St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower recently had two students named Commended Students in the 2005 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Seniors Jordan Damp and Ian Perez, both of Lakewood, received a Letter of Commendation from the school and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which runs the program.

"These young men named Commended Students in this program have exhibited an outstanding academic performance for which they are being honored," said an NMSC statement. "We hope that the recognition received by these scholastically talented students will encourage them to take advantage of opportunities for the continued pursuit of excellence."

Commended students are those who placed among the top five percent or more than one million students who entered the competition by taking the 2003 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Also recognized for their outstanding scores by the College Boards National Hispanic Recognition Program are seniors Michael Campos of Garden Grove and Daniel Diaz of South Gate.

In sports news at St. John Bosco, principal Patrick Lee announced that 1997 graduate Mario Cordero has been appointed head varsity baseball coach. Cordero, a former All-Del Rey League shortstop who played Loyola Marymount University, has been Bosco's assistant coach for the past two years and currently teaches World and U.S. History.