Sports Desk

For Russell, this cannot be an easy moment in his career. A Mercedes protege himself, he has waited eight years for this moment – the best car, with Mercedes.

Last year, he was comfortably the better driver of the two; only rarely did Antonelli get the better of him. So he earned his status as pre-season championship favourite.

The Briton, 28, lived up to that when he won the first race of the season in Australia from pole position, but since then things have gone against him.

A technical problem almost certainly robbed him of pole in China and handed it to Antonelli, who converted it into a maiden win. A safety car intervened to hand the victory in Japan to Antonelli, when without it most likely either McLaren’s Oscar Piastri or Russell would have won.

But there was no doubt about the Miami win. Antonelli put it on pole. Russell was fifth on the grid, behind upgraded cars from the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari teams.

Antonelli made a sixth bad start in a row and lost ground. But he stayed calm, fought back, and grabbed the win from McLaren’s Lando Norris over the pit stop period.

Norris initially thought that was all about McLaren making a mistake by letting Mercedes pit first, not wanting to go too early with rain threatening.

But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team still had the margin to stay ahead of Antonelli when they did stop three laps after him, but that a series of events conspired against them.

First, there was the time gained by what Stella called a “huge” first lap out of the pits by Antonelli after his stop. That risked overheating his tyres, which he would have to deal with later, but ensured he was still within striking range of the McLaren.

Then Norris made a couple of errors on his in-lap and had a slow stop. Combine all that, and it was enough to put Antonelli right on Norris’ tail when the McLaren came out of the pits. The Mercedes quickly swept past, and Antonelli held Norris off for the rest of the race.

Russell is keeping things in perspective, recognising there are still 18 races to go, and a lot can happen.

“Clearly he’s in a very good place at the moment and momentum is with him,” Russell said. “But, having got enough experience myself in championships I’ve won and how momentum swings throughout the year, and looking at the championship last year, to be honest, I’m not even considering it.

“It’s just that I want to get back on to the top step of the podium. The first three races, I had the performance to do that, but this weekend I absolutely did not have the performance to do that.

“So, I could be standing here now with three very different results in previous races, with this one being a bit of a one-off, but obviously things worked out differently in Japan and China, but that’s Formula 1 sometimes.”

Russell admitted that the “pace was really, really poor on my side”, and that he has never gelled with the Miami circuit and its low-grip surface and slow corners.

But Hill said: “You can’t have that, you can’t have a track that you don’t gel with. You’ve got to be good across everything. George now has to regroup, has to look at where he is at and what the new paradigm is.”

Mark Vientos hit two homers and drove in four runs and right-hander Clay Holmes allowed one run in 6⅔ innings as the New York Mets beat the Angels 5-1 on Sunday.

Holmes (4-2) allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts as the Mets took two of three games from the Angels and won a series for just the second time since April 7. New York also won two of three against Minnesota (April 21-23).

The Mets used Bo Bichette at shortstop Sunday, one day after Ronny Mauricio fractured his left thumb and was placed on the injured list. Shortstop Francisco Lindor also is on the injured list with a calf strain.

Jorge Soler had an RBI single for the Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-1) gave up two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Los Angeles had ended a season-high seven-game losing streak Saturday. The Angels are 2-12 since April 18.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Zach Neto and Mike Trout worked walks to open the game against Holmes and Soler hit a one-out run-scoring single to center.

As Holmes settled in, the Mets grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Vientos hit a towering two-run homer 427 feet, halfway up the rock pile beyond the center field fence.

The Angels were in the game until the eighth inning when Tayler Saucedo hit Brett Baty with his first pitch of the inning and was replaced by Nick Sandlin. Carson Benge had an RBI double to right for a 3-1 lead and Vientos followed with another two-run home run, this time to left.

The Mets’ outfield made a pair of spectacular plays, with left fielder MJ Melendez making a diving catch in the sixth inning and Benge making a diving catch in right for the second out of the ninth.

Up next for the Angels: RHP Jose Soriano (5-1, 0.84 ERA) will pitch in Monday’s series opener against White Sox RHP Davis Martin (4-1, 1.95 ERA).

Vinicius Jr scores twice as Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-0 to keep Barcelona waiting to win the La Liga title, which they could now do when the two rivals meet in next Sunday’s El Clasico.

MATCH REPORT: Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid

Available to UK users only.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before Cherie DeVaux won a Breeders’ Cup race, before one of her horses won an Eclipse Award, before she became the answer to a Siri question — “Who was the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby?” — she faced the same problem as every new trainer.

She needed horses.

Fortunately for her, this was 2018 and she had just married David Ingordo, a leading bloodstock agent. Surely he’d bring her some top horses and DeVaux would be on her way.

Except … it took DeVaux 11 months to win her first race.

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, celebrates with her husband, David Ingordo, on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

(Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

“That was 100% my fault,” Ingordo said. “We gathered up some horses of our own; we were totally self-funded. And the collection of horses I gathered up were yaks and llamas and sheep. They weren’t related to the equine species.

“I told her, ‘You should have divorced me for the effing horses I put in there.’”

Ingordo was telling this story Sunday, standing in the morning chill outside Barn 37 at Churchill Downs, where dozens of cameras and a few reporters were there to record every word his wife had to say, 12 hours after she made history.

“Good thing I don’t have social anxiety,” DeVaux quipped as she stepped in front of the throng.

She reported Golden Tempo, munching on some hay in his stall maybe 50 feet behind her, was doing well, two hours before he took a 70-mile van ride to DeVaux’s base at Keeneland. A decision on whether he will continue east next week to Laurel Park, temporary home of the May 16 Preakness, won’t be made for several days.

DeVaux said she celebrated with family late Saturday night, eventually getting to sleep at 1:30 a.m. and allowing herself to “sleep in a bit,” not rising until a whole four hours later. There were more than 800 text messages on her phone and she was thinking about what she was going to pack for a flight to New York, where she’s scheduled to appear at 7:30 a.m. Monday on NBC’s “Today.”

“I don’t know if the enormity of this has sunk in yet,” she said.

But DeVaux, 44, has never forgotten where she came from. She grew up in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., which is known for thoroughbred racing, but her family was involved in harness racing and she never wanted to be a trainer anyway. She was in college when most of her family moved to Florida, and she stayed behind to finish school. She needed a job to help pay tuition, and her mom told her there was a racetrack across the street “and all you have to do is walk the horses.”

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, is surrounded by media in the winner’s circle Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

DeVaux’s plan was to go to medical school, but when an advisor said she had to take a class in organic chemistry, “I just looked at her and said: ‘No, I’m going to go work on the racetrack.’ She’s like: ‘Are you sure?’ and I was like, ‘I’m just going to see how it works.’”

Her first job was with Chuck Simon, who had worked for her father. She was 22 when she showed up at Churchill Downs.

“I was a wild child,” DeVaux said Saturday night. “Chuck saw I was going the wrong way and took me under his wing and made me be an assistant trainer, begrudgingly, because I was really enjoying the party life. But he kind of wrangled me in.

“He would be so proud. I am here because of him. Because he pushed me. He pushed my boundaries. He gave me direction when I needed it. And he was always proud of me. But I just think this definitely would have put him over the top.”

Holding one of the roses that came with Golden Tempo’s victory, she added, “And I can’t wait to drop one of these off at our old barn here.”

She did just that Saturday night before leaving the track.

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Golden Tempo, looks on during morning workouts ahead of the Kentucky Derby on April 27 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

“It was really emotional,” she said Sunday of her stop at Barn 14. “You know, you walk up, and all the memories flood back of being there, and … it’s an honor to get to be able to do something, you know? It’s just a rose, but it meant a lot. That was where I first unloaded my car, and I thought, ‘OK, let’s do this.’”

DeVaux then worked several years for Chad Brown before making the decision to go out on her own. She said Ingordo told her to give it three years and if it didn’t work, she could do something else.

But Ingordo, who has been working in racing since he was 15, spending time with trainers such as Bobby Frankel and Bruce Headley and later his stepfather, John Shirreffs, said he knew it would work.

“I always say that talent and class are evident in horses and people very quickly,” Ingordo said. “And, you know, I’d watch Cherie and see her, and I knew her from her previous job. And I could watch … the one trainer’s name might have been on the headlines, but I saw who was doing the work. And I told her, ‘You’re too talented to be an assistant. And it’d be a waste if you don’t try it.’”

It did work. Slowly at first, but business picked up and DeVaux started winning bigger races. Her breakthrough came in 2023 when she had the likes of More Than Looks, Vahva and She Feels Pretty. The latter provided her first Grade 1 win in the 2023 Natalma at Woodbine, and the next year all three of those horses captured Grade 1 races, including More Than Looks in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar. Last year, She Feels Pretty won two more Grade 1s and was voted the Eclipse Award as top female turf horse.

She has a life away from the track as well, as much as any trainer can have. Ingordo has full custody of a 15-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and he said, “Meeting Cherie was not only good for me, it’s been great for my daughter.”

As for making history, Ingordo said it wasn’t anything they talked about, and DeVaux “doesn’t sit there and go, ‘I’m a woman, hear me roar.’

“But at the same time,” he said, “she’s very cognizant of the fact this is a very male-dominated business throughout history. It’s probably a little chauvinist at times, if not more.

“And for her to do this. … You know, she’s not a one-hit wonder. The top 25 should be her domain, somewhere in there, for a long time.”

Wu made a scintillating start to the evening, having resumed at 4-4 after an afternoon session that was briefly interrupted by a female spectator jumping over the front-row barrier before referee Rob Spencer and security intervened to remove her.

Breaks of 82 and 103 gave him a two-frame advantage and while Murphy, who had earlier recovered from 3-0 down, hit back with a 72 it appeared as though he was struggling to stem the flow of his opponent.

Murphy, 43, who is aiming to set a new record for the longest gap between first and second titles, openly admitted that Wu had blasted him off the table at the Masters in January – albeit in a best-of-11 contest.

And having never won a match on his two visits to the Crucible prior to this year, Wu has so far has answered every question posed of him in the longer format.

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the 11th week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. NORCO (23-3); Cougars are Big VIII League champions; 1

2. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (21-5); James Tronstein has reached eight home runs; 2

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (22-5); Trinity League champions are starting to peak; 3

4. ORANGE LUTHERAN (20-4); Gary Morse, Cooper Sides are good one-two pitching duo; 4

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (20-6-1); Complete game from Jared Grindlinger shows he’s playoff ready; 5

6. CORONA (19-6); Second-place finish in Big VIII League; 6

7. SIERRA CANYON (21-5); Sophomore Theo Swafford has come on strong as a hitter; 7

8. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (18-8); Knights clinched Mission League playoff spot; 8

9. AYALA (22-2); Palomares League champions; 9

10. CYPRESS (20-6); Crestview League champions; 10

11. LA MIRADA (21-6); Gateway League champions;11

12. OAKS CHRISTIAN (21-6); Co-Marmonte League champions; 13

13 GAHR (16-9-1); Bryce Morrison hitting .453; 15

14. NEWPORT HARBOR (19-9); Got a win vs. Huntington Beach; 17

15. CORONA SANTIAGO (18-10); Swept Corona Centennial to finish third in Big VIII League; 18

16. ROYAL (21-3-1); One-game lead in Coastal Canyon League; 12

17. AQUINAS (19-8); Ambassador League champions; 19

18. TEMECULA VALLEY (23-4); UCLA commit Taden Krogsgaard is coming through; 23

19. SANTA MARGARITA (15-13); Lost three games to JSerra; 14

20. BISHOP ALEMANY (17-9); Finish with two-game series vs. Sierra Canyon; 16

21. MATER DEI (13-11); Monarchs have three-game series vs. Orange Lutheran; 20

22. VILLA PARK (17-8-1); Second place in Crestview League; 21

23. ETIWANDA (17-7); Baseline League champions; NR

24. WESTLAKE (18-8); Shared Marmonte League title with Oaks Christian; 24

25. GANESHA (19-2-1); Have three games this week; 25

Norris was left to rue the pit stop decision – “How did we not win this?” he said over the radio. “We can make it easier for ourselves.”

But this was a strong showing from McLaren, who introduced a major upgrade package this weekend, which brought them right into the fight with Mercedes.

Leclerc was brought in on lap 21 for his stop, and complained over the radio that he had not been consulted.

The decision did drop him down the field and force him to fight past slower cars. He regained third, but then lost it again to Norris’ team-mate Piastri on the penultimate lap as he began to struggle for grip.

Leclerc then spun on his own on the last lap, shortly after Piastri had overtaken him, and he lost two further positions into and out of the final corner, as first Russell and then Verstappen came past him.

Verstappen pitted under the safety car for his fresh tyres, hoping the gamble would pay off. It dropped him to the back, but with some aggressive overtaking and the others pitting in front of him, it put him in the lead mid-race.

But he was never going to hold on with his worn tyres, and he slipped down. Still, fifth was a decent result after his early error, which was followed by some very aggressive racing that prompted complaints from some of his rivals.

Leclerc slipped back to sixth, ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, whose car was damaged in a first-lap clash with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.

The Argentine took eighth, ahead of the Williams cars of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.

Verstappen faces an investigation from the stewards for crossing the white line on pit exit, while a collision between Russell and Verstappen while they were racing in the closing stages and in which the Mercedes’ front wing was damaged is also under consideration.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s mixed 4x400m team won bronze at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana, while four other GB teams also qualified automatically for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

Alex Haydock-Wilson, Lina Nielsen, Jake Minshull and Yemi Mary John finished third in three minutes 8.24 seconds, behind the USA and Jamaica.

A place on the podium qualifies the 4×400 mixed team for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in September.

GB’s men’s 4x100m, the women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x100m line-ups progressed to Sunday’s finals from Saturday’s heats, earning them a place in Beijing next year.

The women’s 4x100m team, who were disqualified after finishing second in their first day heat, came in second in their Sunday repechage to take one of four remaining World Championships slots.

However the men’s 4x400m quartet, who finished seventh in their first race, placed third in their repechage and will bid to qualify for Beijing on time at a later date.

The women’s 4x400m squad finished fourth, while the men’s and mixed 4x100m teams both failed to get the baton round in their finals.

British athletes won medals in all five relay events at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but failed to reach the podium at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo.

Captain Paige Cronin delivered a pinpoint cross onto Cloé Lacasse’s head for the game’s only goal in the 32nd minute, giving Utah (4-2-1) a win over Angel City at BMO Stadium. It was the Royals’ fourth straight victory.

In first half stoppage time, Maiara Niehues received a direct red card for violent conduct towards Lacasse. It was the first red card in club history for Angel City FC, who played down a player the entirety of the second half.

Royals goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn started her first match of the 2026 season and earned the clean sheet with four saves.

After starting the season with three consecutive wins, Angel City FC (3-3-0) have now lost three straight.

SAN DIEGO — Ryan Hollingshead scored his first goal this season in the 14th minute of stoppage time and Denis Bouanga added a goal for LAFC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with San Diego FC.

Mathieu Choiniere’s soft header off a corner kick played to the back post by David Martinez bounced in front of the goal and Hollingshead slammed home the finish to cap the scoring.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored two goals — his first career multi-goal game in MLS — for San Diego.

Anders Dreyer played a corner kick to the near post and Ingvartsen headed home the finish to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

On the counter-attack, Dreyer played a cross from the right side to Ingvartsen, who knocked down the ball with his first touch and then blasted a shot from the center of the area inside the left post and into the side-net to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute.

Ingvartsen has seven goals and two assists this season. The 30-year-old had two goals and one assist in eight appearances, five starts, in 2025, his first season in MLS.

Denis Bouanga scored in the 82nd minute, LAFC’s first shot on goal. Bouanga, who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, has five goals this season.

LAFC (6-2-3) beat Minnesota 1-0 last time out to snap a three-game winless streak.

San Diego (3-5-3) snapped a five-game losing streak.

CJ Dos Santos made his season debut and had three saves for San Diego but left due to injury in stoppage time and was replaced by Duran Ferree. The 24-year-old Dos Santos, who had 10 shutouts last season, suffered a fractured cheekbone and orbital floor fracture in a playoff loss at Portland on Nov. 1.

Season series: 0-4

Nov. 12, 2025, in Oklahoma City
Thunder 121, Lakers 92
Neither team was at full strength with James sidelined because of sciatica and the Thunder without Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City still dominated behind an effortless 30-point, nine-assist night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was the largest defeat of the season for the Lakers until April.

Feb. 9, in Los Angeles
Thunder 119, Lakers 110
Both teams were without their MVP candidates as Gilegous-Alexander sat because of a strained abdominal muscle and Doncic was sidelined by a hamstring injury. The Thunder proved their depth and chemistry by holding off the Lakers in the fourth quarter. This was one of just eight clutch-time losses for the Lakers during the regular season.

April 2, in Oklahoma City
Thunder 139, Lakers 96
The nightmare score wasn’t as scary for the Lakers as seeing their two leading scorers injured in the same game. Reaves played through what was later diagnosed as a Grade 2 oblique muscle strain, and Doncic left in the third quarter with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. The game was expected to be a major showdown between MVP candidates and a litmus test for the Lakers, who entered with 13 wins in their previous 14 games.

April 8, in Los Angeles
Thunder 123, Lakers 87
The Lakers were without four starters and still reeling from the regular season-ending injuries suffered by Doncic and Reaves the previous week. Matching up with the Thunder again only exacerbated the emotional hangover. Redick tried to inject some energy into the group by benching veterans Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt for small mistakes early, but the coach later admitted the tactic didn’t work.

For Blake Bowen and his JSerra High baseball teammates, their final week of the high school baseball season could not have gone any better.

The 6-foot-4 senior hit three home runs during a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita. But the Lions finished their season on Friday with an 11-17 record, which means there will be no postseason.

“Too little, too late,” coach Brett Kay said.

Bowen came on strong, finishing with nine home runs and a .360 batting average. His ability to hit the ball hard and far should make him a high draft pick this summer.

“It’s the best power I’ve ever seen for a high school player,” Kay said.

Bowen is a former football player who began focusing only on baseball after transferring to JSerra from Riverside King. He plays baseball like he did in football — with an aggressiveness.

“Once he comes into his own, he’s going to be special,” Kay said.

The Lions had a young team that was hurt by injuries. One of the impressive young players was freshman Joey Koenig, who showed he can hit and will get a chance to pitch in the future.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Cullen and Leinster, who had comfortably cruised through the tournament last season, came under intense scrutiny after Northampton’s fast start saw them take a 12-point lead at half-time.

The four-time champions fought back and almost snatched the game at the death, with Cullen revisiting late refereeing decisions that cost his side in the 37-34 defeat last May.

A year on, he defended his side, who had previously never beaten three-time champions Toulon, and said he always expects a Champions Cup semi-final to “never go to script”.

“Naturally [in the last 10 minutes] you try and protect things, don’t you? Whereas the other team they don’t have protection and throw everything at it,” he added.

“We were sitting in this room this time last year. We were in that situation and we were throwing everything at Northampton. [Henry] Pollock gets a poach – it should have been a penalty.

“It’s clearly illegal, but nobody wants to report about it after. We should have had a penalty try and nobody wants to report about it. You just want to kick the boot into us, don’t you? But that’s the way it goes.

“Semi-finals come down to the tightest of margins. In 2012, Wesley Fofana knocked the ball over the tryline and that is how we [Leinster] got to the final.

“I would be kind to Toulon as they showed great spirit to the very end.”

Leinster will travel to Bilbao for the final on Saturday, 23 May, where they will face last year’s champions Bordeaux-Begles or Bath, who play on Sunday.

Cullen confirmed centre Robbie Henshaw and flanker Josh van der Flier, who left the field with head injuries, will undergo the graduated return-to-play protocol.

Flanker Jack Conan limped off and “will get checked”, with Tommy O’Brien said to be likely suffering from cramp.

All four are important players for Cullen as Leinster seek a fifth Champions Cup in three weeks’ time.

For teenagers dreaming of playing in the NFL, former Corona Centennial high defensive back Camryn Bynum has first-hand knowledge of what it takes. It involves more than a star ranking or posting videos on social media.

“It’s a simple formula to make it to where you want to go,” said Bynum, who recently signed a $60-million contract with the Indianapolis Colts and will be holding a youth camp at his alma mater on May 23.

“It’s just hard to stay on the right track and do every single thing to the best of your ability and consistently do everything the right way,” he said. “You play a few good years of high school ball, you’ll get a chance to play college ball. If you become a starter, maybe one or two years and play well enough, you’ll get a chance at the league, whether you get drafted in the first round, like everybody wants to, or you you’re an undrafted free agent. If you get your foot in the door, there’s hundreds of stories about people getting in.”

Bynum says there’s a big sacrifice that many teenagers are unwilling to accept. It’s called avoiding distractions at all costs. At least it worked for him. He didn’t start on varsity until his junior year. He became a four-year starter at Cal, was a fourth-round draft pick of the Vikings, who immediately told him he’s switching from cornerback to safety. He was ready for anything.

“I think the best way to reach the point where you want to go is to stay distraction free,” he said. “Stay working towards that goal and don’t let anything come in between. That’s been the biggest part of my journey, my faith, and being able to just trust that God will put me exactly where I need to be, but also putting in the work myself knowing that if I want to play college ball, I need to keep my grades up in high school, stay away from all the distractions, the parties, the drinking, the drugs, like a lot of people unfortunately fall into.”

His first major test was dealing with adversity. He started on JSerra’s freshman team, then transferred back home to Centennial. He said he was fifth string on the JV team. “I was literally not playing,” he said. He gave serious consideration to leaving. But Centennial coach Matt Logan and others made it clear he had to earn his playing time.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum in 2024.

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

“Coach Logan, he’s like, ‘No, you gotta work. You gotta work, figure it out and grind. You’re good. You’re plenty good enough, but you have to earn your spot.’ And I remember a few other coaches telling me, ‘It’s all up to you, if you want to put the work in and you want to compete, This is a competitive program, you got to figure out how to earn your playing time.’”

Bynum went to a private coach and started training morning and night. He became stronger, faster and more confident. As a junior, he became a standout. He still uses that same private coach, Jordan Brown, in his training.

Bynum, born to a Filipino mother, now lives in the offseason with his Filipino wife and young daughter on the outskirts of Manila.

Asked if Manila traffic is worse than Los Angeles traffic, he said, “They’re both pretty bad. They’re just bad in different ways.”

His first youth camp will help raise funds for his foundation that is supporting causes such as teaching flag football in the Philippines. The camp will be for youth and high school-age players and provide a vehicle for exposure along with football development.

“We want it to be a learning environment and a competitive environment to help kids get recruited and be seen more,” Bynum said.

Just remember the path is simple but the road blocks are many to overcome.

Salesian High School held its 15th Salesian Gala on Saturday night, with defensive back Deommodore Lenoir from the San Francisco 49ers and a Salesian graduate being honored.

Deommodore Lenoir of Salesian in 2016. Now he’s NFL defensive back for 49ers.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Lenoir used Salesian as a key path to playing college football at Oregon and then the NFL. He received a $92 million contract extension in 2024.

“Growing up in South Los Angeles taught me a lot,” he said in 2016. “It taught me to stay focused in order to be able to go where I want to go, and that’s to the NFL. You have to stay in the classroom and do what you’re told to do.”

He’s come back to Salesian to offer a message of hope and hard work.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Mathias Laborda scored in the 82nd minute for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night, sealing a 1-1 tie with the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

The Whitecaps (8-1-1), who were only the second MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win eight of their first nine games to begin a season, had their club regular-season record four-game win streak snapped.

Sebastian Berhalter played a free kick from the left side to the back post and Laborda headed home the finish from point-blank range to cap the scoring.

The Whitecaps had 58% possession and outshot the Galaxy 19-7, including a 5-2 edge in on target shots.

Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring in the 46th minute. Lucas Sanabria, in the opening seconds of the second half, stole a misplayed ball from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka and fed Paintsil for a finish from the right side of the area.

JT Marcinkowski had four saves for the Galaxy (3-4-4).

Takaoka finished with one save.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL & SOFTBALL

Saturday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Mendez 13, CALS Early College 0

Palisades 4, San Pedro 3

Port of Los Angeles d. Dorsey, forfeit

Sun Valley Poly 8, LA Marshall 2

Venice 10, San Fernando 2

Verdugo Hills 8, Chatsworth 4

SOUTHERN SECTION

Big Bear 9, San Bernardino 2

Bishop Amat 12, Covina 1

Bishop Montgomery 10, South Torrance 3

Buena Park 5, LA Roosevelt 3

Camarillo 5, Valencia 1

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 11, Bell Gardens 2

Crean Lutheran 4, Trabuco Hills 3

Dominguez 10, Compton Centennial 9

Estancia 11, Bosco Tech 5

Grace 3, Dunn 2

La Canada 11, Pasadena 8

Los Alamitos 5, Millikan 3

Maranatha 17, Oxford Academy 6

Monrovia 6, Flintridge Prep 2

Orange Lutheran 14, Mater Dei 4

Palm Desert 3, Kaiser 1

Palos Verdes 7, Ganesha 5

Rancho Verde 4, Bloomington 0

Rio Mesa 6, Righetti 5

Santa Barbara 25, Nordhoff 2

Santa Monica 6, El Segundo 3

Santa Paula 2, Castaic 1

Saugus 7, Quartz Hill 0

Savanna 4, Adelanto 3

South Hills 2, La Quinta 1

St. Genevieve 15, Verbum Dei 13

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy

Torrance 5, Warren 3

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 7, Lennox Academy 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Buena Park 5, LA Roosevelt 3

St. Paul 7, South East 2

SOFTBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

Big Bear 4, San Bernardino 2

Hawthorne 19, Lennox Academy 4

INTERSECTIONAL

Atascadero 13, Coastal Christian 3

Norco 5, Chula Vista Mater Dei 1

China’s Wu Yize is the 21st man to reach a World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible Theatre since the turn of the century thanks to his extraordinary win against Mark Allen.

Can you name the other 20 players who have appeared in a world title decider in Sheffield between 2000 and 2025?

After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

Boston were 99-98 behind following two Neemias Queta free throws before Maxey scored eight unanswered points to give his side a 107-98 lead with 15 seconds left.

“We started off well and then in the second quarter we kind of relaxed a little,” said Embiid. “Same thing with the start of the fourth.

“But we stuck together, closed it out.”

He added: “It means a lot. You can’t win alone, you need a team to be able win and everybody doing their job.”

Embiid had returned for the last four games of the series after an emergency appendectomy had ruled him out since 6 April.

“What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back, and they’re a completely different team,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.

Boston star Jayson Tatum missed the decider because of a left knee issue, with Jaylen Brown top scoring for them with 33 points.

“Loved the looks that we got, loved the process that we had, but hate the result,” said Mazzulla.

Oswald Peraza hit a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning and the Angels snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night.

Jorge Soler drew a leadoff walk from Austin Warren (0-1) to open the 10th and Jo Adell singled to load the bases with no outs.

Warren got Josh Lowe and Vaughn Grissom on flyouts and was one strike away from escaping the jam when Peraza dunked an 0-2 curve into left-center for the win.

The Angels got 3 2/3 scoreless innings from their beleaguered bullpen. Sam Bachman struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Ryan Zeferjahn (2-1) threw a scoreless ninth and 10th for the win.

Brett Baty reached on catcher’s interference to open the Mets’ 10th. But Zeferjahn got Bo Bichette to ground into a double play and, after an intentional walk to Juan Soto, Francisco Alvarez to pop out to second.

Reid Detmers limited the Mets to one run and four hits through six innings but ran into trouble in the seventh, when Mark Vientos doubled and Marcus Semien singled. Andy Ibáñez’s sacrifice fly pulled the Mets within 3-2 and Tyrone Taylor’s RBI single tied it.

Austin Slater and Ronny Mauricio then reached on infield singles to load the bases. But Bachman replaced Detmers and got Bichette to ground to third baseman Peraza, who threw home for a forceout, and struck out Soto with an 89-mph slider to end the inning.

Mets ace Nolan McLean was one strike away from escaping a second-and-third, one-out jam in the fourth when he struck out Lowe. But Grissom hit a two-run single to make it 3-1.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first on consecutive two-out singles by Nolan Schanuel, Soler and Adell. Schanuel crossed the plate as Soler was thrown out at third by Slater from right field.

Plate umpire John Tumpane ruled Schanuel touched the plate before Soler was tagged, allowing the run to score. New York didn’t challenge, but replays showed Soler was tagged before Schanuel reached the plate.

The Mets tied it at 1 in the third on Bichette’s RBI single.

In the end, it wasn’t to be for Wrexham.

And perhaps a quartet of consecutive promotions was asking too much for even a club touched by Hollywood.

It is four years since the last time the final game of the season wasn’t one of jubilant scenes.

Those in red immediately fell to the turf after referee Oliver Langford blew his whistle to bring the contest with Middlesbrough to an end.

Amid the disappointment, there would still have been plenty to smile about for supporters making their way out of Stok Cae Ras.

After all, this was still the north Wales club’s highest-ever league finish in their history.

Co-chairman Ryan Reynolds’s summary was apt.

“I am completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season,” he wrote on social media.

“We’ve come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history. More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of. Reds.”

Director Shaun Harvey had already reminded all that the season would be viewed as a success, saying the campaign was one of “nearly” making it rather than “we just missed out”.

Swiftly after the match, manager Phil Parkinson said he expects the club to be stronger next season – with Wrexham likely to be serious contenders for promotion.

But, to do that, they will analyse how, why and where they fell short this term.

Just as fans may wonder whether their club might have missed an opportunity to rewrite the record books all over again.

It was a brotherly battle at UCLA’s spring football game on a clear Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.

At the helm of the opposing white and blue teams, respectively, quarterbacks Nico and Madden Iamaleava led the split halves of the Bruins squad during a well-attended end to the first spring camp under the direction of new coach Bob Chesney.

Fittingly, Madden tossed the go-ahead touchdown pass from near the logo to a wide-open Kenneth Moore III, putting his blue team up 24-17, the eventual final score.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him just play football,” Nico said of his brother. “So it was fun seeing him out there operate.”

UCLA defensive back Osiris Gilbert knocks the ball out of the hand of UCLA receiver Shane Rosenthal during the spring game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Nico’s team, with play-calling help from Bruins women’s basketball coach Cori Close throughout the second half, got to fourth-and-goal situations twice as the game wound down. One ended in a missed field goal by Mateo Orosco, who had made a 57-yarder, and the other concluded with the blue team storming the field after a pass from quarterback Ty Dieffenbach was incomplete with 10 seconds left.

The addition of the guest play-callers, Close and women’s water polo coach Adam Wright, led to a variety of trick plays throughout the game. Multiple flea-flickers went for big yards, and offensive lineman Mike McDonald took a rushing attempt as a part of the fun atmosphere that Chesney said he wanted to foster at the game.

To come up with one of the plays, Chesney said, Close messaged Rams coach Sean McVay for advice.

“We put some of those plays in so that she would be able to execute what she wanted to. She just came up a little short and I think she did a really good job of motivating her team,” Chesney said of Close’s second-half calls. “Coach Wright just really dialed it in and was able to strike when he had to and put that game away.”

Just before Moore caught his first touchdown in a Bruins uniform, he was running another deep route when he ran into a referee, breaking up what may have been an explosive play.

“Why’d you let the referee cover you?” Chesney asked, posing as a reporter during Moore’s interview.

“That was great defense,” Moore said in response, sporting a smile. “He was so stealthy.”

It had been a few years since the Bruins held a traditional spring game at the Rose Bowl, with previous coaches favoring lower-profile practices that were dubbed spring showcases. This year’s game also comes after the Bruins in February announced that the iconic Pasadena stadium would remain their home, at least this year, amid ongoing litigation over the university’s right to potentially break its lease and play home games at SoFi Stadium.

UCLA receiver Landon Ellis catches a touchdown pass in front of Jhase McMillan (23) and Curtis Gerrand (35) during the spring game at the Rose Bowl Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Chesney said holding a traditional spring game was like a “practice run” for the upcoming season. Ahead of Saturday’s game, the Bruins stayed in a hotel together and had walk-throughs on the field as well as meetings and pretty much anything else they could do to simulate a game. Chesney and many players got their first look at the Rose Bowl lit up at night during a visit Friday.

“To get a chance to walk in here and just feel this and see all of these surroundings and the things that took place in this venue is pretty special,” Chesney said. “We addressed that a little bit last night as a team, and made sure we understand the respect that this place deserves and understand the attitude of gratitude that we should have for the ability to play here.”

Defensive back Cole Martin, a Pasadena native who was on the blue team, called this spring game “magnificent” when asked to compare it to last year’s spring football practice finale. He specifically noted playing at the Rose Bowl as a reason for the strong atmosphere and an important experience for new UCLA players.

“First time in the Rose Bowl, first touchdown as a college player, I mean, it’s awesome,” Martin said, looking at the freshman Moore. “It doesn’t get better than that.”

Walking by reporters during the game, Bob Stiles, who made a famous goal-line stop on a two-point conversion to seal UCLA’s upset win over Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl, concurred. “This is fun,” Stiles said.

Running back Anthony Woods was a standout on the white team, scoring the first touchdown of the game on a six-yard run and going for multiple big gains early.

Receivers Mikey Matthews for white and Landon Ellis for blue scored the other two touchdowns on red zone crossing routes.

The other 10 points, besides the four touchdowns and field goal, were given out equally for victories in side competitions in between the first and second quarters and third and fourth quarters. Both were won by blue, aiding its seven-point win.

On defense, cornerback Osiris Gilbert broke up multiple passes and had a few hard hits, linebacker Samuel Omosigho earned a sack, and linebacker Malaki Soliai-Tui forced a fumble.

Chesney said he was happy with his team’s performance, noting penalties, like the various defensive pass interference calls, as a key area for improvement.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney pats running back Anthony Woods on the helmet during the team’s spring game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“It went well,” Chesney said. “I wouldn’t say unbelievable. I wouldn’t say terrible. Most of the time, it was somewhere in between.”

Both Nico Iamaleava, for the offense, and Martin, for the defense, said the units had things to work on, but they were proud of how much they improved during spring camp. With a bit of a break before preparation for the fall ramps up, Iamaleava’s message to the team was simple: “Stay together.”

Chesney echoed the sentiment, saying building on the intensity and development from the spring, rather than starting again during the summer, will be key to the Bruins succeeding during the season.

“We’re back, baby,” Chesney said to fans right before the fourth quarter began. “We’re back.”