With its win at the Great Cow Run in Cerritos two weeks ago, Redondo’s girls team jumped over Mira Costa into the No. 2 spot in the CIF Division 2 poll behind perennial power Saugus which is seeking an unprecedented fifth straight state title. Mira Costa in ranked No. 5 but can move up in the ranking with a strong showing in Thursday’s meet.
Redondo is led by Rachel Bush, Lyndsey Mull and Laura O’Neill who finished 5th, 37th and 27th in CIF last year while leading the Sea Hawks to a 4th-place finish in Division 2.
Teams members finished in the first five spots and six of the top seven at the Great Cow Run with Bush taking top honors with a time of 17 minutes, 25 seconds followed Mull, Cara Ulizio, O’Neill, Kelly Ryan and sophomore Kayla Ferron who placed seventh.
Mira Costa’s girls return four runners who finished in the top 20 for last year’s CIF Division 2 runner-up squad. Savannah Pio (3rd), Aryn Foland (10th), Shannon Hagedorn (17th) and Kelli Sugimoto (18th) will lead a talented field of Mustang runners.
Coach Renee Williams-Smith’s Mira Costa squad is the defending champion of the South Bay Cup which will be held Wednesday at Colombia Park in Torrance. Pio won the title last year with a mark of 17:28 while Foland, Sugimoto and Hagedorn finished 4th-6th, respectively.
Although No.1 in the Division 3 poll, Palos Verdes will be without the services of defending champion Rebecca Mehra who will be sidelined indefinitely with a stress fracture. West has moved into the sixth spot in the same division.
In Division 5, Chadwick is ranked No. 1 and is led by returning champion Jaye Buchbinder.
In boys cross country, Redondo fell out of the 13th spot in the CIF Division 2 poll while North remained at No. 10. Defending Bay League, CIF and State Champion Palos Verdes is ranked No. 1 in Division 3.
Redondo, which was runner-up in the Bay League last season, returns leader Tyler Caracoza. Coach Bob Leetch expects a high finish for the Sea Hawks who will feature sophomore Evan Malone-White, Patrick Borgerding, Dejzhan Bland, Nick Herold and Alex Guzman.
Mira Costa is led by junior Adam Perez who was impressive with a 15:57 time at the Laguna Hills Invitational. Former Mira Costa coach and athletic director Bob Fish returns to lead the boys team that includes returners Zach Adler, Jimmy Breen, Pablo Diaz, Sammy Nunan and Travis Taylor.
Girls Volleyball
Mira Costa and Redondo head to the desert this weekend to compete in the Durango Fall Classic tournament in Las Vegas. The prestigious tournament includes the fourth, fifth and fifteenth ranked teams in MaxPreps Xcellent 25, eight of the top ten teams in CIF Division 1-AA and 15 top-ten ranked teams from the CIF Southern Section.
After finishing second in the Ann Kang Invitational tournament in Hawaii, Mira Costa opened the season ranked third in CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA but was swept by visiting Edison who catapulted for fourth to first in the division with the win. Mira Costa dropped into the seventh slot and Edison has fallen back to No. 4 with Newport Harbor holding the top spot.
Coach Lisa Zimmerman’s Mustang squad fell one point shy of a victory at Marymount (No. 3 in Division 1-A), losing to the Sailors 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-27, 17-15. Ella Rosenfeld and Emma White each had 16 kills, Andi Zbojniewicz recorded 29 digs and Corie Bain had 45 assists for the Mustangs.
Redondo is coming off a fourth-place finish at the 14th Annual Archbishop Mitty Tournament in San Jose. The Sea Hawks entered the tournament as the third seed but lost to fourth-seeded Santa Barbara 14-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-20 in the third-place match on Saturday.
Second-seeded Presentation defeated Redondo in the semifinals before losing to La Jolla Country Day in the championship match.
Lara and Skylar Dykstra recorded 31 and 21 kills, respectively, and Tiffany Morales had 29 digs in the two games. Redondo started the tournament with sweeps over Santa Ynez and Los Gatos last Friday.
Redondo began its pre-season with an impressive showing in the Queens Court Tournament, losing only to eventual Gold Champion Edison 28-27, 19-25, 15-13.
Coach Tommy Chaffins Sea Hawks won their season opener by defeating Bishop Montgomery, the No. 6 team in Division 2-AA, with a 25-12, 25-10, 25-14 drubbing of the Knights.
Redondo dropped a hard-fought five-game match to Harvard-Westlake (No. 10 in Division 1-AA) despite Lara Dykstra’s 23 kills, five block and four aces. Tiffany Morales and Blake O’Brien combined for 67 assists for the Sea Hawks.
Continuing its demanding non-league schedule, Redondo travels to take on Mater Dei, the sixth-ranked team in Division 1-AA, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Other local teams among the top ten in their respective divisions are: South (No. 2, Div. 2-AA), North (No. 5, Div. 2-AA), Chadwick (No. 3, Div. 3-AA) and Vistamar (No. 8, Div. 5-AA).
Boys Water Polo
The Bay League is well represented in CIF Southern Section Division 5 with Palos Verdes, Mira Costa and Peninsula holding the second, fifth and seventh spots, respectively.
Mira Costa travels to compete in the 32-team America’s Finest City Tournament in Coronado Friday and Saturday. The Mustangs opened their season with a 10-6 victory over visiting Santa Barbara (No. 10 in Division 1) behind Jake Miller’s four goals and Dana Tuttle’s ten saves in the net.
Agoura, the top ranked team in Division 4, handed Mira Costa its first loss of the season with a 9-7 victory. Miller and Ryan Koverman each scored two goals for the Mustangs.
Redondo hosts Beverly Hills Tuesday at 3 p.m. after finishing fifth at the Western Tournament where the Sea Hawks defeated Western 10-5 and Valhalla 10-9. Alec Ortiz scored eight goals in the two games
The Sea Hawks opened their season with a sixth-place finish at the El Dorado Weisz Cup. Bay League rival Palos Verdes knocked of Redondo 16-4 in the quarterfinals en route to capturing the tournament championship.
Redondo went on to defeat Sunny Hills 7-5 before falling to Palm Springs (No. 3 in Division 5) 12-9. Ortiz scored nine goals in the final two games for the Sea Hawks.
Chadwick is ranked No. 9 in the Division 5 poll. ER
