Youth Scene

Willy Axton, 10, who was featured in the Daily Pilot three years ago, continues to find success on the race track.

Axton, a Kaiser Elementary student fresh off a great year, opened his third season in the Cadet class (8-12 year-olds) with a fourth-place finish Junior 1 Class at the California Speedway in Fontana Jan. 17. He was also seventh in the HPV1 Class. He’ll compete again Feb. 6 at the California Speedway.

Axton won the 2009 Junior 1 Championship and was the No. 1 qualifier (pole sitter) for the state championships. He is the youngest driver to win the Junior 1 Championship, and in 2008 he was the youngest recipient of the Junior Driver of the Year Award.

— Steve Virgen

Birthday win for Coach Hall

The fifth-grade boys’ All-Net Newport Sea Kings pulled off two basketball wins over the weekend to move into first-place in their division.

On Saturday, the Sea Kings beat the Laguna Beach Breakers, 47-37. Tyler Flood had a double-double in the victory and led all scorers with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Bonds had eight rebounds, while Mikey Ruiz and Preston Hartsell each scored nine points for the Sea Kings.

The Newport Sea Kings topped Aliso Niguel, 48-30, Sunday. Ruiz led all scorers with 11 points and Chris Cox had eight points. Sea Kings Coach Troy Hall celebrated his birthday in style.

— Reader submission

Sonics’ first win a nail-biter

The Sonics earned their first win Sunday by defeating the 76ers, 27-26, in Newport-Mesa National Junior Basketball action.

The Sonics were down nine points in the fourth period, but fought their way back into the game before taking the lead for the first time with about one minute to go in the fifth period. The Sixers then came down court and scored on a very tough shot to regain the lead with 30 seconds left. On their ensuing possession, the Sonics ran one of their standard plays, called, “baseline,” and worked the ball around sharply, before Cole Funsten found himself with a wide open shot. Funsten’s shot found nothing but the bottom of the net, and it gave the Sonics a 27-26 lead with approximately 10 seconds to play.

— Reader submission

Lightning reach quarters

The Newport Lightning boys’ eighth-grade club basketball team tested its 4-0 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Winter League record by traveling to Moreno Valley to play in the Nike Challenge Invitational tournament.

The Lightning finished second in their pool and advanced to the Gold Division quarterfinals, where it lost to the eventual tournament champion, the nationally-ranked Arizona Gymrats.

The highlight of the weekend was Newport’s 49-46 victory over West L.A. Hoopmasters, in which the Lightning came roaring back from a 42-21 deficit behind the defensive intensity of Blake Flamson, Ryan Schroth, Andrew Moore and Jeff Johnston, the playmaking of point guard Charlie Coffman, and timely offense from Braden Brahs and Alec Markling. Jack Williamson scored 10 of his game-high 13 points in the final three minutes, including the go-ahead three-point shot from beyond the top of the key with 40 seconds remaining. Williamson iced the win, with two free throws after being fouled intentionally with 2.4 seconds left.

The Newport Lightning won despite the absence of key players Andrew Chase and Grant Moore, who were sidelined with injuries. The team is coached by Mike Flamson and Mike Coffman.

— Reader submission

Newport-Mesa Bruins get hot

The Newport Mesa Bruins, a sixth-grade All-Net boys’ basketball team, had a slow start in its game Sunday against the Rancho Santa Margarita Eagles but roared back to win, 54-45.

Behind, 12-6, after the first period, and still behind at the half, the much-shorter Bruins struggled. But the Bruins came alive in the second half.

Behind the sharp-shooting of Taso Marcopulos (18 points), Matt Ctvrtlik (17 points) and Sam Kobrine (12 points), the Bruins put together a 34-point second-half and grounded the Eagles with a 54-45, come-from-behind win.

When the Bruins were asked what inspired them in their effort, they said it was for injured player Nick Premer who was home in bed recovering from an accident he had at school the previous week.

“Without our big man Nick, we all had to play bigger,” Bruins guard-forward Carson Poivre said.

Bruins’ power forward Nick Bauer grabbed multiple rebounds and played tough defense inside. Point guards Joe Alvarado and Charlie Stassel outran the opponent and wore out the Eagles’ big men down the stretch. Nate Harding and Conner Deverian put up points and added additional defense and rebounds.

— Mark Poivre

Heat rally for win

The Heat came from behind to put another game in the win column Sunday defeating the Tropics, 45-35, in Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ Division 2 action.

Derek Mathuny led all rebounders with eight boards. Drew Johnston (six rebounds) and Mitch Dean (five rebounds) also contributed.

Patrick Jennings received more minutes at point guard and continued to run down Tropic breakaways with his speed. Krishan Arora started the offense with screens out top. Alec Nguyen contributed tough defense, rebounds and points. John Holland dove for loose balls, scored on breakaways and contributed boards. Brett Super got knocked down three times and got up off the floor to play tougher than ever each time.

Holland, Nguyen, Mathuny matched their previous high-point totals for a game and Johnston and Super matched each other with new high-point totals. Dean had a season-best free throw percentage by sinking three of four attempts.

— Greg Super

Tar Heels hang tough

The Newport-Mesa Tar Heels, a Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh-grade All-Net team, competed in the Big City Sports Spring Shoot-Out and split a couple of games in Buena Park last weekend.

In the first game, they competed with a very strong AAU team, the North OC Stars battling for the entire game until the Stars pulled away in the final period. The Tar Heels were paced by Max Stanley, who played his best game of the season hitting two three-pointers and playing stellar defense throughout. Stanley finished with nine points, four assists and two steals, while Grady Kimme chipped in two three-pointers (six points) and added two blocks. Hagen Truninger, Cole Norris and Kevin Fults played solid defense. Brett Greenlee, Logan Miller, Max Kline and Riley Gaddis all played well in the loss.

In the finale, the Tar Heels came out and pressured JSK Atheltix throughout forcing multiple turnovers leading to a win by a large margin. Greenlee had his best game of the season with six points, nine rebounds and five steals, while Kline added 10 points and two steals. Gaddis passed the ball well with four assists and Fults added seven points and five rebounds. Norris (nine points, seven rebounds), Kimme (seven points, four rebounds), Truninger (four points, three rebounds), Miller (two points, two steals) and Stanley (two steals, two assists) played well in the big win.

— Reader submission