There was Islander sports news last week other than the Boys Baseball CIF Division IV championship (Click for story). The post-season banquet season continued in earnest and although Your Natterer has experienced a dazzling variety of Mexican food, which seemingly is the spring sports season’s primary culinary choice, I promise to persevere again this week.

Girls Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Jessica Battle, who guided the Islanders to a 22-4 record in her 12^th season as head coach, announced her award winners for the 2006 season. The banquet was held at the Coronado Yacht Club.

The ISF Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Lyndsay Naple; Coach’s Award – Greer Goebels; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Marissa Nagler, who scored 76 goals this season; Co-Best Defensive Players – Angela Naple and Lyndsay Naple.

The Naple twins, Nagler, Goebels and Hannah Sebenaler were all named to the City Conference First Team. Lindsay Negrete, Sasha Vido and Alyssa Littin earned City Conference Second Team slots.

The Junior Varsity awards as announced by Head Coach Lisa Cherill went to: Coach’s Award – Kelsey Branch; Most Improved – Taylor Earnhardt; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Jena Harrison; Best Defensive Player – Ally Wolfe.

Head Track and Field Coach George Green and his cadre of coaches announced the winners for both the Boys and Girls teams. They included: ISF Award Girls – Megan Mushovic; ISF Award Boys – Kasey Zapatka; Girls MVP – Sarah Player, Boys MVP – Levi Lozano; the Swiss Army Knife Award for Versatility – Mushovic; Coach’s Award – Danielle Eckert.

Player set Coronado High School records in the 200-meter dash, the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles this season. Eckert set the school’s new standard in the pole vault. Zapatka became the first two-time winner of the ISF award, after being similarly honored for his contributions to the Boys Basketball team in 2005-06. Congratulations to all of the winners.

A reminder that the 32^nd Annual Coronado Independence Day 15K Run – 5K Run/Walk is rapidly approaching. The race, which benefits the Islander Sports Foundation and the CHS and CMS sports teams, begins at Tidelands Park at 7 am. Last year a total of nearly 2,000 runners and walkers participated in the event.

The race course for the 15K event will again include the Naval Amphibious Base. The course is flat, with great scenery and lends itself well for good racing results.

Entry fees are $25 before June 23^rd; $30 after that date; and $33 the day of the race. This year’s race is presented by GMH Promotions, a Coronado-based screen printing and embroidery company.

To register for the race or for more event information, please go to kathyloperevents.com or call 619-298-7400. Sign up today and get your July 4^th off to a great start.

Also on the upcoming sports calendar, CHS Girls Varsity Head Coach Toler Goodwin will be holding his Islander Basketball Camp June 19 and 20.

Goodwin has over 15 years of experience coaching basketball at the high school varsity and national club levels. Campers will learn the fine points of ball handling, the triple threat position, post moves, rebounding, court spacing, passing, defensive keys and shooting technique. Players of all levels are encouraged to attend. The camp is aimed at both boys and girls in grades 3-8.

Each camper will need to wear proper basketball gear both days, including shorts, t-shirt and a good pair of basketball shoes. They will also need to bring a sack lunch and water will be provided. The camp runs from 9 am to 2 pm both days. The camp costs $65 and will be held at the Coronado High School gym.

In addition to the two-day camp outlined above, Goodwin is also involved with the Guttcheck Basketball Clinics, a series of 2-hour sessions that have remaining dates of Saturday, June 10, 17 and 24. The clinics run from 9 am to 12 noon, cost $25 per session and are also conducted at Coronado High School. One of the other coaches is Fred Williams, who has an extensive coaching background in the WNBA and at USC. Please contact Coach Goodwin at 619-282-4888 for additional information or via E-mail at guttcheckbasketball@hotmail.com.

As a lifelong Chicago Cub fan, already in ‘wait until next year mode,’ it is hard for me to root for a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Honesty compels me to report that I was rooting for Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols to break Barry Bonds’ single season homer mark of 73 this season. After Pujols sustained a strained side muscle late last week, his chances of catching Bonds, despite having 25 homers and 65 RBIs in early June, are now remote… From the department of ‘Columns Best Not Written,’ Your Natterer was going to editorialize about 6 weeks ago that it was going to be a long season for the Padres. That was just before the Padres won the season series 7-0 from the Cubs… The National Spelling Bee impresses me as cruel and unusual punishment for the participants. Memorizing words from a dictionary doesn’t sound like a lot of laughs to me. Now we can add the pressure of a national television audience to the festivities. Or, maybe I’m just jealous… There was great community support for the CHS Baseball Team’s Division IV championship game Saturday. A couple of hundred fans, many closely identified with other sports in Coronado or at the high school, came out to show their support for Ceci and Company… Like Christopher Walken in the now famous Saturday Night Live cow bell sketch, I have a fever and it’s for World Cup Soccer which starts in Germany next week. Just kidding… As a former employee of the Miami Heat franchise, I have a rooting interest in the NBA Finals between Dallas and Miami which starts Thursday. The Mavericks aren’t strong enough defensively to stop both Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade from scoring and Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry can’t outscore the Heat by themselves. Take the Heat in six … I’m looking forward to seeing what the Chargers’ Shawne Merriman can do at defensive end and outside linebacker after a year in the NFL and his intense off-season conditioning program. The results for the 6-4, 272 pound Maryland alumnus could be staggering this year… Construction on the new artificial turf surfaces at Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School and the new synthetic track at CHS is set to start June 19^th. The completion date for the work at CHS is Sept. 4… Quick, name the finalists in hockey’s Stanley Cup starting this week. I missed them too. They’re the Carolina Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers.