Sports Wrap Sports Wrap (April 29, 2005)

Track title contenders face in Top 8 meet

With league finals set to commence in early May, track and field teams from Los Altos, Mountain View and St. Francis tested their skills at the CCS Top 8 held at Los Gatos on Apr. 22. In a competition among more than 35 schools, the teams squared off in sixteen events.

St. Francis emerged as the dominant program, with its boys overwhelming their competition in winning the meet and its girls placing a solid third overall. The boys, led by Kyle Mills-Bunje and Ben Sitler, totaled 51 points, 20 more than runner-up Palma. Mills-Bunje accounted for 22 of those points by finishing second in both the pole vault (15-00) and triple jump (43-02), and taking third in the long jump (20-00.25). Sitler won the mile run with a time of 4:21.79.

Though finishing far short of 1st-place Mitty's 82 points, the Lancer girls scored 48 points by placing in 12 events, with 10 finishes of fifth or better. Natasha Barthel broke the previous meet record in the pole vault by 11 inches in winning the event at 12-9. Taylor Franklin also broke the former record and finished third. Angie Picardo and Sele Paini also earned 3rd-place honors in the long jump and discus throw, respectively.

The Los Altos boys tied Bellarmine for fourth with 28 points, while the girls finished tied for 11th with 14 points. Eric Hersey and Jeff Clark had the top individual honors for the boys. Clark finished third in the high jump (6-00) and fourth in the triple jump (41-08.75), while Hersey placed fourth in the 110-m. hurdles (15.58). The Eagles 4x100-meter relay team came in fourth place, topping Bellarmine and St. Francis' teams, among others.

Bria Nelson led the Los Altos girls, netting 3rd-place in the 200-m. dash in a time of 26.66 and finishing fifth in the 400-m. race. The Eagles 4x400-m. relay squad claimed 3rd-place, beating the teams of St. Francis and Palo Alto.

Mountain View's girls earned 11 points and finished tied for 14th. Jane Doolittle and Roni Amsden finished third and fourth, respectively in the high jump. Amsden also came in fifth in the long jump.

St. Francis travels to Sacramento for the Meet of Champions on Apr. 30, while Los Altos competes in the Carmel Classic the same day. Mountain View returns to action with the El Camino Division Trials on May 2.

St. Francis baseball win streak snapped

After a rocky start to its title defense in the West Catholic Athletic League, the St. Francis baseball team rebounded to win four consecutive league games. The last two came in dramatic fashion.

The host Lancers first faced red-hot Serra, which was coming off back-to-back shoutouts. Pitcher Jared Lansford silenced the Padres offense, allowing one run on four hits through seven innings. Tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, St. Francis loaded the bases and, with one out, let Lansford take the game into his own hands. The senior responded with a walk-off grand slam to give his team a 5-1 victory on Apr. 22.

The next day, the Lancers (18-6, 6-4 WCAL) again took it down to the wire. Facing a 4-4 tie with one out in the bottom of the seventh, St. Francis turned to another one of its Santa Clara University-bound seniors, Brady Fuerst. The shortstop connected for the game-winning RBI as the Lancers prevailed 5-4. Junior Chris Viegas led the offense with four hits.

St. Francis failed to keep up its magic as it suffered its first home loss, a 14-0 rout by WCAL-leader Bellarmine on Apr. 26. The Lancers allowed five first-inning runs and never got their offense on track, managing just five hits.

The Lancers host Sacred Heart Cathedral on Apr. 29 and Mitty on May 3. --Scott Campbell

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