Junior

NEWPORT BEACH — Jacqueline Pelletier has only been playing competitive tennis for about a year. Pelletier, a Huntington Beach resident, still has plenty of time to grow as a player. She just turned 12. But her game already appeared to be quite grown at the 20th annual Balboa Bay Club Junior Tournament, where she captured the girls’ 12 singles title Friday with a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 victory over Natalie Penner of Alta Loma. Other locals in finals included Jacqueline’s brother, Beau, who fell in a tough boys’ 10 singles championship match, 7-6, 6-4, to top-seeded Leo Hibi of Irvine.

The Huntington Beach Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee division Gold Chargers won another nail-biter Saturday over the Tustin Gold Cobras, 12-6. Behind the blocks of Paul Rogers and Jonathan Moreida, Mike Saffell scored the winning touchdown in overtime for the Chargers. The Cobras scored first in a quarterback sneak and HB ended the first half down, 6-0. On their first possession of the second half, Chase Ault ran the ball 60 yards for a touchdown behind great downfield blocking.

Eight members of the Huntington Beach High football team have been named to the 2007 All-Sea View League Football Team. Four members ? seniors Justin Niutapuai, Johnny Olivé, Josh Smith and Jason Spangler ? made the first team. Four other seniors ? Nick Gordan, Jimmy Elby, Anthony Vidal and Keith Roberts ? made the second team. ? Offensive Player of the Year Matt Wagner, senior, Trabuco Hills ? Defensive Player of the Year Gabe Lemon, junior, Trabuco Hills ?

Huntington Beach High senior Allison Koressel finished first in the girls? pole vault Saturday at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational track and field meet. Koressel?s mark of 13 feet, 1 inch tied her personal-best and is also the top mark in California this season. It?s the same mark she earned to win the Surf City Invitational in late March. Fountain Valley junior Kyle Middlebrooks also fared well in Arcadia, taking third in the 100 meters in 10.89 seconds. Barons junior Jeff Tran placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 15-1.

Marina High junior Cara Chlebicki was named co-MVP of for Sunset League girls water polo 2000, sharing the league's top honor with Esperanza senior Teresa Guidi, it was announced Wednesday. Esperanza's Max Miyahara, who guided the Aztecs to the league title, was selected the Coach of the Year. The nine-member First Team was dotted with five local players, while the Second Team was comprised of eight locals. Representing Marina on the First Team were senior Shauna Nielsen and junior Kendra Shanley, from Edison came juniors Caitlin Wilkes and Ali Malczynski, and Kristen Freemon was chosen from Huntington Beach.

Ocean View High senior guard Mason Jones, along with junior guards Anthony Brown and Avery Johnson, have all been named MVPs of the Golden West League for boys? basketball. Sophomore guard Billy Keller is a first-team all-league honoree, and junior center Ryan Okwudiboyne and junior guard Aaron Delgado both made the second team. Jones, Brown and Johnson were the top three scorers for the Seahawks, who won the league title and also the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A title.

Deshai Houston capped his football career at Ocean View High by being named recently as the Golden West League's Offensive Player of the Year. Houston, a quarterback, ended his record-setting senior campaign by passing for 2,645 yards and 35 touchdown passes. But offense wasn't his lone forte, as Houston, who also played defensive back, finished the season with 54 tackles, 32 assists, and eight interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown)

Huntington Valley holding sign-ups Huntington Valley Little League is holding its final in-person sign-ups for spring Saturday. Registration will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Valley fields, 9191 Pioneer Ave. in Huntington Beach, near Magnolia Boulevard and Adams Avenue. All players must have an original birth certificate, three documents indicating proof of residency and payment for fees due. Costs are $75 for T-ball division, $120 for Little League division and $175 for both Junior and Senior divisions.

Three members of the 2004 Edison High football team have been named to the CalHiSports.com All-State Underclass Football Team. Romney Fuga, Brian Shrock and Hunter White each was named to the squads. Fuga and Shrock made the Juniors team, and White made the Sophomores team. The junior players were set up on a first and second team, each composed of 30 players statewide. The sophomore team is composed of 30 players. Fuga, a 6-foot-2, 260 junior lineman last fall, was named to the junior first team.

The Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team, fresh off a CIF Southern Section playoff run last season, returns three seniors to the lineup, including last year's first-team All-CIF setter Kelly Christian. Last season, the Sea Kings captured first place in the Pacific Coast League while also claiming the CIF Division III-A championship. The team finished 27-6 after falling to University of San Diego High in the regional semifinals of the CIF State Division III championships.

The Huntington Beach City Council gave city staff the green light Monday to update its report on the possible annexation of the remaining portions of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and uplands. In a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Dave Sullivan dissenting and Councilman Jim Katapodis absent, the city agreed to spend around $5,000 to update the study. "We have a huge pension problem over our head. The magnitude is going to be massive," Sullivan said. "We cannot afford to take this on. It's protected by government agencies.

The Sunset Beach Junior Lifeguard program can keep catching waves along the shore, as long as they're headed out of town. The group has taught youngsters the basics of lifesaving for more than 20 years but now neighbors and the Sunset Beach Community Assn. are saying it's time for the program to move along. During the process of annexation to Huntington Beach in 2010, the Sunset Beach Community Assn. asked the city to discontinue the program. The two groups agreed to a written agreement that stated the city "shall not enter into an [sic]

It may seem from the stereotype that it's all about jabbing elbows and shoving people over the rails, but for the juniors at OC Roller Girls, it's also about taking pride in personal growth and ability. OC Roller Girls is a roller derby organization based in Huntington Beach. Founded by Heather "Disco Dervish" Shelton in 2006, the group trains women at several levels of expertise to work in teams and compete against area leagues. The junior league, consisting of girls ages 8 to 17, formed in 2010.

When the name New Zealand is muttered into the air, thoughts of vast mountain ranges, open valleys, and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy pop into peoples' heads. Though they weren't on a quest to Mordor, a group of 28 Huntington Beach junior lifeguards spent their Christmas break in New Zealand for a different sort of outdoor adventure. The trip was part of an educational exchange program held every three years between New Zealand and Huntington Beach. The staff at the beaches of Tairua and Piha taught the Orange County youth about their lifeguarding techniques and they even completed a helicopter rescue jump.

When the sun is out and the weather is warm, Orange County residents flock to the beaches to surf, body board and swim in the chill Pacific without a second thought that if something happened, a lifeguard would be there to assist them. But, in some countries, lifeguards aren't a given. Or if they are, there isn't always uniform life-saving procedures in place or the equipment and infrastructure needed to save lives. "I think we take it for granted that we have lifeguards here all the time," said Raquel Lizarraga, 25, who volunteers with the Huntington Beach-based International Surf Lifesaving Assn.

The Huntington Beach Lions Club donated the money it raised from selling fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday to nonprofits in the city. The club gave $5,000 each to the Huntington Beach Therapeutic Riding Center and Huntington Beach Boy Scout Troop 1, said club President Steve Christy. The Lions Club was one of 10 organizations that was chosen through a lottery to sell "safe and sane" fireworks in the city for the first time in 25 years. Other organizations threw their names in the hat, including the therapeutic riding center, but were not picked.

Two Huntington Beach Club boys' volleyball teams, 15Adams and 18Tyler, competed last weekend at the USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships at Dallas. 15Adam won the gold medal in its division Friday by defeating Coastal Mizuno (Old Dominion) in the final, 25-15, 25-21. Four HBC players were named to the division's all-tournament team: TJ Defalco, Kimball Leituala, Ben Vaught and Joshua Tuaniga was named tournament MVP. The HBC 15's team is: Defalco, Leituala, Vaught, Tuaniga, Andrew Shay, Jordan Molina, Alek Gilbreath, Blake Diamond, Kurt Ackerman, Lucas Devries, Wellington Afusia, Blake Markland, Alexander Wolf.

Kelly Brunner, a senior at Huntington Beach High, helped guide the for the Long Beach Junior Crew rowing program to a silver medal Sunday at the USRowing Southwest Junior District Championships on Lake Natoma at Gold River, Calif. Brunner, a varsity rower, rowed in a "quad" (a four-person, sculling boat). Long Beach, which placed second among 26 boats, earned an invitation to the US Rowing National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The competition at Melton Hill Lake is June 8-10.

Nick Yang led the Fountain Valley High baseball team to a key win at the Beach Pit Classic baseball tournament at Estancia High. Yang singled in the game's only run in the top of the 11th inning against Estancia, then sent the Eagles down in order in the bottom half of the frame to complete seven scoreless innings of relief pitching to give the Barons a 1-0 victory. The win put the Barons in the tournament's title game. They were to take on Beckman on Wednesday, but the game was called off due to a wet field.

Oh, so close. Andrew Doheny of Newport Beach barely missed out on what would have been the biggest win of his young surfing career, losing in the final heat Tuesday at the Oakley World Pro Junior off the black sand beach in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia. As it is, the second-place finish is still a huge success for Doheny, who turns 19 next week. The Oakley World Pro Junior was the first of three events on the ASP World Junior Tour, with the next tour stop coming later this month in Rio de Janeiro.