By Joe Snyder
North Torrance High’s baseball team completed a successful run by winning its first CIF-Southern Section championship since 1974 with a 7-1 win over South El Monte for the Division VII crown Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.
The Saxons wasted no time on the Eagles scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning. It started when South El Monte starting pitcher Jesse Zavala walked Josiah Reed. That was followed by a triple from designated hitter Andrew Bello as Reed scored and North had a quick 1-0 lead. Shortstop Lucas Blackwood followed with a base hit bringing home Bello. A run-scoring single by Shane Yamamoto and a bases loaded walk to Tanner Okawa completed North’s first inning scoring.
The Saxons, who are 17-16 overall, added one run apiece in the bottom of the third, fourth and fifth. Blackwood’s RBI single bringing home Yamamoto increased their lead to 5-0. A run-scoring hit by David Iniquez in the fourth made it 6-0 and Reed scored the Saxons’ last run on a wild pitch.
Winning pitcher Mason Matsumoto dominated the Eagle batters with a no-hitter through five innings. Gabriel Canchola broke up his no-hitter with a double in the top of the sixth. One out later, Bobby Rojas brought Canchola home with a double breaking Matsumoto’s shutout bid. That ended Matsumoto’s day as relief pitcher Joseph Banuelos came in to shut down South El Monte without allowing another hit in his 1.2/3 innings of work.
The previous time the Saxons won was 52 years ago in Class 4A when they were head coached by the late legendary mentor Jim O’ Brien, who passed away early last year. O’Brien also guided North to the Southern Section Class 4A title in 1971, led by eventual Major League Baseball player Dennis Littlejohn. O’ Brien went on to guide the Los Angeles Harbor College baseball teams to California state championships in 1978, 1984 and 1990, before moving on to become athletic director. He retired in 2002.
North is not done yet, as of last Monday. The Saxons began in the Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs at CIF-L.A. City Open Division semifinalist Bell High last Tuesday. The semifinals are today at 4 p.m. and the finals are on Saturday. The Eagles are No. 2 seed, while North is seventh.
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Serra boys’ 4×100 relay places fifth in CIF-State
Serra High’s track and field program managed just one relay team advancing to the CIF-California State Track and Field Championships in its boys’ 4×100-meter relay team but made it worth while as it placed fifth in Saturday’s finals at Buchanan High in Clovis, located south of Fresno.
The Cavalier squad, which has no seniors on the squad, included sophomore Lamar Roberson, junior Landon Thomas, sophomore Lawson-Griggs Andrews and junior anchor Wesley Ace. Serra recorded a season-best time of 40.97 seconds.
The Cavaliers had to contend against the top-ranked all-time prep sprint relay team in Servite from Anaheim, which already broke the United States national record at 39.70 at the Arcadia Invitational on April 11 and smashed the state meet record clocking 39.73 to run away with the race over second-place Los Angeles Cathedral, one of Serra’s Del Rey League rivals, which was timed in 40.72. Third place was Rancho Cucamonga (40.88), while L.A. Loyola (40.92) was fourth. The previous meet record in the boys’ 4×100 was 40.24 set in 1989 by Hawthorne.
Torrance High senior Nicolas Obimgba had a successful season but managed to make the state finals in just the 100, as he placed sixth timing 10.47. Servite sophomore Benjamin Harris won the race with a state championship finals record time of 10.14, breaking the previous record of 10.20 set in 2023 by Serra’s Roderick Pleasant, now competing in football and track and field at UCLA. Harris’ finals record, however, is not the overall state meet record. Last season in the state prelims, Jaden Jefferson from Concord De La Salle recorded a 10.01 in the 100. Obimgba had his personal best time of 10.20 in the same race. The finals, however, was slower but Jefferson still ran the race, followed by Obimgba. Obimgba failed to qualify in the 200, taking just 17th overall in 21.45. He had a personal best time of 20.66 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut on April 18.
Carson senior Jaden Rendon, who is bound for University of Southern California, came into the meet with one of the top ranked hurdlers in the United States. Rendon was leading through the last hurdle but partially fell toward the finish line as junior Brady Tse from Harker (CIF-Central Coast) pulled off the win clocking 36.23 to 36.46 for second-place Rendon in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Rendon finished seventh in the 110 highs at 13.87.
Servite put an exclamation mark on easily winning the state team title by blazing to a meet-record 3:07.62 in the 4×400 relay, breaking the previous record of 3:08.42 set at the prelims in 2010 by Serra, which was led by anchor Robert Woods, now playing in the National Football League. Woods played on the L.A. Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship team four years ago. Servite’s time is just .22 slower then the 41-year-old national record of 3:07.40 set by Hawthorne in 1985. One of the runners on that team was three-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Marsh. The Friars, though, included all sophomores which will bring them a great opportunity of breaking that record next season and even more in 2028.
Servite rolled to the team title with 60 points to 28 for runner-up Riverside Martin Luther King and 23 for third-place Redondo.
Long Beach Wilson also rolled to its fourth consecutive state crown with 70 points to 30 for second-place Corona Santiago and 28.5 for third-place Fullerton Rosary.
Wilson proved dominant in the 400 with a one-two finish by junior Clara Adams (52.28) and junior Saniah Varnada (52.98). Adams also won the 200 clocking 23.4. Both keyed the Lady Bruins’ 4×400 relay squad to an easy win in 3:36.18.
Also highlighting the girls was Corona Santiago’s Braelyn Conle with wins in the 800 (2:05.13) and 1,600 (4:35.59) and leading the team to a win in the 4×800 with a meet-record time of 8:46.16.
Rosary’s 4×100 relay team recorded a 44.87 in winning the event. Rosary is one of two sister schools (the other being Anaheim Connolly) of Servite.
There were no local girls in the state finals. Playa del Rey St. Bernard’s Lorrin Hervey was the best for South Bay athletes winning the 100-meter hurdles with a blazing time of 13.29.
For other local boys, Redondo’s third-place finish in the state was its highest since winning the crown in 1946. The Sea Hawks were led by football-track and field star Bo Ausmus who finished second in the discus with a personal best mark of 200 feet, one inch and was fourth in the shot put at 58-8.75. Sophomore Mario Montoya, who keyed Redondo’s boys’ cross-country team to the CIF-State Division I crown in November, was fourth in the 3,200 clocking 8:54.04. The Sea Hawks’ 4×800 team placed fourth at 7:46.08 but rival Manhattan Beach Mira Costa was third clocking 7:43.27. King won the race in 7:42.27. The Mustangs also had a third-place finish by pole vaulter Tomek Gorzkowski (16-4).
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Carson softball romps to City Open Div. title
Carson High’s softball team captured its third CIF-Los Angeles City Open Division championship by routing Granada Hills 12-1 last Thursday at Legacy High in South Gate.
The Lady Colts began their onslaught in the first inning as Ashannalee Titiala, coming off an injury, hit a two-run home run.
Carson set up the five-inning mercy rule with six runs in the third that included a two-run double by Atiana Rodriguez and a two-run homer from Anaiyah Popoalii for an 8-0 lead.
The Colts added two runs each in the fourth and fifth.
The Highlanders had one run in the fifth but winning pitcher Isabella Campos got the next two outs for the win.
Carson finished its season at 21-7 and won the Marine League title.
