Sports scene: Athlete of Month, three-star players
Twins Alex and Shea Copeland, respective stars of the Harvard-Westlake boys varsity basketball team and girls track and field squad, are headed for the Ivy League. A 6-3 senior guard for the Wolverines, Alex was averaging 25.7 points a game in January and coming off a 40-point game against Alemany, when he was named “Athlete of the Month.” He’s been accepted into Yale. His sister is starting her final track-and-field season as the school record holder in the 100 meters. She’s headed to Princeton.
For the third consecutive season, the Harvard-Westlake baseball team is partnering with the Vs. Cancer Foundation, raising money to help local children fight cancer. Wolverines Baseball has raised $16,000 for the foundation since 2013, when player former second baseman Austin Schoff—now a freshman at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps—led the initial fundraising drive in honor of fallen teammate Christopher “Beebop” Robinson, who succumbed to cancer in 2011. Those who wish to donate funds can do so here.
Loyola High School defensive end Christian Rector signed a letter of intent to play for USC in the fall. Ranked as a “three-star” player and the 26th best high school senior at his position in the U.S. last season by Rivals, Rector is part of the class ranked No. 1 in the nation by the athlete recruiting service. Rector was recruited by UCLA, Arizona State, Miami and Wisconsin, just to name a few of the other schools vying for the pass rusher’s services.
Led by senior scoring sensation Chase Henning, the Pilgrim School girls basketball team won the Omega League championship, entering its Feb. 10 game with Newbury Park Adventist with a 12-3 overall mark and a 5-0 record in conference play. Henning, the Patriots’ captain and leading scorer at 16.8 points per game during the regular season, scored more than 700 career points at the school. Pilgrim is also led by junior forward Erica Johnson, who averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game in regular season play.
Also taking a league title was the Marymount High School varsity basketball team, which overcame a nine-point deficit against Notre Dame Sherman Oaks on Feb. 6 to win its first Sunshine League championship since 2011. In their 56-45 win, the Sailors were led by Michaela and Caitlin Keefe, who each put in 18 points. Rhapsody Washington and Paige Tademaru each contributed 10 points. The Notre Dame triumph came three days after the Sailors beat the Marymount faculty 39-14 in the annual game pitting the varsity players against their teachers.
Wilshire Warriors Pony Baseball has begun its Spring 2015 campaign. Warriors travel teams will once again be competing in the Mid-Valley League in Encino. The recreational league, which includes more than 500 players spread across eight age divisions, begins play at Pan Pacific Park in late March.
By Daniel Frankel, Chronicle sports columnist
Category: Entertainment
