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Riordan searching for boys basketball coach
Two weeks after naming a football coach, Riordan is searching for a basketball coach.
The school announced last week that 19-year coaching veteran Rich Buckner would not be retained following an 8-18 season, including a 1-13 record in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Buckner went 132-152 in 10 seasons, winning section titles his first season in 2007-08 and in 2014-15.
The previous nine seasons, he was an assistant for Rich Forslund, helping the Crusaders win a state crown in 2002.
“Coach Buckner has been a strong leader in our basketball program and he will always be a highly respected member of the Archbishop Riordan family,” Riordan athletic director Mike Gilleran said in a statement.
Riordan principal Vittorio Anastasio thanked Buckner for his “tremendous contributions” to the program, but he emphasized the school’s new focus of hiring on-campus coaches as a reason for the change.
Anastasio noted that six of the seven other WCAL boys basketball coaches were on campus, as well as Riordan’s football, wrestling and baseball coaches.
On-campus football coach Kevin Fordon resigned following his second season in the fall; former assistant Jay’Sen Morris was promoted to head coach March 16.
Buckner said he was “caught off guard” by the decision last week and wondered what had changed.
“I’ve been off-campus for 19 years and it wasn’t a problem,” he said Monday.
Buckner said he has heard from every WCAL coach since Wednesday’s announcement and received at least two coaching offers.
Both were outside the league.
Stanford Invitational rewind:
Lincoln senior Pam Amaechi, the defending state discus champion, and El Cerrito sprinter/hurdler Kaylah Robinson were the big local winners at last weekend’s Stanford Invitational.
Amaechi won the shot put (46 feet, 8 inches) and the discus (169-10) and Robinson won the 100 meters (11.86 second) and the 100 hurdles (13.75).
Amaechi won the state discus final last year at 164-1 and Robinson was state runner-up in the 100 hurdles (13.44).
Two locals won the throwing events, with Clayton Valley-Concord’s Jeff Williams taking the discus (187-7) and Pittsburg’s Iffy Joyner winning the shot put (52-2).
Other Metro area Stanford champions were Cassie Ackerman (San Lorenzo, high jump, 5-8), Jared Geredes (Los Gatos, 100, 10.84), Alex Scales (Bellarmine, mile, 4:14.78), Owen Woo (St. Mary’s-Berkeley, 3,000, 8:40.56), Tevin-Tr’e Pierce (Pittsburg, long jump, 22-4½) and Johnathan Shaw (Dublin, triple jump, 45-8).
The St. Mary’s girls (3:56.26) and Clayton Valley boys (3:22.36) were victorious in the 1,600 relays.
Event central:
The 10th annual City All-Star Games are Thursday at City College of San Francisco.
The games pit the top prep players from San Francisco public and private schools.
The girls game starts at 6 p.m. and the boys are set to begin at 7:30.
Three-point shooting and dunk contests are part of the games, which annually honors former Lincoln, Berkeley and Redwood-Larkspur coach Mike Gragnani, who died in 2011 of a heart attack.
Trading places:
Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton football coach Pete Lavorato has resigned to take the same post at King’s Academy-Sunnyvale.
During his 14-season stay at SHP, Lavorato won five Central Coast Section titles, including the Open crown in 2014 over Bellarmine.
Lavorato said the care of his mother-in-law and a shorter commute time were the reasons for his move.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
2017 Chronicle baseball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
NR
Monte Vista
NR
De La Salle
NR
NR
Sacred Heart Cathedral
NR
NR
NR
2017 Chronicle softball top 10
Rec.
NR
Foothill
Heritage
Freedom
More...
Two weeks after naming a football coach, Riordan is searching for a basketball coach.
The school announced last week that 19-year coaching veteran Rich Buckner would not be retained following an 8-18 season, including a 1-13 record in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Buckner went 132-152 in 10 seasons, winning section titles his first season in 2007-08 and in 2014-15.
The previous nine seasons, he was an assistant for Rich Forslund, helping the Crusaders win a state crown in 2002.
“Coach Buckner has been a strong leader in our basketball program and he will always be a highly respected member of the Archbishop Riordan family,” Riordan athletic director Mike Gilleran said in a statement.
Riordan principal Vittorio Anastasio thanked Buckner for his “tremendous contributions” to the program, but he emphasized the school’s new focus of hiring on-campus coaches as a reason for the change.
Anastasio noted that six of the seven other WCAL boys basketball coaches were on campus, as well as Riordan’s football, wrestling and baseball coaches.
On-campus football coach Kevin Fordon resigned following his second season in the fall; former assistant Jay’Sen Morris was promoted to head coach March 16.
Buckner said he was “caught off guard” by the decision last week and wondered what had changed.
“I’ve been off-campus for 19 years and it wasn’t a problem,” he said Monday.
Buckner said he has heard from every WCAL coach since Wednesday’s announcement and received at least two coaching offers.
Both were outside the league.
Stanford Invitational rewind:
Lincoln senior Pam Amaechi, the defending state discus champion, and El Cerrito sprinter/hurdler Kaylah Robinson were the big local winners at last weekend’s Stanford Invitational.
Amaechi won the shot put (46 feet, 8 inches) and the discus (169-10) and Robinson won the 100 meters (11.86 second) and the 100 hurdles (13.75).
Amaechi won the state discus final last year at 164-1 and Robinson was state runner-up in the 100 hurdles (13.44).
Two locals won the throwing events, with Clayton Valley-Concord’s Jeff Williams taking the discus (187-7) and Pittsburg’s Iffy Joyner winning the shot put (52-2).
Other Metro area Stanford champions were Cassie Ackerman (San Lorenzo, high jump, 5-8), Jared Geredes (Los Gatos, 100, 10.84), Alex Scales (Bellarmine, mile, 4:14.78), Owen Woo (St. Mary’s-Berkeley, 3,000, 8:40.56), Tevin-Tr’e Pierce (Pittsburg, long jump, 22-4½) and Johnathan Shaw (Dublin, triple jump, 45-8).
The St. Mary’s girls (3:56.26) and Clayton Valley boys (3:22.36) were victorious in the 1,600 relays.
Event central:
The 10th annual City All-Star Games are Thursday at City College of San Francisco.
The games pit the top prep players from San Francisco public and private schools.
The girls game starts at 6 p.m. and the boys are set to begin at 7:30.
Three-point shooting and dunk contests are part of the games, which annually honors former Lincoln, Berkeley and Redwood-Larkspur coach Mike Gragnani, who died in 2011 of a heart attack.
Trading places:
Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton football coach Pete Lavorato has resigned to take the same post at King’s Academy-Sunnyvale.
During his 14-season stay at SHP, Lavorato won five Central Coast Section titles, including the Open crown in 2014 over Bellarmine.
Lavorato said the care of his mother-in-law and a shorter commute time were the reasons for his move.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
2017 Chronicle baseball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
NR
Monte Vista
NR
De La Salle
NR
NR
Sacred Heart Cathedral
NR
NR
NR
2017 Chronicle softball top 10
Rec.
NR
Foothill
Heritage
Freedom
More...