Local prep teams kick off their football seasons Friday with non-league contests with defending CIF Western Division champion Mira Costa hosting Loyola and Redondo traveling to take on North Torrance. Bay League teams face a tough challenge in the post season this year after moving to the highly-competitive Northern Division.

by Randy Angel
Despite losing all of it starters from last season’s top defensive unit in the state, the young El Camino College football team is ranked third in the nation jcgridiron.com, creating a bull’s eye and a position the Warriors are accustomed to. More

Volleyball

California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) will be holding its annual California Cup State Championship this weekend at the Manhattan Beach Pier. Saturday’s action features Men’s A, AA, B, Open and Unrated divisions along with Women’s A, AA, Open and Unrated tournaments. More

(See more photos by Nick Meistrell, Brian Kingston and Brent Broza at end of story)
A head down, straight ahead strategy paid off for 32-year-old, Hermosa Beach paddler Adam Buckley, who had an unremarkable, 19th place finish in his first Catalina Classic paddleboard race last year. Despite a headwind, bumpy water and taking what he afterwards acknowledged was too high a course, Buckley arrived at the Manhattan Beach pier finish line Sunday morning 23 minutes ahead of his last year’s time and seven minutes ahead of second place finisher Brian Rocheleau, of Hawaii who finished fourth in the Classic last year.

Locals Aaron Wachtfogel and Sean Rosenthal win Old School. Photo by Brent Broza (Brozaphoto.com)

Representing Manhattan Beach Little League, the Mira Costa Senior League All-Star team went 19-0 in tournament play before losing to the host team in semifinals of the Senior League World Series held in Bangor, Maine. Head Coach Carlos Rojas’ squad completed numerous comebacks and extra-inning victories during a summer the team will always remember.

The cloud that hovered over the beach volleyball community for a week ended up having a silver lining – at least for four players – who took advantage of the window of opportunity to have their names etched in history.
When the AVP was More

by Randy Angel
With summer winding down, Chris Orenic – like most South Bay high schoolers – will be forced to shift his focus from the beach to the start of a new school year. But while the Manhattan Beach teenager prepares More

 
Aquatics
The 35th Annual Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race presented by Honolua Surf Co. takes place Sunday. The longest, most grueling race of the season, the 32-mile course starts at 6 a.m. at the Isthmus on Catalina Island. Top finishers reach the Manhattan Beach More