Hagerty, Degnan Among Quartz Hill Candidates

Paraclete Coach Steve Hagerty, assistant George Fetters of Antelope Valley College and Pat Degnan, former coach at Alemany, are among those who have interviewed to become the varsity coach at Quartz Hill High.

Hagerty, who has guided Paraclete to two consecutive Southern Section titles, was The Times’ Valley region coach of the year in 1997.

Defensive tackle Nick Koufos of Lancaster High said Friday he has committed to Cal State Northridge.

“They’re local and I feel they have a sleeping-giant program,” Koufos said of the Matadors. “That’s what helped me make the decision.”

Koufos, 6 feet 2 and 280 pounds, helped the Eagles to second place in the Golden League with a 4-1 record. They finished 9-3 after losing to Alemany, 14-7, in the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals.

Northridge Coach Ron Ponciano said he doesn’t anticipate any other changes to his staff, which in December lost assistant head coach Jeff Kearin and linebackers coach Kevin Singleton.

Kearin, also the quarterbacks coach, left to become tight ends coach at Nevada Las Vegas and Singleton left to work for an athletic shoe company.

Ponciano said the departures allowed him to promote Terrance Johnson from part-time to full-time defensive line coach and Aaron Flowers to limited-earnings quarterbacks coach.

Flowers, Northridge’s record-holder in most passing categories, last season was a graduate assistant.

BASKETBALL

NBA scouts Dave Fehte of the San Antonio Spurs and Greg Marshall of the Miami Heat attended the Big Sky Conference basketball game between Cal State Northridge and Portland State at Northridge on Thursday to evaluate Rico Harris of Northridge and Jason Hartman of Portland State. Hartman is a Thousand Oaks High graduate.

Eian Daniels, a walk-on guard who played six minutes for Northridge this season, quit the team and said he will transfer.

TRACK AND FIELD

Jim Phillips from College of the Canyons, Tim Brown from Mt. San Antonio College and Jermaine Hunsaker from Washington State have transferred to Cal State Northridge during the mid-year break.

Phillips placed fourth in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in the state junior college championships in May, and Brown was sixth in the 100 and fifth in the triple jump.

Hunsaker, who will be a sophomore, finished third in the intermediate hurdles in the Pacific 10 Conference championships in May. He is also expected to play cornerback for the Matador football team.

GOLF

The name of the Los Angeles Women’s Championship, an LPGA event which will be held for the third time at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale on Feb. 8-14, has been changed to the Valley of the Stars Tournament, presented by Yamaha.

FYI

Tryouts for the Valley Breeze 14-and-under fast-pitch softball club are scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Pierce College and for 9 a.m. Jan. 16 at El Cariso Park in Sylmar. Information: Frank Sotelo, (818) 899-7522, or Joe Aranda, (818) 361-5177.

The second annual Lady Rangers’ Basketball Two-Man Scramble golf tournament is scheduled for a noon shotgun start on Sunday at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Nordhoff High girls’ basketball team. Information: Ted Cotti, (805) 640-4333 or (805) 640-4343, ext. 105.

Agoura Pony Baseball is conducting registration for the upcoming season today at Willow Elementary School in Agoura Hills. Registration costs $175. Information: (818) 889-2530.

Registration for the Northridge Amateur Softball Assn. Girls’ Softball League spring season will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Sunday, and Jan. 16 and 17 at the organization’s complex on Devonshire Road between Reseda Boulevard and Wilbur Avenue.