2010 was big year for Riverside County high school sports

In prep sports, 2010 was the best kind of year for Riverside County. Championships were won, records were set. But perhaps more important, there were dramatic demonstrations of the lessons we hope all our young athletes will take away from competition.

Here is a 2010 sampler:

Riverside Arlington High Boys Tennis
After a powerful season, the Arlington High team was on the verge of losing the CIF Division 5 Championship contest to El Monte Arroyo. But a determined doubles team of Mason Biddle and Ramon Soto reversed the momentum of the match. Their win gave Arlington the championship. It was the first-ever boys tennis title for Arlington. And the first for a Riverside city school in 29 years.

Palm Desert High Baseball
The Aztecs put together a streak that prep baseball fans will remember for years. They were 15-0 in league, marched through the playoffs and won the CIF Division IV finals game 9-0 over a great Torrance team. How does it get better than that? The 2010 Aztecs were the first desert team ever to win a CIF title.

Centennial High Football
Centennial’s football team was the favorite to win Division 1 CIF again this year. Still, at halftime in the championship game, Palo Alto was winning, 15-0. But the Huskies came pounding back in the second half, and the score was 15-13 when, with just 30 seconds left, Centennial missed a very long field goal attempt. Yes, it was a loss, but it was also a tremendous season capped by a valiant comeback attempt.

Palm Desert High Girls Golf
In the Desert Valley League, the Palm Desert girls’ golf team made the state championships tournament for the first time, and they made a grand entrance, finishing third. With their performance, they became the first desert prep golf team – boys or girls – to play for the state title.

Beaumont Girls Wrestling
Amanda Hendey, a Beaumont High junior, opened 2010 by winning the 126-pound division at the California Girls Wrestling State Championships in Hanford. With that, she became the first athlete from Beaumont High to win a state championship in any sport. As the year 2011 started, she was unbeaten in girls’ competition.

Elsinore High Football
Throwback football. Old-school game. That’s what the Elsinore High School football team carried onto the field in 2010. And as the Tigers themselves put it: Team beats talent. They went 12-2 in league, and their relentlessly grinding style carried them to a 21-7 win in CIF finals. It was an old-school triumph in another way, too: It was Elsinore High’s first CIF championship in the school’s 83 year history.

Riverside County Football All-Stars
Everybody loves a comeback win. In the Inland Empire All-Star Classic, you couldn’t ask for a bigger one. This is the annual contest that pits Riverside County’s 2010 stars against San Bernardino County for Inland bragging rights. It was all San Bernardino County at halftime, 28-0. But the second half was epic turnaround. Final score, Riverside 34, San Bernardino 31. Arlington High’s Superiorr Reid, game MVP, had two 25-yard touchdown runs, including the one that won the game in overtime. He gave the credit to his linemen.

Going Pro
Finally, let’s hear it for some Riverside County high school grads who made it to the Big Time in the last year.

• Rickie Fowler, Murrieta Valley High Class of 2007, was Rookie of the Year on the PGA golf tour, had seven Top 10 finishes, and made the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

• Toby Gerhart, Norco High Class of 2006, then Stanford, debuted last fall as a running back with the Minnesota Vikings. His rookie stats: 322 yards rushing, averaging 4 yards per carry, and one touchdown.

• Lucas Duda, Riverside Arlington High Class of 2004 and then USC, debuted with the New York Mets last September. Playing just the last month of the season, he hit four home runs.