Eagles split in track and field Eagles split in track and field (March 25, 2005)

Boys strong but girls come up short in field events

By Scott Campbell

The Los Altos boys track and field team opened its March 17 meet against Wilcox with a close loss in the 4x100 relay. That turned out to be the only blemish for the Eagle runners, as they won the remaining nine track events, leading their team to a 75-52 league victory over the visiting Chargers.

"[The boys] excel all across the board," said Los Altos head coach Julia Widstrand. "They train as a team; they push each other as a team; and they came out here and competed as a team."

The Los Altos girls (0-2 league) experienced similar success in the track events as the boys (2-0 league) but were nearly shut out in the field events and fell to Wilcox, 69-52.

Sophomore Eric Hersey was among the Eagles leaders, overpowering his competition in the 110 meter high hurdles, which he won by 1.44 seconds.

"I visualize the whole race before I go at it," said Hersey, who also placed second and third, respectively, in the 200 meters and long-jump event. "Then I just go out, and I do it. It's just a natural thing -- breathe and sprint."

While junior Dana McDaniel led Los Altos runners with first-place finishes in the 300 meter hurdles and 100 meter dash, senior Jeff Clark continued his remarkable season in the jumps.

Clark, who is competing in his first year in the high jump, set a new personal record with a jump of 6-2, besting his nearest competitor by eight inches.

"He's got a lot of hops, which means he has a lot of vertical ability, but he needs to work on his speed," said Eagles jumping coach Miche Hoffer. "I see him jumping hopefully within the next few meets ... between 6-4 and 6-6.

Clark was also enthused by his third-place performance in the long jump. He finished with a 20-5 1/4 leap.

"I've been trying to hit 20 feet for over a year now, so actually finally being able to do it ... it's awesome," said Clark.

Unlike the boys, the Los Altos girls couldn't handle Wilcox in the field.

In the five field events, the Eagles gained only a single point, secured by senior Cathryn Watanabe's third-place finish in the triple jump.

"Wilcox has a traditionally strong throwing team, so every event was tough," said Los Altos throwing coach Gerri Baldwin. "In the girls, they just creamed us."

The Eagle girls almost made up for their losses in the field with wins on the track.

Los Altos swept the 300 meter hurdles and 200 meter dash and won all the races it entered, except for the 100 meter hurdles.

Sprinter Alicia Yanez (100m and 200m) and long-distance runner Caitlin Russell (1 and 2-mile) each earned a pair of first-place finishes, while Bria Nelson took first place and a personal best time of 60.5 seconds in the 400 meter race.

Already missing field-events specialist Sarah Nolet, who was sidelined with a torn ligament in her foot, the girls fell victim to a coaching mishap that further crippled the team's chances.

Senior Daphne Owen, undefeated this season in the 800 meter race, was moved to the 300 meter hurdles, but the switch left the Eagles short-handed.

"The two people I had backing up in the 800 got moved (to other events)," said Widstrand. "It got left open by accident, kind of a communication error."

Owen did her part, beating teammate Louise Goupil in the 300 meter hurdles by nearly three seconds but knew she could have made the difference for her team.

"If I'd run the 800, we'd probably have won the meet," Owen said.

With the competition already decided, the teams decided not to run the 4x400 meter relay, in which the CCS-contending Los Altos team would have had a distinct advantage.

The Los Altos teams compete in the Stanford Invitational on March 25-26 and host Los Gatos in a league meet on April 6.

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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