The Spartans dominated the El Camino Division in track and field this spring , with both the boys and the girls teams taking league championships, rounding out one of the most successful seasons in recent MVHS history.
“It was a great year for us,” said head coach Sam Read. “Great” appeared to be an understatement for this group of Spartans. Overall, 12 school records were broken, 24 league champions were crowned, and 11 Spartans finished ranked in the CCS top 20 in their individual events.
Leading the boys were seniors Kevin Metsers and David Lee, as well as juniors Devin Moores, Robbie Reid, and Nikolai Lemak. Metsers broke the school record in the long jump by six inches with a jump of 22-5 at the SCVAL League meet on May 3. Moores was a consistent point-getter in both the high jump and the 110 meter hurdles, while Reid dominated the 800 meter run, ultimately finishing fourth at CCS (1:57.75).
Juniors Haley Nahman and Kate Kornegay stood out on the girls’ side, continually winning their events in the 800 meter and the 100 meter hurdles, respectively.
The field team was where Mountain View would repeatedly earn their most points. Sophomores Katherine Johnson and Angelica Williams were the top two throwing threats. The Spartans also had three girls — juniors Ronnie Amsden and Cheryl Kaestner and sophomore Kelly Thom — jumping 5-0 or over, and all three will return next season. Thom and Amsden were joined by senior Abby Daam as three of the division’s top four long jumpers.
Many members of this Spartan team will be back again next year. Along with stellar seasons by both of MV’s junior varsity squads — the girls finished first and the boys second — the outlook for the 2007 season looks very good for Mountain View.
St. Francis remained unrivalled
The 2006 track season was an epic one for St. Francis, whose boys team overcame all forms of competition to win the West Catholic Athletic League, earn a CCS championship, and place eighth overall at the California State meet.The St. Francis boys had three state medalists in Casey Roche, Ben Sitler and Kyle Mills-Bunje, but it was their depth of competitive athletes that earned the Lancers both the WCAL and CCS championships. Junior Andy Vargas and senior David Wernick threw the discus for the Lancers and both picked up state-qualifying marks in the shot put. Sophomore Omar Bourgoub was a qualifier for the June 3 state meet in the high jump (6’3″) and was joined by senior 800 meter runner Sam Pompei (1:55.66).
The Lady Lancers tied for first place with Valley Christian in the WCAL this year after a 7-0 season, and later placed third in the CCS Championships on May 26. St. Francis had two girls who eclipsed 12 feet in the pole vault — junior Natasha Barthel and senior Taylor Franklin. Both competed at the state meet and Barthel tied for second with a vault of 12-9.
Senior discus hurler Sela Paini also qualified for state with a throw of 148-4, establishing a new school record in the process.
The boys and the girls of St. Francis will be fully capable of defending their WCAL titles next season.
Challenging year for Los Altos
Los Altos did not fare well in track and field this season. The girls tied for fourth in the De Anza Division with a 2-4 record, while the boys went winless on their way to a last place finish.The Eagle boys’ 0-6 record was somewhat deceiving, as five of their six losses were by a narrow margin. Junior Eric Hersey won both hurdle events at the league meet, finishing with 39.94 in the 300 meter and 14.3 in the 110 meter. Junior Alec Nickolls also placed first at the league meet for Los Altos. He ran the mile in 4:24.81.
For the girls, Junior Bria Nelson won the 400 meter at league (58.60) and came in second in the 200 meter (26.13), while sophomore Alyssa Biondi took second in the 100 meter sprint (12.66). The Eagles’ mile relay team also finished first at league, and senior Alicia Yanez and junior Briana Spears also contributed strong performances for Los Altos all season long.
E-mail the sports desk at sports@mv-voice.com
