Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s time to put the focus on track and field with the Arcadia Invitational on Saturday at Arcadia High.
Servite up for challenge 
Loyola’s Zion Phelps, left, and Ejam Yohannes are ready to perform at the Arcadia Invitational on Saturday.
(Craig Weston)
Fans will be treated to quite a scene Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational with Olympian Quincy Wilson coming to town with his team from Maryland‘s Bullis School.
It’s Servite’s 4×100 relay team that might present a tough test for Wilson and Bullis. The Friars’ Jace Wells, Jorden Wells, Kamil Pelovello and Benjamin Harris became the first boys’ team in state history to break the 40-second barrier Saturday with a time of 39.82 at the Trabuco Hills Invitational.
That’s a sweep of the 200m with all sub-21 times & the top 3️⃣ wind legal times in CA this season‼️
Benjamin Harris runs a 20.77 to just beat out Max Thomas ‘22 (20.78) for the meet record while Jorden Wells (20.90) and Kamil Pelovello (20.97) finish just behind in 2nd & 3rd! pic.twitter.com/DX8tViRtJG
— Servite Athletics (@ServiteSports) April 5, 2026
Coach Brandon Thomas is producing great sprinters at Servite.
🚨FINALLY! Cali Sub-40!🚨 @Servite_XC_TF @ServiteSports becomes the first boys 4×100 squad in state history to crack the elusive 40-second barrier! The Friars blazed 39.82 at today’s Trabuco Hills Invit’l to cook their own record of 40.00 from last year! Oh my!! 📸:… pic.twitter.com/OKwBvpIDzW
— Rich Gonzalez (@PrepCalTrack) April 4, 2026
Two Loyola runners, Ejam Yohannes and Zion Phelps, are gearing up for the 400 and 100 at Arcadia. Here’s a look at how both seemingly have come out of nowhere to become top athletes.
Another athlete to watch is Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel. She’s one of the premier shotputters and discus throwers in the nation.
The night portion of the invitational begins at 5. Here’s the link for tickets.
Baseball
The Boras Classic begins Tuesday at Mater Dei and JSerra. No. 1 St. John Bosco and No. 2 Orange Lutheran are in opposite brackets and could meet in Friday’s final. But St. John Bosco is in the toughest bracket and faces an early test from Norco on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at Mater Dei, then a possible second-round game against Huntington Beach.
Orange Lutheran and St. John Bosco enjoyed a memorable three-game series last week, with St. John Bosco winning two. Here’s a look back at the intensity of the series.
The top individual performance of the week belongs to Santa Margarita sophomore Tyler George, who threw nine innings and made 104 pitches in a 1-0 win over Mater Dei. He struck out seven with no walks. His season stats include a 7-0 record, 0.85 ERA and just two walks in 41 innings.
Justin Kirchner of Harvard-Westlake came through with a 13-strikeout no-hitter in an 8-0 win over Loyola.
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Jayden Rojas of Bell created real drama in an 8-7 win over Miami’s Gulliver Prep. He hit a walk-off, three-run triple in the bottom of the seventh. Bell is off to a 16-1 start.
Jake Ange of Thousand Oaks is up to seven home runs. He had two grand slams in one game against Calabasas. He’s also a starter for the boys’ basketball team.
Los Alamitos has forfeited six Sunset League games because of a situation similar to what several schools saw during the soccer season, with a player participating on an outside team, according to the Orange County Register.
The 16-team field for the Division 1 playoffs remains wide open and should include two rising teams in unbeaten Ganesha and 16-1 Linfield Christian, which upset La Mirada 2-1 last week.
Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.
Air Force man 
6-foot-5 third baseman/pitcher Malakye Matsumoto has come on strong this season for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. He’s committed to Air Force.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Malakye Matsumoto of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame was destined to end up at Air Force. His father and grandfather were in the Air Force and his uncle was in the Army. But he’s also headed there for his blossoming baseball skills. He’s hoping to be on the same path as Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, who came out of El Toro and went to Air Force for two years.
Here’s the report.
Softball 
Norco pitcher Coral Williams.
(Steve Galluzzo)
Norco lost its No. 1 ranking to unbeaten Murrieta Mesa weeks ago, but the Cougars let everyone know they are not going away after winning the Michelle Carew tournament championship. Here’s the report.
Mesa is 16-0 and resumes action this week with a two-game series against Murrieta Valley.
Chaminade pitcher Finley Suppan has been a big help for her team. Here’s the report.
Lacrosse
Loyola’s boys’ team continues to be ranked No. 1 in the state.
Santa Margarita and Mira Costa are in the girls’ rankings.
Notes…
Evan Barry is the new boys’ basketball coach at La Habra. He’s been a longtime assistant. …
The Jordan Brand Classic will be held April 17 at El Camino College with free admission. Girls game 5:30, boys at 7:30 p.m. Among players scheduled to participate are Jason Crowe Jr., Christian Collins, Maxi Adams, Cydee Bryant, Amalia Holquin.
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) March 30, 2026
The Jordan Brand Classic all-star game for senior basketball players will be held April 17 at El Camino College with free admission for fans. The girls’ game is at 5:30 p.m. and the boys’ game at 7:30 p.m. …
Former Long Beach Poly and USC running back Hershel Dennis is the new coach at Bellarmine Prep in Washington. …
Former Carson football player and coach Arnold Ale is now coach at Westlake in Saratoga Springs, Utah. …
Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood was named co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game, scoring 16 points and handing out five assists. …
Standout pitcher Jared Grindlinger of Huntington Beach committed to Tennessee, where his brother plays. Grindlinger, however, is expected to be drafted this summer. …
Erik Zimmerman has resigned as boys’ water polo coach at Mater Dei. …
Chaminade offensive lineman Jackson Hill committed to UCLA. …
All-American guard Brandon McCoy from Sierra Canyon announced he committed to Michigan.
From the archives: Joel Schaeffer 
Former Reseda football coach Joel Schaeffer with his wife before his death in 2013.
(Schaeffer family.)
It’s been 13 years since former Reseda High football coach Joel Schaeffer died in 2013. He had been coach for 23 years and helped create the school’s police academy. Several of his assistants went on to become coaches, and the field was named after him. He was known for “three yards and a cloud of dust” football and never apologized.
“One of the most important things I learned from coach was that I needed to know how important it was to help these kids become young men,” former Reseda coach Alonso Arreola said in 2013. “And that we had to find ways to use football as a resource to accomplish that goal.”
Here’s a story from 2001 on Schaeffer searching for answers after a player’s death.
Here’s a story from 1997 when Schaeffer commented about the lack of pay for City Section coaches.
Recommendations
From Footballscoop.com, a story on a small rural Texas high school deciding to build a $21-million sports facility.
From Chargers.com, a look at the promising players in girls’ flag football.
From Andscape.com, a profile of Inglewood guard Jason Crowe Jr.
From The Los Angeles Times, a story on how Westlake athletes are putting smiles on the faces of elementary school students.
Tweets you might have missed
It’s so shocking to see all these college basketball players transferring who also transferred in high school basketball. Just no idea in the world to figure out the trend.
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) March 31, 2026
That’s USC freshman QB Jonas Williams airing it long and connecting with freshman WR Trent Mosley for 6.
This duo has been absolutely tearing it up this Spring. The future is SO bright for USC ✌️ pic.twitter.com/CYmAEItdRG
— Trojan Football ✌️ ᶠᵃⁿ (@TrojanFBx) March 31, 2026
I don’t know if this is new thing but I’m seeing batters all season creep as close as possible in the on deck circle to see pitchers. Umpires have to intervene. pic.twitter.com/wiOuthnfaC
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) April 2, 2026 Until next time….
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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