Ready or not, the San Diego Section spring sports playoffs have got a kick-start.
Division titles in girls and boys lacrosse, boys volleyball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls track and field, softball, gymnastics, boys tennis, boys golf and baseball will be decided over the next month.
Boys tennis got the jump by holding its section finals last week.
Eight East County teams participated:
Ready or not, the San Diego Section spring sports playoffs have got a kick-start.
Division titles in girls and boys lacrosse, boys volleyball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls track and field, softball, gymnastics, boys tennis, boys golf and baseball will be decided over the next month.
Boys tennis got the jump by holding its section finals last week.
Eight East County teams participated:
•Grossmont received the No. 8 seed in the Open Division playoffs. In the Division I playoffs, Steele Canyon received the No. 5 seed while Helix received the No. 14 seed.
•In the Division II playoffs, Santana received the No. 8 seed while Valhalla received the No. 15 seed.
•In the Division III playoffs, El Cajon Valley received the No. 4 seed, Monte Vista received the No. 11 seed and El Capitan received the No. 14 seed.
El Cajon Valley, which finished 10-0 in league play, defeated 13th-seeded Brawley, 16-2, in the opening round on May 1 but lost, 11-7, to fifth-seeded High Tech High Chula Vista in the quarterfinals the following day.
None of the other East County entrants advanced in their respective brackets.
Girls lacrosse
Three East County teams gained entry to this year’s section playoffs.
Granite Hills, which finished 8-0 in league play, received the No. 2 seed in the Division I field and a bye to the quarterfinals while, in the Division II playoff field, Helix received the No. 8 seed and Grossmont received the No. 10 seed.
Helix (12-9) faced off postseason play with a 10-7 win over ninth-seeded La Jolla Country Day (9-9) last Saturday to advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded San Dieguito Academy (13-5).
The Helix-San Dieguito Academy winner advances to Thursday’s semifinals.
Granite Hills (17-2) saw its season end prematurely following a 20-8 loss to 10th-seeded Canyon Crest Academy (9-7) on Monday.
Meanwhile, Grossmont (11-9) came out on the short end of a high-scoring 12-11 matchup against seventh-seeded Mt. Carmel (9-9) in last Saturday’s opening round.
The section finals are scheduled Saturday, May 12, at San Dieguito High School. The Division II title game is set to start at noon, followed by the Division I final at 2:30 p.m., and the Open Division championship game at 5 p.m.
Boys lacrosse
Three Grossmont Conference team received berths in this year’s playoff field.
Grossmont, which finished 12-0 in league play (16-4 overall), received the No. 9 seed in this year’s Division I playoff field. The Foothillers were scheduled to host ninth-seeded Valley Center (10-9) in an opening-round match on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded La Jolla (12-8).
In the Division II playoff field, El Capitan (14-5) received the No. 8 seed and was scheduled to host ninth-seeded Otay Ranch (11-5) in Wednesday’s opening round, while Granite Hills (12-6) received the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye.
Granite Hills, which finished 10-2 in league play, will host a quarterfinal-round game on Saturday, May 12. The Eagles slipped past host Eastlake, 8-7, in the teams’ final regular season game last Friday to edge the Titans for the No. 3 seeding position.
Eastlake received the No. 4 seed in the Division II playoffs and a bye to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The El Capitan-Otay Ranch winner will play against top-seeded Patrick Henry (13-6) in Saturday’s upcoming quarterfinals.
The Division I semifinals are scheduled May 15; the Division II semifinals are scheduled Tuesday, May 16.
The section’s championship triple-header is scheduled May 19 at San Marcos High School. The Division II title game starts off the action at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Division I championship game at 5 p.m. and the Open Division final at 7:30 p.m.
Boys volleyball
The 2018 section championships are scheduled May 18-19 in St. Augustine High School’s new gymnasium complex.
Four East County teams earned admission to this year’s playoff field — all with an eye on the top prize.
Helix (17-6) received the No. 2 seed in the Division II field along with seventh-seeded Granite Hills (19-5) and 12th-seeded Santana (16-14).
Helix, which finished 10-0 in league play, received a bye to Saturday’s quarterfinals where it will host the winner of Wednesday’s opening round playoff match between Granite Hills and 10th-seeded Canyon Crest Academy (9-15).
Santana was slated to compete at fifth-seeded San Dieguito Academy (21-16) in Wednesday’s opening round, with the winner advancing to play fourth-seeded San Pasqual (26-8) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 5 p.m.
Valhalla is the lone East County team entered in the Division III field. The seventh-seeded Norsemen (12-13) were scheduled to host 10th-seeded Chula Vista (13-6) in Tuesday’s opening round, with the winner advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded Coronado (21-10).
The Division III semifinals are May 15, followed by the Division II semifinals on May 16.
Section championship games in the Saints’ new gym are scheduled May 18 (Division IV at 5 p.m. and Division III at 7:30 p.m.) and May 19 (Division II at 11 a.m., Division I at 1:30 p.m. and Open Division at 6 p.m.).
West Hills (13-16) dropped a five-game play-in match to Del Lago Academy (15-17) on Monday in a bid to enter the single-elimination Division III bracket.
Boys golf
Play-in rounds are scheduled Thursday, May 10, and Friday, May 11, at the home course of the higher-seeded teams. Final rounds will take place Monday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 16, at the Admiral Baker Golf Course, 2400 Admiral Baker Road in San Diego.
Sixteen teams will compete in Division I, 12 teams in Division II and eight teams in Division III.
Play-in rounds will be held in the Division I and Division II fields.
Twelve teams will compete in the final rounds on the Admiral Baker course in Division I, eight teams in Division II and four teams in Division III.
Low team scores advance to the second day of competition. Twelve teams total will advance (72 players).
The top 12 players, based on the two-day score, from the section tournament will advance to the Southern California state regional tournament May 24 at the Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena.
The top three teams and top six individuals from each region will advance to the state championship tournament May 30 at the San Gabriel Country Club.
Swim and dive
The section diving competition is scheduled for Friday, May 11 at San Diego Mesa College. The combined Division I/Division II girls field will start at 10 a.m., followed by the combined Division I/Division II boys field at 2 p.m.
The swim finals are scheduled Saturday, May 12, at Granite Hills High School. The Division I meet starts at 9 a.m., followed by the Division II meet at 3 p.m.
Gymnastics
The section finals are scheduled May 18 at West Hills High School. Competition is slated to start at 12:30 p.m.
Events include vault, bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
Track and field
Prelim competition is scheduled for May 19, at Mt. Carmel High School. Girls events start at 9 a.m., followed by boys events at 2 p.m.
The section championship meet is scheduled the following weekend, on May 26, at the same site. Field events start at 10 a.m., followed by running events at 12:30 p.m.
The top three place-finishers in the state-qualifying heats, plus those athletes who meet a predetermined standard at the section finals, advance to the state championship meet June 1-2 in Clovis.
