HOT OFF THE PRESS.

Byline: - By Erik Boal

Clausen, DiLuigi, Tyler up for honors

Oaks Christian of Westlake Village's Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler, along with Canyon of Canyon Country's J.J. DiLuigi, are among the six finalists for Cal-Hi Sports' Mr. Football State Player of the Year award.

Joining Clausen (Notre Dame), Tyler (USC) and DiLuigi (BYU) are Orange Lutheran quarterback Aaron Corp (USC), West Bakersfield quarterback Ryan Mathews and Salesian of Richmond running back Jahvid Best (Cal).

Clausen finished as the state's all-time passing touchdowns leader with 146 and was second in state history with 10,677 passing yards.

He completed his senior season with 3,428 yards and 49 touchdowns.

Tyler rushed for 1,700 yards and scored 25 touchdowns before suffering a broken leg against St. Bernard of Playa del Rey in the Lions' Southern Section Northern Division playoff opener. He finished his career with 123 touchdowns.

DiLuigi rushed for 2,160 yards -- giving him more than 4,000 over the past two years -- and scored 39 touchdowns to finish with 82 in his career.

According to Cal-Hi Sports editor Mark Tennis, the winner will be announced sometime this weekend.

Final statement: Oaks Christian ended the year as the state's top-ranked football team, according to Cal-Hi Sports, but there were several other area teams that finished among the top 50.

Canyon of Canyon Country (No. 3), Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (No. 8), Westlake (No. 19), Moorpark (No. 20), Birmingham of Lake Balboa (No. 26), Hart of Newhall (No. 30) and Crespi of Encino (No. 40) also received recognition.

Tennis anyone?: The cold temperatures in the San Fernando Valley haven't slowed down Harvard-Westlake of Studio City junior Ryan Thacher, who advanced to today's final in the boys' 18-under singles draw at the California Bowl at Calabasas Swim and Tennis Center.

Thacher, the tournament's top seed, recorded his fifth consecutive straight-set victory Wednesday, defeating No. 9 Andre Feliz of San Gabriel 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Thacher will face No. 8 Ahmed Ismail, who trains at the Weil Academy in Ojai, at 12:30 p.m. today.

Former Calabasas High standout and Virginia freshman Kristen McVitty, the top seed in the girls' 18-under draw, was forced to withdraw from Wednesday's semifinal match against Ojai's Tanya Raykova because of a foot injury.

McVitty had foot surgery during the fall and was using the chance to compete in her hometown as an opportunity to rehabilitate.

Following Tuesday's three-set quarterfinal victory over Peninsula of Rolling Hills Estates' Rika Tatsuno, McVitty was advised by her doctor not to compete Wednesday.

Raykova will face Brentwood's Logan Hansen, the reigning Southern Section singles champion, at 12:30 p.m. today in the championship match.

Schwartz makes selection: Harvard-Westlake of Studio City boys' water polo standout Corey Schwartz has committed to Brown.

Schwartz was a first-team All-Mission League and second-team All- Southern Section Div. I selection this season for the league champion Wolverines.

Peterson shines at SPARQ: La Canada senior running back Lavelle Peterson finished fourth out of 400 competitors Saturday at the SPARQ testing event at Home Depot Center in Carson, held simultaneously with the three CIF State Championship Bowl games.

Peterson, who finished with 2,444 yards and 30 touchdowns, excelled in the competition that featured the vertical jump, standing broad jump, 10- yard dash, 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, L-drill, 185-pound bench press, 5 kg Power Ball throw and two vision/reaction tests.

Fua on the mend: Crespi of Encino's wrestling team might be getting Alani Fua back soon after doctors removed a cast on his thumb.

The younger brother of last year's state heavyweight champion Sione Fua, Alani broke his thumb late in the football season and hasn't yet stepped foot on a mat to compete. He should be ready to wrestle within a week or two, according to coach Mike Odman.

Pooling their resources: Royal of Simi Valley's girls' water polo team hasn't had use of a pool this week for practice. The Highlanders, who have two games this week, planned dry land workouts after their home pool at Rancho Simi Park closed Monday for scheduled maintenance and practice time was unavailable at other local pools.

Royal hopes to have its pool available again by the time its next home game is scheduled, Jan. 10 against Newbury Park.

National recognition: Five local girls' volleyball teams finished among the top 500 in the country in the year-end poll published by PrepVolleyball.com.

Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, a Southern Section Div. I-A semifinalist, received the highest honors at No. 51.

Flintridge Sacred Heart of La Canada Flintridge (No. 280), Thousand Oaks (No. 282), Westlake (No. 283) and Moorpark (No. 493) rounded out the list.

Swimming the Pacific: Four area athletes were selected to represent Southern California Swimming at the Pacific Coast Championships, scheduled for Jan. 20-21, 2007, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Class Aquatics' Haley Preston, Swim Pasadena's Andrea Kropp, and Nui Harris and Bob Hwang of Canyons Aquatics will compete on the 32-swimmer roster, which will race against 11- to 14-year-olds from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

-- Heather Gripp and Ivan Orozco contributed

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