Alemany High School

Three years after being jolted out of its original location by the Northridge earthquake, Bishop Alemany High School on Tuesday celebrated the completion of the first phase of its reconstruction efforts at its new campus--the former Our Lady Queen of Angels High School Seminary.

There are certain things teenagers rarely volunteer to do, such as taking out the trash or waking up before 7 a.m. Scott Sistilli is a 17-year-old senior at Mission Hills Alemany who would gladly sleep until noon, if given the option. On Sundays, he turns off the ringer on his phone and is like a bear in hibernation. But four days a week since May, he has been rising at 5:30 a.m. to lift weights at the school weight room.

Melissa Hearlihy, the girls' basketball coach at Alemany High School for the past 11 years, has been suspended by the Southern Section until July 19 because an incoming freshman played for her team in a game last month prior to graduating from junior high. Hearlihy would not reveal the player's name, but said she had assumed the player was eligible because she was enrolled for the fall semester at Alemany.

Alemany High's victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the last event in the Southern Section Division II swimming championships last month, closed a strong season. "It was awesome," said senior Maureen Farrell, the relay anchor who combined with senior Molly Feeney and freshmen Renee Viveros and Leah Tourtellotte to win in 3:36.07 and wrap up a third-place finish in the team standings for Alemany. "It was just an amazing ending to the season," she said.

It was wonderful of you to congratulate El Camino Real High School for their performance in the Academic Decathlon ("Congratulations, Once More," Valley Edition Editorials, Feb. 21). Certainly they deserved the praise, but you failed to mention Alemany High School, the winner of this region's decathlon for private schools ("Alemany High Defends Its Academic Title," Feb. 7). This lack makes it seem as though the latter is less important. I can certify that Alemany's students worked just as hard, since my son is on the team.

I wish to congratulate Father Robert Milbauer and the administration of Alemany High School for their stand during the debate over "crew dances" ("8 Alemany Students Asked to Withdraw," March 23). To the parents who are protesting: You agreed to abide by the rules put forth in the school handbook, you are paying a substantial amount to educate your children in an academic and value-oriented atmosphere and yet you model a contempt for authority, certainly a contradiction. At this time in our society the atmosphere under which both faculties and students must exist is threatening at best, in both private and public schools.

Freshman Shannon Lambert scored all three goals as the Alemany High School girls soccer team stayed unbeaten in the Golden league with a 3-1 win over Canyon Wednesday afternoon. Lambert scored once on the first half and added two more in the second half. One of her second-half scores was unassisted. Alemany is now 2-0-1 in the Golden League and 7-3-1 for the season. The team played good defense with Robynn Eastman, another freshman, minding the nets.

Saying there are more cost-efficient ways to recruit young candidates for the priesthood, the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese has decided to close its 40-year-old high school seminary here in July. About 150 students are currently enrolled at Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary, located near the San Fernando Mission. In recent years, about half of each graduating class at the four-year school would continue priestly studies at the college level.

More than five years after losing much of their school to the Northridge earthquake, students at Alemany High School plan to celebrate the opening of their renovated campus today. About 25 offices, classrooms, laboratories and art rooms were recently completed at Alemany, said the school's activities director Tina Eick. Officials will also break ground for a new gym, which should be finished next year. Since the 1994 earthquake, students have been using a temporary dome as a gym, Eick said.

Ted Corcoran, a former defensive coordinator at Chaminade High, has been selected football coach at Alemany. Corcoran, 26, was defensive coordinator at Avila College in Kansas City last season. He served as defensive coordinator for three years under Ed Croson at Chaminade. Corcoran, who played linebacker for the Eagles, takes over a program that went 2-8 last season under first-year Coach Craig Schuler.

Alemany High School in Mission Hills won its sixth consecutive Academic Decathlon competition among 15 Southern California private schools Saturday night, advancing to the state contest. Alemany scored 41,163 points out of a possible 60,000. La Canada Flintridge rivals St. Francis High School and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy finished second and third, with 36,743 and 34,337 points, respectively.

Alemany High School in Mission Hills won its sixth consecutive Academic Decathlon competition among 15 Southern California private schools Saturday night, advancing students to the state contest. Alemany scored 41,163 points out of a possible 60,000. St. Francis High School in La Canada Flintridge ranked second with 36,743 points, followed by a town rival, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, which netted 34,337 points.

De'Andre Scott is at ease these days. You can see it in his hypnotic green eyes, toothy smile and jocular manner. His presence soothes teammates as he saunters through the Alemany High locker room, softly shaking hands and passing out pats on the back to everyone in his path. "I feel comfortable here," Scott said. "The people at Alemany High School make you feel at home." No longer is the region's best running back filled with anxiety about where he's going to be playing in September.

Maureen Farrell is relatively new to competitive swimming, but she has already made a big splash. The Alemany High senior-to-be tied a Southern Section Division II record in the 100-yard backstroke and set a career best in the 50 freestyle to claim two individual titles in the Southern Section Division II championships in May. Her backstroke time of 55.56 seconds tied the division standard set by Meredith Booker of Beverly Hills in 1992 and improved on a second-place finish in 1999.

In a stunning shift from one area girls' basketball power to another, Coach Melissa Hearlihy announced Wednesday she will leave Alemany High to join Mission League rival Harvard-Westlake. Hearlihy, who guided Alemany to 11 league championships and three Southern Section titles, won 350 games in 15 seasons at the Mission Hills school.

The City Council agreed Wednesday to study the possibility of building the city's 20th police station on the former Alemany High School campus. The earthquake damaged campus has been long closed, and could be an ideal site for the Valley's sixth police station, according to City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who introduced the motion to conduct a study.

Alemany High School's meeting with Servite in a nonleague game on Friday figured to be an aerial showdown between two top quarterbacks, Alemany's Joey Rosselli and Servite's Rob Walker. Instead, Servite's dominant rushing game took center stage in a 24-6 victory. Senior running back Kent Weiss shouldered the offensive bulk for Servite (2-4), gaining 145 yards in 16 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

Kate Beckler, scoring machine. It was a job title, a position, a way of life. From the time Beckler first set sneakers on Alemany High's campus, she was an offensive threat to be taken seriously. Drives, pull-up jumpers, three-pointers, off-balance one-handers. Few shots weren't in her arsenal. By the time she was done, almost every team in the region had been riddled by her sharp shooting.

A former high school coach who submitted false fingerprints for an employment background check to hide his past as a sex offender was sentenced Friday to five years' probation, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Darryl McDonald, a Sylmar man who was 36 when he pleaded guilty in December, was also ordered by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shari Kreisler Silver to perform 250 hours of community service.