Mark Keppel

PASADENA - Through two games, the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team has already enjoyed the value of taking part in the Maranatha varsity basketball summer league. Two days after taking down a Marshall Fundamental team that relied heavily on guard Evan Bynum, the Rebels faced a stronger contender in well-balanced Mark Keppel, a squad known throughout the San Gabriel Valley for its up-tempo play and adroit three-point shooting. While the challenge was certainly different, the result was near the same as Flintridge Prep used its brutish inside presence to wear down the Aztecs in a 49-42 victory Thursday afternoon.

More than 15 years after the Glendale Unified School District started switching elementary schools to year-round calendars to accommodate a burgeoning student population, enrollment has declined sufficiently to move the last three schools back to a traditional school calendar in the 2008-09 academic year. “What we’re really talking about is the end of an era,” Supt. Michael Escalante said at Tuesday’s board of education meeting, where school officials discussed the logistics of the switch.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — The Hoover High boys’ volleyball team’s season opener against visiting Mark Keppel on Tuesday couldn’t have been much closer through its early stages. The Tornadoes had to score nearly 30 points to win the first game, and each squad had a game under its belt as the third game got underway. Hoover took control over the next two games, however, and nailed down a nonleague victory, 29-27, 21-25, 25-16, 25-15. “I think they kind of settled down — it’s our first match — and they started playing more as a team,” second-year Tornadoes Coach Deb Cohen said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — You could say that the St. Francis High volleyball team's matchup with Mark Keppel was the calm before the storm for the Golden Knights. With a healthy slate of strong Mission League opponents upcoming on the schedule, Thursday's nonleague match proved to be an easy and relaxing afternoon. "It was kinda fun and loose, which was needed," said St. Francis Coach Mark Frazee following his team's sweep of the Aztecs, 25-20, 25-18, 27-25. After suffering five-game setbacks on consecutive days last week against Temple City and Chaminade, the Golden Knights (2-6, 0-2 in league)

TUESDAY GIRLS? BASKETBALL ?Glendale vs. Mark Keppel in Burroughs Tournament, 8 p.m. ?Holy Family vs. Viewpoint in Providence Tournament, 9 p.m. ? BOYS? BASKETBALL ?Hoover vs. Panorama in Burbank Tournament, 5 p.m. ?Glendale vs. St. Francis in Burbank Tournament, 7 p.m. ?Crescenta Valley vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in Burbank Tournament, 9 p.m. ? WEDNESDAY GIRLS? BASKETBALL ?Hoover vs. Mark Keppel in Burbank Tournament, 3 p.m. ?

Charles Rich LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Finishing undefeated in Prep League and winning its first league championship might be the tip of the iceberg for the Flintridge Prep girls' water polo team. At least that's what the Rebels are counting on. Now, Flintridge Prep will attempt to win its first postseason match at 3:15 p.m. today when it hosts Mark Keppel in a CIF Southern Section Division III first round match. Flintridge Prep (19-3) will use its powerful defense to shut down an inexperienced Mark Keppel team which finished 13-9 and fourth in the Almont League.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan For about three minutes, Raymond Dagher stood near the free-throw line, just waiting for the chance to put Mark Keppel away and go home. Everyone was waiting to go home, including the referees and both benches, to watch the USC-Oklahoma national championship game. But Mark Keppel boys' basketball Coach Hung Duong called two full and a 30-second timeout to try to ice the Glendale High center. After Duong wasted three timeouts, Dagher went to the line and calmly drained two free throws for the final two points of Glendale's 46-42 nonleague home win. "I knew they were going to ice me," said Dagher, who finished with a team-high 15 points and 14 rebounds.

An annual trip to Washington, D.C., was extra special this year for 62 R.D. White, Balboa and Mark Keppel elementary sixth-grade students. The students traveled to the nation's capital July 3 and 4 with former Keppel Principal Gordon Morse, who now works for World Strides, a company that arranges educational tours of historic places in the United States for students. The children, who returned Tuesday, visited Arlington National Cemetery, where Keppel students won the honor of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - With a roster of only six available players, the Glendale High boys' basketball team certainly had an uphill battle against up-tempo Mark Keppel of Alhambra in Saturday afternoon's Pool Play B finale for the Nitros in the Vaquero Summer Classic. Perhaps the only way short-handed Glendale could have dealt with the Aztecs' full-court press was to have inserted all six players at the same time, as the Nitros committed 18 turnovers, trailed by 24 points at the half and fell to Keppel, 56-28, at Glendale Community College.

PASADENA - Through two games, the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team has already enjoyed the value of taking part in the Maranatha varsity basketball summer league. Two days after taking down a Marshall Fundamental team that relied heavily on guard Evan Bynum, the Rebels faced a stronger contender in well-balanced Mark Keppel, a squad known throughout the San Gabriel Valley for its up-tempo play and adroit three-point shooting. While the challenge was certainly different, the result was near the same as Flintridge Prep used its brutish inside presence to wear down the Aztecs in a 49-42 victory Thursday afternoon.

ALHAMBRA - The Renaissance Academy boys' basketball team devised a game plan to exploit its opponent's size disadvantage and executed it on the way to a convincing nonleague victory Tuesday night. Led by senior forward Jessy Cantinol's 20 points, the Wildcats received easy baskets inside, as well as good looks outside, while the defense hounded the Mark Keppel Aztecs to a poor shooting night. The result was a 68-42 triumph that marks the eighth straight win for the Wildcats, who have also won 10 of their last 11 under Coach Sid Cooke, who said the team is starting to come together.

PASADENA — So many things went through Anthony Tahmazian's mind when the ball landed in his hand before juggling it as the final seconds ticked off. What the Glendale High senior point guard didn't have drawn up was an unusual four-point play that would help his squad win the game. Somehow, Tahmazian bucked the odds. Tahmazian converted on a four-point play with one second left to propel Glendale to a 34-33 victory against Mark Keppel on Friday night in a pool-play contest of the Maranatha Tournament.

GROUP CELEBRATES 90TH BIRTHDAYS The reunion committee of the Hoover High School Class of 1937 met at the home of Tom French to celebrate the fact that all 11 have now reached the age of 90. Four of the group are 91. They have not organized a class reunion for many years as the number of class members has dwindled. However, committee members continue to meet for lunch every three months in Glendale and remain close friends. Those attending were Helen ?Young? Ostendorf, Tom French, Clara Mae ?

NORTHWEST GLENDALE ? A second-quarter slump turned into a third-quarter swoon for the Glendale High boys? basketball team in a Burbank Tournament contest against Mark Keppel on Tuesday evening. Playing without starting guard Eddie Nersisyan, the Nitros fell behind by double-digits shortly before halftime and saw the deficit balloon to 25 inside the first four minutes of the second half en route to a lackluster 56-32 loss that dropped the team to 0-2 on the season. ?We turned the ball over too much and we couldn?

TODAY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL ? Crescenta Valley vs. Tujunga in District 16 Tri-Cities 10-11 All-Stars Tournament at Tujunga Little League Fields, 6 p.m. ? LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL ?Crescenta Valley vs. Tujunga in District 16 Tri-Cities Major All-Stars Tournament at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields, 6 p.m. ? FOOTBALL ?Flintridge Prep in Viewpoint Passing League Tournament, TBA ?Hoover in Arroyo Passing League Tournament, 5 p.m. ?

BURBANK — Let the construction process begin for the Hoover High girls’ basketball team. One of the main priorities concerning the Tornadoes this season will be finding a brand-new five-girl rotation, so that it’s ready to be in place by winter. The next six weeks will hopefully afford the Tornadoes that luxury. Hoover kicked off its season Wednesday night with a 38-14 loss to Mark Keppel in a Burbank Summer League contest. Under Coach Martik Ghookasian, who is beginning his second year heading the program after serving as an assistant for several seasons, Hoover will look to have a new foundation in place.