By CCS Swimming Championships
 Photo by Joe Hu, Town Crier |
Eagles just miss top 10
Los Altos coach Dan Dye expected his boys and girls to finish among the top 10 Saturday, but both teams came up a little short.
The boys placed 11th (72 points) and the girls tied for 11th (71) with Los Gatos.
“We didn’t reach our goal,” Dye said, “but I’m proud of the way they performed.”
The Los Altos boys’ best event proved to be 1-meter diving, which took place earlier in the week. The Eagles had three finishers in the top 15: Doug Hansen (ninth, 284.10), Jonathan Fishpaw (13th, 264.80) and James Lanman (14th, 254.25).
Sam Rettig was the team’s top swimmer, placing 13th in both the 50 free (22.44) and 100 free (49.10). In addition, he anchored the Eagles’ ninth-place 400 free relay (3:20.01), which also featured Austin Lerch, Howard Shin and Chris Kelsch.
The Los Altos girls were led by freshman Courtney Beyer, who placed fifth in the 100 fly (59.14) and eighth in the 200 IM (2:07.96). Meghan Sandlin earned eighth in the 100 back (1:02.44).
The team’s 200 medley relay of Sandlin, Rita Lonhart, Beyer and Anne Fish placed 10th (1:55.17). The 400 free relay of Beyer, Lonhart, Tina Tkalcevic and Sandlin finished ninth (3:45.95).
Lancers finish top five
The St. Francis boys placed third (138) and the girls fifth (160) at the CCS meet.
Pat McCarthy paced the boys by placing sixth in the 100 back (53.74) and swimming the first leg of the Lancers’ fifth-place 200 free relay (1:30.24). The relay also included Brad Whitworth, Will Whitney and Tyler Elliott.
The Lancers scored big points in diving, thanks largely to the Bisordi brothers. Matt, a junior, won the CCS title with a score of 473.40. His younger brother James, a freshman, was the runner-up with 426.40. Senior Ryan Jaques (351.85) came in fourth.
The St. Francis girls were powered by a pair of relays. The 200 medley team of Audrey Yau, Rebecca Cottrell, Annika Larsson and Rebecca Dreyfuss came in third (1:50.68). The 200 free team of Kelly Sanders, Yau, Danielle Garcia and Anne Richards took fourth (1:40.70).
Bowling rules diving
By Pete Borello
With last Saturday’s Central Coast Section swim meet just beyond the halfway point, the Mountain View High girls found themselves on the outside of the top 10.
The Spartans didn’t panic, however, confident that their best performances were yet to come.
They were right.
Mountain View rallied to place second to Mitty, which swam away with the team title by racking up 270 points at the Santa Clara International Swim Center. The Spartans tallied 171 points to secure the best finish in team history.
“All year long, we have been a second-half team,” Spartans coach Ben Murray said. “And today, it was especially true.”
The comeback started with the 200-yard freestyle, the fourth-to-last event of the day. Mountain View’s team of Brooke Bishop, Erica Lau, Kelly Blakemore and Laurie Gregg established a new meet record with a winning time of 1 minute, 38.30 seconds.
The Spartans dominated the next event, the 100 backstroke, with all four of their competitors scoring points. Two of them wound up with All-America times. Bishop captured the event in a meet-record time of 55:21, Blakemore came in second (57.83). Gregg fifth (1:00.76) and Jessica Howard-Anderson 11th (1:01.90).
“It was a risky strategy putting four swimmers in the same event, especially since we had the top two backstrokers,” Murray said. “If I had broken them up, we could have scored two or three more points, but we would still have been well behind Mitty.”
The Spartans totaled 97 points from their stellar efforts in the 200 free relay and 100 back - and they weren’t done yet.
Mountain View closed the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 free relay. The team of Bishop, Howard-Anderson, Blakemore and Gregg swam a 3:33.59.
Earlier in the day, sophomore Bishop won the 100 butterfly with a 54.93.
This marked the fourth-straight year the Spartans have improved their CCS standing. They placed fifth a year ago.
“We’ve improved so much over the past four years because of all the work the girls have put in,” Murray said. “They work hard.”
On the boys’ side, Mountain View finished 30th (eight points). Mike Kasper placed 16th in the 200 individual medley and 14th in the 100 breaststroke. Freshman Fred Tran took 15th in both the 100 fly and 100 back.
Los Altos Hills resident Sara Bowling, a senior at Castilleja School, claimed the girls diving title. Bowling tallied a 450.85 to win her first CCS crown.
