SportsScope : Broncos Hire New Women’s Track, Harrier Coach

John Turek, coach of the Cal Poly Pomona women’s track and cross-country teams the last eight seasons, has resigned to pursue other interests.

Jim Sackett has been named interim coach of both teams. Sackett also coaches the men’s cross-country and track teams.

Turek guided the Bronco track team to five straight top-10 finishes in the NCAA Division II championships.

Under Turek, the Bronco track program was ranked in the Division II top 20 in each of his eight seasons and placed fourth--their highest finish ever--in the national championships last year.

The 1987-88 Bronco squad produced six Division II All-Americans, five California Collegiate Athletic Assn. individual champions and two Division II individual champions.

Under Turek, a former community college All-American in the decathlon at Fullerton Junior College, Pomona produced 19 Division II All-Americans, 22 individual conference champions, five Division II champions and three Division II national record holders.

San Gabriel Valley high schools have opened practice for the football season.

Bishop Amat of La Puente and Muir of Pasadena--both perennial powers--are expected to be among the top teams in the valley again.

Both face non-league schedules matching their lofty preseason status, including a game against each other Oct. 1 at La Canada High.

Muir’s schedule includes L.A. City Section power Banning (Sept. 23) and Southern Section power Crespi (Oct. 7) while Bishop Amat meets Carson (Sept. 16) from the L.A. City and Esperanza (Oct. 7) and Long Beach Poly (Sept. 23) of the CIF.

The first games will be played Sept. 8, although most valley teams will start the following day.

John Medved, former girls track and cross-country coach at Blair High School in Pasadena, has been selected as assistant men’s and women’s cross-country coach at Occidental College in Eagle Rock.

Medved, an assistant coach for Occidental’s men’s and women’s track teams that won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title last year, was a distance runner for the Tigers for two seasons before an injury ended his career.

Jason Best, an 11-year-old from Covina, is one of three bowlers from Southern California who has qualified for the finals of the Avco National Family Bowling Tournament beginning Friday in Washington, D.C.

Best, who will compete in the prep division for ages 11 and younger, qualified by winning the Southern California finals at Santa Anita Lanes in Arcadia in June. Winners of the national tournament will receive $5,000 in college scholarship funds.