Granada Hills

Just shy of a year ago, the students on Granada Hills Charter High School's Academic Decathlon team told themselves that they would win a national title. It took months of practice, weekends and holidays lost, and spring break spent hunkered down in a classroom, studying guides thicker than a phone book. But in a hotel banquet hall here Saturday, the students embraced each other, their parents screamed, their coaches looked to be in a state of shock: Granada Hills was the national champion.

San Fernando (29-3) was seeded No. 1 on Saturday for the City Section Division I baseball playoffs that have first-round games May 22. The quarterfinals are May 24, semifinals May 29 at USC and the championship game June 1 at 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. West Valley League champion Reseda Cleveland (21-10) is No. 2, West Valley runner-up Chatsworth (21-10) is No. 3 and Marine League champion Wilmington Banning (15-16) is No. 4. Some West Valley League coaches are not happy. Their league was considered the best in the division.

Royal 9, Newbury Park 9--Brian McGee swept three games for Newbury Park but Royal won on games, 84-78, in a Marmonte League match at Rancho Simi Community Park. Hart 12, Valencia 6--Freshman Jesse Ferlianto swept the three sets at No. 1 singles for the Indians in a Foothill League victory at Hart. Ferlianto is 17-1 in league play. In doubles, Andrew Davidson and Todd Castagna (37-2, 18-0), and Adam Davidson and Jeff Oyama (37-2, 17-1) swept their matches for the Indians.

They were tired and worn from months of preparation and two days of intense competition, but when they returned home to Los Angeles on Saturday they were also thrilled. For the third year in a row, Granada Hills Charter High School's Academic Decathlon team came home with a national victory. "To see it pay off in this way," senior Faria Ghouri said, "it's amazing. " The team was the first in more than two decades to pull off three consecutive wins - a Texas high school in the 1980s was the last to do so. The team of nine students scored 54,652 points out of a possible 66,000 in the rigorous 10-subject battle of wits, according to district officials.

Granada Hills 2, Carson 1 (12 innings) Top contributors: Rebecca Patton of Granada Hills struck out 19 and gave up five hits. Carson's Audrey Devoe broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 12th inning with a single to right field, driving in pitcher Crystal Maas. The scoop: With two out and two on in the bottom of the 12th, Granada Hills' Valentina Salinas hit a run-scoring single and Joanna Meir scored the winning run on the play because of a fielding error.

Carson (24-9) at Granada Hills (25-6) Today at 2:30 p.m. Why it matters: This City Section quarterfinal playoff game matches two teams familiar with each other. Over the last four years, fourth-seeded Granada Hills and fifth-seeded Carson have faced off in their opening games. Granada Hills took a 1-0 victory this season. The Highlanders have one of the top pitchers in the City in Rebecca Patton (24-5), who has 325 strikeouts and is bound for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The westbound lanes of the 118 Freeway reopened in Granada Hills on Monday after a fiery double-fatal crash closed the roadway for more than five hours during the morning commute. Two people were killed after the vehicle they were in rear-ended a big rig, was struck by another car and burst into flames, California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada said. The crash near White Oak Avenue occurred just after 3:40 a.m. The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Their vehicle was so badly burned, Officer Leland Tang said, that authorities were not able to determine its model -- or even its color.

In the strange world of high school basketball, there are no rebuilding years for the elite teams. Transfers show up to plug holes left by seniors, or a hotshot freshman arrives, which means every season, Santa Ana Mater Dei, Woodland Hills Taft, Compton Dominguez and a few others are always contending for a championship. Then there are the normal programs, where the old ways of doing things still prevail. Players start out on the freshman team, work their way up to junior varsity, then varsity.

Lou Cicciari, who has coached basketball for 20 years at Granada Hills High despite being confined to a wheelchair, announced his resignation for health reasons. Cicciari, 41, has been the boys' basketball coach for eight years and was considered a coaching trendsetter for the handicapped. His legs were amputated at age 7. He will continue to teach at Granada Hills.

Granada Hills High's baseball team forfeited its scheduled West Valley League game against Taft on Thursday because of an alleged hazing incident under investigation by school officials. The incident occurred Monday in the locker room showers and involved junior varsity and varsity players, said a Granada Hills baseball player. School officials told players Thursday the forfeit was punishment for the incident and individuals could face disciplinary action pending further investigation.

Over the years, it wasn't unusual to see a Southern California school dominate the Academic Decathlon national competition. After California teams took 19 national titles since 1982 - including the last 10 in a row - it was almost expected. But this year comes with a twist: The closest competition for Granada Hills Charter High School - California's first-place team - is another school from Los Angeles Unified. A change in the rules in the rigorous 10-subject event has allowed more than one team from each state to compete at the nationals, creating a freeway series between two of the strongest teams vying to bring the title back to Los Angeles once again.

Expectations are always high when Chatsworth and Woodland Hills El Camino Real players put on a baseball uniform. The two schools have combined to win 16 City Section championships and produce a glittering group of major league players. So it's going to be hard to explain what transpired Tuesday in a West Valley League opener in which the teams combined for seven errors, 11 walks, four hit batters and a sometimes chaotic play. The game ended when Nick Milone delivered a run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 10-9 Chatsworth victory.

The westbound lanes of the 118 Freeway reopened in Granada Hills on Monday after a fiery double-fatal crash closed the roadway for more than five hours during the morning commute. Two people were killed after the vehicle they were in rear-ended a big rig, was struck by another car and burst into flames, California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada said. The crash near White Oak Avenue occurred just after 3:40 a.m. The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Their vehicle was so badly burned, Officer Leland Tang said, that authorities were not able to determine its model -- or even its color.

Two people were killed in a crash on the 118 Freeway in Granada Hills early Monday after their vehicle struck a big rig and was then hit by another car and burst into flames, authorities said. The westbound lanes of the freeway remained closed hours after the crash, which was reported near White Oak Avenue just after 3:40 a.m., said California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada. Traffic was being diverted at the 405 Freeway, and it was unclear when the roadway would reopen. The victims were traveling in a vehicle that rear-ended the big rig, Posada said.

SACRAMENTO - For the first time, two Academic Decathlon teams from California are headed to the national competition, setting the stage for a showdown between former national title winners from Los Angeles Unified. Granada Hills Charter High School, the national winner the last two years, took first place in the state competition held over the weekend in Sacramento, the team's third consecutive win here. El Camino Real, a six-time national winner, came in second. "Nationals is going to be a toss-up," said Cliff Ker, who coordinates decathlon for L.A. Unified.

Dushone Brown made two game-changing three-point field goals in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points to help sixth-seeded Gardena knock off top-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy, 55-47, in the City Section Division II boys' basketball final Friday night at Roybal. Brown's three-pointer with 6 minutes 4 seconds left gave Gardena (17-13) a 41-32 lead. When Kennedy (27-7) closed to within 44-40 with two minutes left, Brown delivered another three-pointer to end the Golden Cougars' momentum.

They won nationals. Then they won it again, setting record scores. And on Friday, the winning streak in the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic Decathlon continued for Granada Hills Charter High School. The school beat out dozens of Los Angeles campuses in the district-wide competition, it was announced Friday evening at an awards ceremony. In the 10-subject battle of wits, the competitors - from 58 L.A. Unified schools - faced such subjects as math and science, literature, music and art, as well as gave speeches and were interviewed by judges.

Los Angeles High School Sports Hall of Fame: 2013 Class AQUATICS Lenny Krayzelburg, Fairfax Marjorie Gestring, Los Angeles Sue Gossick, Taft SOFTBALL Laura Espinoza Watson, Banning GOLF Donna Caponi Byrnes, Granada Hills WRESTLING Briggs Hunt, Los Angeles VOLLEYBALL Craig Buck, Taft Jeff Stork, Taft Kim Ruddins, Westchester Ron Lang, Dorsey ...