the Sunset League Kicker of the Year award, suffered a hairline fracture during the boys’ soccer season and is out for the season.

Brinkley said Arizona State and Colorado are interested in Freiberg as a possible walk-on player. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also shown interest in Freiberg, who made 11 of 12 field-goal attempts last season.

 Agustin Heredia led the Estancia boys’ basketball team to a league championship as a player 20 years ago.

He can guide the Eagles to the Orange Coast League title as a coach on Wednesday. Estancia is tied for first place with defending league champion Laguna Beach at 5-2 in league.

All the Eagles have to do in their regular-season finale is beat rival Costa Mesa on the road and they will earn at least a share of the league crown, which would be Estancia’s first in five seasons. Heredia knows it won’t be easy.

The Mustangs haven’t won a league game this season. This contest will not only be the Mustangs’ final chance to earn a victory in the New Year, but it’s their championship.

“They’re definitely going to be gunning for us,” said Heredia, who’s hoping his Eagles bounce back after Friday, when Laguna Beach handed Estancia its first league loss since the league opener.