Local youth honored for track and field
Zachary Bornstein, a student at Webster Elementary School, was honored at the USA Track and Field Southern California Association’s 14th annual awards banquet on Jan. 15. The banquet is held each year to honor national champions who live in Southern California’s USATF Region 15.
The USATF is a national governing body for long distance running, race walking and track and field, and is also involved in developmental programs for young athletes.
Zachary was honored for winning the national championship in the 800-meter run and the triathlon (shot put, high jump and 400-meter run) at the USATF Nationals in Knoxville, Tenn. Past recipients to receive this award in the Southern California Association have included Olympic medalists Marion Jones, Alyson Felix and Steve Lewis.
Zachary was also honored by his club, the Valley United Striders, as the Male Athlete of the Year. He is currently training for the 2006 Outdoor Track season, which begins in April. This year Zachary will compete in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs and the pentathlon, which includes the 80-meter low hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump and 1,500-meter run.
The Junior Olympics will take place in Virginia Beach from July 26 to Aug. 5.
Pepperdine men’s basketball falls to national powerhouse
The Pepperdine University men’s basketball team kept the score close most of the game, but the Waves were unable to defeat fifth-ranked Gonzaga, falling to the Bulldogs on Monday, 81-71. The loss dropped the Waves to 3-9 in the West Coast Conference and 9-17 overall.
A sellout home crowd that included Lakers star Kobe Bryant and former Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller loudly cheered for the Waves as a national audience watched the game on ESPN2. Pepperdine led through much of the first half, but Gonzaga took the lead late in the opening frame and never looked back. Pepperdine was only able to get within four points of Gonzaga the rest of the way.
National player of the year candidate Adam Morrison led all players with 26 points. Several of the Gonzaga senior guard’s teammates also had strong performances, including J.P. Batista (16 points and 13 rebounds) and Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes (17 points).
Senior guard Tashaan Forehan-Kelly was the Waves’ top scorer on the night with 25 points. Sophomore guard Kingsley Costain was the only other Wave to reach double digits in scoring with 12 points. Forehan-Kelly also led Pepperdine in rebounding.
The Waves will play again on Saturday at St. Mary’s. Pepperdine will conclude the regular season on Monday at Santa Clara.
Pepperdine baseball defeats No. 2 team
The No. 14 Pepperdine men’s baseball team defeated No. 2 Oregon State, 7-1, and clinched a three-game series victory against the Beavers.
Sophomore right-hander Barry Enright had six strikeouts in the game for the Waves, who are ranked ninth with a 6-4 record. He limited Oregon State to three hits over seven innings and gave up just two walks.
Enright was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week in recognition of his performance against the Beavers and for his first win of the season earlier in the week against Long Beach State. Enright gave up two runs and five hits while walking three players and striking out four in seven innings of play against Long Beach State.
Pepperdine played against UCLA on Tuesday after The Malibu Times went to print. The Waves will travel to New Orleans this weekend to play a three-game series against Tulane.
Pepperdine volleyball returns to winning style
The Pepperdine University men’s volleyball team defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-2 (30-24, 30-26, 35-37, 26-30, 15-13), Saturday night in front of the home crowd. The win snapped a two-match losing streak and elevated the Waves to an 8-3 record.
Pepperdine Junior John Parfitt had a career-high 27 kills on .457 hitting. Freshman Paul Carroll had 21 kills. Senior Andy Hein sealed the victory for Pepperdine with his 14th kill of the night and junior Jon Grobe added 10.
The Waves limited the Matadors to just .280 hitting and recorded 26 total blocks, led by junior Tom Hulse’s 12. Hein was second for the Waves in blocks with nine. Carroll and Parfitt had eight blocks a piece, while Grobe had seven.
Pepperdine will be on the road this weekend, playing in Stockton on Friday against Pacific and in Palo Alto on Saturday against Stanford. The Waves will return to Los Angeles County next Wednesday for a match at UCLA. Pepperdine’s next home match is the following day against Long Beach State. All the matches will begin at 7 p.m.
-Carley Dryden and Jonathan Friedman