By Pete Borello

Foothill Roundup

Track and Field

Five members of the Foothill team placed among the top 10 in their respective events at the Coast Conference Championships on April 28 at City College of San Francisco.

For the men, Michael Houlihan place sixth in the hammer throw (103-feet-9), eighth in the shot put (35-3) and 10th in the javelin (132-9). Steve Perry finished sixth in the 1,500-meter run (4, minutes, 12 seconds), and seventh in the 800 run (2:03). Jeff Burns took fourth in the discus (126-4) and David Nesby was seventh in the 100 dash (11.29). Perry and Nesby are both Los Altos High graduates.

On the women’s side, Allsun Howe placed third in the hammer throw (113-7) and seventh in the javelin (75-4).

Basketball

More than 40 community colleges sent competitors to the state swimming and diving championships earlier this month. The Foothill College women’s swim team had only two representatives at the meet, yet still finished 17th.

“Not bad for two girls,” said Foothill coach Bill Henderson, referring to swimmers Missy Bommarito and Clarice Macdonell. “It was a wonderful meet and they were fantastic.”

Sophomore Bommarito and freshman Macdonell combined to break four school records at the competition, held May 3-5 at Solano College.

Actually, the two Owls broke records they already owned.

Bommarito eclipsed marks she set earlier in the year in the 50-meter freestyle and the 50 and 100 butterfly events. The St. Francis High graduate swam the 50 free in 24.96 seconds to finish third. She came in fourth in both the 50 fly (26.90) and 100 fly (1:00.15).

In the trials, Macdonell clocked a 2:20.67 in the 200 individual medley to break a record she set during the regular season. In the finals, she swam a 2:22.49 to place 11th.

Not only did Bommarito and Mcdonnell set new school standards, but they also earned All-American status. Swimmers must have one of the 16 fastest times nationally in an event to become an All-American.

Henderson commended both women for their dedication and competitive spirit and called Bommarito “one of the outstanding female swimmers in Foothill history.”

The coach said his two star swimmers helped save what was a less-than stellar season for the Owls, who entered the year with high expectations. Henderson said Foothill “looked like a cinch” to win the Coast Conference title, but came up short after the team dropped from 16 to 10 members due to ineligibility, graduation and “a loss of interest” by a few swimmers.

“This is a great way to finish what was a hard season,” he said.

Randall Powell, a sophomore on the Foothill men’s basketball team, was recently named co-MVP of the Coast Conference North Division. Teammates Samuel Saint-Jean and Fred Adjiwanou earned second team All-Coast Conference honors and Paul Richard was an honorable mention selection.

For the Foothill women’s basketball team, freshman Sulu Reupenny made first team All-Coast Conference North Division for averaging 18.1 points and 12 rebounds per game in conference play. The Owls also had two players earn honorable mention recognition: freshman guards Shandyn Hicks and Ana Balubar.’