Crescenta Valley

LA CRESCENTA - For nearly an hour, players from the Crescenta Valley High and Hoover boys' water polo teams milled around the pool deck soaking in a rainstorm that featured plenty of thunder and lightning. With the Falcons and Tornadoes eager to meet in a Pacific League match Thursday afternoon at Crescenta Valley, the teams were forced to wait out the storm for 45 minutes before getting involved in a high-scoring tilt. Nate Fernandez shook off the delay and answered the call for the Falcons, as he scored a team-high four goals to ignite Crescenta Valley to a 15-13 win. “It was a completely different set of circumstances with the weather,” said Fernandez, who helped Crescenta Valley improve to 6-10, 2-1 in league.

LA CRESCENTA - With a couple of starters on the Crescenta Valley High girls' basketball team unlikely to play this season because of injuries, there are some opportunities for reserve players to step up and fill the vacancies. Count Jackie Wilson among the group looking to pick up some valuable experience. Wilson wasted little time making an impact in her first varsity contest. Wilson finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five steals Wednesday night to lead Crescenta Valley to a 39-35 win against Blair in a foul-filled pool-play game of the Falcon Classic.

WALNUT - Often times, teams meeting in the playoffs aren't too familiar with each other. That wasn't the case when the Crescenta Valley High boys' water polo team met Walnut on Wednesday afternoon. Crescenta Valley and Walnut played Oct. 23 in a nonleague game. Crescenta Valley Coach Jan Sakonju recorded the match and provided film to each of his players to study in case the teams met in the postseason. The Falcons reviewed the film Monday and Tuesday, but it didn't seem to provide any help in the rematch as Walnut picked up an 8-6 win against visiting Crescenta Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division V first-round match at Mount San Antonio College.

ALHAMBRA - The Crescenta Valley High girls' golf team wasn't able to test itself against its biggest competition in the Pacific League in the first league contest last week. In that event on Sept. 12 at De Bell Golf Club in Burbank, Arcadia missed the match after a bomb scare at the school didn't allow the Apaches players to leave the campus until after the competition had started. In the second league match of the season Wednesday at Alhambra Golf Course, the Apaches were back in action, which turned out to be bad news for the Falcons.

LA CRESCENTA - First the Crescenta Valley High boys' volleyball team broke Cerritos' spirit with a decisive win in a pivotal third game. Then the host Falcons simply broke the match wide open with a fourth-game rout to claim a 25-19, 22-25, 25-14, 25-13 victory in a CIF Southern Section Division III second-round playoff game on Thursday night. "That was a blast, it was so much fun," said Falcons outside hitter Wesley Cormier, who finished with 10 kills and four blocks and had four kills and an ace in the final game, which Crescenta Valley led by as many as 15 points.

Spring is rapidly approaching (though the rain may suggest otherwise) and with the change in weather comes the commencement of the 2007 season of spring sports. Soon we will be hearing the crack of a bat in the warm sunshine or the splash of water as a row of capped swimmers leap into the pool. Golf, boys' tennis, boys' volleyball, softball, track and baseball all begin spring training as we wrap up winter sport playoffs ? in fact, competition for some spring sports begins as early as next week.

GLENDALE — As successful as they were in the opening game of the Junior Softball Southern California State Tournament, the members of the Section 2 champion Crescenta Valley team had no problem with playing two on Saturday. As the day stretched on, the winning continued for the local Junior squad, which followed up a 14-0 win over Section 9 champion San Bernardino Reid Park with a 6-3 winner's bracket victory over Section 8 champion Victorville later in the afternoon at King Street Field in District 33 La Mesa to clinch a spot in the semifinal game at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE - Pablo Sotillo put himself in the right position to enjoy a windfall Monday afternoon, as he scored early in the second half to spark the visiting Crescenta Valley High boys' soccer team to a 1-0 Pacific League victory against Glendale. “He's probably scored four or five goals like that this season,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark, whose team improved to 11-1-4, 1-0-1 in league. “He's got that knack for seeing the play develop and then get open like that.” Crescenta Valley, which has won three straight league championships, survived several scares from Glendale (5-5-1, 0-2)

LA CRESCENTA - Scoring goals certainly hasn't been a problem lately for the members of the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team. Pasadena found out first-hand Thursday afternoon during a Pacific League match just how explosive the Falcons' offense can be after they set a season-best goal mark. Shannon Hovanesian finished with six goals and Ashley Taylor and Elissa Arnold had five apiece to lead host Crescenta Valley to a 28-4 victory. Crescenta Valley (14-1, 3-0 in league)

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - With each inning, Justin Rountree could feel the pressure of the situation. The Crescenta Valley Junior Baseball All-Star had two jobs to fulfill - keep his team in the game on the mound and pick up a key hit to support the team and himself - on Monday night during an elimination game in the District 16 Tournament at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields. Rountree passed both tests. Rountree delivered a game-winning single in the top of the eighth inning and pitched three scoreless innings in relief to help Crescenta Valley post a 3-2 victory against Foothill.