Prep League

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — For the members of the Flintridge Prep boys’ basketball team, the next week will be spent practicing and getting rested up for the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs. The Rebels earned that right after going undefeated in the Prep League for the first time since 2006. Flintridge Prep had three players reach double figures on Tuesday night to close out the regular season with a 75-41 league home win against Chadwick. The Rebels, ranked No. 8 in the division, will learn their first-round playoff opponent when the playoff pairings are revealed Sunday afternoon by the CIF office.

Erik Boal The favorites did what they were supposed to do at Thursday's Prep League cross-country final, but not before their primary competition made things a little too close for comfort. The Flintridge Prep boys' team extended its string of league titles to 11, but not before Rancho Palos Verdes Chadwick made Ingrid Herskind's squad sweat it out during the final 400 meters of the race on the 2.91-mile course at Mount San Antonio College. A fatigued Rebel squad won by the narrowest margin during its illustrious streak, edging the Dolphins, 32-34.

GLENDALE — After two straight seasons of failing to qualify for the postseason, the Flintridge Prep softball team rebounded in a big way in 2008. The club was in the hunt for a Prep League championship until the final day of the regular season before bowing out of the race after a 10-6 loss to Pasadena Poly on May 8. The youthful Rebels (12-8, 8-4 in league) still grabbed a share of second place in the league standings and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs, a far cry from two straight losing seasons.

Peter Samore GLENDALE -- A team that enjoyed so much success during the regular season and postseason now enjoys the distinction of having nine of its players named to the Prep League first and second teams in girls' soccer. Flintridge Prep had five players named to the all-Prep League first team and four to the second team. The Rebels finished 19-3 overall and 8-2 in league play for a second-place finish behind Pasadena Poly, who finished 20-4-1 and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division V finals, before losing to Ontario Christian, 2-1. In the previous three seasons, Coach Anne Konrad's squad had won a combined 24 matches and advanced to the playoffs only once, losing to L.A. Baptist High, 2-0, in the opening round of the 1999 postseason.

Saro Sarkisian LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- In its most important match to date, the Flintridge Prep girls' volleyball team knew it had to step up against Pasadena Poly -- ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division IVA -- which defeated the Rebels twice last year. The Rebels were trailing by one game with two remaining, but came from behind to defeat Pasadena Poly in five, 15-4, 7-15, 10-15, 15-4, 15-4, Tuesday at home in a Prep League match, to remain undefeated and maintain their grasp on league supremacy.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan PASADENA -- As Blake Bernstein put his golf bag on the grass, he saw the Prep League first-place plaque resting against a pole. The Pasadena La Salle boys' golfer turned to Pasadena Poly Coach Tom Powell and asked, "Why isn't Blake Moore's name on it? "Wasn't it a given that he would win?" Pretty much. Moore, a day after shooting a two-under par 68 at Brookside Golf Course No. 2 in the league prelims, didn't surprise anybody by dominating in Thursday's final at a course more suited for his game.