Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy

SOUTH PASADENA - In a game dominated inside by the South Pasadena High girls' basketball team, the outcome was ultimately clinched by a clutch three-pointer that held off a valiant comeback attempt by Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. The Tigers led by double-digits in the second half before the Tologs came within a basket late, only to give up an open three-point basket to South Pasadena's Amber Partida with 1:30 remaining in a 37-31 win for the Tigers in the South Pasadena summer league on Monday.

BURBANK - For the past four years, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy basketball team has enjoyed a renaissance by qualifying for the postseason. Ty Buxman had a hand in that achievement by grooming multiple players at the junior varsity level as a coach and preparing them for the transition to the varsity stage. Buxman will now be in charge of the varsity team for the first time after he succeeded Gino Pacella, who resigned following last season. "We built a program over the last four years and we are going to try to keep making progress," said Buxman, whose team suffered a pair of pool-play losses Friday, including a 59-17 defeat against Country Day La Jolla, at the Summer Slam Tournament at Burroughs High.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Missing a second consecutive meet wasn't what James Knowles had in mind. With his right hamstring healthy, the St. Francis High track and field standout showed he's ready to defend his Mission League championships in a pair of hurdle events. Despite the cool temperatures, Knowles took to the course and heated up, as he captured the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in a Mission League dual meet against Harvard-Westlake on Wednesday afternoon. Knowles clocked 14.16 seconds in the 110 before finishing in 39.09 in the 300 for the Golden Knights, who suffered a 79-48 defeat.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - It's evident by the scores and the results this season that the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy water polo team is improving. But after a 14-8 Mission League loss to visiting Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and a performance that showed both how far the Tologs have come and how far they still need to go, first-year Sacred Heart Coach Andrea Artukovich insisted her team go even farther on Tuesday. "If they had energy to swim afterward, they could've worked harder [in the match]

Between the championship exploits of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer and Flintridge Prep boys' basketball, the ascent to state heights by a host of Glendale Community College teams and several local names popping up on the national level, 2011 had plenty of stories worthy of top-10 consideration. The final voting recognized the Tologs' first-ever CIF Southern Section Division triumph as the tops among them all, but there were many worthy contenders that made the cut and plenty more that didn't.

LOS ANGELES - Saturday's match wasn't a Mission League affair that had title implications. It wasn't a CIF Southern Section Division I playoff contest that could've ended its season. For the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer team, it was another nonleague contest. But for its opponent, St. Lucy's, it was an opportunity to knock off the top-ranked team in the nation by ESPN HS. That's exactly what the Regents did, shocking the Tologs with a 1-0 victory at Occidental College's Patterson Field, the team's first home loss since February, 2008.

SAN MARINO - Whatever it was that plagued the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy girls' basketball team in its opening game was remedied when the Tologs took the court against Bernstein High Wednesday. Sacred Heart took an early lead and used a half and full-court press to add to it in a 79-14 victory in its second game of the San Gabriel Valley Classic at San Marino High. It was a healing process for the Tologs, who fell to San Marino, 45-32, in their first game of the tournament and season Tuesday.

SAN MARINO — Given the opportunity, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy girls' basketball team would take a mulligan on its first game of the season. The Tologs came into the game with a clear size advantage over a smaller San Marino squad, but it didn't show on the scoreboard. Sacred Heart's offense never got going against a quick, relentless San Marino defense Tuesday and, as a result, fell to the Titans, 45-32, in a San Gabriel Valley Classic game at San Marino High. "We usually score 70 points or 65 points a game," said Tologs senior center Lana Haddad, who finished the game with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

PASADENA - Inspired perhaps by playing the role of underdogs or simply competing against a nonleague rival, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team came out with a strong first-game effort Monday night that instilled doses of fear and anger into host La Salle. And although they remained competitive throughout, the Tologs were not able to withstand the Lancers in a 24-26, 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 nonleague loss. "We got too overly excited and we allowed them to creep back in," Flintridge Coach Anne Arlie said.

GLENDALE — As any squad still playing in mid-March can likely boast, the Oaks Christian High girls' soccer team appears to be playing its best soccer of the season. But is the Lions' best good enough to beat a much-lauded Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy team also hitting on all cylinders? That question will be decided today at 10:30 a.m. at Warren High in Downey in the finale of the CIF Southern California Division III Regional Soccer Championships. The defending-champion Tologs enter with a 23-1-1 overall mark, while the Lions are an impressive 25-2-1.