Strickland and Burton Best for Northridge

Volleyball player Chad Strickland and track and field competitor Beth Burton were selected Cal State Northridge men’s and women’s athletes of the year.

Strickland, a two-time All-American, finished in the top 10 in several career categories at Northridge, including kills, blocks, aces, digs and hitting attempts.

Strickland, a senior, passed on scholarship offers from several colleges last year after the volleyball program was temporarily eliminated for budget and gender-equity reasons.

Burton is the school record holder in the shot put at 52-9.

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Masterful: Baseball player Ruben Escobar and soccer player Tiffany Boardman have been selected men’s and women’s athletes of the year at The Master’s College.

Escobar, a senior right-hander, was 11-1 with a 1.74 earned-run average. He set a school single-season record for victories.

Boardman, a midfielder, scored eight goals and had 17 assists. She is the first women’s soccer player to win the award.

BASEBALL

Best in West Coast: Mike Schultz, former Cleveland High pitcher, has been selected pitcher of the year in the West Coast Conference.

Schultz, a freshman right-hander, had an 8-2 record with 95 strikeouts in helping the Lions earn the WCC championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Freshman Scott Walter, former Loyola High catcher, another freshman for the Lions, was chosen WCC player of the year.

Steve Zorn, G.J. Raymundo, Chris Cosbey, David Sugden and Brad Tucker of Pepperdine were selected to the all-conference team.

Outfielder Matt Riordan of Loyola Marymount, from Westlake High, made the second team.

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Texas-bound: Shortstop Freddy Sanchez of Glendale College, the Western State Conference South Division player of the year, has committed to Dallas Baptist, an NAIA school.

Sanchez, a sophomore from Burbank High, batted .407 in WSC play with 10 home runs and 33 runs batted in to lead the Vaqueros to a co-championship and their first playoff berth since 1981.

Sanchez was a 27th-round draft pick by the Braves in 1996.

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Conference call: Infielder Bob Parks and designated hitter Roy Johnston of Antelope Valley College have been selected to the All-Foothill Conference team.

SOFTBALL

Top gun: Chelo Lopez of Cal State Northridge was chosen Big West Conference player of the year.

Lopez, a senior first baseman who is batting a team-high .379, led the conference with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, a .697 slugging percentage and a .485 on-base percentage.

Other Matadors selected to the all-conference team include junior pitcher Tara Glaister, senior right fielder Laura Redding and senior Cheri Shinn, a pitcher and third baseman.

SOCCER

On the move: Monica Almaraz, a junior midfielder at Cal State Sacramento and a 1995 graduate of Buena High, will transfer to Cal State Fullerton according to her mother, Chris Almaraz.

She will have two years of eligibility remaining.

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Committed: Scott Bowman of Chaminade High, an All-Mission League forward, has committed to UC Irvine.

AUTO RACING

Ticket to ride: Ron Hornaday of Palmdale will make his first start Sunday in the NASCAR Busch Series in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by ST Motorsports in the First Union 200 at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania. ESPN will televise the race at 10 a.m.

Hornaday, who started his career at the Saugus Speedway, won two NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour championships before moving to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, winning that championship in its inaugural 1996 season.

ST Motorsports’ regular driver, Robert Pressley, will be competing in the Winston all-star races Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Leader of pack: M.K. Kanke of Granada Hills earned his fourth victory of the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series season Saturday in Paul Everett’s Featherlite 100 at Madera Speedway.

Kanke is atop the Touring Division standings with 670 points. Kurt Busch of Las Vegas is second with 587 points.

GYMNASTICS

Gym dandies: Three members of Gymnastics Olympica USA in Van Nuys will compete in the U.S. Junior Olympic national championships this week in Seattle.

Erica Rubin, 14, of Chatsworth, Jamie Green, 15, of Los Angeles, and Mike Maedea, 14, of North Hills, qualified for the Junior Olympics with strong showings during Region I championships last month in Las Vegas.

Rubin was ninth, Green placed 11th and Maedea was 14th in the Region I qualifier, which included gymnasts from five states.