Marina

WESMINSTER - Alex Waked got his first start at quarterback Friday against old-time rival Westminster. Coincidentally, Marina got its first win of the 2011 season. Waked, who usually stars at running back and also plays defensive back, stepped in and stepped up at Boswell Field to guide the Vikings past the Lions, 21-14, in the 48th annual Black & Blue game at Westminster High. The senior found out Monday that he would start in place of junior Deshon Champion who had started Marina's first two games of the season.

The second Marina Baseball Golf Tournament played to a success Sunday at Meadowlark Golf Course in Huntington Beach. The sold-out event had 144 golfers competing for top honors and drew Marina coaches, parents, alumni and Huntington Beach community members for the tournament. More than 200 attended the post-tournament dinner. Among those competing were Major League Baseball players Craig Wilson (Marina) and David Huff (Edison). The first-place foursome in the tournament were Wilson, Huff and his brother, Tim Huff, and Arlene Moynan.

Four local prep baseball teams had the daunting task of playing first-round CIF Southern Section playoff games on the road Friday, each traveling to different pockets of the Southland. Edison, Huntington Beach, Marina and Ocean View all played well in their first-round games, but only Huntington and Marina returned home with victories. Huntington traveled to face Moore League champion Long Beach Poly and the Oilers, an at-large entry from the Sunset League, pulled out a 2-1 win over the fourth-ranked Jackrabbits in a Division 1 game.

The championship race in both boys' and girls' Sunset League soccer went down to the final week of the season last week, and in the end it was Marina and Edison that claimed titles. Marina won the boys' title after playing Edison to a scoreless tie Feb. 8. A day later, Edison took the girls' title by winning, 2-1, at Los Alamitos in a showdown that determined the champion. The triumph allowed the Chargers to repeat as Sunset champion. Audrey Minar scored Edison's first goal and Kelsey Wetzstein provided the Chargers with the winning goal with 10 minutes remaining.

Editor's Note: The Independent looks back on the 2011-2012 high school season. Below is the first of three parts, focusing on the fall season. * The Marina High girls' cross-country team highlighted the fall season, finishing third in Division 1 at the CIF State Cross-Country Championship at Woodward Park in Fresno in November. The Vikings place behind division-champion San Clemente and Vista Murrieta. Senior Laura Hollander turned in an outstanding performance and was Marina's top finisher at the event.

Marina was looking for its first Sunset League win of the 2008 boys? basketball race Monday when it took on Los Alamitos, and the Vikings nearly pulled off the upset at the expense of the league-leading Griffins. Playing what Assistant Coach Andy Meyer called one of the ?most complete all-around games we have played in a while,? Marina came close to knocking off Los Al but eventually dropped a 76-73 decision on the road. The Vikings hung tough with the Griffins throughout the contest, trailed by seven with barely more than a minute to play yet rallied to have a shot at winning in the final seconds.

The Marina High girls' cross country team brought home a ninth-place finish in the Division 1 competition Saturday at the CIF State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Vikings scored 240 points in an event won by Great Oak which scored 57 points. Individually, Marina senior Kylie Nishisaka finished in seventh place with a time of 17 minutes, 50 seconds. Edison senior Haley Seward finished 13th in 18:06. Marina junior Brittany Shoffner was 42nd (18:44), Marina junior Eileen Stressling was 54th (18:53)

The Marina High girls' track and field team came up with the highest finish in the program's history by placing fifth in Division 1 at the CIF Southern Section Track and Field Championships on Saturday Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. Senior Laura Hollander won her first individual CIF title by winning the Division 1 girls' 3,200 meters (10 minutes, 27.51). Hollander nearly took another event and finished second in the girls' 1,600 (4:50.12). Hollander, who signed with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is the Marina record-holder in both the girls' 1,600 and 3,200 events, Vikings distance coach David Sanford said.

Mike Sciacca Marina High School Principal Steve Roderick looked out over a sea of 532 seniors dressed in cap and gown and addressed them with a simple sentence, its meaning extending beyond this simple yet important event. "Gorgeous day -- the sun is shining on you, class of 2003," he said as he addressed the students who filled the school's outdoor amphitheater known simply as "the bowl." The sun did shine on this day, breaking the monotony of drizzle and gray skies that blanketed the city for much of the previous week.

The final week of the Sunset League baseball race sure made things interesting. Prior to the closing day of league play on May 9, Fountain Valley High already had won the Sunset League baseball championship. The Barons finished league play with a 12-3 record, one game ahead of fast-charging Marina which took second place with an 11-4 record. In a battle for CIF playoff consideration, Huntington Beach defeated Edison to finish fourth in league. The Barons had a three-game lead in the Sunset standings going into the final week.

The Marina High baseball team's two wins against Fountain Valley last week proved to be big for momentum in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Vikings took the series against the Sunset League champion Barons, 2-1, and earned a home game when pairings were released Monday. Marina (18-8), the Sunset League's second-place team, will play host to Norco (20-4, Big VIII League second-place team) Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Fountain Valley (23-4) will open the playoffs at home in Thursday's first round.

Marina, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View softball teams learned of their respective opponents in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, as pairings were released Monday. In Division 1, Marina (24-3), the Sunset League champion, plays host to Tuesday's wild-card winner in Thursday's first round. The Vikings await the winner between Corona (17-14, Big VIII League at-large) at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (14-9, Inland Valley League No. 3) Edison (20-10), the Sunset League second-place team, plays at Moreno Valley Valley View (13-14, Inland Valley League No. 2)

HUNTINGTON BEACH - For Fountain Valley High's sake, the Barons had to be happy to have already sewn up the Sunset League baseball title before this week's two-game series with Marina. The Vikings, on the other hand, had to wish that the league race had one more week to it. For the second time in a 24-hour period, Marina defeated Fountain Valley. Thursday's league and regular season finale for both teams belonged to the Vikings who bolted to a big lead early and never looked back, in claiming an 8-3 victory on senior day. A day earlier at Fountain Valley, the Vikings knocked off the second-ranked Barons, 8-5. Thursday's win allowed Marina, which increased its win streak to five games, to take the league series, 2-1. Fountain Valley won the first meeting between the teams, 3-2, on March 28 at Marina.

A big congratulations has to go out to Betty Nguyen for the unbelievable scholarship she earned. Nguyen is the first Marina High School student to win the Gates Millennium Scholarship, according to a news release. The award is given to 1,000 students annually nationwide and covers five years of college tuition toward an undergraduate degree, two years of graduate school and four years of a Ph.D program. Students can use the money toward a degree in computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health and the sciences.

Marina clinched a tie for the 2013 Sunset League softball championship Tuesday when the Vikings rolled to a 12-0 victory at Newport Harbor. Emili Olague went three for three with a home run and junior pitcher Tera Blanco earned the win to improve to 23-3. "I am very pleased with the team's performance," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. "They came out on fire and really took charge and played all six innings with intensity. Marina, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, can earn the Sunset title outright with a victory Thursday over Fountain Valley.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - When Marina High defeated Edison back on April 16, the Vikings walked away with a surprising, 10-0 mercy-rule victory at Edison. When the teams met Thursday at Marina, the game had a completely different feel to it and with plenty riding on the outcome, this showdown went down to the wire. Marina scored the final two runs of the game, including the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to grind out a 2-1 victory that gave the Vikings sole possession of first place in the Sunset League with two games to play.

Members of the Marina High School Robotics Club used lady luck and a bit of skill when they finished first in the Las Vegas regional of the FIRST Robotics Competition on April 6. They are now headed to St. Louis for the championships April 25. The regional win was shared with two other teams: Dos Pueblos High School from Goleta, Calif., and The Waterford School from Sandy, Utah. The two top-seeded teams chose the Vikings, who were in 27th place, to complete their three-team alliance for the playoff rounds, said Brandon Pham, director of public relations for the team.

Marina capped a perfect run through the opening round of Sunset League softball play Tuesday by shutting out host Fountain Valley, 7-0. Junior Tera Blanco pitched a two-hitter and had two hits including a home run on offense. Blanco is now 20-2 on the mound, and the Vikings also are 20-2 overall. Sydney McCollum went three for four and Emili Olague had two hits for Marina, which ended the first half of Sunset action with a 5-0 record. The Vikings are ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1. Fountain Valley ended the first half of league play 1-4. "The team is playing well and we need to continue to work harder as our targets on our backs get bigger," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said.

Marina High School is hosting A Taste of Marina on May 4 to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary. The event will include booths from more than a dozen restaurants and food vendors offering samples from their menus, as well as music performed by Marina alumni bands Originalites, Meaning in Masterpiece, and Angel and the Badman. Proceeds benefit the school. Admission is $5, but children under 5 get in for free. Tastings are free with admission and are on a first come, first served basis.