Sports Wrap Sports Wrap (April 30, 2004)

St. Francis gymnasts open with record-breaking score

Led by senior captain and 2003 CCS All Around Champion, Courtney Sinclair, the Lancers flipped and twisted their way to a gymnastic victory over Castilleja and Gilroy. The 184.575 score at the April 22 season opener exceeded St. Francis' previous high score by ten points.

The Lancers took seven of the top 10 places on the vault, eight of the top 10 on the uneven bars and six of 10 in the floor exercise.

Freshman Sara Silano won the vault with a score of 9.2 with a difficult tsukahara. She tied for first place with Castilleja's Raquel Friedman on the floor exercise with a 9.5.

On the balance beam, the Lancers earned a league record total of 48.325, with individual scores averaging 9.665. Led by freshman Stefanie Cheng's 9.725 and 9.7 scores from both Linda Lund and Haley Bogart, St. Francis swept the top six places.

"Always a strong event for St. Francis, our balance beam efforts exceeded all expectations," said coach Nancy Kludt.

Silano finished first in the all around competition with a score of 37.2. She was followed by Lund at 37.

"We are set up for a successful season," said Kludt. "We have two wonderful upper class athletes on our squad leading our team [Courtney Sinclair and Alysse Zrebski]. Our underclass gymnasts are poised and talented. ... Our '04 team is undoubtedly the deepest and most talented team in Lancer history."

Eagle baseball falls to 4-8 in league

A wild pitch with runners in scoring position was all Palo Alto needed to squeeze out a victory April 21. It was a frustrating game in a similarly frustrating season.

The Eagles dropped to 4-8 in the league after continuing to leave runners stranded in scoring position. This game was no different, with the bases left loaded twice, and runners on second and third were also unable to score.

"We haven't been able to pull the trigger and get it done," said coach Sandy Wihtol.

The Eagles' next home game is May 3 against Fremont at 3:30 p.m.

Lancers finish high in CCS Top 8 meet

The St. Francis boys track and field team finished first in the CCS Top 8 track meet at Los Gatos High School on April 23, beating out Santa Clara and Riordan, which finished second and third, respectively. In league play, the Lancers are ranked second behind Riordan with a 4-1 record.

Kyle Mills-Bunje placed second in the long jump at 22 feet 8 inches and second in the high jump at six feet. He finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 43 feet. Nick Sheuerman, currently ranked second in CCS, threw the discus 164 feet to win the event.

On the track, the Lancers' 4x100-meter relay team placed third with a time of 43.13. Ben Sitler took second in the 3200-meter run at 9:23.45 seconds, three seconds behind Pat Parcel of Carmel.

The Lancer girls finished third behind first-place Mitty and second-place Los Gatos. Their season record is 2-2.

Sela Paini took third in the discus with a mark of 117 feet 3 inches. Her third-place shot put mark of 39 feet 2 inches was a seasonal best and placed her fourth in CCS rankings. Taylor Franklin finished second in the pole vault (11 feet 6 inches). Angie Picardo triple-jumped to a third-place finish with a distance of 35 feet. The 4x100-meter relay team placed third in 49.87 seconds.

The last league meet for both boys and girls teams will be against Sacred Heart Cathedral on May 5 at home at 3 p.m.

Try-outs for Pop Warner Marauders

The Mountain View Marauders of the Pop Warner youth tackle football league is signing up children ages eight to 15 at the Mountain View Recreation Center, 210 S. Rengstorff Ave. for the 2004 season. Signups take place on May 6, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., May 8, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and May 20, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call Hozi at 961-0293 or Rudy at (408) 590-0514.

-- Colleen Corcoran

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