Briefs: UCLA’s Williams earns honor

Corona del Mar High product Reed Williams, a junior forward at UCLA, was named first-team All-Pac-12 in men’s soccer.

Williams produced seven goals, tied for the team lead with teammate and Pac-12 Player of the Year Ryan Hollingshead, and four assists. His 18 points (two for a goal and one for an assist) ranked second at UCLA.

Williams, also an Academic All-District team honoree with a 3.34 grade-point average in business economics, helped the Bruins (13-3-3) win the conference title and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Williams, who started 17 of the Bruins 19 games, now has 13 goals and 10 assists in 61 games for the Bruins. He received honorable mention in All-Pac-10 voting as a freshman.

He had multiple-goal games in 2012 against Maryland and San Diego State.

— Barry Faulkner

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Iverson nominated

Former Newport Harbor High football player Ryan Iverson was one of 50 college football players nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy.

The award is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on like Brandon Burlsworth. The winner will be announced during a ceremony Monday in Arkansas.

Iverson, who’s now a junior at the University of Colorado, earned first-team All-Sunset League honors as a linebacker and was the Sailors’ Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. He walked on as a long snapper with the Buffaloes and became the sixth walk-on to play as a true freshman at Colorado since 1986. He also earned a scholarship after his freshman year.

— From staff reports

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Award in Newport

The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation revealed the four finalists for the 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy.

All four defensive players up for the award are linebackers: Georgia’s Jarvis Jones, Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, Stanford’s Chase Thomas and Kansas State’s Arthur Brown are the four up for the award.

The annual honor is bestowed to the defensive player who’s had the biggest IMPACT – an acronym standing for integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity – on his team. The winner will be announced during a banquet Dec. 9 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the keynote speaker of the event, which will be televised live by FOX Sports at 7 p.m.

Each of the finalists has been highly recommended by their universities, citing their strong academic work, community involvement and team leadership roles. The IMPACT Foundation will award $25,000 to the general scholarship fund of the winner’s university with each of the runner-ups’ school receiving $5,000.

Past winners of the Lott IMPACT Trophy include DeMeco Ryans of the Philadelphia Eagles, James Laurinaitis of the St. Louis Rams and J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans.

— From staff reports

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UCI baseball announces signees

Heralded right-handed pitcher Michael Martin tops a list of five high school seniors who have signed to continue their baseball careers at UC Irvine, the school announced Friday.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Martin identified as the No. 38 prospect in the nation in 2010 by Perfect Game who was recently named Collegiate Baseball All-American, helped Cathedral Catholic of San Diego win section Division III titles the last two seasons.

Martin was 7-2 with one save and an 0.90 earned-run average as a junior and 7-0 with one save and a 1.17 ERA as a sophomore. In those two seasons, he struck out 136 in 211 2/3 innings, fashioned a combined 1.04 ERA and allowed 87 combined hits.

Martin also hit a team-leading .374 with 18 runs batted in 107 at-bats in 2012, after hitting .300 in 40 at-bats as a sophomore.

The class also includes Alex Guenette, a catcher out of La Jolla Country Day in San Diego County, Chris Vargas, a pitcher and shortstop out of Villa Park High, John Brontsema, a shortstop out of Santa Barbara High, and Jordan Scheftz, a pitcher out of University High.

Guenette hit a combined .405 in 190 combined at-bats the last two seasons and in three varsity campaigns has produced 13 home runs, 76 RBIs, 21 doubles and 19 stolen bases in 21 attempts.

Vargas, projected as a right-handed pitcher, was 5-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 65 2/3 combined innings the last two seasons. He struck out 63, allowed 60 hits and walked 37 during that span.

Vargas, entering his fourth season, hit a combined .326 with one home run, 42 RBIs and 14 stolen bases as a shortstop and third baseman for the Spartans.

Scheftz, a 6-3 right-hander, was Pacific Coast League Co-MVP as a junior, and has twice been named All-CIF Southern Section.

Brontsema, the son of former UC Santa Barbara Coach Bob Brontsema, hit .379 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 58 at-bats as a junior. He also had five doubles and three triples and was six for six in stolen-base attempts.

“These five players are advanced in theri skills and will be outstanding college players,” UCI Coach Mike Gillespie said. “This group will address our most immediate needs and we are confident that they each will play a pivital role as freshmen.”

— From staff reports

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Sarris sets PR

Newport Harbor High graduate Tori Sarris finished 65th in the NCAA Division III West Regional Cross Country Championships, completing the 6,000-meter course in 23 minutes 19.14 seconds.

The University of Puget Sound sophomore set a personal best in the race, which took place Nov. 10 in Independence, Ore. It stands at 18th on the all-time list for the Loggers.

— From staff reports