Expect to see a sea of bright blue at Saturday’s Central Coast Section track and field finals in Gilroy. More than 20 athletes from Los Altos High have qualified for the meet after strong performances at last weekend’s semifinals.
“This is the largest group I believe we have brought in the past 15 years,” co-head coach Dave Barth said, “so, of course we are super impressed by the work ethic and talent of this team.”
Zach Fagin led the way Saturday at Gilroy High, advancing to the finals in four events. The senior tied for first in the high jump (6 feet), placed third in the 100-meter dash (10.68 seconds), finished fourth in the long jump (22-2.75) and ran on the Eagles’ victorious 4x100 relay team. Fagin teamed with Ata Sen, Leo Goebel and Nathan Guillory on a time of 41.74 that broke the school record they set three weeks earlier (41.89).
Guillory also qualified in the 200, placing fifth with a 21.83 that Barth said was close to a personal record. Maxime Morelle, a freshman, moved on in the shot put with a throw of 46-3.5 for 10th place. Bode Sirey secured the 12th and final berth in the 800 with a time of 1:58.57.
For the girls, freshman Daniela Hughes “had a breakout day,” the coach said, qualifying in the 100, 200 and as part of the 4x100 relay. Her sixth-place time of 25.39 in the 200 was a personal best and only .01 seconds shy of the school record. Hughes finished fourth in the 100 (12.62) and combined with Gwen Mello, Ananya Vaswani and Paige Kasso on a fourth-place time of 49.46 in the 4x100.
Lauren Soobrian won the 3,200 (11:06.82), with teammates Lydia Anderson (third, 11:14.18), Jasleen Sidhu (fourth, 11:31.24) and Fiona Bodkin (seventh, 11:20.55) qualifying as well. Sidhu also advanced in the 1,600 with a fifth-place time of 5:01.37).
Other individual qualifiers included Emma Beedon in the 800 (third, 2:18.25), Megan MacKenzie in the triple jump (third, 36-6), Chloe Morelle in the shot put (fifth, 34-10), Lily Symon in the 800 (fifth, 2:17.96), Kasso in the 100 (sixth, 12.57) and Emily Soobrian in the 1,600 (eighth, 5:07.64).
The 4x400 relay team of Maddie Ross, Maddy Randall, Beedon and Emma Lewis moved on as well, thanks to a seventh-place 4:07.78.
In addition, Brandon Louie made the finals in the boys wheelchair 100, 200, 400 and shot put.
Mountain View will also send several athletes to the finals, headlined by Hannah Rutherford. The sophomore won the girls 200 and 400, and was also on the Spartans’ 4x400 relay team that landed the eighth and final spot in the finals.
Mountain View sprints coach Mark Rutner said Rutherford’s goal in the 400 was just to qualify, “but in classic Hannah fashion, she managed to run a new (personal record) in 55.08 in the blazing heat.”
In the 200, Rutherford was the lone girl to finish in under 25 seconds (24.76).
“She got a good start and was able to stay away from the rest of the field the whole way,” Rutner said.
Her 4x400 team – which also included fellow underclassmen Scarlett Thornton, Olivia Blackholm and Elin Daniels – ran a 4:08.
Three Mountain View boys advanced to the finals: Evan Markelz in the 3,200 (9:21.06), along with triple jumpers Mihir Marla (sixth, 43-02) and Jackson Kim (42-05).
Boys volleyball
Despite playing at home as the top seed in the CCS Open Division final, St. Francis proved no match for No. 3 Valley Christian Saturday. The Warriors swept the Lancers 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.
St. Francis (26-9) – which had won back-to-back CCS titles – went 2-1 against Valley Christian (33-5) in the regular season, beating them twice in league play.
The Lancers’ season didn’t end Saturday, however; they have qualified for the Northern California Division I playoffs. Seeded fifth, St. Francis was slated to visit No. 4 Amador Valley (28-7) in the quarterfinals Tuesday, after the Town Crier’s press deadline.
Mountain View’s season ended the same way it started – with a loss to St. Francis. But unlike the season opener, the Spartans (16-17) did win a set against the Lancers in the CCS Open quarterfinals May 9. Host St. Francis beat them 25-16, 25-14, 23-25, 28-26 May 9.
Los Altos, the No. 3 seed in Division I, also bowed out in the quarterfinals. The Eagles (24-9) fell at home to No. 6 Monta Vista, which prevailed 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18.
Boys lacrosse
After beating 11th-seeded Los Altos 15-7 in the first round, No. 6 St. Francis edged No. 3 Menlo 8-7 in Friday’s CCS quarterfinals. The Lancers (11-6) are scheduled to visit No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep 3:30 p.m. today in the semifinals.
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