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Two football teams from the Santa Clarita Valley won CIF championships.
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The Hart football team added to its storied history by winning its ninth CIF title.
The Trinity Classical Academy started a new chapter in the history of high school football in the Santa Clarita Valley by winning its first CIF championship.
Hart earned a spot in the CIF State South Division 2 bowl game against Chaminade after winning the Southern Section Northern Division championship.
While the Hart football team made its first appearance in a CIF state bowl game, the Trinity football team had a breakthrough season as well. The Knights won their first Southern Section Division 2 8-man football championship after four trips to the title game.
The Hart and Trinity football championships were the highlights of the 2013 sports year in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The Saugus boys cross country team won its first CIF state championship, adding to the Centurion dynasty that started with the girls team and its seven CIF state titles.
Saugus swimmer Abbey Weitzeil won two CIF Southern Section championships in record-breaking fashion.
College of the Canyons triple jumper Tim White won a state title and competed in the US Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
John Gilbertson from The Master’s College was the fastest runner in the world in the 10,000 meters for a few weeks.
Here is a look at some of the top sports stories in the Santa Clarita Valley in 2013:
Hart football team wins the CIF Southern Section Northern Division championship
In a way, the Hart football team’s run through the CIF Southern Section Northern Division playoffs was a bit of a surprise.
The Indians went into a little slump at the end of the Foothill League season. They went from leading the Foothill League standings and ranked No. 1 in the Northern Division poll to third place in league and opening the playoffs on the road.
Hart lost to Valencia and Canyon in the final two weeks of the Foothill League season. As a result, Valencia won the Foothill League championship and was the No. 2 seed in the Northern Division playoffs.
Hart and Valencia met in the Northern Division championship game at Valencia High School. An estimated crowd of 9,500 showed up to watch the Foothill League rivals battle for the Northern Division title.
Hart won, 28-21, to win its ninth CIF championship. The Indians won their first championship in 1983. Hart and Valencia were playing for the third time in a CIF championship game. Hart had won the previous two meetings, but the last time the two teams met in the championship game was in 2001.
Valencia continued its bridesmaid role in the playoffs. The lost in the championship game for the fourth time. The Vikings are still in search of their first CIF football championship.
After winning the Northern Division championship, Hart moved on to the CIF State South Division 2 bowl game against Chaminade.
Hart and Chaminade met for the second time in 2013. Hart beat Chaminade, 45-44 in overtime, in the second week of the season.
The second meeting at College of the Canyons in the South Division 2 bowl game was more of a defensive tussle.
Chaminade won the game, 28-10, but the game was much closer in the first half. Chaminade led, 7-3, at halftime. The Eagles scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half to take a 28-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
Hart ended its season with its deepest playoff run in school history. The Indians are the second team to play in a CIF State bowl game. Canyon won its only appearance in a CIF State bowl game in 2006.
The Indians had a 12-3 record and were ranked 18th in the state by Maxpreps.com.
Trinity Classical Academy wins first CIF football championship
The Trinity Classical Academy’s run through the CIF Southern Section Division 2 8-man playoffs was an impressive one.
The Knights won the Heritage League championship and was the No. 3 seeded team in the playoffs.
They had a bye in the first round and knocked out Noli Indian, 71-6, in the second round.
Trinity played Desert Chapel, the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, in the semifinals. The Knights scored 22 points in the second half to eliminate Desert Chapel, 50-32.
In the championship game against Joshua Springs, the top-seeded team in the playoffs, Trinity used a 34-point third quarter cruise to a 47-0 shutout.
The score was tied, 0-0, at halftime, but the Trinity offense exploded in the second half. The Trinity defense was as stingy as ever. The Trinity football team celebrated its best football season in school history.
Trinity Classical Academy boys basketball team heads to CIF State tournament
The Trinity Classical Academy boys basketball team reached the championship game of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.
The Knights lost to Rio Hondo Prep, 47-40, in the title game. They beat Joshua Springs, 61-53, in the semifinals and beat Valley Christian Academy, 64-53, in the quarterfinals.
Trinity advanced to the CIF State Division V playoffs. The Trinity boys won their first-round game, 63-49, over Tranquility. But the Knights lost in the second round, 52-33, to Horizon Christian Academy.
Horizon Christian went on to win the CIF State Division V championship.
The Trinity boys had their deepest playoff run in school history and finished with a 19-7 record.
Saugus ends Valencia’s Foothill League win streak at 112 matches
The Saugus boys volleyball team ended one of the longest winning streaks in the state. Saugus beat Valencia, 3-1, and ended the Vikings 112-match winning streak against Foothill League opponents.
The two teams split the first two games of the match. Saugus won games 3 and 4. The Centurions won the fourth game, 26-24.
John Gilbertson from The Master’s College sets fastest time in the world in 10,000 meters
John Gilbertson won the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in March and set the fastest time in the world for the year. He won the race in 28 minutes, 30.35 seconds.
Elroy Gelant of South Africa recorded the fastest time in the world in the 10,000 meters earlier in the year. He recorded a time of 28 minutes, 50.24 seconds.
The Saugus girls 4×1,600 relay team sets fastest time in the nation
The team of Abigail Frankian, Heidi Hoslet, Samantha Ortega and Sabrina Janes won the 4×1,600 relay at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in 20 minutes, 21.47 seconds in April.
It was the fastest time in the nation for a high school relay team in the 4×1,600.
The previous mark was set by Aptos High School.
Abbey Weitzeil from Saugus High wins two CIF swim titles
Abbey Weitzeil won CIF Southern Section Division 1 championships in the 100-yard and 50-yard freestyle races in May.
Weitzeil won the 100-yard freestyle in 49.01 seconds at the Riverside Aquatic Complex and broke the Southern Section record. She set the 100-yard Southern Section record in the Division 1 championships in 2012.
She reduced her record-breaking time in the 100 freestyle in the opening leg of the 4×100 freestyle relay in 48.83 seconds.
Weitzeil also won the 50-yard freestyle race by breaking her own Southern Section record at the meet.
She won the 50 freestyle in 22.25 seconds and was 0.01 seconds off the state record set by Maddy Shaefer of Mountain St. Francis in 2010.
Courtney Maduike makes history for Golden Valley track and field team
Senior Courtney Maduike became the first girl athlete from Golden Valley to qualify for The Masters Meet in track and field.
She finished in fifth place in the discus at the CIF Southern Section Division 2 track and field meet at Mt. San Antonio College in May.
Her throw of 125 feet, 1 inch was the 12th best at the meet and qualified her for a spot in the Masters Meet.
She finished in 10th place at the Masters Meet in the discus and did not qualify for the CIF State track and field meet.
She was the second athlete from Golden Valley High School to qualify for the Masters Meet. Joey Darko qualified in the 110-meter hurdles in 2010.
Four Foothill League athletes compete in CIF State track and field meet
Three runners from Saugus High and one high jumper from Canyon High competed in the CIF State track and field championships in Clovis in June.
Sophomore Sabrina Janes was seventh in the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 11.98 seconds. It was the fastest time by a sophomore from the Santa Clarita Valley in the 800. The previous record was held by Alysia Montano, a 2012 Olympian in the 800. Montano ran the 800 in 2 minutes, 12.30 seconds as a sophomore in 2002.
Janes won the 800 meters at the Masters Meet to qualify for the CIF State final.
Saugus sophomore Samantha Orthega was 11th in the 3,200 meters in 10 minutes, 39.96 seconds.
Saugus senior Rodrigo Ornelas was 17th in the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 17.68 seconds.
Canyon’s Jeremy Kimmer cleared 6 feet, 5 inches at the CIF State track and field meet and did not advance to the final round.
College of the Canyons’ Tim White wins US Junior Outdoor championship in triple jump
Tim White, a College of the Canyons freshman and Hart High graduate, won the triple jump at the US Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet at Drake University in Iowa in June.
He set the school record with a jump of 53 feet, 1 inch on his first attempt.
White won the California Community College Athletic Association championship in the triple jump in April.
He was the first track athlete from College of the Canyons to win a national championship at the US Junior Outdoor Track and Field meet.
White earned a spot in the Pan Am Junior Championships in Medellin, Colombia.
Canyon High graduate Alysia Montano wins national title in 800 meters
Canyon High graduate and 2012 United States Olympian Alysia Montano won the 800 meters at the US Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake University in Iowa in June.
She won the race in 1 minute, 58.67 seconds and earned a spot on the US national team that competed in the world championships in Moscow, Russia.
Montano is a five-time national champion in the 800. She won four in a row from 2010-2013.
She finished in fourth place in the 800 meters at the world championships.
Valencia’s Alison Lee wins three golf tournaments
Valencia High graduate Alison Lee won three junior golf tournaments over the summer.
She won the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and the ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior tournament in June.
She won the Rolex Tournament of Champions in Pennsylvania in July.
She was ranked No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings and was the first golfer since Kellee Booth in 1993 to win the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the Girls Junior Championship in the same year.
She won the Rolex Tournament of Champions on the Lancaster Country Club course by six strokes. She shot 4-under 267 over the four rounds of the tournament.
Lee, a freshman at UCLA, has also played in three US Women’s Open golf tournaments.
Golden Valley’s Elisa Pierre qualifies for CIF State championship
Golden Valley sophomore Elisa Pierre reached the CIF State Girls Golf Championship in November.
She shot a 3-over 74 and tied for eighth place at the Quail Lodge Golf Club. Andrea Lee of Mira Costa won the CIF State championship with a 4-under 67.
Pierre became the first girl golfer from the Foothill League to reach the state championship match in more than a decade. Melanie De Leon from Saugus High reached the CIF State Championship in 2003.
Pierre shot a 2-under 70 at the WSCGA Southern California Championship at The Golf Club at Rancho California in Murrieta and finished in a tie for second place.
Pierre had three birdies and one bogey in her round at Murrieta.
Pierre was the Foothill League MVP and led Golden Valley to its first Foothill League championship.
Hart girls tennis makes first appearance in Southern California Regional Championship
The Hart girls tennis team had the best season in school history. The Hart girls won the Foothill League championship with an undefeated record and reached the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.
That earned the Hart girls a spot in the CIF United States Tennis Association Southern California Regional Championship.
They won their first round match, 5-2, over Palisades, the Southern Section City Section champion.
But the Hart girls lost in the second round, 5-2, to Campbell Hall.
Hart won a school record 21 matches and finished with a 21-2 record.
Saugus boys win CIF State cross country championship
The Saugus boys cross country team has been overshadowed by the girls team for nearly a decade.
Saugus stepped into the spotlight by winning the CIF State Division 2 championship in December.
Saugus beat Westlake, 110-139, to capture the first state championship for the Saugus boys cross country team.
Brian Zabilski was the top-finisher in the race in fourth place.
To reach the CIF State cross country race, the Saugus boys won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship at Mt. San Antonio College.
Five runners from Saugus finished in the top 36 at the meet. The Centurions won the championship, 83-118, over Dos Pueblos.
It was the first CIF Southern Section championship for the Saugus boys since 2010 and the fourth overall.
Brian Zabilski was the top-finishing runner from Saugus. He was fourth in 14 minutes, 58 seconds. Ethan Walker was 20th, Ryan Tate was 21st, Alex Pearson was 24th and Jordan Serrano was 36th.
Follow Tim Haddock on Twitter @thaddock.
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