Photos by Stephen Dachman
The Long Beach Century Club hosted its 35th annual All-City Middle School Sports banquet at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid last week, honoring the 22 All-City champion middle school championship teams from the Long Beach Unified School District. The club also presented awards for best overall sports program as well as for sportsmanship.
“This is a special event and the Century Club is proud to have all of you here,” said club president Mike Fillipow, welcoming the crowd of more than 1,000 athletes and family members.
Each member of a championship team took home a plaque with their name and a photo of their team on it, and the families were served grilled hot dogs, chips, and cookies. The event was chaired this by the banquet’s founder, Sam Breuklander, who gave a brief history lesson to the crowd before the awards were handed out.
Breuklander, Fillipow, and LBUSD superintendent Jill Baker all gave fond remembrances of recently-departed Century Club past president Keith Hansen, who passed away in December. Hansen had taken over the middle school banquet in recent years and had overseen its transition to the Pyramid last year.
The evening began with the presentation of the Howard Lyon Sportsmanship Award, named after the longtime Moore League secretary and middle school sports coordinator. With a 33-year history, the award has gone annually to the school that’s exhibited a high level of character and sportsmanship throughout the year, as voted on by all the other schools. This year’s honoree was Keller Middle School.
The girls’ volleyball team champions were Stanford (Division 1), Stephens (Division 2), and Tincher (Division 3). The co-ed flag football champions were Rogers (D1), Cubberley (D2), and Nelson (D3). The girls’ basketball champions were Hughes (D1), Stephens (D2), and Washington (D3). The boys’ track and field champions were Stanford (D1) and Jefferson (D2). The girls’ track and field champions were Stanford (D1) and Franklin (D2). The boys’ basketball champions were Stanford (D1), Newcomb (D2) and Franklin (D3). The girls’ soccer champions were Keller (D1), Bancroft (D2), and Tincher (D3). The boys’ soccer champions were Marshall (D1), Washington (D2), and Lindbergh (D3).
At the conclusion of the evening, the Club presented the All-Sports Awards, given annually to the top overall boys’ and girls’ sports programs, as well as the overall best sports program. With a historic effort this year, Stanford swept all three awards. It was the second consecutive year that all three of the top awards went to the Hawks.
