Sports Wrap Sports Wrap (June 25, 2004)

Track team weathers loss of track

There is no track at Graham Middle School.

"The team's been running around on the dirt and grass," coach Jane Zdepski said. This year, a new track is being installed by the city. But the rough practice surface was no damper on the team's accomplishments.

Although the school typically sends three or four athletes to the annual Santa Clara County Track and Field Championship, 19 qualified on May 27 at Los Gatos High School and all placed in the top eight.

McColl Matthews, Nian Anderson, Felicia delConte and Conner Worland took gold medals in the 400m and 800m relays. Anthony Duarte and Malik Crawford finished second in the 100m dash. Bronze medals were claimed by Amy Sovensen in the eighth-grade girls triple and long jump, by Victoria Hayward in the 60m hurdles and by Matthews in the 100m dash.

NOVA's rising stars

By winning the National Softball Association pre-qualifier in Salinas, the Mountain View NOVA girls' 10-and-under fast-pitch "B" softball team earned a berth at the Western World Series in Seattle, July 17-25.

A 9-6 upset over the hometown favorite Salinas Storm clinched the tournament for the girls.

"Both teams played tough. We jumped out to an early lead," coach Steve Duveras said. "But Storm came back in the seventh, making the game a real nail-biter."

Coach Kevin Rippentrop added, "Every girl on this team contributed to our victory today. We win as a team and we lose as a team."

Seattle will be a different ballgame, where the competition will be tougher. In preparation, the team will play three more tournaments.

A World Series fundraiser will be held at Chevy's restaurant on El Camino Real in Mountain View on June 27.

Pirates win championship

A "never say die" attitude is what enabled the Los Altos-Mountain View Pirates Pony baseball team to win the Mustang-2 Championship tournament, according to team manager (and Mountain View Police Chief) Scott Vermeer.

Strong pitching, solid defense and timely hitting brought the boys back from a 6-0 deficit against the Red Sox to win 7-6 in extra innings during the final round.

In their playoff run, the Pirates won four games and lost one to claim the championship trophy.

-- Colleen Corcoran

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