FOR STEVENS, PRINCETON HAS MODEL BASKETBALL PROGRAM.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

CANYON COUNTRY - Cheryl Stevens, a fashion model-turned-basketball standout from Canyon High, has committed to play Division I college ball at Princeton, considered one of the nation's most prestigious academic schools.

``It's official, and I'm so excited,'' said Stevens, a senior who's grown to 6-foot-3 1/2. ``I've been back there twice on an unofficial visit, then an official visit, and I just like everything about Princeton - the girls on the team, the coach, everything. And the fact it's the best college in the country doesn't hurt.''

Stevens, who averaged just six points per game as a junior, blossomed over the summer, averaging 16 points in club tournaments in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. She turned down a scholarship offer from Long Beach State and also considered Penn.

``I took a visit to Penn but I just love Princeton ... the whole vibe in general,'' Stevens said. ``I know it's going to be a tough school but believe me, they still know how to party there.''

At 14, Stevens landed a $50,000 modeling contract, traveling the globe while working as a runway model for such high-profile designers as Jill Stuart, Miguel Adrover, Jeremy Scott, Richard Tyler, Michelle Jenk, Petrozilia and others.

By her sophomore year at Canyon, she was so busy with modeling that she dropped from the varsity team to JV. But as Stevens grew taller, she outgrew her modeling career and began focusing only on basketball and academics last season.

``Cheryl Stevens is the real deal,'' second-year Canyon coach Stan Delus said. ``She's really worked hard over the past year and a half, and she learned some post moves.''

--Saugus High's Ryan Zirbel, considered the Foothill League's brightest young prospect, rushed for a freshman league record 283 yards and three touchdowns in Wednesday's season-ending 42-21 victory over Valencia. The performance broke Robbie Casselberry's record of 238 (Hart, 2002).

Zirbel, a 5-6, 153-pounder, finished the season with 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns in eight-plus games for an average of 138.8 per contest. He also was among the team's leading tacklers with an average of seven per game, along with seven sacks.

--Hartznel Dentistry, a local men's softball team led by a group of former local prep standouts, won a 70-team tournament in Henderson, Nev., last weekend, defeating a team from Riverside 17-16 in the championship.

Former Hart standout Mike Miller batted .833 with two home runs in five games over the two-day tournament, and shortstop Adam Solis (Saugus) was a standout on defense. Team manager Aaron Ingram, of Glendora, hit a grand slam in the final and finished with a team-best three homers.

Other team members included Saugus' Chad Solis and Anthony Smith, Hart's Chris Burrows and Billy Susdorf, and Valencia's Chris Duran.

--Harold Vollkommer, Terry Kaldhusdal, Fred Cornwell and Bob Rosene will be inducted into the Canyon High boys' basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Elks Lodge in Canyon Country.

Vollkommer (1977) was a four-year letterman who set a school career scoring record that stood for 14 years. Kaldhusdal (1979) and Cornwell (1979) helped Canyon to the Southern Section semifinals for its best-ever finish. Kaldhusdal earned All-Southern Section honors, and Cornwell, a three-year starter, eventually played professional football. Rosene coached at Canyon from 1975 to 1978 and was the school's first winning coach.

--Lost in the hoopla of quarterback Michael Herrick's record-breaking season at Valencia High has been the increasingly impressive performance of defensive back Rickie Crouch, a converted punter who transferred from Crenshaw of Los Angeles.

Playing defense for the first time, Crouch was a bit raw during the opening weeks of the season but finished with three interceptions (two in the Friday's finale against Saugus), returning one 70 yards for a touchdown. He also blocked five kicks on the season, which is believed to be a league record.

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(color) Canyon High center Cheryl Stevens, a former fashion model, has signed to play at Princeton of the Ivy League.

David Crane/Staff Photographer