Briefly In Sports

Laguna’s Smith wins half-marathon

Cheryl Smith of Laguna Beach, along with a pair of runners from Long Beach and a female competitor from Ohio, took top honors Sunday at the 15th annual Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach. Smith, 30, was the top finisher in the women’s half-marathon in 1 hour 17 minutes 48 seconds.

Gilbert Salazar, 38, was the top male runner in the marathon, winning the event in 2:35.2. Jimmy Grabow, 26, was the winner of the men’s half-marathon with a course-record 1:03.37. Both Salazar and Grabow reside in Long Beach.

The women’s marathon winner was 35-year-old Beth Woodward (3:00.59) of Orrville, Ohio. George Border of Huntington Beach, at 82 the oldest participant in the full marathon, finished in 5:22.15.

The event drew more than 21,000 competitors from all 50 states and 18 countries. For full results from Sunday’s event, visit https://www.runsurfcity.com.

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Breakers ranked in girls’ water polo, boys’ hoops

The Laguna Beach High girls’ water polo and boys’ basketball teams find themselves ranked in this week’s CIF Southern Section winter sports polls.

The girls’ water polo team, fresh off an impressive run last weekend at the Irvine Southern California Championships, rose from seventh to fifth in the Division 1 poll. Undefeated Dos Pueblos tops the poll again. The Chargers are followed by Los Alamitos, Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara, Foothill, Edison, Fountain Valley and San Marcos.

The boys’ basketball team is No. 9 in Division 4A. Leading the poll is Oaks Christian and the remainder of the top 16 is: Maranatha, Paraclete, Morningside, JSerra, Whittier Christian, Ontario Christian, Buckley, Laguna Beach, Santa Paula, Burroughs/Ridgecrest, La Puente, Desert Hot Springs, La Salle, Morrow Bay and Big Bear.

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Junior tennis players sought

All Court Tennis is registering players for its spring Junior Team Tennis teams. Players can register in 10-, 12- and 14-and-Under divisions, as well as at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.

New to this year’s lineup is a Quickstart 10-and-Under division. Interested players can register through the city of Laguna Beach. For placement and information, contact Coach Julie Heussenstamm at [email protected] or visit https://www.allcourttennis.com.