CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

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The CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings released Monday, Oct. 16.

Compiled by PrepCalTrack.com

BOYS DIVISION 1

1 Great Oak

2 San Clemente

3 Mira Costa

4 Trabuco Hills

5 Beckman

6 Crescenta Valley

7 M.L. King

8 Millikan

9 Redondo Union

10 Aliso Niguel

11 Loyola

12 Warren

13 Rancho Cucamonga

BOYS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 Santa Barbara

3 Glendora

4 Newbury Park

5 Hart

6 Woodbridge

7 El Toro

8 Tesoro

9 El Dorado

10 Ayala

11 La Serna

12 Foothill

13 Canyon/Anaheim

BOYS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 Santa Margarita

3 West Ranch

4 Thousand Oaks

5 Redlands East Valley

6 Moorpark

7 Oak Park

8 Agoura

9 Corona del Mar

10 Canyon/Canyon Country

11 Mission Viejo

12 Capistrano Valley

13 West Torrance

BOYS DIVISION 4

1 St. Francis

2 JSerra

3 Palos Verdes

4 St. John Bosco

5 Foothill Technology

6 South Pasadena

7 Cathedral

8 Oaks Christian

9 Harvard-Westlake

10 Rim of the World

11 Burroughs/Ridgecrest

12 La Canada

13 El Segundo/Fillmore

BOYS DIVISION 5

1 Ontario Christian

2 St. Margaret’s

3 Woodcrest Christian

4 Viewpoint

5 Brentwood

6 Windward

7 Hawthorne MSA

8 Crossroads

9 Flintridge Prep

10 Desert Christian

11 Samueli Academy

12 Heritage Christian

13 Providence

GIRLS DIVISION 1

1 Santiago/Corona

2 Trabuco Hills

3 Saugus

4 Vista Murrieta

5 Great Oak

6 Redondo Union

7 Santa Monica

8 Mira Costa

9 San Clemente

10 Chino Hills

11 Huntington Beach

12 M.L. King

13 Los Alamitos

GIRLS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 El Toro

3 Claremont

4 Murrieta Valley

5 Ayala

6 Citrus Valley

7 Newbury Park

8 Canyon/Anaheim

9 Tesoro

10 Woodbridge

11 La Serna

12 Westlake

13 Peninsula

GIRLS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 West Torrance

3 Yorba Linda

4 Shadow Hills

5 Santa Margarita

6 North Torrance

7 Oak Park

8 Thousand Oaks

9 Capistrano Valley

10 Moorpark

11 South Torrance

12 Fullerton

13 Pacifica/Garden Grove

GIRLS DIVISION 4

1 JSerra

2 La Canada

3 Oaks Christian

4 South Pasadena

5 Palos Verdes

6 Harvard-Westlake

7 Laguna Beach

8 Rim of the World

9 Fillmore

10 Orange Lutheran

11 Covina

12 Burroughs/Ridgecrest

13 Bishop Amat

GIRLS DIVISION 5

1 St. Margaret’s

2 St. Lucy’s Priory

3 Western Christian

4 Providence

5 Sage Hill

6 Viewpoint

7 Samueli Academy

8 Hawthorne MSA

9 Pasadena Poly

10 Flintridge Prep

11 Ontario Christian

12 Temecula Prep

13 Chadwick/Linfield Christian

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: It’s Monday Night Frustration for Chargers’ offense

• October 17, 2023

INGLEWOOD — Revenge is a dish served cold. But the Chargers misunderstood the assignment.

Because they froze up on the big stage. Monday night’s showcase game became an exercise in futility for the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore against the Dallas Cowboys, the team whom he’d coached the previous eight seasons before they parted ways in January.

It was a Monday Night Flunk.

The Chargers lost, 20-17, at SoFi Stadium, replicating the score of a loss to Moore and his old crew two seasons ago in L.A.

That time, Dak Prescott drove Dallas down the field for a game-winning field goal. This time, Justin Herbert, under pressure all night, finally succumbed on the Chargers’ last drive.

He was sacked for the first time on second down and then intercepted a play later, a whimper in tune with the Chargers’ offensive output for most of the contest.

After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the Chargers (2-3) passed on a field-goal gimme opportunity, going for it on fourth-and-1 at the 7-yard line with 7:47 to play in the third quarter – and coming up empty when Herbert couldn’t connect with Joshua Palmer in the end zone.

The Bolts scored only one more touchdown after that, a nifty play call freeing up tight end Gerald Everett for a 1-yard touchdown catch with 7:15 to play.

Otherwise, it was Monday Night funk for a stagnant offense that had, at times, shown signs of forward progress in Moore’s first season in L.A.

For one, Herbert had turned over the ball just once before Monday. And coming in, the Chargers’ red zone touchdown percentage was much improved: 68.8% (fifth in the NFL), while Dallas’ was 36.8% (28th).

The Bolts also showed up for work Monday ranked fifth in the league in total offense (388.8 yards per game) and sixth in passing (269.0).

But against the Cowboys (4-2), Moore wasn’t exactly living up to the allegations about him, not quite cutting that swashbuckling figure that Dallas coach Mike McCarthy claimed him to be after the split in January, when the coach said in an interview that his former offensive coordinator was focused on wanting to “light the scoreboard up.”

“I want him to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense,” McCarthy went on. “I think when you’re a coordinator, you know but you’re in charge of the offense. Being a head coach and being a play caller, you’re a little more in tune with (everything). I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with the number of wins and a championship.”

On Monday, the Chargers ran the damn ball almost as often as Dallas (23 carries vs. 26) – but to little avail, even with Austin Ekeler healthy and back on the field. The Bolts gained only 53 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, Herbert never could get comfortable, completing 22 of 37 pass attempts for 227 yards, the two TDs and the deciding interception with 1:29 to play.

And Moore – under whom the Chargers were averaging five more offensive points per game than last year, while the Cowboys had been scoring an average of 5.2 fewer – wasn’t able to derive a benefit from any insider knowledge of his former team.

The Chargers scored their fewest points of the season, as Herbert failed to complete even 60% of his passes for the second consecutive game.

“I missed a couple receivers, I threw some bad passes,” said Herbert, the fourth-year signal caller who signed a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension before the season.

Herbert blamed himself and embattled head coach Brandon Staley credited Dallas: “It was a high-level game between two teams that are really, really good.”

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And really, really good at drawing penalties: The Chargers had nine of them for 79 yards and Dallas was called for 11 for 85 – a trend that didn’t help either offense find a rhythm.

Including Moore’s.

He’d said more than once that he wasn’t out for vengeance Monday, telling reporters this week: “I think a lot of that stuff is pretty overrated. At the end of the day, It’s getting on the field and playing 11-on-11.”

But c’mon. He’d have liked it if the Chargers lit up the scoreboard with a big scoring statement.

Instead, it was Monday Night Frustration, and the neon, flashing message, as delivered by Herbert postgame: “There’s a lot to work on, a lot to improve on.”

​ Orange County Register 

NLCS: Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos power Phillies past Diamondbacks in Game 1

• October 17, 2023

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper smashed the first pitch he saw on his 31st birthday into the seats, Kyle Schwarber hit his first homer of the postseason and Nick Castellanos also went deep again to power the Philadelphia Phillies past the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-3, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Monday night.

Harper held up three fingers on his left hand and one on his right and pretended to blow them out like candles on a cake as he crossed the plate. Harper, who also walked, scored twice and knocked in two runs, hit his 10th homer in two postseasons with the Phillies.

“I’ve always wanted to play on my birthday,” he said before the game.

Zack Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the defending NL champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Wheeler sawed two bats in half during the first two innings, leaving the Diamondbacks with more pieces of busted lumber than hits through five.

José Alvarado got four big outs on 15 pitches and Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Arizona was stuck with its first loss of the postseason after ripping off five straight wins against the Brewers and Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks were simply the latest team to unravel under the red storm of 45,396 towel-waving, deliriously cheering fans at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies never gave fans a reason to stop – or a chance for Arizona to catch its breath until it was too late.

Schwarber started the home run derby when he launched Zac Gallen’s first pitch 420 feet into the right-field seats. There was some minor consternation that Schwarber – with 47 homers this season and 93 over the last two – had yet to go deep through six playoff games. How easy it was to forget that Schwarber didn’t hit any in the Wild Card Series or NLDS last season before he launched six in the NLCS and World Series. So those Schwarbombs might just be getting started.

“We know what type of guy Schwarber’s going to be for us. He’s huge in that 1 spot,” Harper said. “There’s never a doubt on how good he’s going to be. We’re excited to see what he can do in the NLCS and as we go.”

Four pitches later, Harper homered – the first time in 127 postseason games that Philadelphia went deep twice in the first inning.

When Castellanos lined his fifth homer of the playoffs in the third – all in the past three games – it gave the Phillies 32 home runs in 13 postseason games at Citizens Bank Park over the last two years.

The Kelce Bros approved. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – minus celebrity friend Taylor Swift – and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce went wild. Travis pointed to his brother as Jason pounded a beer in their suite.

Gallen, a South Jersey native, had his name derisively drawn out to “Galll-ennnn” by Phillies fans each time the 17-game winner got into a jam. Too many times, for Arizona.

Trea Turner hit a one-double in the third, leaving first base open. Gallen pitched to Harper instead of walking him and got burned by an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

J.T. Realmuto added an RBI single in the fifth.

“Gallen, he’s been throwing the ball well all year. Just tried to get on top of him as much as we could, score early,” Harper said. “Schwarber starting the game off right there was huge for us.”

Those runs proved crucial for the Phillies. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run homer off Wheeler in the sixth that made it 5-2.

Seranthony Domínguez opened the door in the seventh for the Diamondbacks when his throwing error on a comebacker led to an unearned run. Alvarado retired pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera on a groundout to keep it 5-3 and tossed a scoreless eighth.

SNAKE EYES

The Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, were held to four hits.

GOING DEEP

Schwarber’s fourth leadoff homer in the postseason moved him past Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter for most in baseball history.

Harper joined St. Louis’ Kolten Wong, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria and Kansas City’s Willie Aikens as the only players in postseason history to homer on his birthday.

Castellanos’ five homers in his last three postseason games – he hit two in consecutive games against Atlanta — made him the second player to hit those marks. New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson did it in the 1977 World Series.

UP NEXT

Arizona sends right-hander Merrill Kelly (1-0 postseason, 0.00 ERA) to the mound for Game 2. Right-hander Aaron Nola (2-0 postseason, 1.42 ERA) will start for the Phillies.

Nola is eligible for free agency after the World Series after he tabled contract extension talks with the team in spring training. Nola made $16 million this year on the club option that was part of the $45 million, four-year deal he signed ahead of the 2019 season. Nola said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia.

“I hope so. I really do,” Nola said before the game. “I love it here. Obviously, it’s the only place I’ve been. I came up through some special times in the rebuilding era ask and getting to witness and be a part of a lot of different type of teams.”

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Ana rent registry becomes legal liability

• October 17, 2023

In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act extending protections in housing to everyone regardless of race, religion, national origin or sex.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development created standards for how many people should be able to occupy a rental unit.

The 1974 Consumer Privacy Act was passed to protect the privacy rights of consumers when it comes to how data is collected and used.

California’s 2018 Consumer Privacy Protections were established to prevent the misuse of personal data.

Despite this, the city of Santa Ana has put the rights of tenants at risk.

Rent registries are not new, but typically they are limited to information about rent levels and increases associated with each unit being provided by the rental housing provider. Santa Ana’s registry, however, requires disclosing much more intrusive information. Under the penalty of perjury, rental property owners and operators must disclose to the city specific details about each unit – and their tenants.

The city of Santa Ana is mandating submission of all documents that a rental property owner or operator provides to their tenant as part of their private business transactions – including the actual lease agreement, addenda, notices, and any other documents the city deems necessary.

The city also wants to know the names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information for each resident in each rental unit – regardless of whether they are on the lease agreement.

Possibly, most shocking of all, the city of Santa Ana is also requiring rental property owners or operators to disclose – again, under penalty of perjury – the preferred language of the individual(s) in each unit.

In other words, the city wants to create a registry that asks tenants and property owners to provide evidence of potential violations:

The Fair Housing Act by asking for information related to the tenant’s race, ethnicity, or nationality.
The Housing and Urban Development standards by collecting information on every tenant or occupant.
The Consumer Privacy Act by providing private contracts between property owners/operators and tenants.
The California Consumer Privacy Protection Act by providing personally identifying information.As problematic as this policy is, considering how it could be used – or abused – is even more troubling.

The Guardian exposed in 2022 how interagency sharing of data between local, state, and federal jurisdictions is one of the key ways that law enforcement tracks their cases – agencies that include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Use of the Patriot Act has long been a concern of the American Civil Liberties Union – and so has the expansive use of data collection such as this.

More poignantly, in 2021 the Harvard International Review examined the use of AI and public and private databases as a method for identifying and tracking down suspects. The city of Santa Ana is feeding right into this practice with its rent registry.

Governing, the journal for municipal government, covered this issue extensively as far back as 2017, identifying the liability that municipalities face when government data breaches occur. These liabilities quickly run into the millions of dollars, not to mention the impact of individuals being exposed to identity theft.

The city of Santa Ana is assuming a great deal of financial liability if its rent registry database is breached and/or its contents exposed or shared inappropriately. American Express, United Airlines, Amazon, Microsoft, Bank of America and countless other major and minor corporations have all had to pay millions upon millions of dollars in settlements when their data was exposed – and consumers were hurt.

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You may also recall the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Transportation Corridor Agency paying out approximately $200 million in a 2021 class action lawsuit settlement stemming from their improper sharing of customer’s personal information with third parties, including debt collectors and other public agencies.

What is worse is that if you go back and read or watch the testimony given by members of the public at the time the city’s rental stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances were being considered, you will hear these very same concerns being raised.

Santa Ana tenants, housing providers, and taxpayers deserve better from their government. Tenants have a right to have their private information protected. Rental property owners and operators should not be compelled to provide their or their tenants’ personal data to the city. And taxpaying residents and businesses should not be on the hook for hefty penalties, fines, and financial settlements resulting from poorly prepared policies.

Chip Ahlswede is Vice President of External Affairs at the Apartment Association of Orange County.

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers’ comeback attempt picked off as Cowboys hold on to win

• October 17, 2023

INGLEWOOD — The Chargers had one final chance to pull out a third consecutive victory, a third consecutive narrow victory, but a two-minute drill went haywire and the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 20-17 victory on Monday night at SoFi Stadium.

Stephon Gilmore intercepted Justin Herbert’s desperation pass with a little more than a minute to play.

The Cowboys then ran out the clock on the Chargers’ comeback hopes.

Dallas broke a 10-10 tie with Dak Prescott’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter. Herbert connected with Gerald Everett for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 7:11 remaining, tying the score again, after taking advantage of a successful coach’s challenge.

Upon review, the Chargers recovered a fumbled punt at the Cowboys’ 20-yard line and Herbert drove them for the tying score. The drive was aided by a defensive holding penalty that moved the ball to the Dallas 5. Herbert then converted a fourth-and-goal from the 1, hitting Everett.

Dallas went in front 20-17 on Brandon Aubrey’s 39-yard field goal with 2:19 left.

Herbert played with a white glove to protect the fractured left middle finger on his non-throwing hand and completed 22 of 37 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He misfired on a couple of throws, but any difficulty he might have had was due to the Cowboys’ pressure rather than an injured finger.

Running back Austin Ekeler played his first game since spraining his ankle in the Chargers’ season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins. Edge rusher Joey Bosa joined his teammates after skipping most of the past week’s practices because of a toe injury. Safety Alohi Gilman couldn’t play because of a heel injury.

Mayhem erupted well before the opening kickoff, with some members of the teams yelling and pushing and shoving each other as they went through their respective pregame warmup period. A group of Cowboys players ran through the Chargers’ defensive backs as they were doing a drill.

Cowboys backup defensive linemen Sam Williams and Mazi Smith were soon surrounded by a group of Chargers that included safeties Derwin James Jr. and Dean Marlowe and cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor and were soon joined by running backs Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley, among others.

Cooler heads prevailed and the fracas didn’t escalate as assistant coaches and game officials separated the players from each other quickly. The remainder of the warmup was uneventful and everyone returned without incident to their proper locker room to begin final preparations for the game.

When the action began for real, it looked as if it might be a high-scoring game with the teams trading touchdowns in the opening minutes. Herbert threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen to put the Chargers in front. The Cowboys countered with Prescott’s 18-yard touchdown run.

It then turned into a test of wills, with an occasional flurry of effective offense followed by an ill-advised penalty or two and some sound defense. The Chargers had trouble protecting Herbert from the Cowboys and the Cowboys struggled to keep the Chargers’ pass-rushers away from Prescott.

Neither team could break the 7-7 tie until Aubrey kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. The Cowboys’ drive was aided by an unnecessary roughing penalty on James after a 15-yard completion from Prescott to tight end Jake Ferguson, giving Dallas a first down at the 17.

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The Chargers were penalized four times for 45 yards in the first half; the Cowboys were penalized six times for 45 yards, including once for an illegal formation on a punt. The Chargers accepted the penalty and forced Bryan Anger to punt from his own end zone. He boomed the next one 53 yards.

It was a little chippy, but also very sloppy.

Herbert could have given the Chargers a 14-7 lead, but he missed an open Allen sprinting down the sideline for what looked like a certain touchdown. Herbert’s pass sailed out of bounds, the Chargers’ drive stalled and then Prescott led the Cowboys on a drive that resulted in Aubrey’s last-season field goal.

The Chargers would tie it 10-10 on Cameron Dicker’s third-quarter field goal.

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS girls tennis polls, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

The CIF-SS girls tennis polls, released Monday, Oct. 16

Selected by the CIF-SS Girls Tennis Committee.

DIVISION 1

1. Mater Dei

2. Westlake

3. Palos Verdes

4. Mira Costa

5. Peninsula

6. Portola

7. Harvard-Westlake

8. Corona del Mar

9. Los Osos

10. ML King

Others: Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, University, Woodbridge, Beckman, Santa Margarita, Foothill/SA, Yorba Linda

DIVISION 2

1. Calabasas

2. Santa Barbara

3. Great Oak

4. Agoura

5. Temecula Valley

6. Laguna Beach

7. San Clemente

8. Orange Lutheran

9. Crescenta Valley

10. Crossroads

Others: Dos Pueblos, The Archer School for Girls, Vista Murrieta

DIVISION 3

1. Oaks Christian

2. Cerritos

3. Mark Keppel

4. Cate

5. Pasadena Poly

6. Dana Hills

7. St. Margaret’s Episcopal

8. Canyon/Anaheim

9. Notre Dame/SO

10. Bonita

Others: Ayala, Fullerton, Marymount, Riverside Poly, Redlands, Roosevelt, South Pasadena

DIVISION 4

1. Crean Lutheran

2. Oxford Academy

3. Laguna Blanca

4. San Dimas

5. Arlington

6. Buckley

7. Carpinteria

8. La Quinta/Westminster

9. Webb

10. Mayfair

Others: Garden Grove, Malibu, Louisville, Hillcrest, Serrano, Thacher, Warren

DIVISION 5

1. CAMS

2. Valley View

3. Citrus Hill

4. Century

5. Western

6. Mission Viejo

7. Patriot

8. Rim of the World

9. Indian Springs

T10. Indio

T10. Oakwood

T10. Quartz Hill

Others: Bolsa Grande, Brea Olinda, Diamond Bar, Lancaster

DIVISION 6

1. Liberty/Winchester

2. Western Christian

3. Woodcrest Christian

4. Estancia

5. Linfield Christian

6. Summit

7. Silverado

8. Los Amigos

9. Garey

10. Twentynine Palms

Others: Village Christian, Workman, Hueneme, Colton, Rubidoux, Paramount

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Monday, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Monday, Oct. 16

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

MONDAY’S SCORES

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 32, Irvine 6

SUNSET LEAGUE

Newport Harbor 25, Marina 12

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Kennedy 13, Cypress 6

Valencia 19, Tustin 8

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Orange 27, Ocean View 13

BOYS WATER POLO

NONLEAGUE

Kennedy 10, Katella 2

GIRLS TENNIS

605 LEAGUE

Whitney 14, Oxford Academy 4

​ Orange County Register 

17 again: USC’s London Wijay is starring as the youngest kid on the court

• October 17, 2023

LOS ANGELES – London Wijay, for all intents and purposes, was not supposed to be sitting here, feet planted on the $275,000 volleyball court at USC’s Galen Center, the court that enticed her to make the most daunting decision of her young life.

She was supposed to be walking the halls, instead, at Alemany High, 17 years old and clutching the pearls of a last year of youth like her own personal coming-of-age movie. Not here, not calling a collegiate dorm home, all of 135 pounds and choosing voluntarily to skip senior year of high school to compete on collegiate courts with girls four years older.

What about senior prom? What about senior sendoff?

Eh, she shrugs. Never really her thing.

As she speaks this September afternoon, a stark reminder of her youth walks into the Galen Center. Utah volleyball, players older and bigger and wiser than her, coming to warm up for practice before USC-Utah volleyball in a couple days. She’s asked, looking across the court at them – does she still feel 17, now, when she’s going head-to-head against collegiate teams.

“I love being the youngest – I love being the youngest,” Wijay repeats, grinning. “It’s underrated.”

After Wijay made the decision in late July to commit to USC and simultaneously skip the last year of a standout career at Alemany High, she had just a few weeks – half the time for everyone else – to get acclimated before the Trojans’ first game. She barely played for the first two weeks of the season, and Wijay’s mood sagged, a homesick kid who felt in over her head.

Why did I do this?

And then Keller subbed her in in the middle of a tight third set against Illinois in mid-September, no time to prepare or even think, and Wijay instantly knocked a kill. And then another. A few days later, she led USC with 24 kills – on a team with AVCA All-American Skylar Fields – in a rivalry game against UCLA. On the year, albeit missing a couple weeks recently with a minor injury, the freshman is second on the team in points per set.

“She’s fearless,” Keller said. “She legitimately is fearless. She’s not afraid of anything … and for that age, for her to have that ability is almost a superpower.”

Naturally impulsive, too. Comfort zones don’t exist. Have never existed.

Around 4 years old, Wijay would gather up rocks from the family’s backyard, put them in a little box, and bring them to club volleyball games coached by mother Morgan. There, she’d stroll the sidelines and peddle said stones for cash, hoodwinking innocent moms who couldn’t possibly say no. She’d take home upwards of $20, Morgan remembered.

In high school, Wijay told her mother she was running for class president. Morgan, who was her coach at Alemany, knew who Ms. Popular was. Knew she wasn’t going to win. She didn’t.

So the next day, Wijay came back and announced she was running for vice president. She didn’t win that either. She pivoted to secretary.

“That’s London,” Morgan said. “She just puts herself in these environments, that’s, like, she doesn’t care about rejection. She’s a kid. She doesn’t care about failing.”

And it was in such an environment in early June, at the airport flying out for a match with club team Munciana – a nationally-renowned program based out of Indiana – when Keller called to not only recruit Wijay, but propose she enroll right away.

“At the beginning of it, we thought, ‘Brad, this is ludicrous,’” Morgan said.

But it was an opportunity. And Wijay didn’t often say no to opportunity. So she made a decision – she’d boot-camp her way through online classes, see if she could finish over the summer to be eligible, and make a decision.

At the end of July, sitting down with Keller and her parents, Wijay opened her mouth and the decision just kind of … slipped out.

“It was like, ‘I came all the way here,’” Wijay said. “Might as well.”

You have to be careful, Keller said, to make sure a kid’s makeup is appropriate for such a transition. And it wasn’t as if Wijay had raw, physical tools that made the transition seem natural; she was an outside hitter standing 5-foot-10, the shortest non-libero-or-setter on USC’s roster.

But Wijay had been playing at 17-plus levels since she was 12 years old. Was a two-time CIF Southern Section Player of the Year at Alemany in a deep Southern California talent pool. And Keller wanted an all-around volleyball mind – someone with adept ball control who could, as mom-turned-high-school-coach Morgan said, play a clean game to enable players like Fields to “take bigger risks on swings.”

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Keller didn’t quite anticipate, though, the kid’s ability to put plays away.

“Every time you look up, and she’s already swinging, you’re like, ‘You’re not gonna score here, it’s gonna be like a zero or keep the ball in play or recycle,’” Keller said. “And she finds ways to score, and every time I turn around, I go, ‘I don’t know how she did that.’”

She still feels young on this team, Wijay admits, back that September afternoon after practice. But she does young things. Just part of who she is. She gestures with jet-black-painted fingernails, a practice she started in high school, feeling it was sort of an “alter ego” that gave her strength.

“I feel like my 17-year-old self is for sure in me, and I don’t think it will leave until I actually start to grow up a bit.”

Makes sense. She is still 17, after all, believe it or not.

​ Orange County Register