Briefly In Sports

Grand Pre, polo players earn All-CIF

Laguna Beach High senior Paulette Grand Pre (girls’ volleyball) and boys’ water polo players Nolan McConnell, David Brunner, Spencer Dodson, Robbie Quellmalz and Robert Chew have earned All-CIF honors for the fall sports season.

Grand Pre, headed to William & Mary, was named to the CIF Southern Section All-Division I second team. The co-Orange Coast League MVP with teammate Alex Rieckhoff, Grand Pre led the Breakers with 303 kills and 234 digs.

McConnell, a sophomore, and Brunner, a senior, earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division III nods. They were joined on the second team by seniors Quellmalz and Chew, as well as Dodson, a junior.

It was the second straight year on the first team for McConnell, the Orange Coast League MVP.

The football All-CIF lists have yet to be released by the Southern Section.

Youth runners fare well at SoCal championships

Five youth runners representing Laguna Beach Community Service Department placed high at the Southern California Municipal Athletic Assns.’ Cross-Country Championships, held Dec. 6 at Wilson Park in Torrance.

Second-place finishers were Natasha Sorenson in the Division 2003 (year born) girls’ 1-kilometer run with a time of 4:46.1, and Carlee Ressler in the Division 1997 girls’ 3-kilometer run with a time of 13:04.3.

Casey Sorenson picked up a bronze medal with a third-place finish in Division 2001 boys’ 1-kilometer race with a time of 4:04.8. He was just four seconds out of second place and 16 seconds out of first place.

Connor Sorenson was fifth (8:07.6) in Division 2000 boys’ 2-kilometer event and Tyler Cheves was fourth in Division 1998 boys’ two-kilometer run with a time of 7:02.7 to round out the Laguna Beach contingent.

The runners are mentored by long-time youth and Laguna Beach High coach Fred Pichay.

Ueberroth speaks at ceremony

Prominent sports figure Peter Ueberroth, a Laguna Beach resident, served as the feature speaker for the Ronnie Lott Trophy ceremony at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach Sunday night.

Ueberroth, well-known for his work in the 1984 Olympics and a former Major League Baseball Commissioner, encouraged the guests and the award finalists to make an impact in their community.

The Ronnie Lott Trophy is named after the Hall of Fame defensive back. The trophy is awarded to college football defensive players for their on-field performance, as well as their personal character.

Jerry Hughes, the Texas Christian University defensive end who won the award, is a two-time Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year who led the undefeated Horned Frogs in sacks (11.5) and tackles for losses (15). Off the field, he has been a mentor at the Fortress Youth Development Center in Fort Worth and he also speaks to children while volunteering at youth football clinics.

“We all have a commonality in the room and that’s the one we’ve all accepted,” Ueberroth said of what he told the finalists and guests. “We either got it from our father or grandmother or an elder, someone we respected. We were told to make the country we live in and the city or state we live in better for the next generation. That’s what this award exemplifies. It exemplifies someone who has a chance to be a leader.”

Ueberroth’s speech also touched on a society that has become passive and reminded everyone to exercise.