Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (December 19, 2003)

LUGE GOLD MEDAL . . . It was a storybook return for the U.S. doubles luge team of Brian Martin of Palo Alto and Mark Grimmette of Muskegon, Mich. Sidelined since mid-October because of Grimmette's herniated disc in his lower back, the two-time Olympic medalists sat out the luge World Cup series' first three races and made their 2003-04 debut last Friday with a gold-medal finish on the 2002 Olympic course in Park City, Utah. "I think that every win is pretty sweet, but this one is certainly special," said Martin. "This is a great win, given everything that we had to overcome to get it. But you know going in, Mark and I were pretty confident. We had a great week of training and I think that we both thought we had a chance of winning." On their way to their ninth-career World Cup victory together, the reigning 2003 overall World Cup champions recorded the race's two fastest times of 44.037 seconds and 44.018, and finished with a combined time of 1 minute, 28.055 seconds, almost two-tenths of a second ahead of Germany's second-place sled of Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch. a two-heat total of 1:28.253.

ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS . . . Stanford junior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani was named to the first team AVCA All-American Women's Volleyball team on Wednesday. Nnamani becomes a three-time All-American with a chance to become Stanford's eighth four-time All-American. Senior middle blocker Jennifer Harvey was honored on the second team.

OAKS CORNER . . . The Menlo College women's basketball team dropped a 74-61 decision to visiting Fresno Pacific in a nonconference game on Tuesday night. The Lady Oaks (2-5) were led by Ki'i Spencer-Vasconcellos, who scored 17 points before fouling out. Keisha Thomas added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Menlo returns to action on Dec. 29 at the Dominican Holiday Classic . . . The Menlo College women's wrestling team is ranked fourth in the nation according to the U.S. Women's College Wrestling poll released by TheMat.com. Five Menlo wrestlers are ranked among the top 10 in their respective weight divisions. Freshman Sara Fulp-Allen is ranked second in the 105-pound division, while Lindsey Owens is second in the 121-pound weight class. Caylene Valdez (121) and Chelsy Torres (176) are each ranked fourth and Jacqueline Sanchez (147) is ranked seventh . . . The Menlo College men's wrestling team, which hosts an Invitational on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m., is ranked fourth in the nation among NAIA schools. Menlo's James Guizar is the top-ranked wrestler in the 141-pound weight class. Four other Oaks are also ranked: Eddie Lucatero (fourth at 165); Danny Castillo (sixth at 149); Ricky Aguirre (sixth at 125); and Alfonso Paez (eighth at 133).

LOCAL SOCCER NEWS . . . The MVLA CyberRays, a CYSA Girls' U-12 Class 3 (born after 7/31/91) is looking for several fast, skilled and dedicated players to help us move up to the next level. Players can be from Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. The team is trained by Simon Weiss (former player for University of North Carolina). Please contact Alberto Martin at 996-0505 or by email at almartin@stanford.edu . . . The Stanford Wildfire, a Girls' U-12 Class 3 team moving to Class 1, is holding tryouts for the upcoming spring season. Contact Barbara Zimmer at 424-0736 or kev-barb@pacbell.net.

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Woodside Priory is looking for a girls' swimming coach for the upcoming season. Interested coaches should contact Athletic Director Mark Stogner at 851-6107 . . . Sacred Heart Prep is looking for assistant swim coaches for the spring, to work with the boys' and girls' teams. Interested coaches should contact SHP athletic director Mike Ciardella at 473-4031.

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