CHS duo commits to Holy Cross

Kelliner Croushore (left) and Sarah Free (right)

The end of this year's Claremont High School softball season will not spell the end for Kelliner Croushore and Sarah Free as teammates.

The two outfielders recently signed their commitment letters to The College of the Holy Cross, where they plan to team up once again in Worcester, Massachusetts this fall.

Kelliner and Sarah were first recognized by Holy Cross softball coach Brian Claypool last July during a showcase event. He made an offer to the two best friends one month later, which the 2 softball players finally confirmed last week.

"I'm stoked to go to Holy Cross," Kelliner said in a released statement. "It's going to be such a good experience, and I can't wait to go."

Sarah agrees.

"I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter of my life at Holy Cross, playing softball at the Division I level while studying at a prestigious school," she said.

Holy Cross competes in the Patriot League with other schools such as American University, Army, Bucknell University, Colgate University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University and Navy. The school was founded in 1843 and is the oldest Catholic college in New England.

Cal Poly Pomona becomes 2010 Elite Eight Champions

It took 2 tries, but the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team has finally won the NCAA Division II championship. The Broncos held off a late Indiana University of Pennsylvania rally to hold on for a 65-53 win on Saturday at the MassMutual Center.

The championship is the first in Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball history and caps off a season of retribution after the Broncos lost to Findlay in last year's championship game by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Tyler Evans. The Broncos' intensity was apparent on both sides of the court as Cal Poly Pomona shot an impressive 24-of-46 from the field while holding the Crimson Hawks to just 15-of-49. Dahir Nasser led the Broncos with 12 points.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania tried to make a game of it in the 2nd half but the Broncos had an answer for the Crimson Hawks every time they came within single-digits. Cal Poly Pomona showed the importance of having a great start as the Broncos never looked back after jumping out to an 8-0 lead early. The Broncos never trailed.

Having interviewed Coach Greg Kamansky and a few of the players such as Austin Swift and Tobias Jahn after last season, it's great to see the hard work of Cal Poly Pomona pay off this season. Coach Kamansky is a class act and his players follow his lead in letting their actions speak for them instead of tooting their own horns. Congratulations to the Broncos for their historic championship victory.

1st Half Analysis

Cal Poly Pomona takes a 35-25 halftime lead over Indiana University of Pennsylvania in what has been a great first half for the Broncos. The key was a hot start by Cal Poly, who jumped out to an 8-0 lead early and went ahead by double-digits when Tobias Jahn hit a jumper to put the Broncos ahead, 13-2.

Defensively, Cal Poly Pomona forced IUP into 4 turnovers within the first several minutes and did not allow a field goal from the Crimson Hawks until the 12-minute mark. IUP scored its first 2 points off free throws at the 15-minute mark.

What has made the Broncos dangerous is their movement, both on the offensive and defensive end. Their movement on offense has set up plenty of open looks and their movement on defense has cut off passing lanes and forced several turnovers. Cal Poly Pomona is 5-of-9 from downtown.

Led by Austin Swift's 8 points and 5 rebounds, Cal Poly Pomona could pull ahead and put the game out of reach with a strong start to the 2nd half. With 20 minutes left to play, a 10-point lead is very small. How both teams play within the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half could determine whether the game is a blowout or goes down to the wire.

We'll be back with more game analysis at the end of the game.

Analysis of Elite Eight National Championship

The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team is currently playing Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA Division II National Championship on CBS. As part of our special COURIER coverage regarding the event, I will have thoughts and analysis of both halves as they conclude. Happy watching.

Broncos prepare for the big dance

It's official. The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team is back in the NCAA Division II Championship game after defeating Bentley University in the semifinal round, 71-63 on Thursday night at the MassMutual Center.

Austin Swift led the way for the Broncos with 22 points (6-11 FG) while Dahir Nassar (11 points), Tobias Jahn (11 points) and Mitchel Anderson (10 points) also scored in double figures for Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos shot an impressive 50.9 percent from the field throughout the game's 40 minutes.

Currently enjoying its most successful season in history with 27 wins, Cal Poly Pomona returns to the final round one year removed from last year's heartbreaking overtime loss to Findlay in the 2009 championship game. This year, the Broncos will take on Indiana University of Pennsylvania in another effort to win its first men's basketball title. The game begins tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. PST on CBS and can also be watched online at NCAA Sports.com.

Click HERE for highlights of last night's Cal Poly Pomona-Bentley contest.

Perizzolo becomes double NCAA Champion

Photo courtesy of C-M-S Athletics
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimmer Annie Perizzolo finished a memorable 2010 season last weekend by winning the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming championship in 2 different events.

Perizzolo won the 100 breaststroke with a record breaking C-M-S and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) time of 1:01.84 and followed up with another record breaking swim in the 200 breaststroke in 2:14.83. Led by Perizzolo, the Athenas finished in 5th place overall with 177 points.

Click HERE to see the video of Perizzolo's record breaking 200 breaststroke swim.

One more step closer to Saturday

The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team has progressed from the Elite Eight into the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Final Four with a dominant 69-48 victory over St. Joseph's last night at the MassMutual Center in Massachusetts.

Led by Jason Westrol's 23 points, the Broncos (26-6) now head into tonight's Final Four matchup having won its last 19 out of 20 games. By beating Bentley tonight, Cal Poly Pomona will earn a spot in Saturday's championship game. View the bracket HERE.

In order to view video highlights of the Broncos' latest win courtesy of NCAA Sports.com, click HERE. You may have to install additional software.

Feel free to provide your thoughts as to whether 2010 will be the year of the Broncos or not. We'll definitely find out in the next few days.

Germano signs minor league deal with Cleveland

Major League Baseball pitcher Justin Germano signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on March 17th. The Claremont native will report to minor league camp on March 27th.

The signing is Germano's first with an MLB team after playing for the Fukuoka Hawks in Japan in 2009. He finished the season with a 5-4 record and a 4.38 ERA in 14 starts. Germano has also had pitching stints with the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds in the 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons.

The right handed pitcher's career MLB stats include an 8-16 record with a 5.27 ERA and 118 strikeouts. Germano's best season was in 2007 with the Padres as he posted 7-10 record and started 23 games.

Germano graduated from Claremont High School in 2000 and was selected in the 13th round of the MLB Draft that same year. He also broke Mark McGwire's Claremont Little League home run record.

Click HERE to view a video clip on the MLB.com website of Germano fielding a bunt and sparking a 1-5-3 double play.

Broncos still in NCAA race

The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team will have the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four when it takes on Saint Joseph's College in Elite Eight action on Wednesday.

The Broncos have enjoyed a successful run in 2009-10, amassing a record of 25-6 to date. Cal Poly defeated the Dixie State College of Utah in the first round (71-62), before besting Western Washington University in an overtime thriller in the next stage (76-75) and the qualifying for the Elite Eight by beating Brigham Young University, Hawaii, 78-75.

Success is nothing new to the Cal Poly Pomona basketball program. Under head coach Greg Kamansky, the Broncos have posted winning records in 8 of the last 10 seasons. Cal Poly has advanced to the Elite Eight 4 times in the last 8 years and even played for the NCAA Championship last season. Coach Kamansky's overall record during his stint with the Broncos is 203-88.

Wednesday's contest will begin at 3 p.m. and can be viewed by Webcast or Audiocast at NCAA Sports.com. Until then, here's some YouTube highlights of Cal Poly's victory over Cal State L.A. on March 2nd.

Webb Badminton coverage this Saturday

The Webb Schools co-ed badminton program is in its second season and already the Gauls have shown significant improvement with a current overall record of 4-3 and an undefeated mark of 3-0 in the San Andreas League. Last season was a tough start to the program as Webb suffered several double-digit losses before ending the season on a high note by crushing Mayfield, 13-3.

Look for coverage of Webb's recent victory over Rialto in this Saturday's edition of the COURIER along with scores from prep, college and community sports. Each week, we look to feature different sports featuring different schools/teams. Feel free to suggest sports-related story ideas at reporter@claremont-courier.com.

Claremont Little League Opening Ceremonies kick off tomorrow

Due to rain, the Claremont Little League Opening Ceremonies were canceled last Saturday and have been rescheduled to this Saturday at 10 a.m. at College Park. Following the ceremonies, a triple-header of games is schedule throughout the afternoon beginning with the Dodgers versus the Phillies (1 p.m.), followed by the Yankees against the Angels (3:45 p.m.) and concluding with the Rays versus the Red Sox (6:30 p.m.).

A silent auction is also scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. Look for scores from Saturday's action in the Wednesday edition of the COURIER.

More emphasis on community sports

It's been a long time coming but starting this weekend, the COURIER will begin reporting scores from Claremont Little League and Claremont Fastpitch as part of our continuing effort to provide the best coverage of Claremont sports. When I first began at the COURIER in 2006, I focused mainly on Claremont High School sports and a bit of AYSO. Since then, we have expanded to include coverage of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer teams on a regular basis, as well as occasionally doing sports features on El Roble Intermediate School, Western Christian School and the amazing athletes within Claremont.

It's an ongoing process and we hope that you are enjoying the additions here and there. If you have any sports information or story suggestions, feel free to email me at reporter@claremont-courier.com. Until then, enjoy Claremont Little League and Claremont Fastpitch scores and standings in this weekend's edition of the COURIER.

CHS students recognized as 'scholar athletes'

Claremont High School students Nicholas Kennedy and Alex Miller were recently honored by the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation with "Scholar Athlete Awards" as a result of their academic and athletic success. The selection puts Nicholas and Alex alongside 18 other scholar athletes who were honored.

Nicholas started at center for the CHS Wolfpack football squad this past season and was an Honorable Mention to the All-Baseline League team. Alex played kicker and wide receiver for the same Wolfpack team and was named to the All-Baseline League 2nd team for both positions.

Stay tuned to Saturday's edition of the COURIER for a more in-depth story regarding the 2 scholar athletes.

Fighting Owls vie for 2nd title in 3 years

By next Sunday, the Citrus College men's basketball team could be celebrating its 2nd state championship in 3 years. The Fighting Owls last won the state championship in 2008.

Citrus defeated Cuesta College, 82-80, in a tough South Regional final on Saturday night before a crowd of 682 people. Tom Granado (13 points, 13 rebounds), Jose Rivera (12 points, 5 assists), Darin Stewart (11 points), Randy Hunter (10 points) and Keith Thompson (10 points) all scored in double figures for the Fighting Owls.

Playoff action resumes this Friday night at Cal Lutheran when the Fighting Owls will battle San Jose in a state quarterfinal matchup. The winner will face the winner of Ohlone-Saddleback contest. You can view the playoff bracket HERE.

Stags come away with the ultimate revenge

After losing both regular season contests to SCIAC rival Pomona-Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated the Sagehens when it counted on Saturday by winning, 57-53, to claim the SCIAC championship at Ducey Gym.

Saturday's confrontation attracted 1200 spectators inside Ducey Gym and featured a dramatic conclusion as Stags forward Chris Blees made 2 clutch free throws to put the game out of reach after forcing a turnover late in the game. Blees finished with a team-high 14 points.

David Liss matched Blees with 14 points of his own in Saturday's contest. The Sagehens went into a slump in the 2nd half, shooting just 26 percent after making 54 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes.

With the victory, the Stags will move on to play Chapman in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball West Regional. The game will tip-off this Saturday in Orange at 7 p.m.

Do you think the Stags have what it takes to go all the way? Feel free to comment.

Local Junior College Roundball Update

The Citrus College men's basketball team, along with the Mt. San Antonio College men and women's roundball squads have all advanced to the final round of the California Community College Athletic Association's (CCCAA) South Regionals as a result of victories over the weekend. A victory for the three teams will qualify them for the state championship.

DeAndre Haskins (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Tom Grando (12 points, 12 rebounds) led the way for Citrus as the Owls defeated Santa Ana, 81-65 on Saturday night in Glendora. Citrus owned the glass against Santa Ana with a 61-40 rebounding margin. The Owls will host Cuesta on Saturday at 7 p.m.

While the Owls cruised past their opponents, the Mt. SAC men's basketball team narrowly escaped with a 67-65 victory over Cerritos in a semifinal contest on Saturday. Demarkus Isomojones and Antonio Biglow led the way for the Mounties with 16 and 15 points respectively. Mt. SAC will play at Irvine Valley on Saturday at 7 p.m. in one of 4 men's final round regional matchups.

Cecy Cuevas (16 points), Brittney Lewis (14 points) and Kimiere Hawkins (11 points) all scored in double figures for the Mt. SAC women's squad in a 76-65 win on Saturday over Mt. San Jacinto. The Mounties will host L.A. Trade Tech in a final round regional battle on Saturday at 7 p.m.

A missed jumper by Chaffey College's Mo Hughley with one second left to play led to a heartbreaking 66-64 loss to Saddleback last Friday. The Chaffey men's squad was led by Anthony Cammon, who scored 21 points.

Stay tuned to the COURIER Sports Beat for more results coming this weekend.