By Pete Borello
Don’t expect the Los Altos High boys and girls track and field teams to shy away from competition. According to co-head coach Julia Widstrand, more competition will lead to more success for the Eagles.
“Both teams will do better at the league meet where there are multiple competitors, as opposed to dual meets when they’re just going against one school,” said Widstrand, who coaches the team with Steve Perry. “I think they could both finish near the top.”
Widstrand bases this theory on her opinion that some of Los Altos’ top competitors have yet to be pushed and will improve their marks once they are.
She also anticipates her teams being in better health by the SCVAL De Anza Division meet, scheduled for April 30. From shinsplints to sore backs, the Eagles have been plagued by injuries thus far this season.
The boys have been hit especially hard by the injury bug, with three standout competitors missing multiple meets: Joey Toney, the Eagles’ best hurdler and long jumper; Ramsey Ackad, the team’s top distance runner; and Mark Horiuchi, who excels in the hurdles and sprints.
“Luckily we have enough depth on the boys’ side and we’ve been able to move people around,” Perry said. “We don’t have to count on one person to win events; we’re relying on depth to carry us through.”
Toney and Ackad are beginning to compete again; Horiuchi is expected back for Thursday’s 3 p.m. meet at Wilcox.
That’s good news for a 3-2 Los Altos boys team that hopes to finish strong.
“With all of our members back, we will have a team that can not only win league but place high in (the Central Coast Section) as well,” said middle-distance runner Adam McKim.
McKim has posted wins in both the 400- and 800-meter races this season. And he’s only a sophomore.
“He’s definitely a phenom,” Widstrand said. “He blows me away.”
McKim is also part of Los Altos’ 400 relay team, which Widstrand considers good enough to make a run at the state meet.
Another member of this relay team, Shane Christine, has dazzled both coaches with his sprinting ability. Widstrand called the senior “a phenomenally gifted athlete” who has one of the best 200 times in the CCS.
The coaches also said to keep an eye on juniors Jeremy Taylor (800), Eric Cheng (300 hurdles) and Taff Dirks (mile, two-mile) and sophomore Royce Hurd (100, 200).
Hurd won the 100 dash last Thursday in the Eagles’ 103-19 rout of host Lynbrook.
The Los Altos girls don’t have nearly as much depth as the boys, according to Perry, which has taken its toll on a team that entered the season with just 10 varsity members.
“The girls have to rely on their stars a little more,” he said, “and some of them are strained by having to do three or four events.”
Yet Perry said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Los Altos girls (2-3) finish higher than the boys in league.
The Eagles’ small but talented group is led by hurdler Allie Miller, jumper/hurdler Andrea Cummings, sprinter Danielle Marcoux, long distance runner Vivian Chiu and middle-distance runner Laura Perry.
Miller, a sophomore, is ranked among the top 10 in the CCS in both the 300 and 100 hurdles. She won both events in Thursday’s 82-35 loss at Lynbrook.
Widstrand described Cummings as “one of the best long jumpers we’ve had here in a long time.” The junior’s best jump, 16 1/2 feet, puts her in the top 10 in the CCS and the coach expects her to reach 18 feet by the league meet.
Senior Marcoux, a transfer from The King’s Academy, has been scoring points in both the 200 and 400.
Chiu has been a pleasant surprise as a freshman, emerging as the team’s top runner in the mile and two-mile events.
“She comes in and works very hard,” Steve Perry said. “She’s very dedicated.”
Steve’s younger sister, Laura Perry, has been battling shinsplints this season. However, Steve expects the junior to persevere and qualify for the CCS meet for the third-straight year.
