Cif

When the CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball playoffs get going Tuesday, the city of Burbank will be well represented. Burbank, Burroughs and Providence all earned berths to the postseason when the CIF Southern Section playoff pairings were released Saturday morning. The Bulldogs and Indians will participate in Division II, while the Pioneers are in Division V. No area team has enjoyed more postseason success the last two seasons than has Burroughs, which advanced to the Division III finals in 2011 and the semifinals in 2012.

ARCADIA - Winning and advancing were the two most important elements for the Burbank and Burroughs high track and field programs at Friday evening's Pacific League Finals at Arcadia's Salter Stadium. The Bulldogs and Indians produced six overall winners and 14 qualifiers to next week's CIF Southern Section Division I preliminaries at Trabuco Hills High. Perhaps the athlete who stood out most was Bulldogs junior Andy Hurtado. While the thrower didn't match his personal-best mark of 151 feet in the discus hit at the recent city meet, Hurtado was still thrilled in winning the discus with a toss of 143 feet, 10 inches.

PASADENA - What started as a seven-team tournament nearly ended as an all-Burbank city affair Wednesday afternoon at the Pacific League boys' tennis finals at Pasadena High. Burroughs and Burbank high placed competitors in the league's singles and doubles finals with the Indians taking home each crown and the Bulldogs advancing two competitors to the CIF Southern Section Boys Individual Tennis Tournament. PHOTOS: Pacific League boys' tennis finals While it may have seemed reasonable to think the Indians' postseason fortunes were in shambles after the season-ending injury suffered in March to singles ace Garrett Auproux, the two-time reigning All-Area Singles Player of the Year, Burroughs proved resilient as sophomore Sawyer Patterson captured the singles championship and the squad of Michael Whelan and Calvin Fox captured the doubles crown.

BURBANK - All four area boys' golf teams had something at stake Tuesday leading into the Pacific League prelims at De Bell Golf Club. Each team looked to send at least one athlete to the league's individual tournament. Three of the squads aimed to clinch spots in the CIF Southern Section Northern Team Divisional. Each left De Bell pleased, as Burbank, Crescenta Valley and Burroughs qualified for the playoffs and nine area players moved on to Wednesday's individual final, which will also include a pair of Glendale athletes.

Bea Benedicto and Katie Dabbaghian were two players with distinctively different styles this season for the Providence High girls' basketball team. For Benedicto, a senior forward, she was a physical, grinding presence, posting up and getting the majority of her points under the basket. In contrast, Dabbaghian, a sophomore guard, was the court general for the Pioneers, as her slashing style and quickness posed problems for opponents. Despite their differences, both Benedicto and Dabbaghian enjoyed their share of success during the 2012-13 season.

Christian Ware-Berry was expected to be the second, or even third, option this past season for the Providence High boys' basketball team. That's because the Pioneers featured All-State and All-Area Player of the Year Marcus LoVett Jr. However, when LoVett was sidelined with an illness, Ware-Berry stepped in to shoulder the load for Providence. Then, when LoVett left the team for good before the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign, Ware-Berry became the team's go-to player. Instead of wilting under the pressure, Ware-Berry stepped up and took over the Pioneers, putting up big numbers and leading the team to the playoffs.

The Burroughs High boys' soccer program has a rich history of churning out players who have earned All-CIF Southern Section awards over the years. Monday, the Indians' program added five additional athletes to the list when the selections were released for the 2012-13 season. Earning All-CIF Division III first-team accolades was senior midfielder Brian Arzate and senior midfielder Manny Celio. Making the second team was senior forward Jorman Herrera, while junior forward Michael Conrad and junior forward Brandon Gerlach were third-team selections.

SUN VALLEY - Last year, the Providence High girls' basketball team found itself on the doorstep of making its first CIF Southern Section Division V-AA championship appearance before being stopped in the semifinals. This season, the Pioneers found themselves back at the doorstep of the finals just needing to take one more step, in the form of a road game against Village Christian on Saturday night at Kendall Pavilion, to play for their first CIF crown. The Pioneers, seeded No. 2 in the division, seemed to have one foot through the door, holding a seven-point lead with five minutes to go, but they saw the door slammed shut as Village's Christian's Samantha Pyros caught fire.

PALMDALE - A gamut of emotions swarmed the members of the Burroughs High boys' soccer team Friday night. On the cusp of advancing to the semifinals, Burroughs seemed to have things under control. Then Palmdale's Oscar Torres spoiled Burroughs' playoff run. Torres scored four goals, including the winner on a penalty shot, to hand visiting Burroughs a 4-3 loss in a CIF Southern Section quarterfinal match. Torres was tripped up inside the goal box, warranting the penalty kick.

Heading out on the road to participate in a playoff contest didn't seem to faze the Burroughs High boys' soccer team. The Indians accepted the challenge Wednesday afternoon, building an early cushion en route to a 2-1 CIF Southern Section Division III second-round victory against Redlands East Valley at Redlands Sports Park. Burroughs (15-6-3) will meet host Palmdale in a quarterfinal match, scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday. It marked the first time since 2009 that the Indians reached the quarterfinals, when they fell to top-seeded Channel Islands, 1-0. “It's always difficult to go out on the road and win a game, especially in the playoffs, so this was just a huge accomplishment,” said Burroughs Coach Michael Kodama, who received first-half goals from Xavi Izquieta and Brandon Gerlach before watching the Indians stave off a late comeback bid by the Wildcats (22-2-3)