By Joe Snyder
Serra High’s standout football running back Cincere Rhaney and track and field standout Mia Flowers have been selected as the 2023-24 Gardena Valley News Boys’ and Girls’ Athletes of the Year, in order.
Rhaney, a senior bound for San Diego State University, was one of Serra High’s top running backs, running for 200 yards-plus in each of those contests.
Rhaney was an all-CIF-Southern Section Division II selection and the Daily Breeze all-South Bay Offensive Player of the Year. He was also first-team all-Mission League in keying the Cavaliers to a second-place finish, behind champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, in league play and the CIF-Southern Section Division II semifinals where they fell to Anaheim Servite 28-20, much due to a rash of injuries on their squad.
For the second straight year, Serra swept the boys’ and girls’ top athletes as the senior track and field sensation Mia Flowers was the Female Athlete of the Year.
Flowers captured the CIF-Southern Section Division IV titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 11.67 and 23.73, respectively on May 11 at Moorpark High. Flowers went on to win the CIF-Southern Section Masters championship in the 100 with her personal best time of 11.46 a week later at Moorpark.
She finished sixth in a very tough field in the 200 despite a good time of 23.94 but managed to advance to the CIF-State Track and Field Championships, held on May 24 and 25 at Buchanan High in Clovis, in both events.
Flowers helped Serra’s girls’ track and field team place third, behind champion and one of Serra’s top Del Rey League rivals, Inglewood St. Mary’s Academy, and runner-up Fullerton Rosary.
The Cavaliers fell just two points shy of second place Rosary 33-31, while the Belles ran away with the title with 57.5 points.
Flowers also keyed Serra’s 4×100-meter relay team to a second-place finish, behind St. Mary’s, clocking 47.21 in the Division IV finals. Other runners on the team included Jaiya Fletcher, Raelyn Pleasant and Isabella Samuels. Despite an eighth place at the Masters, the Cavaliers advanced to the state meet but finally were eliminated in the prelims on May 24. Serra’s 400 relay team, though, won the seeded division of Arcadia Invitational on April 6.
In the state finals, Flowers took second in the 100 in her personal best time of 11.41, in a very close race to winner Mikaela Warr from Canyon Country Canyon (11.4). She was third in the 200 timing 23.87.
On June 15, Flowers participated in the New Balance National Championships in Philadelphia but her results were unavailable. Flowers is still uncertain on her college.
Gardena swept the top coaching awards with head football mentor Monty Gilbreth getting Boys’ Coach of the Year and head Panther girls’ basketball coach Tracy McNeil is top girls’ coach.
Gilbreth had successful building of the Panther football program, that, a few years ago was considered the joke of the South Bay, to winning its first Marine League title in 49 years and advancing to the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division semifinals before falling to host and second seed Garfield 42-6 in East L.A.
This fall with most of the Panthers’ top players back, Gilbreth is looking at better things; possibly and Open Division and maybe even CIF-State crowns. McNeil guided the Lady Panthers basketball team to the CIF-L.A. City Division IV crown by routing South L.A. Fremont 54-12 in the final on Feb. 25 at El Camino College.
Her team returns nearly all its players as they are expected to move up one or two divisions. She even hopes to improve Gardena’s third-place finish, behind champion San Pedro and second place Carson, in the always tough Marine League.
The Panthers already defeated the Colts in one of their two games last season.
Other top local athletes for the boys include Makato Nakawake (baseball, senior, North Torrance), Trysten Henry (football and basketball, senior, North Torrance), Elliot Langston (basketball and volleyball, senior, North Torrance), Kai Bradley (basketball, senior, North Torrance), Maximo Adams (basketball, sophomore, Serra), Otis “Tre” Harrison (football and track and field, junior, Serra), Jae’len Sparks (track and field, senior, Gardena), Keyshaun Hood (football, senior, Gardena), Xavier Grant (football, senior, Gardena), Kamryn Hurst (football and track and field, senior, Carson), Jayden Rendon (track and field, sophomore, Carson), Brody Cuellar (baseball, Bishop Montgomery), Ryan Young (football and track and field, senior, Torrance) and, Promise Madubugwu (basketball, senior, Gardena), and Zacharyus Williams (football, senior, Serra).
Other top female athletes are Makanna Cheatham (softball, senior, North Torrance), Reese Noa (basketball, senior, North Torrance), Julietta Roa (softball, senior, North Torrance), Taurnen Tibia-Williams (basketball, junior, Gardena), Jordin Blackmon (basketball, junior, Bishop Montgomery), Jaiya Fletcher (track and field, senior, Serra), and Christina Gray (track and field, senior, Carson).
_____________
Cavs hires Taylor as boys’ basketball coach Challenges await as Serra sees top players transfer
A couple of months after Serra High head boys’ basketball coach Bernard McCrumby stepped down as its head boys’ basketball coach, the Cavaliers will be under new leadership in a successful head mentor, Derrick Taylor, beginning the 2024-25 season.
Taylor enjoyed success as head coach at two previous high schools in Woodland Hills Taft and Bellflower St. John Bosco. He guided the Toreadors to four CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division titles including his last one in the 2022-23 season. Ten years earlier, he guided the Braves to the CIF-Southern Section IIIA crown and the CIF-State Division II championship.
After his fourth City title at Taft, Taylor was dismissed due to allegations of improper adherence to the Los Angeles Unified School District policies concerning COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease, 2019) procedures.
McCrumby, who was assisting Serra’s previous head coach in the late Dwan Hurt (1963-2016) after Hurt’s sudden death following Thanksgiving 2016, guided the Cavaliers for eight seasons. This past season (2023-24), Serra finished only fourth in the rigorous Del Rey League but advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division IIIAA semifinals before falling short at home to Ventura St. Bonaventure 67-64. It did award the Cavaliers to the CIF-Southern California Regional Division III playoffs but they fell to second seed and host Thousand Oaks 73-53 in the first round. Two years earlier, Serra, led by now Cal State Dominguez Hills standout Jeremy Dent-Smith, made the CIF-Southern Section Division IIAA quarterfinals before losing to host Village Christian High in Sun Valley.
About a month after McCrumby left Serra, he accepted to return to one of the Cavaliers’ top league rivals, Playa del Rey St. Bernard, where he replaces the departed Tony Bland. Before aiding Hurt at Serra, McCrumby was an assistant with the Vikings.
Taylor will have his work cut out for him at Serra. Due to McCrumby’s departure, top players in incoming juniors Maximo Adams and Kayleb Kearse since transferred out; Adams deciding to follow McCrumby to St. Bernard and Kearse to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in Downey. With his success, though, he hopes he can find a way to keep the Cavaliers’ winning ways and hope for CIF-Southern Section and California State championships.
