Ten Los Al Griffins track and field hopefuls headed to the Fresno area to take part in the State high School Track and Field Championships which will return this weekend after a two-year hiatus, due to COVID-related issues. The met will be held at Buchanan High School in Clovis as it was in 2019.
Among Orange County’s best hopes are three Los Al athletes: Senior triple jumper Mackenzie Kirk’s jump of 39-9.5 is the state’s No. 5 mark, and Los Alamitos freshman 100-meter sprinter Devin Bragg brings a seed time of 10.45 into the meet. Junior Taylor Hofland took first place in the Girls Discus with a throw of 139′-7″, third-best in school history.
The Griffins Boys 4×100 team of Bragg, Lincoln Marshall, Bryan Arens and Deondre Moore has recorded the fifth-best time in the state.
Also competing with good prospects are sophomore Carson Fox who will compete in the Para 100, 200, and shot put, and runners Kelsey Little and Kaylie Nguyen who finished first in the Unified 100-meter race.
BOYS BASEBALL racks up post-season honors
Seniors Reef Danner and Michael Pirello were selected to the North squad for the Orange County All-Star game which will be played May 31 at Dee Fee Field in Anaheim. Dee Fee Field is part of the sports complex that includes Glover Stadium at La Palma Park.
Danner, a second baseman, and Pirello, an outfielder, led the Griffins to an 18-9-2 record this season which ended with a tough, controversial 3-2 loss to Harvard-Westlake in the opening round of the CIF playoffs.
Last weekend, Danner, Pirello and Zack Sutherland represented Los Al in the 25th Anniversary Ryan Lemmon Showcase. All got hits as the Sunset League beats the Trinity League 6-5.
The Griffins were also well represented on the 2022 All-Sunset League squad. Junior Josh Donegan was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year, and he was joined on the first team by sophomore infielder Jake Evans, junior outfielder Nate Dowdell, and Danner, a senior infielder. Making the second team were Pirello, and junior pitcher Derek Valdez.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Roberts earns All-CIF honors
Senior outside hitter Noah Roberts was named to the All-CIF Division I squad. Roberts, who has committed to play at the University of Southern California next year, led the Griffins to a 22-9 season and a No. 6 ranking in Divsion I. Roberst was the 2021 All-Sunset League MVP, and participated in the 2021 USA Volleyball U 19 Indoor and Beach Training Series. The Griffins’ season ended with a 3-2 loss in the CIF Division I quarterfinals to Newport Harbor, the eventual CIF Division I Champion.
