THE STUFF -- MIKE SCIACCA

The race for the District 62 Tournament of Champions Majors division

title began this week and the division appears to be a wide-open affair.

In the Minor A Division, keep an eye out for the Huntington Valley

Cardinals, who won their division and entered the tournament with a 20-1

record.

The team to beat in Minor B play could be the Robinwood Mets, who were

unbeaten heading into the final week of the regular season.

The South County Bluejays, an 11-and-under baseball team, has

qualified to compete this August at the World Series in Tulsa, Okla.

***

On the basketball court, the South Coast Stars sixth-grade basketball

team, currently 83-0 over the past two seasons, competes June 29 to July

3 at the National Basketball Congress International tournament in

Phoenix.

In addition, the squad will represent California as the No. 4 national

seed at the National Amateur Athletic Union tournament in Virginia Beach,

Va. from July 12-21.

Huntington Beach’s Taylor King, a Fulton Middle School student, is the

team’s leader in scoring at 23 points per game. The 6-foot-1 King also

leads in rebounds per game (14) and blocked shots (five), in addition to

being second in assists per game with four.

***

Maryn Ciarelli put on another strong showing at last weekend’s USA

Weightlifting 2001 World Team Trials in Irving, Texas. The 20-year-old

athlete came up with 75.0 in the snatch and 92.5 in the clean and jerk.

Her 167.5 points total gave her third place in her weight division (63

kilos, which means that Ciarelli must keep her weight under 139 pounds).

Ciarelli currently is ranked 16th nationally.

***

There was some exciting volleyball played on the south side of the

Huntington Beach Pier last weekend. The competition was great, although a

few top teams skipped the Surf City tournament to play in Spain. The best

part, in addition to the free admission, was an absolute beautiful

weekend on the sand. If you missed it, there’s always next June, when the

tour comes back to Surf City, event directors said.

We were well-represented at the Paul Mitchell Assn. of Volleyball

Professionals Huntington Beach Open. In addition to the strong showing by

Casey Jennings, Evan Hook teamed with Newport Beach’s Brian McDonald in

Friday’s qualification round, a single elimination draw that featured 48,

two-man teams. Hook/McDonald dropped their first match, and did not

advance. During Saturday’s main draw, Huntington’s Mark Kerins and

teammate Chris Makos (Playa del Rey), failed to advance.

***

The National Scholastic Surfing Assn. is celebrating its 10th

anniversary this year. The national championships will be held Saturday

through June 30 at Lower Trestles, which is considered one of the premier

surf breaks in the world.

For the first time ever, the California State Department of Parks and

Recreation will work with the surfing association to initiate the first

annual Governor’s Cup award, given to the champions of the National Open

Men’s and Open Women’s divisions.

“The NSSA is honored to be selected as the first athletic organization

to present the prestigious Governor’s Cup at our national championships,”

Executive Director Janice Aragon said from her Huntington Beach office.

* MIKE SCIACCA is a staff writer. He can be reached o7

[email protected].

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