TC ranks year's top 10 local sports stories
By Pete Borello, Town Crier Staff Writer
 Town Crier file photo Los Altos High halfback D.J. Archie heads for the end zone. |
The problem with selecting the top 10 local sports stories of the year is that several worthy items won’t make the cut. But like all lists, this one has to end somewhere. With apologies to the teams, coaches and athletes who didn’t make it, here it is:
10. A fabulous fall at Los Altos. In what may be a first at Los Altos High, every varsity fall sport participated in the Central Coast Section playoffs. The football, girls water polo and field hockey teams qualified by winning division titles; the volleyball, girls tennis and boys water polo teams earned at-large berths. All but the field hockey team won at least one postseason game. Members of the Eagles’ cross country team made CCS individually.
9. Spartans race to state. The Mountain View High girls cross country team qualified for the state meet for the first time in more than a decade. The Spartans captured the SCVAL El Camino Division title under new coach Evan Smith and finished third at CCS. The team didn’t do as well at state as it had hoped, placing 18th last month, but standouts Mary Reynolds, Kristine Talbot, Alexandra Westbrock, Tania Morimoto and Zoe Pappas will be back next year for another run at it.
8. Eager Eagles edge Paly. A game the Los Altos High girls water polo team had been anxious to play since August was worth the two-month wait. The Eagles nipped Palo Alto 6-5 in overtime to win the SCVAL De Anza Division title for the first time this decade. Meghan Powers’ last-minute goal forced overtime and Alix Kaufman scored the game-winner. “This is great for the girls,” coach Travis Wyckoff said. “It’s something they were shooting for at the beginning of the season, and the way they did it was tremendous.”
7. Kudos for Kat. Homestead High volleyball player Katherine “Kat” Fischer earned De Anza Division MVP honors - as a sophomore. The Los Altos resident led her team in kills, and to the CCS final in the fall. “I’ve never seen a player make such a big transition in one summer,” coach John Milkovich said of the 5-foot-9 outside hitter. “She’s very analytical and hits like a college kid - if you get in the way of the ball, you’re going to get hurt.”
6. Los Altos puts on its rally caps. Prior to its CCS quarterfinal loss to Monterey, the Los Altos High baseball team won six games in a row in come-from-behind fashion - including its playoff opener against Santa Cruz. The Eagles went 19-7-2 under coach Sandy Wihtol and won the El Camino Division behind slugger Kellen McColl (league MVP) and pitchers Devin Matthews and Erik Johnson. Not bad for a team that didn’t get its first win until its seventh game of the season.
5. Adam’s arrival. So much for freshman nerves: Mountain View High golfer Adam Ichikawa placed second at the Central Coast Section finals in Carmel last May. Spartans coach Steve Miyano described Ichikawa’s five-under-par 66 as “magnificent.” He was the lone Mountain View golfer to qualify for the Northern California championships, where he came in 34th.
4. Tennis triumphs, the hard way. No one could say the Los Altos High boys tennis team coasted into the CCS final. Coach Cuong Duong’s Eagles (14-5) edged Leland 4-3 in the quarterfinals without top player Denny Fafek, and posted a 5-2 semifinal win over a Monta Vista team it lost to twice in league play. Los Altos wasn’t able to overcome more adversity in the May final, playing without a key doubles player, and lost 4-3 to Bellarmine.
3. Lancers make “state”-ments. St. Francis High teammates Ben Sitler and Casey Roche, Los Altos residents, placed third in their respective events at the state track and field meet last spring. Senior Sitler ran the 3,200-meter run in 9 minutes, 2.56 seconds; junior Roche cleared 16 feet, 5 inches in the pole vault. The previous week, both boys claimed their events at the CCS meet.
2. Panthers repeat feat in basketball. The Pinewood School girls won the state Division V title for the second year in a row, topping Pacific Hills 58-52 last March in Sacramento. Guard Sami Field-Polisso (14 points, seven assists), forward Hannah Lippe (14 points) and center Aly Geppert (11 points, 18 rebounds) led the Panthers to victory. “The game was not a pretty piece of work,” said coach Doc Scheppler, whose team finished 24-9. “A lot of these (title) games are won ugly, but that trophy looks awfully pretty.”
1. Bold Eagles land in playoffs. Los Altos High went into the football season expecting to win the El Camino Division and make CCS for the first time since 1998, and sure enough, it did. Under new coach Jeff Kalb, the Eagles dominated the league and went 10-2 overall. A stout line led by Yousef Saadeh paved the way for runners like D.J. Archie and Justin Arcune, and provided quarterback Danny Young ample time to find receivers such as Ben Kohl and Kellen McColl. Points were hard to come by against a Los Altos defense featuring standouts like linebacker Mitch McGillis, cornerback Jose Taylor and end Taeaonaisaua Tuufuli. After routing Mills for its first CCS win in 21 years, Los Altos last month fell to St. Ignatius in the semifinals.
