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9/25/12: Athletic Hall of Fame to induct 78 on Saturday
 Saddleback College will be inducting 78 new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 29, during halftime of its Homecoming football game against Santa Ana College.
Saddleback, which only holds this Hall of Fame ceremony every four years, has selected this year’s induction class from those student-athletes who participated during the 2004-2008 school years. Eighteen of the college’s 19 teams have inductees being honored, including two sets of brothers – water polo players Danny and Torrey Tayenaka and baseball players Colin and Sean Rooney – as well as one individual – Kyle Hughes – who is being inducted into two sports (cross country and track and field).
The college will welcome this year’s honorees with a barbecue before the game and then introduce those in attendance during halftime.
There are 12 football players being inducted, headlined by NCAA record-setting quarterback and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan (University of Hawaii) as well as 2007 Fiesta Bowl hero Jerard Rabb (Boise State) whose touchdown run on a hook-and-lateral helped the Broncos defeat Oklahoma in overtime.
The 2012 Hall of Fame induction class (click here)
8/27/12: Surf tryouts start Thursday
 For those interested in trying out for the Surf Team (club), the first set of tryouts will be this Thursday at Salt Creek Beach. Saddleback finished fifth in the nation last season.
For those interested in more information on the surf program, contact coach Lindsey Steinriede at Lsteinriede@saddleback.edu to get your self involved in the program.
A first tryout will be held at Salt Creek Beach on Thursday morning at 6:30 am. A second round of tryouts will be held at Salt Creek the following Thursday.
6/27/12: Athletic Department releases Spring 2012 honor roll
 The Saddleback College athletic department is pleased to announce that 124 of the college’s 360 student-athletes have been named to the Spring 2012 Athletic Honor Roll, including 16 student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 grade point average.
“Our athletic teams continue to show outstanding success not only on the playing field but also in the classroom,” said Tony Lipold, Dean and Athletic Director at Saddleback College. “I think our students realize that Saddleback is a college first and that participation in intercollegiate competition provides the tools that help our student-athletes achieve success in the classroom and in life.”
The 124 student-athletes on the honor roll represent more than one-third of all student-athletes at Saddleback College this year. In order to make the honor roll, student-athletes must have passed at least 12 units during the Spring 2012 semester with a 3.00 GPA or higher.
Spring 2012 Honor Roll list (click here)
3/07/12: Fall 2011 Athletic honor roll is largest ever
 The Saddleback College athletic department is pleased to announce that 162 of the college’s 371 student-athletes have been named to the Fall 2011 Athletic Honor Roll, including 16 student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 grade point average.
“This is, by far, the largest number of student-athletes that we’ve ever had listed on our Athletic Honor Roll,” said Tony Lipold, Dean and Athletic Director at Saddleback College. “We really push the importance of doing well in the classroom to our student-athletes and this past fall semester is a testament to all of our efforts. We should really be proud of how well these student-athletes are doing academically, especially knowing how much hard work and extra time they spend practicing for their sports each week.”
The 162 student-athletes on the honor roll represent 44 percent of all student-athletes at Saddleback College this year. In order to make the honor roll, student-athletes must have passed at least 12 units during the Fall 2011 semester with a 3.00 GPA or higher.
Complete Honor Roll list (click here)
12/6/11:
Surf team claims Huntington Beach title
  The Saddleback surf team has been on the cusp of winning an event all fall, finishing fourth and second in the two previous event heading into Huntington Beach last weekend. That all changed this past weekend when the surf team captured first place, led by Tara Franz with a first place finish in the women’s shortboard division.
Franz (pictured left) had been a semifinalist in the first two events of the season but captured the event title this past weekend on a cold and windy day where the waves were waist-to-shoulder height.
Other top finishers for Saddleback in the men’s division (pictured right) were Cody Canzeroni (2nd place) and Dennis White (5th place) in the longboard division. Solid performances were also turned in by Keetin Divine and Shaw Kobayashi, who finished in third and sixth place respectively in the men’s shortboard division.
11/1/11: Saddleback instructor wins world surfing title
 Saddleback athletics instructor Lindsey Steinriede became the top women’s longboarder in the world this past week when she won the ASP Women’s Longboard World Title in China. Steinriede started competing in longboard competitions in 2002, and last year won the ASP North American regional championship.
Steinriede is also the coach of the Saddleback Surf Team that finished in sixth place at nationals this past season. She is the daughter of Bill Steinriede, who spent nearly three decades around the Gaucho athletics programs, once coaching the women’s basketball team to a 27-3 record in 1981-82.
Steinriede made it to the quarterfinals of the event in China, which was enough to earn her enough points for the World Title, coming on the heels of capturing the longboard event at la Cote des Basques in Biarritz, France, earlier in the year.
11/1/11: Former Saddleback equipment supervisor passes away
 Former longtime Saddleback College equipment supervisor Len Cayer passed away on Saturday, October 29, in Anaheim at the age of 80.
Cayer was a Korean War veteran who worked for a local sporting goods dealer for over 20 years before joining the Saddleback College athletic department in 1974 as its equipment supervisor. He spent over 18 years at Saddleback, retiring in 1993 just after the 1992 football team captured the national championship.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 2, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at Hilgenfeld Mortuary in Anaheim. Mass will be held on Thursday, November 3, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church, 2050 West Ball Road in Anaheim. Interment, with full military honors, will follow at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange.
9/29/11: Athletics department introduces Captain’s Council
Beginning during the fall semester, Saddleback athletics will introduce a student-athlete advisory group designed to enhance both athletic and academic success. One captain from each team with a sophomore academic standing will serve as ambassadors of the athletics programs and meet monthly in what is being called Captain’s Council.
Issues such as leadership, team-building and the continuing development of the ideal student-athlete are central themes for discussion. Each captain will be responsible for working on issues such as code of conduct, the athletics handbook and other various projects. They will discuss team procedures, policies and express team concerns.
“We are proud of what our athletes have accomplished both on the field and in the classroom, and have found out over the years that many of them have great leadership qualities,” said Tony Lipold, Dean and Athletic Director at Saddleback College. “This is a great opportunity to see student-athletes take an active role in the decision-making procedures while keeping program administrators and coaches in touch with the daily rigors central to the challenges of the student-athlete.”
Captain’s Council will meet monthly, starting this fall.
7/28/11: Steinriede leads Saddleback surf program
 Saddleback instructor Lindsay Steinriede had a moment of greatness this past month when she won the Roxy Pro longboard event at la Cote des Basques in Biarritz, celebrating her 28th birthday in style. This came on the heels of leading the Saddleback Surf Team to a sixth place finish at nationals in June.
Steinriede is the daughter of the late (great) Bill Steinriede, who passed away last October from Acute Myeloid Leukemia after spending nearly three decades around the Gaucho athletics programs, once coaching the women’s basketball team to a 27-3 record in 1981-82.
Steinriede has followed in taking over the successful surfing team that her father once led, and recently led the surf team to a sixth place finish at the NSSA National Interscholastic Championships. The Gauchos were led by Dennis White, who finished in third place in the Longboard Division. Both Dan Johnson and Nate Clifford were quarterfinalists at the event, which took place at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point.
Anyone interested in joining the surf team should contact Steinriede at Lsteinriede@saddleback.edu in order to enroll in the intermediate/advanced surf class.
7/14/11: Athletic department releases spring honor roll
The Saddleback College athletic department is pleased to announce that 100 of the college’s 332 student-athletes have been named to the Spring 2011 Athletic Honor Roll, including 14 student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 grade point average.
 “The success of our athletic teams is apparent when they are in actual competition. What isn’t quite as apparent to the community is how well these student-athletes are doing in the classroom. At Saddleback, we take great pride in the academic accomplishments of our student-athletes,” said Tony Lipold, Dean and Athletic Director at Saddleback College.
The Spring 2011 semester numbers are in line with the Fall 2010 numbers, where 115 student-athletes where listed on the Honor Roll including 15 with a perfect 4.00 grade point average.
In order to make the honor roll, student-athletes must have passed at least 12 units during the semester with a 3.00 GPA or higher.
Honor Roll list
5/26/11: Saddleback athletics finishes 15th in state NATYCAA Cup standings
  Every year the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) releases the final standings of how the 106 California community college athletic programs stacked up against one another. This week they released the final standings for the 2010-11 calendar year, and Saddleback finished 15th overall.
In addition to finishing 15th in the state, the Gauchos were No. 8 in Southern California, finishing with 85.5 points, up five points from a year ago when the program finished in 18th place in the state. Saddleback was just 7.5 points from a top-10 finish, and was bolstered by men’s basketball earning 17.5 points, with yet another semifinal appearance. The Gauchos also earned 14.5 points in football, 13 points in men’s track & field, 11 points in women’s golf, 8.5 points in women’s tennis, 7.5 points in men’s golf, seven points in women’s cross country and 6.5 points in softball.
“It was another great season for Saddleback athletics both on and off the field,” Dean of kinesiology and athletics Tony Lipold said. “In addition to winning a lot of games and matches, we excelled in the classroom and our athletes have earned a lot of scholarships.”
3/9/11: Former AD Calkins selected to the Hall of Fame
 After spending 21 years as the Athletics Director at Saddleback College, former AD Keith Calkins is being inducted into the California Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Calkins was in charge of the Gaucho programs from 1980-2001.
Calkins is being honored for his 37 years of service to California Community College athletics, 21 of which were spent as the Athletic Director of Saddleback College (1980-2001). He served on numerous committees including President of the California Community College Football Coaches Association and President of the CCC Athletic Directors Association. Calkins also served on the COA Board, was a member of the CCCAA Management Council and was a founding member of SCOPE (now CCCPE). Saddleback College remembers Keith Calkins for many reasons, including the establishment of the Saddleback College Hall of Fame in 1982, the Student Athlete Drug Assistance Program in 1988 and the Athletic Gender Equity Committee in 1994.
The CCCAA Sports Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed in California community college athletics. Founded in 1984, the Hall of Fame has sought to recognize those who have made the most of their experiences as California community college student athletes, coaches and administrators, maximizing their own potential to better themselves and those with whom they come into contact. Eight inductees is an all time high for the number inducted into the CCCAA Hall of Fame in a year. They will join 101 previous inductees in the Hall, which features some of the most recognizable names in amateur and professional sports. To view our Hall of Fame page complete with past nominees and bios follow this link http://www.cccaasports.org/history-hof.asp.
The CCCAA Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the San Mateo Marriott Hotel in San Mateo, CA. To purchase tickets, print, complete, and return the convention registration form available at http://www.cccaasports.org/meeting.asp.
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2/15/11: Former Gauchos to be honored by the CCCAA
 Two former Saddleback College student-athletes and two Saddleback College athletic teams will be honored next month during the California Community College Athletic Association’s Celebration of Scholar Athletes luncheon at the 14th Annual CCCAA Convention at the San Mateo Marriott on March 30.
Women’s tennis player Erika Kagawa and men’s water polo player and swimmer Brian Neville were each selected as the top Scholar-Athlete in the Orange Empire Conference and represented the conference at the state level. Kagawa is one of only seven female student-athletes on the state Honor Roll for the 2009-2010 school year while Neville is one of nine male student-athletes on the state Honor Roll.
Kagawa, a 2008 graduate of Dana Hills High School, was the No. 1 singles player on the Saddleback women’s tennis team last season, helping the Gauchos to a perfect 18-0 record and the first state championship in the program’s history. She was 10-7 in dual-team singles matches and 15-0 as part of Saddleback’s No. 2 doubles team. She also maintained a 3.80 grade point average during her college career. She currently attends Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and plans to become a veterinarian.
Neville is a 2006 graduate of Trabuco Hills High School who started his college education at UC Irvine before transferring into Saddleback for the 2008 swim season. He competed in both water polo and swimming during the 2008-09 school year and then completed his community college career by playing on the 2009 water polo team. He maintained a 3.95 grade point average at Saddleback, including four full-time semesters with a 4.00 GPA. He will be studying biological sciences at Cal State Fullerton in the fall as he prepares for a medical career.
In addition to these two individual awards, two Saddleback teams from the 2009-10 season will also be recognized at the CCCAA luncheon. The 2009 men’s cross country team had a 3.12 cumulative team GPA and the women’s tennis team had a 3.57 cumulative team GPA to be selected as the top scholar-teams in the state for their respective sports. Only 17 sports statewide will be recognized.
“This is another great accomplishment for Saddleback College and goes to show how successful our student-athletes are, both in the classroom and in athletic competition,” said Tony Lipold, Saddleback College’s Athletic Director.
1/7/11: Gaucho basketball to participate in Coaches vs. Cancer
 On Friday, January 21, when Saddleback College hosts district-rival Irvine Valley College in a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader, the teams will accent their normal school colors with a hint of pink in the fight against cancer.
A nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches has resulted in Coaches vs. Cancer, a fundraising and awareness program to help raise funds to fight cancer. Since its inception in 1993, college basketball coaches nationwide have helped raise nearly $45 million through this program. The California community college coaches are the newest addition to the nationwide program and have a goal of raising $50,000 this season.
Saddleback College will not be charging admission to the games on that evening, but will be asking for donations at the door. All donations will be added to the California Community College men’s and women’s basketball coaches association’s efforts in the Coaches vs. Cancer program this year. Players and officials will be wearing pink shoelaces to support the cause and pink bracelets will be provided to those making donations at the door.
Saddleback and Irvine Valley appear to have the two best men’s teams in the Orange Empire Conference this season and the women’s programs have been equally matched in the past several years. This rivalry is also a part of The President’s Cup, a friendly wager between the presidents of the two colleges with the winner of the four-game series receiving the perpetual trophy, and also The Battle for the Irons, an all-inclusive supremacy challenge between Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges in all the sports which both colleges compete. This trophy is a combination of the branding irons used by the ranches on which the colleges now sit: the Mission Viejo Company for Saddleback College and the Irvine Company for Irvine Valley College. All of this should make for an exciting evening of basketball action.
The Saddleback and Irvine Valley women will tip off starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Saddleback campus gym with the men’s teams squaring off at 7:30 p.m.
11/12/10: Abram and Ramirez earn SC/JJJ Athlete of the Month
  Football wide receiver Tavaurus Abram and cross country runner Evonna Ramirez have been named the Saddleback College/Jersey Joe’s Jerseys Athletes-of-the-Month for October. Ramirez was also recognized as an honorable mention athlete by the CCCAA/CCCSIA.
Abram had a big month for a Gaucho football team that finished 3-1 in October. He led the team with 26 receptions for 329 yards and five touchdowns for the month, and scored at least one time in every game. Abram is currently 7th in the state with 61 receptions through nine games.
Ramirez also had a big month, finishing 14th out of 261 runners at the SoCal Preview at Mission Bay before finishing 10th out of 169 runners at the Mt. SAC Invitational. She finished off the month by racing to an 8th place finish at the Orange Empire Conference finals at Oso Park.
In addition, Ramirez was named honorable mention all state for the month of October by the California Community College Athletic Association and the California Community College Sports Information Association.
The athlete of the month award is sponsored by Jersey Joe’s Jerseys, located in the Shops at Mission Viejo. Go in to Jersey Joe’s Jerseys and say “GO GAUCHOS” to receive 10% off your next order (excluding memorabilia).
10/14/10: Woodland and Komoroczy win SC/JJJ Athlete of the Month
  Football athlete Rodney Woodland and women’s golfer Grace Komoroczy have been named the Saddleback College and Jersey Joe’s Jerseys Athlete-of-the-Month for September. The two were also recognized as honorable mention for the state by the CCCAA.
Woodland led the Gauchos in all-purpose yardage for the month, helping Saddleback to a 4-1 start to the season. He averaged 178 yards-per-game for the month, totaling 216 yards through the air, 121 on the ground and 375 yards in kick returns. Woodland had four touchdowns for the month of September and was instrumental both on offense and special teams.
Komoroczy was the medalist in three out of four Orange Empire Conference golf matches during the month of September, finishing two of those rounds at 3-over-par and one round at 4-over-par. She also helped to lead Saddleback to a third place finish at the College of the Desert tournament, including one round where she finished at 1-under-par 71. She currently has a 75.8 stroke average this season, helping Saddleback to an 11-4 record and second-place standing in the Orange Empire Conference.
The two were also recognized by the California Community College Athletic Association for the month of September.
The athlete of the month award is sponsored by Jersey Joe’s Jerseys, located in the Shops at Mission Viejo. Go in to Jersey Joe’s Jerseys and say “GO GAUCHOS” to receive 10% off your next order (excluding memorabilia).
5/27/10: Gauchos finish 7th in SoCal in NATYCAA Cup
 The Saddleback athletics program had a banner year in 2009-10, winning two state titles and coming close in a third. The Gauchos found out on Thursday that they finished 7th in Southern California in the annual NATYCAA Cup standings for the second straight year.
The National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) released its annual totals for the year and the Gauchos once again proved to be a top-10 program in Southern California. Saddleback finished with 80.8 points for the 12-month period, behind only a handful of programs in the southern half of the state, considered the toughest half of the state (Southern California programs won 18 of 23 state titles in 2009-10).
Orange Empire Conference rival Orange Coast College ended up winning the cup title for the year, just an eyelash ahead of Mt. San Antonio College and a stone’s throw ahead of OEC rival Riverside City College, who finished in third. Eight Orange Empire programs finished in the top-20 in Southern California for 2009-10, adding more clout to the competition the Gauchos faced on a regular basis.
Saddleback collected the maximum 20 points each for men’s basketball and women’s tennis as a result of winning the state championship. The Gauchos also accumulated 14.5 points in softball as a result of losing in the regional finals to Cypress College, a team that went on to capture the state title.
Saddleback finished No.18 in the state out of 108 programs for the 2009-10 calendar year . For complete state standings, click here. NATYCAA Cup
Southern California Standings (Top-20):
1. Orange Coast
2. Mt. San Antonio
3. Riverside
4. Ventura
5. Cerritos
6. Cypress
7. Saddleback
8. Moorpark
9. Palomar
10. Bakersfield
11. Cuesta
12. Golden West
13. Fullerton
14. San Bernadino Valley
15. El Camino
16. Irvine Valley
17. Glendale
18. Pasadena City
19. Long Beach City
20. Santa Ana
3/26/10: Nearly one-half of college's athletes make Honor Roll
The Saddleback College athletic department is pleased to announce that 149 of the college’s student-athletes made the Athletic Honor Roll during the Fall 2009 semester, completing 12-or-more units with a 3.00 or higher grade point average. This is nearly one-half of the department’s 328 student-athletes this year.
“Although Saddleback has a rich tradition of athletic excellence, we also pride ourselves on the academic accomplishments of our student-athletes and scholar-teams. Having nearly one half of our student-athletes make the Athletic Honor Roll in the fall semester is quite an accomplishment. I’m thrilled that these students are utilizing the opportunities provided to them and are taking their academic performance as seriously as they treat their athletic performance,” Saddleback College Athletic Director Tony Lipold said.
Of the 149 student-athletes on the list, 19 posted a perfect 4.00 GPA during the semester.
Along the way, Saddleback student-athletes for the college’s 10 fall semester sports teams earned 39 all-conference awards and a state championship title (men’s basketball).
Fall 2009 Honor Roll list
3/2/10:
Saddleback athletics pulls off academic trifecta
The Saddleback athletics department is proud to announce that three of its athletic teams from the 2008-09 calendar year will be recognized at the annual COA/CCCAA convention next month. Both men’s and women’s swimming along with softball were recognized as the top academic team in the state for their sports, Commission on Athletics Executive Director Carlyle Carter said.
The three teams will all be honored at the Student Athlete Awards Luncheon, which recognizes scholar athletes and teams. Saddleback had five teams for the calendar year that were nominated from the Orange Empire Conference, as both baseball and women’s tennis also had the highest GPA in the conference. In order to qualify academically, a team must carry a cumulative 3.0 grade point average in the classroom.
“We are incredibly proud of what our student-athletes have achieved in the classroom this past year,” Athletic Director Tony Lipold (left) said. “It speaks volumes about our coaches and instructors and the importance they place on academics. Winning one of these awards in any given year is tough. Winning three is unprecedented.”
The convention is March 31, 2010, in Ontario, California.
12/20/09: Big wave surf champion is Saddleback alum
 Saddleback College alumni often accomplish outstanding feats, and none could have been as dangerous or breathtaking as Greg Long’s victory in the prestigious Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest in December at Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore.
Long, a resident of San Clemente, was a Saddleback student in 2002 when he signed up for classes, joined the surf team, and helped Saddleback capture the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) National Championship. Saddleback’s surf coach that year was current head football coach Mark McElroy.
“He was one of our six short-boarders that season and one of about three or four professional surfers that we had on the team,” McElroy said. “We became real good, real quick.”
Long has emerged in recent years as the world’s premier big-wave surfer, winning the Aikau event in December by surviving a nearly sheer drop down a wave with a face that exceeded 40 feet, exploded at the back of his surfboard, then covered with a wall of whitewater reminiscent of an avalanche. Judges scored the ride a perfect 100 due to the wave’s “heaviness factor” and the potential consequences if he did not successfully make the drop. The score propelled him past Kelly Slater for the event’s title and $55,000 prize money.
During 2009, Long also won the Billabong XXL Ride of the Year for riding a 61-foot wave at Dungeons in South Africa, an honor that also carries a $50,000 prize.
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