Athletic Recruiting

Jeff Grenier, a fullback at Fullerton High School, orally committed to play football at Colorado State next season, Fullerton Coach Pat Ward said Wednesday. Grenier, 6 feet 2 and 225 pounds, rushed for 628 yards in 106 carries this season. Grenier, who transferred to Fullerton from Redwood High School in Visalia, also was recruited by San Diego State and Oregon.

Brenham's Jon Peters pitched the fifth no-hitter of his career and remained unbeaten as a high school pitcher Friday night, winning his 51st game and setting a national record for consecutive victories. Peters struck out 11 in five innings and ended the game on a dramatic note by driving in the final run in a 10-0 victory over A&M Consolidated. Peters' fifth-inning single ended the game on the 10-run rule. Peters broke the record of 50 consecutive victories by Timmy Moore of McColl, S.C., who attended the record-breaking game and threw out the first pitch.

Four weeks ago, Ken Knoop was so close to his dream he could almost visualize it: A brand new jersey, his own dressing stall, three big training meals each day. Knoop, a highly regarded tight end and linebacker from Burroughs High, was talking to college coaches regularly and planning recruiting visits to San Diego State, Fresno State, USC, Oregon State, Utah and Pittsburgh. "I'm definitely going Division I," Knoop said. "But I won't decide until after my trips." The weeks have come and gone.

Every field has First Families. It's the Kennedys in politics, the Leakeys in archeology, and so on. And in Orange County volleyball, few can challenge the Nihipali monarchy. Amy Nihipali, a junior middle blocker for Esperanza High, made a verbal commitment Friday to attend UCLA in fall, 1997. She will follow in the footsteps of her older brother, Paul, who also played at Esperanza and who is a junior on the Bruin men's team.

Sirr Parker's life has been about making the right decisions. On the football field, the Locke High running back is driven by an instinct that allows him to make sharp cuts to avoid tacklers. Today, reason is Parker's most reliable asset as he prepares to make his most important decision: a college choice. Although the start of the NCAA signing period is a day away, Parker remains uncertain.

Dreamers came in all shapes and sizes Friday night at Cal State Fullerton. Almost 1,000 hopeful young men had almost 1,000 stories to tell as the Angels held open tryouts in an attempt to stock their minor league system with new blood as the Major League Baseball players' strike drags on. Friday was the first of a three-day series of Angel tryouts, and amateur players 20 to 24 tried to impress scouts.

Eric Chenowith, a 7-foot-1 senior at Villa Park High School, announced Wednesday that he will attend Kansas on a basketball scholarship. He said he will sign a letter of intent during the early signing period in November. He is the first of a promising Orange County senior class, which includes Woodbridge's Chris Burgess and Mater Dei's Kevin Augustine, to commit to a college. "I had to take a leap of faith," Chenowith said.

Jeff Macrea would like to concentrate on wrestling these days. But it's not easy. Macrea, defending City Section heavyweight champion from El Camino Real High, spends half his time weighing his options, the other half weighing himself. About one thing Macrea is sure: How he fares on the mat over the next few weeks will tip the scales about which route his future will take.

Many Southland high school football stars signed letters of intent with colleges outside of Southern California Wednesday, with three Pacific 10 schools leading the way. Stanford scored big in the Southland, signing five local players including Bob Whitfield, Wilmington Banning's 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive lineman. "I based my decision to go to Stanford on the total package of the school," Whitfield said Wednesday night.

Memphis State's football program avoided the NCAA death penalty Thursday but drew three years of probation because a player was overpaid for summer work supplied by a booster. The player, who gave misleading information when asked about the job, was advised by former coach Charlie Bailey to lie to NCAA investigators, according to a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. report. Bailey resigned from Memphis State in May and was replaced in June by Chuck Stobart, former offensive coordinator at USC.