DOLPHIN REPORT

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, DANA POINT TIMES

For in-game updates, news and more for all of the Dana Hills High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports and on Instagram @South_OC_Sports.

Noonan Wins 1,600-Meter, Named Distance Runner of OC Championships

Dana Hills picked up just two event wins at the Orange County Championship on Saturday, April 15, but sophomore Evan Noonan’s run in the boys 1,600 meters lit up the track at Mission Viejo High School.

Noonan put a time of 4:10.22 to win the event by seven seconds and post the top time in the state by a sophomore this season. For Noonan’s stellar personal-record run, he was named the distance runner of the meet.

Noonan, who won CIF-SS and CIF State titles during the cross country season in the fall, has won four races this spring—two 1,600-meter wins at the Irvine Invitational and Orange County Championships and two 3,200-meter wins in a dual meet against Capistrano Valley and at the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational.

Noonan improved his 1,600-meter time from last season’s Orange County Championships by 41 seconds.

Dana Hills also picked up a win in the girls 4x800-meter relay with a combined time of 9:48.23 to beat out second-place Woodbridge by nine seconds.

The Dolphins nearly picked up another individual win in the girls 800-meter, which was decided by less than half a second. Dana Hills senior Allura Markow posted a personal-record time of 2:10.38 to nearly chase down Newport Harbor sophomore Keaton Robar, but Robar just managed to stay ahead of Markow by a margin of 0.38 seconds.

Markow also put up a strong effort in the girls 3,200-meter at 10:52.63. However, Markow finished fourth behind JSerra’s Brynn Garcia (10:34.20), Santa Margarita’s Sophie Polay (10:46.66) and JSerra’s Kaylah Tasser (10:52.17). It was Markow’s first time running the 3,200 this season, and she won the event as a junior last season.

Dana Hills’ next best finisher came in the girls jumps, where sophomore Gabriella Salinas put up two top-five finishes. Salinas finished fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 34 feet, 9.25 inches and fifth in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 5.5 inches.

Also on the girls side, sophomore Annie Ivarsson finished seventh in the 1,600-meter at 5:05.20, and sophomore Sydni Harden tied for seventh in the pole vault with a clearance of 10 feet, 1 inch.

To round out the boys, sophomore Jack Miller finished seventh in the 800-meter at 2:00.25 and senior Josh Chernekoff finished ninth at 2:00.54—both personal records.

Junior Garrett Woodruff finished 10th in the 3,200 meters at 9:32.89, and junior Ben Yoneda put up a personal record in the pole vault with a clearance of 12 feet, 1 inch to finish 10th.

Dana Hills track and field will next run at the South Coast League Finals next Friday, April 28, at Trabuco Hills High School. Prelims are Tuesday, April 25.

Baseball Stays Alive in Playoff Race with League Upsets

While it hasn’t been the best season for a traditionally strong Dana Hills baseball program, the Dolphins have done enough to still have a shot at the playoffs going into the season’s final week.

The Dolphins scored two wins against league-title contenders Tesoro and Capistrano Valley in their last three games to set up a three-game, season-finale de facto playoff series against Trabuco Hills next week.

Trabuco Hills (12-12, 4-4) currently holds the third and final automatic playoff spot out of the South Coast League with Dana Hills (8-16, 3-5) one-game behind in the league standings. Both teams have one game on Friday, April 21, before facing off next week. The Dolphins are at Capistrano Valley, and the Mustangs host Mission Viejo.

Dana Hills will host Trabuco Hills on Tuesday, April 25, and in the finale on Friday, April 28. The Dolphins will travel for the middle game at Trabuco Hills on Wednesday, April 26.

Tesoro (16-8, 7-2) leads the South Coast League by a half-game over Capo Valley (12-11, 6-2).

Dana Hills stayed alive with a road shutout of Tesoro, 2-0, on Saturday, April 15. Senior pitcher Kade Murray tossed a full seven-inning shutout of the Titans with no runs allowed on four hits with four strikeouts. Junior Michael Rodgers and Grady Faris drove in seniors Chase Rodgers and Jack Gallison.

Capistrano Valley then shut out Dana Hills, 10-0, on Tuesday, April 18, but the Dolphins bounced back to edge out the Cougars, 3-2, at home on Wednesday, April 19.

Boys Volleyball Stays Hot, Wins Lancaster Tournament

Dana Hills boys volleyball is making a hard charge toward the end of the season and the start of the CIF-SS playoffs next week.

The Dolphins went a perfect 5-0 at the Lancaster Tournament on Saturday, April 15. Dana Hills has won 16 of its last 19 games to post a 20-win campaign for the first time since 2016.

Dana Hills has already qualified for its first CIF-SS playoffs since 2019 and closed out the regular season on Wednesday, April 19, but results were not available at press time.

CIF-SS playoffs will begin next Thursday, April 27.

Softball Breaks Through in League

It’s been a year of streaks for the Dana Hills softball team, but the Dolphins finally got on the board in the South Coast League in dramatic fashion on Monday, April 17.

Dana Hills trailed San Juan Hills, 2-0, entering their last chance in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Dolphins pushed through three runs to walk-off the Stallions, 3-2, and pick up their first league victory of the season.

Freshman Katie Erenyi went 2-for-3 with a triple, a steal, a walk and a RBI, and sophomore Melissa Reed drove in a run with a double. Senior Hannah Jones, junior Isabella Llamas and junior Cate Geaney all scored in the seventh for the Dolphins victory.

Reed picked up the win in the circle with a complete seven-inning performance allowing two runs, one earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Dana Hills couldn’t keep up that momentum on Wednesday, April 19, with a 10-0 loss to league-leading Tesoro. The Dolphins are 1-5 in South Coast League play and have been outscored 36-1 in their five league losses.

Dana Hills wraps up its season with two games next week. The Dolphins travel to San Juan Hills on Monday, April 24, and host Aliso Niguel on Wednesday, April 26. DP