High School Athletics Orange County

Hey, it was only a coin toss. That little pregame ceremony that precedes every football game. Nothing to get stressed about. But, hey, this was the Angelus League. Greg Willig, St. Paul High School's quarterback, had only one thought at that moment in 1987: heads or tails. He was being introduced to the Bishop Amat captains when . . . WHAM-O . "This little guy from Bishop Amat hit me," said Willig, who will be a senior this fall at Rice. "There were no words, he just threw a punch.

Sean Boatright's path to stardom was as linear as the throws he once made to first base. Promoted to Trabuco Hills' varsity baseball team as a sophomore to fill a gap at second base, Boatright made tosses reminiscent of those made by a former New York Yankee second baseman known for his dreadful accuracy. "He developed Chuck Knoblauch's disease where he could not throw the ball to the first baseman," recalled Trabuco Hills Coach Tim Ellis, who was then in his first season.

Words like "legend," "icon" and "mythical figure" don't get tossed around easily, especially for someone still very much among the living. But those are the words being used in the halls of Westminster High School to describe Bill Boswell. Coach Boswell, 63, spent nearly four decades mentoring the high school's young athletes, first as head football coach for 19 years and then as district athletic director. Many of his students went on to become coaches, citing his influence.

CENTURY LEAGUE MVP--Ryan Burgess (Foothill), Sr. First team--Craig Astor (Foothill), Sr.; Matt Daniels (Foothill), Sr.; Matt Greco (Villa Park), Sr.; Kevin Logan (Foothill), Jr.; Matt Mendel (Foothill), Sr.; John Parfitt (Canyon), So.; Matt Skolnik (Canyon), Jr.; Michael Tam (Villa Park), Sr. Second team--Kyle Christensen (El Modena), Sr.; Chris Coleman (Foothill), Jr.; Scott DelCrognale (Villa Park), Sr.; A.J. Gutierrez (Canyon), Jr.; Larry Hancock (Orange), Sr.; Matt Johnson (Canyon), Sr.

Craig Tefertiller, girls' volleyball coach at El Modena High, used his powers of persuasion when Marni Hichborn and Melizza Benitez tried out for his team three years ago. He convinced Hichborn and her parents that she should continue to play despite struggling with grades during her eighth-grade year. She improved her grades, and started as a freshman on the varsity. And he persuaded his assistant coaches not to cut Benitez, a newcomer to the sport, from the freshman-sophomore team.

Seattle Mariners' scout Myron Pines has a different perspective when it comes to evaluating potential major league players. While most scouts are content to sit in the stands and watch, Pines gets a closer look--from the dugout. Pines is in his seventh season as baseball coach at Santiago High School, where he helped turn around a struggling program. Last year, he led the Cavaliers to their first outright league championship since 1969.

Danielle DeAlva is a bit overwhelmed these days. She's happy to have been named The Times Orange County female swimmer of the year, but she has some decisions to make. She's undecided where to attend college, she wants to get a start on her career, and then there's swimming. Since moving to Irvine from Downey, where she competed for Warren High her freshman and sophomore years, DeAlva has been making her presence known in high school and club swimming.

What makes Thomas Clayton so difficult on the basketball court is that he really does think he's tall. Sure, it may only be a state of mind. But when something works, you don't mess with it. Clayton is listed at 6 feet 2 on the Tustin High School roster. He smiles at this and admits his actual height is a bit closer to 6-0. Big deal.

MVP--David Hay (Foothill), Sr. First team--Cabot Weaver (Foothill), Sr.; Brian Brown (Foothill), So.; Matt Schuler (Foothill), Sr.; Paul Nguyen (Villa Park), goalie, Sr.; Kevin Bobzien (Villa Park), Sr.; David Vega (Santa Ana Valley), Sr.; Joe Valdez (Santa Ana Valley), Sr.; Aaron Harries (Canyon), Sr.; Dan Dufrene (Orange), Sr. Second round--Jeff Pluger (Foothill), Fr.; Morgan Lang (Foothill), Sr.; Pete Cornue (Villa Park), So.; Andrew Smallman (Villa Park), Sr.

Girls' high school golf has blossomed from a leisurely social activity into a legitimate, competitive sport. Right in the middle of that movement has been Priscilla Park, a Villa Park High sophomore. Park transferred from Foothill High during the summer when her family moved, joining Shelly Raworth at Villa Park to form the top twosome in Orange County. Her presence made the Spartans an instant county power. It grabbed the attention of players from top-ranked University.

Mario Bassani didn't keep a lid on his talent this season. He wasn't about to be silenced by the competition. Bassani, an Irvine High senior, was quick to nominate himself as the best track and field athlete in the county this spring, then went about proving it. Bassani was the only boy from the county to qualify for the state finals in two events. He ran some of the county's best times in years in the 400 meters and also ranks among the all-time fastest in the 200.

County schools that have won Southern Section softball championships, with division and championship game results: *--* Yr. School Div. 1977 MARINA 4-A d. El Segundo, 7-2 1977 EL DORADO 3-A d. Cabrillo, 3-2 1978 LA QUINTA 3-A d. Los Amigos, 3-0 1979 MARINA 4-A d. North Torrance, 5-1 1981 LA HABRA 3-A d. Lakewood St. Joseph, 3-1 1983 CYPRESS 4-A d. Santa Maria Righetti, 5-2 1984 KENNEDY 4-A d. Marina, 1-0 1984 FULLERTON 2-A d. Long Beach Millikan, 2-1 1984 ROSARY 1-A d.

University High didn't win any Southern Section championships during the winter sports season, but that didn't stop the Trojans from overtaking defending champion Newport Harbor in the large-school division of The Times' Orange County All-Sports Awards. Corona del Mar retained its lead in the small-school division, but not by the large margin it held at the end of the fall season when it led by 36 points.

Mission Viejo High junior David Frazeur, who is among the county leaders in the 110 high hurdles and the triple jump, has apparently won his battle for eligibility with the California Interscholastic Federation. Frazeur's appeal of a decision by Southern Section Commissioner James Staunton was heard last week by a section appeals officer, who ruled that Frazeur can remain eligible in track and field provided escrow closes on the family's home by Friday, as is expected.

The top-ranked boys' and girls' swim teams from Irvine High are expected to continue their domination of county competitors at the Foothill Swim Games beginning today at Foothill High School. The Vaquero girls are aiming for their sixth consecutive Foothill Games title, while the boys are going for their fourth in a row at the 29-year-old meet. The girls' preliminaries begin at 3 today. The boys' prelims begin at 3 p.m. Friday, with the finals at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Cedric Bozeman of Mater Dei and Josh Childress of Lakewood Mayfair High capped their high school basketball careers Wednesday night by participating in the McDonald's All-American game at Cameron Indoor Stadium at Durham, N.C. Bozeman, a 6-foot-6 guard who will attend UCLA, scored eight points, on four-of-nine shooting for the West team.

As an athletic director, I continue to battle for "my kids"--all my kids, regardless of gender. We at Katella High School do not choose to divide and conquer. We strive to provide the most and the best possible for our athletes, not male or female, but athletes . There is one budget. Funds are not initially doled out to "major" sports programs before the whole picture is analyzed and needs are assessed. Fund-raising, of course, is a must for all.

It's trying to decide what it wants to be when it grows up. The hitch is that it hasn't much time, the course of the 1993-94 wrestling season, to be exact. * It is a season of transition for the Savanna wrestling team. The program features a new coach, new attitude, and, over the summer, a new low. When former Savanna Coach Tom Caspari resigned suddenly in June, the program lost a huge part of its identity.