San Marino

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Without a true center in the paint for the La Can¿ada High girls' basketball team, San Marino was able to dominate the boards and run the floor en route to building a big first-quarter lead. The cushion, along with two key buzzer-beating threes from Felita Salim, helped the Titans outlast a Spartans push for a 54-43 Rio Hondo League win at La Can¿ada Friday. Both of Salim's shots came late in the third quarter and kept momentum from swinging permanently to the home team.

Defense was the name of the game Friday night as La Cañada and San Marino went head to head at both team?s Rio Hondo League opener. The Spartans, anchored by a tough defensive line, held the Titans to one touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. ?We are very excited,? said Head Coach Rich Wheeler. ?I mean, you hate to tie, but to come through what we?ve been through, this is a great way to start league.? What Wheeler was referring to was La Cañada?s challenging pre-season, what he called the toughest lineup he?

In a lopsided victory July 15, the Spartan girls’ varsity basketball team defeated San Marino 44-19 in South Pasadena league play. The team remained undefeated in the SoPas league, which ends next week. La Cañada had eight players available to play and they all contributed in a physical contest. Shannon Denney dominated the inside, Tia Chen easily broke through the pressure defense and led a very strong defensive effort. Denney ended up with 15 points (7/7 from the field and four rebounds)

Maybe it wasn’t the perfect ending to Homecoming the Spartans wanted, but it was still a good one. Though they were falling early to favored San Marino, La Canada bounced back to almost tie the game and looked to take the lead at one point. Yet a run offense and a fumble to start the third quarter that no one saw coming ended up being too costly for the Spartans, as they lost to San Marino, 23-14. The Spartans (3-4, 1-1 in league) played well against the pass, but suffered against the run, giving up 301 total yards on the ground, 195 to Titans’ running back Scott Dooley.

The La Cañada girls’ volleyball team, now ranked No. 1 in CIF Division II-A, continued their dominance Tuesday with their eighth straight victory, beating San Marino, 25-7, 25-14, 25-15. “I’m pleased with the win and we’re going to move on to the Redondo Tournament,” Spartans’ Head Coach Brock Turner said. “I thought we played really well,” Senior Captain and middleblocker Madison Anderson said. “We could have picked it up more, but we still had a lot of good plays.

After the Spartans? 3-0 blowout of Hart High School last Thursday, La Cañada Head Coach Brock Turner reflected on his team?s performance in the preseason. ?We?ve had nice momentum, and we play with intensity,? Turner said. ?But we have work to do; we serve aggressively and that could hurt us.? In fact, it was the Spartans? stellar serving and intensity at the net that helped them to a well-deserved win over San Marino in La Cañada?s league opener on Tuesday. Five-foot-11 senior Cami Martin served 14 consecutive points, including four aces, en route to the Spartans?

The La Cañada varsity baseball team traveled to Monrovia on Thursday, April 26 to take on the league-leading Wildcats. The game was a see-saw offensive battle. La Cañada jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a single by Mitch Maseredjian, a two-base error and an RBI hit from Eric Smith. Monrovia came right back scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second to take a 5-1 lead. The Spartans closed to within one run by scoring three runs in the third on a double by Maseredjian, a single by Smith, a Monrovia error and a two-run RBI single by Devin King.

The Spartans have a habit of putting teams away early this season. Friday?s home game against San Marino was no different as La Cañada?s fast start was enough to handily beat the Titans, 57-38. It was the Spartan defense that allowed them to win handily, limiting San Marino to just six first quarter points and did not allow the Titans to convert a field goal for nearly 8 minutes. ?We?re a real good defensive team right now,? said Spartan head coach Tom Hoffman. ?We?re getting a lot better.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Hits were few and far between with the Rio Hondo League's two best pitchers - La Cañada High's Lauren Cox and San Marino's Michelle Floyd - in the circle Thursday. La Cañada managed just three hits off Floyd, but turned most of its opportunities into runs - thanks to a small-ball approach - in a 3-1 victory at home over the Titans. "That's a good team right there, and we pulled out just about everything we could to get it done today," said La Cañada Coach KC Mathews, whose team stole four bases and took extra bases on four San Marino passed balls in the game.

TRACK AND FIELD La Cañada in Rio Hondo League Finals: La Cañada's Sonja Cwik qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division III preliminaries, which will take place May 12, with a time of 5 minutes 12 seconds in the 1,600-meter race for a third-place finish at South Pasadena High Friday. The junior will also participate in the 3,200 (second, 11:26.67) alongside Meghan Fuelling (third, 11:56.83). BASEBALL Rio Hondo Prep 9, Flintridge Prep 8 (nine innings)

TRACK AND FIELD La Cañada in Rio Hondo League Finals: La Cañada's Sonja Cwik qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division III preliminaries, which will take place May 12, with a time of 5 minutes 12 seconds in the 1,600-meter race for a third-place finish at South Pasadena High Friday. The junior will also participate in the 3,200 (second, 11:26.67) alongside Meghan Fuelling (third, 11:56.83). BASEBALL Rio Hondo Prep 9, Flintridge Prep 8 (nine innings)

TEMPLE CITY — It was starting to look like the Rio Hondo League boys' tennis finals were destined to become an all-San Marino High and Temple City affair. That's until La Cañada High sophomore Ryan Lee crashed the party. The Spartans' singles player literally won the last set of Wednesday afternoon's Rio Hondo League preliminaries at Live Oak Park and is the lone non-Ram or Titan to advance to Thursday's league semifinals and finals, beginning at noon. "This was a big deal for me. I've been working hard and now everything seems to be coming together at the right time," Lee said.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL La Cañada in the Crescenta Valley Tournament: The Spartans (4-21) finished 0-6 in the two-day tournament and concluded Saturday's competition by losing to Rio Hondo League rival San Marino, 25-21, 25-14, in the Silver Division seventh-place game. Senior middle blocker Joseph Multari led the Spartans with seven kills versus the Titans, as La Cañada rallied from a 10-4 hole the second game to close within 21-19. Yet, San Marino scored the next two points in winning the game and the match.

SAN MARINO - One run was nice, but it didn't feel like quite enough when the La Cañada High softball team traveled to San Marino Tuesday. The CIF Southern Section Division V second-ranked Titans had overcome a one-run deficit on a Michelle Floyd two-run home run in the top of the seventh when both squads first met this season. The Spartans, who came in ranked third in Division V, didn't want to see that happen again and they padded their one-run lead with a three-run sixth and would hold on for the 4-0 victory.

SAN MARINO - Any team must have all hands on deck if a victory is going to be in the cards when it squares off with the San Marino High boys' tennis squad. So La Cañada Coach Will Moravec knew it was trouble when he was down two starters, Michael Choi and Harrison Zuk, Tuesday when the Spartans traveled to San Marino and fell to the ninth-ranked Titans in CIF Southern Section Division I, 15-3. James Wade stepped up again for San Marino. He dropped just two games all day, both coming in a 6-2 win over La Cañada's No. 1, Josh Kim. Wade won his final two sets, 6-0, 6-0, but everyone in Titans singles was dominant, as San Marino won every singles set. "I was very happy with [my players]

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - It was the biggest match of the Rio Hondo League season for the La Cañada High boys' golf team. Instead of nerves, the Spartans got the same commanding victory they've been posting all league season and most of the year Tuesday with a 183-202 win over San Marino, which came into the match tied in league with La Cañada with a perfect league record. "We had a rough start [this season] scoring-wise, but I am feeling pretty good," said La Cañada Coach Richard Tetu, whose De Bell Invitational-championship team extended its winning streak to 10 matches.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - A rally in the final inning produced a result the San Marino High baseball team wants to remember the rest of the year and one La Can¿ada can't forget soon enough. Through six innings, the Titans failed to drive a runner home from scoring position in seven chances. San Marino got new life in the seventh, starting the inning with three consecutive hits and going four for seven with runners in position in the frame. It was enough for the Titans to overcome a two-run deficit for a 7-2 win at La Can¿ada at Friday.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Momentum was up for grabs in several close first-round matches Friday when La Cañada High's boys' tennis team hosted San Marino in a Rio Hondo League match. The first round nearly finished in the favor of the underdog Spartans, but James Wade ensured the Titans went into the second round with a head of steam and helped secure a 12-6 Titans win with a sweep in No. 1 singles. San Marino's ace took a 5-0 lead to start the day against La Cañada's No. 1 Joshua Kim, who responded by winning six straight games.