June 28, 2007

Angel and Hutchinson to lead LBCC
Staff reports

Melissa Angel and Jack Hutchinson, both of whom have strong ties to the Long Beach City College softball program, have been selected co-head coaches of the Vikings, women's athletic director Connie Sears announced Wednesday.

Angel, a former all-conference catcher for the Vikings, was an assistant coach for three seasons under Erika Blanco (2005-07) and one season with Shellie McCall (2004). Angel was an All-South Coast Conference performer in 1996 and 1997 and made the the All-State Tournament team her sophomore year.

Following LBCC, Angel played two seasons at Northwest Missouri State University, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees, and served as an assistant coach for four more seasons.

Hutchinson has served as LBCC's pitching coach under Blanco (2006-07) and McCall (1996-2002). He has also coached at Mayfair High and Lakewood.

LBSU placed 91st

Long Beach State finished in 91st place in the 2006-07 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup Standings. The 49ers had a strong showing in the winter and spring, earning points in men's basketball, women's tennis, baseball, men's indoor track and field and both mens and women's outdoor track and field. Long Beach also received points in the fall from women's volleyball and garnered a total of 211.00 points.

Long Beach was one of five Big West Conference schools to finish in the top 100. UC Irvine finished in 56th place (367.00 points). UC Santa Barbara was 61st (326.50 points). Cal State Fullerton was 79th with 255.50 points and Cal Poly 84th with 227.00 points. Stanford won its 13th straight title by amassing 1,429.00 points.

The Directors' Cup is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, United States Sports Academy and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.

Carroll selected

Recent Los Alamitos High graduate Kevin Carroll was one of just 12 high schoolers in the nation to be selected to the Mizuno All-American first team.

Carroll, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, is training with the USA Junior National team in Lake Placid, N.Y. The team leaves Friday for Milan, Italy, where it will play in the four-nation Friendship Tournament. On July 9, the team plays in the 12-nation World Junior Championships in Morocco.