By Pete Borello
Fall Sports Roundup
Cross country
Runners from Los Altos and Mountain View both turned in strong performances in the Center Meet last Thursday at Crystal Springs, a 2.9-mile course in Belmont.
The Eagles’ top times came from Taff Dirks (16 minutes, 51 seconds) and Miles Prowse (17:50) in the boys’ race and Amanda Keller (21:40) and Lindsey Fish (21:56) on the girls’ side.
For Mountain View, the boys were led by Jeff Audett (18:24) and Cesar Molina (18:52), while the girls were paced by Emilie Doolittle (22:02) and Alanna Blakemore (22:23).
“A lot of our athletes posted personal bests on the course, which is fantastic as we are still a couple of weeks away from our league meet,” Spartans coach Sam Read said.
Next up for both Mountain View and Los Altos is the St. Francis Invitational, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Thursday, at Foothill College.
Boys water polo
In a battle for first place in the SCVAL El Camino Division, Cupertino eked out a 5-4 overtime win over Mountain View on Oct. 10.
Michael Kasper scored three goals for the Spartans (2-1 division).
Gunn went to 3-2 in the SCVAL De Anza Division on Oct. 10 with an 8-4 win over host Lynbrook.
The Titans (8-9 overall) received seven goals from Yuri Bukhan and one from Peter Ehrhorn. Goalie Paul Esber of Los Altos Hills had three saves and seven steals.
Girls water polo
Gunn celebrated Senior Day on Oct. 10 with a 15-5 rout of SCVAL De Anza Division opponent Monta Vista.
Gunn seniors Kaia Lai, Amber Kleiman and Ninji Martin each scored three goals, while Sophomore hole set Lainey Eaton added 4.
The Titans opened slowly, missing on its first several scoring opportunities, then got their counterattack on track to score four goals in the first period. They followed that up with a 6-0 pounding in the second quarter, taking advantage of several steals by Lai and several man-up situations.
Field hockey
Homestead continued its push toward a playoff spot with a 3-0 home victory over San Jose Oct. 10.
Los Altos resident Shaida Johnson scored two goals for the Mustangs, who upped their BVAL West Valley Division record to 3-0.
All three of Homestead’s goals came in the first half.
St. Francis improved to 3-1 in the BVAL Mount Hamilton Division last Thursday with a 3-1 win against Saratoga.
Stephanie Grejtak had a goal and an assist for the Lancers (7-1 overall). Gina DeMaestri and Sarah Gualtieri had a goal each.
Girls golf
The Los Altos High girls tennis team hasn’t allowed the absence of No. 1 player Bonnie Chen douse its division titles hopes.
Although Chen sat out last week’s matches with a twisted knee, the Eagles came away with a pair of 6-1 wins over Mountain View and Milpitas.
“We’re still in the hunt for the league and that’s what we’re playing for,” said Los Altos coach Cuong Duong, whose team entered this week in third place in the SCVAL El Camino Division with an 8-2 mark .
Oct. 10 against Mountain View (3-6) the host Eagles prevailed in every spot but No. 1 singles, where Anhthu Vu beat Christina Strong 6-1, 6-3.
Alicia Incerpi and Wei-Wei Liu pulled out three-set wins at No. 2 and 3 singles, respectively, while Los Altos teammate Blair Dematteis beat Kristin Parker 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.
Thursday’s match at Milpitas featured five straight-set wins for the Eagles. Los Altos’ toughest victory came at No. 1 singles, as Strong rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 decision.
“Fortunately we’ve been playing teams that we can beat without (Chen),” Duong said. “This week, we’ll need her back, but I’m not sure if she’ll be able to play.”
Tuesday, the Eagles played at Wilcox, a team that beat them earlier in the season. Thursday, Los Altos hosts Fremont at 3:30 p.m.
St. Francis remained unbeaten in Peninsula Athletic League play with a 183-191 win over Los Gatos last week at San Jose Country Club (par 35).
The Lancers (11-0) dominated the Oct. 10 match, with four of its players finishing in the top five individually.
Tierney Powers placed first with a 42; Tiffany Sieber, Hazel Moore and Eloise Vicencio tied for third with 48s.
St. Francis takes part in the PAL championship tournament Monday at Poplar Creek in San Mateo.
