Jorth, others to sign with colleges

Come Wednesday, prized high school athletes will declare their school of choice, creating a buzz in the college sports landscape.

After all it’s National Signing Day, not only for football, but also boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ track and field, boys’ and girls’ cross country, and boys’ water polo.

But for Newport Harbor High senior Clinton Jorth, the fight to get his services in water polo stretched to only two schools: UCLA and Long Beach State.

“Not many schools contacted me,” said Jorth, who led the Sailors to the CIF Southern Section Division I title in November, their 12th in school history. “I don’t know why? Maybe most of the schools already knew where I was going.”

Jorth, the Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year, knew he was bound for UCLA though he didn’t even verbally commit to the school. He said he’s signing a national letter of intent to be a Bruin Wednesday, the first day seniors can sign with colleges.

There are a handful of locals expected to sign with top-notch schools in every sport.

It’s common practice for highly recruited athletes to commit to a Division I school before signing day. But in Jorth’s case, with his brother, Clay Jorth, at UCLA, other college programs predicted the younger Jorth’s destination.

“Even if my brother wasn’t there, I was probably going to Westwood,” said Jorth, who led the Sailors with 81 goals and 29 steals, allowing him to follow in his brother’s footsteps, as Clay was the 2005 Newport-Mesa Player of the Year.

“I love the area, the campus, the team.”

Those are the same kinds of reasons why other local athletes said they’re choosing their respective schools. Academic and on-field success also played vital roles.

There are some big names in the Newport-Mesa area expected to sign with stellar programs. Three of those include girls’ soccer players from Newport Beach, Camille Levin, Taylor Jones and Claire Schloemer. All three defenders are members of the Newport-Mesa Slammers FC Under-18 team.

Levin, who goes to Tarbut V’Torah in Irvine, said she’s signing with Stanford. Levin is a member of the U.S. U-20 women’s national team.

Jones, who attends Mater Dei, said she’s signing with Oregon. Jones, who sat out this season with a knee injury, also said Schloemer, a teammate, will sign with USC.

“It’ll be exciting because we’re going to be competing against each other in the Pac-10 Conference,” said Jones, one of the reasons why she chose Oregon over Oklahoma and the University of San Diego.

Sage Hill School senior Kellee Kim will play soccer at Harvard, said Coach Chino Cid. Cid said Kim took last year off to focus on club soccer.

In track and field and cross country, Corona del Mar has two standout girls’ runners who are expected to sign Wednesday, Shelby Buckley with UCLA and Allison Damon with Duke. Both Buckley and Damon contributed to the Sea Kings’ two CIF State Division III titles and three CIF Southern Section Division III titles in cross country the last three seasons.

Buckley won the section crown this year in 17 minutes, 51 seconds, her first, and finished third at state.

After a third-place showing at the section meet, Damon tore an artery near the back of her right hip at state, leaving her out of the top 10 for the first time since her freshman year. She finished 44th.

In track and field, Buckley, who also received interest from USC, where her older sister Lindsay attends, Michigan, and Washington, won the section and master titles in the 1,600 meters as a junior. She set a record in the Division III race, running 4:48.69, almost four seconds faster than the previous record that stood for 17 years.

Damon, who was also recruited by Stanford, Princeton and Harvard, was one of four CdM runners in the same race last year to finish the 1,600 in less than five minutes, a first nationally for any team.

In football, CdM linebacker Erik Rask said he’s signing with the University of Pennsylvania. He was the Pacific Coast League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Sea Kings with 81 tackles to go with 4.5 sacks. Rask, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, said he turned down scholarship offers from UC Davis and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and he got accepted into the Wharton School of Business, one of the premier business schools in the world.

Not every athlete has to commit on Wednesday. There will be many who sign later due to paperwork, getting accepted, scholarship offers, or being undecided as to where to study and continue their athletic careers.

Some players to look out for locally are Estancia soccer player Eric Duarte, local resident and Mater Dei wide receiver Robbie Boyer, and Newport Harbor water polo goalie Myles Christian.

Duarte is waiting for the official word that he’ll get a full scholarship from Lipscomb University, a Division I program in Nashville, Tenn. But Coach Gannon Burks said UC Irvine has recently shown interest in the striker who has scored six goals in seven Orange Coast League matches this season.

Boyer, a 6-1, 175-pounder who earned third-team all-state honors from CalHiSports.com after hauling in 57 balls for 1,026 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, hasn’t committed anywhere. But San Diego State, UCLA and USC are recruiting the former Newport-Mesa Junior All-American Football standout.

Christian, a first-team All-Sunset League pick with 255 saves, said he’s given UC Santa Barbara a verbal commitment and he’s just waiting to see if he gets accepted into the school.

“Once that happens, I’m signing,” he said. “I can’t wait!”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].