Sports Wrap Sports Wrap (October 22, 2004)

Lancers lead local X-country teams

Cross-country runners from St. Francis, Mountain View and Los Altos competed in the Monterey Bay Invitational at Toro Park, a three-mile course, on Oct. 15 and 16.

The St. Francis boys placed first among the 26 teams in competition. Junior Ben Sitler finished second with a time 15:58, a pace of 5:19 per mile. Sam Pompei (fifth, 16:19) and Brian Fisher (ninth, 16:27) helped the dominant Lancers team place three runners in the top ten in a field of 188 runners.

The Mountain View boys team finished ninth overall, but first among the four SCVAL teams that competed. Two sophomores, Roger Huang (37th, 17:20) and Robbie Reid (44th, 17:28), broke the previous school record for this meet.

The St. Francis girls led by Lexie Reynolds (21st, 20:49) placed fourth overall. The Mountain View girls finished in ninth place. Freshman Tania Morimoto set the Spartans' course record with her 27th place, 20:43 run.

The Los Altos boys finished ninth overall while the girls placed 10th. Sophomores Alec Nickolls (18th, 16:56) and Caitlin Russell (31st, 20:32) led the boys and girls teams, respectively.

St. Francis girls tops in tourney

The St. Francis girls water polo team defeated host Sacred Heart Prep 5-3 to win the Sacred Heart Invitational.

En route to the championship, the Lancers (16-5 overall, 3-1 league) defeated San Mateo 13-2, Aragon 13-3 and Palo Alto 9-2.

St. Francis junior Lizzy Rouleau led the offense with 13 goals over the two-day tournament.

"I am happiest with the defensive performance this weekend led by our goalie Mary Hildabrand. She is shutting teams down," coach Brendon Reutebuch said.

Mountain View (15-4 overall) finished the tournament with two wins and two losses. Led by Nicole Yeaman-Sanchez and Jackie Friedberger, the Spartans defeated Santa Cruz and San Mateo, but fell to Burlingame and Palo Alto.

Coach Danielle Rokitta was proud of her team's performance. "Palo Alto is one of the top teams in CCS. This shows me that we are getting competitive with the best teams."

Eagles take league rival

Gunn visited Los Altos for a mid-season boys water polo showdown on Oct. 13. Both teams entered the match undefeated in league play.

On the strength of three consecutives goals, Los Altos defeated the Titans 8-7.

With its 28th consecutive league victory, the Eagles (18-5 overall) appear to be set for postseason play. They will see more competition at the Monta Vista Invitational on Oct. 29 and 30.

-- Scott Campbell

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