GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
SIX AREA TEAMS EARN CIF RANKINGS
Two local football, water polo and cross-country squads received CIF rankings after the latest polls were unveiled Monday.
The St. Francis High football team (3-0) remained second in the Western Division poll. Crescenta Valley (2-1) moved up a spot to fifth in the Southeast Division.
In boys’ water polo, Crescenta Valley and Glendale were ranked in the Division VI poll. Crescenta Valley, which won the division crown last season, is No. 2. Glendale is at No. 7.
In cross-country, Flintridge Prep’s boys’ team is third in Division V, while the girls’ team is fifth.
FAIETA STILL LEADS AFTER SWEEP AT ROAD ATLANTA
Glendale High alumnus Bob Faieta of Tujunga widened his points lead over Martin Snow in the 2009 Patron GT3 Challenge by Yokohama standings after winning Rounds 11 and 12 at Road Atlanta on Thursday and Friday.
Faeita, the two-time series defending champion, sat on pole and led every lap to edge out Snow, who finished second in both races.
“Bob was fast and I don’t think I had a chance to catch him,” Snow said in a press release. “We got close and stayed close. We’d go back and forth, but I didn’t quite have it to beat him today.”
Faeita will attempt to close out the series, which features semi-professional drivers racing head to head in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars with sealed motors and transmissions, with his third straight win on Oct. 10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
NEW PITCHING RULE TO AFFECT SOFTBALL TEAMS
A new rule pertaining to softball pitching was implemented Monday by CIF. Effective for the 2011 school year, the distance for varsity high school pitchers from home plate will increase from 40 feet to 43.
The decision was made in June by the National Federation of State High School Assn. Softball Rules Committee.
According to the committee, the rule was put in so that there’s a better balance between the offense and the defense. The change was made after two member state associations — Florida and Oregon — experimented with 43 feet.
“Our main thrust is getting the defense more involved,” Mary Struckoff, the NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Softball Rules committee said in a statement. “When more balls are hit into play, the defense is more involved in the game, thus enhancing skill development.”
QUARTERBACK CLUB TO HOLD FOURTH MEETING
The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club will hold its fourth meeting at 11:30 a.m. today at The Elk’s Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale. The club, which is in its 67th year, is geared to support the Crescenta Valley, Hoover, Glendale and St. Francis high football teams and the Glendale Community College football program.
Former Occidental College quarterback Andy Collins will be the guest speaker.
