By Pete Borello

Photo by Joe Hu, Town Crier

Fifth, fifth, fourth and third. Those are the respective places Los Altos High finished in at the last four Central Coast Section gymnastics championships.

At all four meets, Los Altos placed behind two other area schools that own multiple CCS crowns. So it comes as no surprise whom the Eagles want - and will probably need - to defeat this season to claim the championship they covet.

“We really want to beat St. Francis and Gunn,” Los Altos coach Chelsa Anderson said.

St. Francis captured last year’s title, with Gunn the runner-up. Both teams have lost key members to graduation, though, while the Eagles have all their standouts back.

This is encouraging to Anderson and her gymnasts, who aren’t content with just qualifying for the CCS meet.

“That’s expected for this team,” the second-year coach said. “Now, we want to get first or second.”

To do so, Anderson estimates her team must score above 168 at the CCS meet, which is scheduled for May 15 at San Jose State University’s Spartan Gymnasium.

“We’ve never been above 168 (at CCS) before - at least not since I’ve been here,” said Anderson, who spent four seasons as a member of the Los Altos team before becoming coach.

The Eagles have already surpassed the 168 plateau twice this season, posting a 169.7 last month vs. Gilroy and a 174.4 in an April 11 meet against Aragon, Hillsdale and Sequoia.

Los Altos entered Tuesday’s home meet with Gunn boasting a 1-0 record in the SCVAL South Division and a 5-0 overall mark.

Much of the Eagles’ success this year and last can be attributed to juniors Ciera Kash and Emily Keenan. Kash and Keenan have been the squad’s best all-around competitors this season, and last year finished second and fourth, respectively, in the individual portion of the CCS meet.

“Ciera was a great club gymnast and we’re lucky to have her - she’s always done really well,” Anderson said. “Emily is also really solid and has hard skills, especially on floor.”

Senior Brittany Raffel, along with freshmen Jenna Yamaguma and Youlee Lee, round out the Eagles’ top five all-around performers.

Anderson said Yamaguma and Lee are both fresh out of club gymnastics and “have definitely been a surprise” this season.

“They’ve really clicked and have pushed each other to get better,” the coach said. “It’s really encouraging for us.”

Los Altos hosts Gilroy at 4 p.m., Thursday, then closes the regular season with a 6 p.m. home meet against St. Francis.