Saugus boys stay on road; Canyon, WR pace girls field

Saugus just played the first of three straight away games against Foothill League opponents. And based on Friday night's result, the Centurions might be content staying on the road all season. After all, Saugus didn't play a single home game before its league-opening 81-47 win over Golden Valley on Tuesday. Then it was right back on the road and defeated Canyon 82-74 in an overtime thriller on Friday night. "It's kind of funny, because I ...

COC men's basketball: COC ups the tempo

This time, it was the offense that carried College of the Canyons men's basketball. Usually a defensive-minded squad, the Cougars took advantage of an up-tempo affair to beat Los Angeles Valley College 100-81 Saturday at COC. It was the Cougars' second straight Western State Conference win and its highest point total of the season, beating its previous high of 90 against Bakersfield on Dec. 4. In the first three minutes of the game, L.A. Valley ...

Foothill League boys basketball: Drought over at Hart

No team knows more about heartbreak than Hart boys basketball. But this time, it wasn't Hart players hanging their heads at the end of the day. The Indians rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat West Ranch 60-58 Friday night at West Ranch High, which snapped Hart's 11-game Foothill League losing streak. It was Hart's first league win since Feb. 12, 2009. "For them, yes (it means a lot)," said Hart head coach ...

Prep boys soccer: SCCS left unsatisfied

It was a rough start and a rough finish for Santa Clarita Christian boys soccer. But that's just the kind of day it was for the ailing Cardinals, who drew 2-2 with Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica Thursday at Canyon Country Park. SCCS striker Daniel Stratton said a cold bug is going around on the team, which led to a less-than-full effort from a few players. "Athletes always have that game where we don't ...

Prep girls soccer: Cards keep the heat on

Santa Clarita Christian girls soccer didn't want to get overconfident. Two days after beating rival Milken, SCCS made sure not to look past Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica, winning 4-0 on Thursday at Canyon Country Park. It concluded a undefeated first half of Heritage League play for the Cardinals, which also included the 2-1 victory over Milken on Tuesday. "I think they took the team a little lightly," said SCCS head coach Matt Gale. "But ...

College women's basketball: Slow not in COC’s vocabulary

Enough was enough for College of the Canyons women's basketball. After a slow start, COC started tightening its defense, and the barrage of scoring followed suit. The Cougars wore down a short-handed Bakersfield squad and ran away with an 83-49 win Wednesday night at COC to start 2-0 in Western State Conference play. With just seven players suited up for the game, Bakersfield took advantage of the poor-shooting Cougars to take an 11-5 lead in ...

Foothill League girls basketball: ’Cats get repeat victory

The Valencia and West Ranch girls basketball teams know each other very well. Besides being Foothill League rivals, the two teams already faced off earlier this season in the West Coast Holiday Classic. And in Tuesday night's league opener at West Ranch High School, it was the Wildcats that took advantage of that knowledge to beat the Vikings 64-52. West Ranch did it by honing in on Valencia's top scorers, Lauren Spargo and Faith Anumba, ...

Foothill League boys basketball: Vikes more than one

If Tuesday night's game was any indication, the Foothill League is going to have plenty of drama this year in boys basketball.

Boys soccer preview: The race to prevent 4

Canyon boys soccer head coach Khris Savage couldn't wait to get started on the 2010-11 season.

Prep soccer: Seeking the 10

Less than a year ago, Canyon received what appeared to be a tough break. Its starting midfielder Jordan Markovich sprained his ankle during a CIF-Southern Section Division III playoff game and had to sit out the quarterfinal match. Though still ailing, he came back for the semifinal, only to see his team go down. At the time, it seemed devastating, but it turns out, it may have been a good thing for Canyon soccer. The ...

Prep basketball: Catch you later

Hart struggled to gain separation from St. Bonaventure in the first half, so it did all it could do to compensate.

All-SCV Girls Volleyball: Saugus' Jaclyn Clark, All of the above

In the game of volleyball, there are many different types of players. Whether a player uses her speed, powerful, height or agility, the simple fact is, talent comes in many different forms. But only one possessed the ability to truly take over a match. And that was Saugus outside hitter Jaclyn Clark, The Signal's 2010 Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. At times, it seemed like she was the only one on Saugus' side of ...

Prep basketball: Little finish, but big start

Sometimes, a rough stretch can teach a team an important lesson. Fortunately for Saugus boys basketball, that lesson was learned in a winning effort. The lesson: play for four quarters. A dominant first half was enough for the Centurions to hang on for a 60-53 victory over Grant of Van Nuys Wednesday night in the Hart Holiday Classic at Hart High. It was enough to earn Saugus a berth in the championship game, which will ...

Ardyce Masters: Equality and excellence

A little more than a decade ago, Ray Sanchez stood at a podium, ready to deliver a speech at a banquet honoring the retirement of former Canyon coach and athletic director Ardyce Masters.

Valencia athletics: Getting with the program

It didn't matter which sport it was. Up until about a decade ago, if you wanted to know who the best team in the Santa Clarita Valley was, the smart money would be on Hart. That was true for football, baseball, basketball and a lot of other sports in which the school participated for a lot of the valley's history. Somewhere along the line, a new school began rearing its purple and gold head - ...

Foothill athletes advance to state at Friday's Masters meet

NORWALK - The exact move Sabrina Janes was trying to make a week ago worked perfectly the second time around.

NAIA highlighted by distance runners

It was a good day for distance runners at The Master's College on Friday.

Day 1 TMC's day at NAIA nationals highlighted by 10K

In his first crack at a national championship this spring, The Master's College senior John Gilbertson came up a few seconds short. Gilbertson took third place in the 10,000-meter final on the opening day of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday in Marion, Ind. His time of 30 minutes, 25.89 seconds was less than 30 seconds slower than Spring Arbor's Nathan Martin, who won the title. This was Gilbertson's first time competing ...

Canyon track's Jeremy Kimmer: A master of one

TMC baseball's A.J. Work: Homeward Bound

When A.J. Work last left Idaho as a high school baseball player, he was just a wide-eyed kid trying to figure out how he was going to compete with the "big boys."

West Ranch softball makes first quarterfinal

West Ranch Wildcat Julia Lombardi hit the ball into center field for what appeared to the final out of the softball team's season.

Golden Valley's Nolan Del Valle commits to UC Irvine

One of the best runners in Golden Valley High School history just finished his four-year career at the school.

Pair of Golden Valley coaches step down

Scott Drootin didn't guide the Golden Valley Grizzlies baseball team to any championships, but he built up the program in many other ways.

'Cowboy Round-Up’ passing tournament a success

When Canyon High football head coach Rich Gutierrez thought of the idea of hosting a passing tournament in the spring, his goal was to get some top level football programs involved.

CIF track and field finals: Onward they move

Was it the traditional display of dominance for the Foothill League? Not exactly.

COC's Tim White wins state triple jump title

One year later, Tim White wasn't going to let anyone get in his way of a state championship.

Golden Valley's Azaria Hill: Athlete in her blood

Clusters of runners whiz by every couple of minutes.

Valencia can't handle Harvard-Westlake in Division I playoffs

Foothill League announces all-league boys volleyball

Einstein baseball is in and out

In its first playoff appearance in team history, Albert Einstein Academy baseball didn't get any breaks.