By Pete Borello

James Nicholson hands off to Eric Hersey in the boys 400 relay. The Eagles went on to beat Lynbrook in the relay race.

Just as the track and field meet started last Thursday at Los Altos High, the rain stopped falling. Then Lynbrook began falling to Los Altos - in the relays, hurdles, jumps and more.

The Los Altos boys and girls teams combined to win 21 of the 30 events, sweeping Lynbrook to close out the dual-meet season.

The boys improved to 6-0 in the SCVAL De Anza Division with an 86-41 rout that enabled them to claim the league’s dual-meet title over Lynbrook (5-1). The girls’ 68-58 victory boosted their record to 2-4, good enough for fifth place in the division.

Los Altos head coach Julia Widstrand expected her teams to beat the visiting Vikings and wasn’t surprised by the boys’ decisive margin of victory.

“I didn’t feel there was any way they could beat us,” she said.

The Los Altos boys won 12 events, including both relays.

The 400-meter relay team of David Barth, Dana McDaniel, James Nicholson and Eric Hersey came in at 43.89 seconds. The 1,600 team of Hersey, McDaniel, Nicholson and Evan Nottage finished in 3 minutes, 31.5 seconds. Both relays are highly ranked in the Central Coast Section and have the potential to reach the state meet, according to Widstrand.

Individually, Hersey, McDaniel, Alec Nicholls and Jeff Clark each won two events against Lynbrook.

Hersey claimed both the 110 hurdles (14.88 seconds) and 300 hurdles (39.30). The sophomore is ranked in the top six in the CCS in both events and is among the top 22 in the state.

McDaniel won the 100 dash (11.35) and 200 run (23.09). Nicholls, surging to the finish line with a determined look, prevailed in the 1,600 run (43.89) and also placed first in the 3,200 run (10:24.4). Clark captured the triple jump (44 feet, 4 inches) and high jump (6-2).

“Jeff is really taking off in the high jump,” Widstrand said. “We can always count on him.”

Eric Buysee added a win in the 800 run (2:03.9) and Nottage in the 400 run (52.69).

Like the boys, the Los Altos girls also dominated the relay races against Lynbrook. The 400 team of Briana Spears, Alyssa Biondi, Kristen Rowsey and Bria Nelson clocked a season-best 50.50 seconds. Widstrand called the effort “surprising,” since regular anchor Alicia Yanez was out with an injury.

The 1,600 team of Rowsey, Daphne Owen, Spears and Nelson won in 4:17. Both relays are ranked in CCS.

Nelson also helped the Eagles’ cause with two individual wins. The sophomore claimed the 400 run (59.01) and 200 run (26.38), and Widstrand anticipates her making a run at state.

Los Altos swept the hurdles, with Rowsey winning the 300 (50.16) and fellow sophomore Louise Goupil the 100 (17.83). Widstrand said Goupil “ran a spectacular race” on her way to a personal-best time.

The Eagles’ other wins came from Biondi in the 100 dash (13.02), Cathryn Watanabe in the long jump (15-5 1/2) and Megan Deisenroth in the discus (79-2).

Los Altos hosts the De Anza Division meet this week, with the trials set for Tuesday and the finals Thursday (2:45 p.m.). The CCS qualifier follows May 14 at Los Gatos.

Spartans sweep Mustangs

Mountain View concluded its dual-meet season with a sweep at Homestead Thursday in SCVAL El Camino Division competition.

With the wins - 68-41 for the boys and 77-32 for the girls - the Mountain View teams guaranteed themselves third-place finishes in league with 4-2 records. Homestead’s boys and girls both sunk to 1-5 in league.

Mountain View’s Jane Doolittle provided the highlight of the meet with her performance in the girls high jump. The senior won with a personal-best 5-8, just a quarter-inch shy of the school record.

“It’s hard to go up four inches,” Spartans coach Evan Smith said. “It’s a huge effort.”

Teammate Katherine Johnson also set a personal record, throwing the shot put 34 feet. Tania Morimoto added victories in the 1,600 (5:42.1) and 3,200 (12:02.8) runs. Mountain View also received wins from Kate Kornegay in the 300 hurdles (51.7), Pauline Regala in the discus (86-6) and the 1,600 relay team (4:36.6).

The Mountain View boys were led by first-place finishers Dennis Fong in the 110 hurdles (18.1), Robbie Reid in the 800 run (2:06.8), Justin Bull in the 300 hurdles (46.9) and the 1,600 relay team (3:39.6).

Mountain View hosts the El Camino Division meet this week, with the finals scheduled for 3 p.m., today.

Lancers cruise

The host St. Francis boys and girls crushed Sacred Heart Cathedral April 27 in a West Catholic Athletic League meet. The boys won 116-11 and the girls prevailed 101-30.

Junior Ben Sitler won the 800 run with a 2:01.17 for the boys, who improved to 6-0.

The St. Francis girls (3-1) received double wins from Sela Paini (discus, shot put) and Samantha Williams (200, 400 runs).