JUST PREPS : Area News : INLAND EMPIRE

When Jurupa Valley’s water polo team won the Southern Section Division V title last week, beating Arlington, 9-7, at Sippy Woodhead Pool in Riverside, it was the first section championship for the school in any sport. According to Jurupa Valley Athletic Director Ralph Martinez, it had been 34 years since any school in the Jurupa Valley school district won a section title (Rubidoux won baseball in 1961). Greg Lonzo scored three goals for Jurupa Valley in the final. . . . Fred Veerendaal returns as the Ambassador Christian boys’ basketball coach after spending last year as an assistant with San Bernardino Valley College. . . . Mindy Brown of Yucaipa finished seventh in Division II of the state cross-country meet at Fresno on Saturday. Her time of 18:40 for five kilometers (3.1 miles) put her among the top 10 finishers for the second consecutive year. . . . Hesperia’s Jeremy Lyon finished 15th in the Division I race. . . . In girls’ tennis, Pacific’s Gina Pelazini advanced to the final 16 in the Southern Section individual tournament that will be held at the Lindborg Racquet Club in Irvine today. It’s her third consecutive trip to the round of 16. . . . Redlands has three players in the round of 16--Divya Bala in singles and the doubles team of Heather Gorman and Robyn Kondrack.