CHATTER AREA FOOTBALL TO BE WELL REPRESENTED AT WEEKEND'S L.A. INVITATIONAL.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

AAn estimated 2,000 high school athletes from across the country are expected to converge on the Sports Arena for the 43rd annual Los Angeles Invitational Indoor Track Meet next Saturday. Two of those faces should be familiar to area football fans.

Taft of Woodland Hills wide receiver Noah Smith and Birmingham of Lake Balboa's Chad Green, whose teams faced each other for this year's City Section championship, have entered the boys' 55 meters, organizer Al Franken said. The race is set for 6:10 p.m.

Smith is the defending City champion at 100 and 200 meters. He also will compete on Taft's mile relay with brothers Mike and Paul Pratt. Green, meanwhile, has entered the high school long jump, the event in which he won a City title last year.

Other area notables who have entered the meet: Monroe of North Hills' Manuel Ruiz (2 mile), Chaminade of West Hills' Jeff Stewart (shot put), Harvard-Westlake of Studio City's Lindsay Flacks (2 mile) and Canyon's Alisha Thompson (55-meter hurdles). Ruiz is the two-time defending City cross-country champion.

In addition, USC recruit Reggie Bush - one of the nation's top running backs - will headline the 55-meter high school football dash, a separate event featuring several of the area's top players. Franken said he tried to persuade Taft's Steve Smith to enter the race, but Smith was busy with the Toreadors' basketball team.

Kenyan miler Bernard Legat and American sprinter Jon Drummond are the featured attractions in the night's elite meet. The high school races begin at 10:30 a.m., with the elite races following at 6:30 p.m. Reserved tickets are $23, general admission is $10, available through Ticketmaster.

Information: [phone] or www.frankenenterprises.com. ...

Greig Carlson, a former Taft football player who walked on at USC two years ago and was the Trojans' top punt returner this season, has been awarded a scholarship by coach Pete Carroll.

Carlson heard the news Thursday when Carroll made the announcement in front of the team.

``It's kind of overwhelming and really awesome,'' Carlson said. ``I came every day ready to play, I worked hard and good things happened.''

Carlson, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound redshirt freshman, averaged 6.6 yards on 27 punt returns this season. His long was 41. ...

With USC sophomore pitcher Brett Bannister out until at least mid-March with an injured right elbow, the Trojans' bullpen will be anchored by freshman Bobby Paschal.

Paschal, a Chaminade High of West Hills product, should be a valuable two-way player for third-ranked USC - eventually. He's a good hitter but has been limited to pitching because he suffered a bruised left hand just before the season.

``The pitching thing is too important right now. The truth of the matter is, he's clearly one of our nine best hitters,'' coach Mike Gillespie said. ``We've had a tough time figuring out, should we start him or should we relieve him? So we decided, at least this first week, not to start him.''

So far so good. Paschal finished off UC Santa Barbara in his USC debut Tuesday by allowing an unearned run in two innings. ...

The California Community College Basketball Championships will be March 13-16 at UC San Diego and will feature the state's four top junior college men's and women's basketball teams. The tournament had been in Stockton the past two years.

No. 4 Antelope Valley is the highest-ranked local men's team in the latest Southern California regional poll. On the women's side, Valley, College of the Canyons, Moorpark and Antelope Valley all are ranked in the top 10.

Staff writer Gerry Gittelson and Chris Cocoles contributed to this report.