CHATTER: FORMER MATER DEI COACH TAKES JOB AT THOUSAND OAKS.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Mary Houser was named the girls' basketball coach at Thousand Oaks on Thursday.

Houser is a proven winner, with a state championship to her credit when she coached at Mater Dei of Santa Ana in 1996.

``She was clearly our first choice and we're very excited to have her,'' Thousand Oaks athletic director Athol Wong said. ``Her general demeanor leads me to think that she is going to be a really effective teacher of our girl athletes. It was wonderful to put such a highly qualified female in a coaching position as a role model for our girls.''

Houser replaces longtime coach Chuck Brown, who retired after last season. Thousand Oaks made the Southern Section Div. I-A playoffs this season but lost to Lancaster in the wild-card round. ...

Area wrestling was represented well at the National High School Senior Wrestling Championships in Cleveland over the weekend.

Chris Gonzalez from Alemany of Mission Hills, Shawn Riggs of Thousand Oaks and Daniel Valencia of Camarillo each came away with at least one victory against the top prep wrestlers in the country.

Valencia, who became the fourth wrestler in region history to finish in the top two in state, won two matches before being eliminated in double overtime at 112 pounds.

``The competition was definitely the best I've seen,'' Valencia said. ``All the guys just had way more technique. I don't know if I was nervous or something, but I didn't do as well as I had hoped.''

Gonzalez also won two matches at 160 before being caught with his own signature headlock.

``It happens,'' Gonzalez said. ``It was still an awesome experience. It was pretty crazy. It's a big place for wrestling.''

Riggs won once at 171 before being eliminated by Scott Ferguson from Clovis of Fresno, who also beat Riggs at state.

California seniors who finished among the top eight in their weight class were invited to the national competition. ...

Dennis Pitta, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver from Moorpark, has decided to walk on at Brigham Young University.

``That's where I've wanted to go for a long time so I'm pretty happy with it,'' Pitta said. ``I've already been accepted academically, so I'm ready to go.''

Pitta plans to attend BYU for one year beginning in the fall, then take two years off for a Mormon mission. He led Moorpark with 63 catches for 950 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named to the Daily News All-Area first team as a defensive back. ...

Zach Verdin, a Westlake offensive lineman, was hoping for a scholarship offer from the University of Massachusetts, but it fell through. He has now set his sights on Portland State and is waiting to hear back. Verdin, who is 6-3 and 275 pounds, made the Daily News first team. ...

Merrill Mullaly, who followed Verdin's blocking to lead Westlake in rushing last season, also is considering walking on at Portland State. But Mullaly is favoring walking on at Utah State, where he visited a couple of weeks ago. ...

When California plays a key Pacific-10 Conference baseball series at UCLA this weekend, the Golden Bears will be without outfielder Brian Horwitz. The junior from Crespi High of Encino has been sidelined with a dislocated thumb.

Though he's expected back soon, Horwitz is not expected to play in the Bruins series, beginning with tonight's opener at Jackie Robinson Stadium. He's batting .293 with five home runs and 25 RBI. ...

USC's Blythe Hartley was named the Pac-10 women's diver of the year for the second consecutive season, and USC coach Hongping Li was named women's coach of the year.

Staff Writers Chris Cocoles and Jill Painter contributed to this report.