Westlake Serves Notice at Tourney

Westlake High looked like a state title contender last Saturday in the Santa Barbara tournament.

The Warriors defeated highly regarded Santa Margarita, Bishop Montgomery and Mira Costa in the tournament playoffs en route to a championship appearance against Mountain View St. Francis.

Westlake lost to St. Francis in five games, but showed it should be a force in the state playoffs, which begin next month after Southern Section playoffs.

“There were a ton of great teams there,” Westlake setter Brooke Rundle said. “If we make it to the state finals, we’ll probably see them again.”

Kuhn hobbled: Melissa Kuhn of Kennedy High is out for the season with possible ligament damage in her right ankle.

Kuhn, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker who has committed to Fresno State, injured the ankle in a match against Taft. More tests on the ankle will be done this week after her cast is removed.

WATER POLO

Competitive search: With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, water polo powers from the region are trying to sharpen their skills against top-notch nonleague competition.

La Canada, which defeated 10-time Rio Hondo League champion South Pasadena last Thursday, will travel to Bell Gardens today to face the two-time defending Division III champion Lancers. La Canada is ranked No. 1 in the division; Bell Gardens is No. 2.

On Thursday, Royal, ranked second in Division IV, will play host to Crescenta Valley, the No. 5 team in Division III.

Harvard-Westlake, ranked fourth in Division I, will travel to the State Invitational in San Jose this weekend. Long Beach Wilson, the top-ranked team in the state, is among those participating.

CROSS COUNTRY

For the record: The top runners from the Thousand Oaks High girls’ team in the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational were misidentified in Sunday editions. Freshman Kelly Hess placed 18th and senior Erin Sorensen placed 19th in the individual sweepstakes race.