Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (January 16, 2004)

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Stanford grad Randall Bal moved into the No. 2 spot in the world by winning the 50-meter back and 100-meter back at a FINA World Cup short-course meet this week in Stockholm, Sweden. Bal, who concluded an All-American career at Stanford last spring, won the 50 back in 23.92. That ranks No. 2 globally behind the 23.44 turned in by Germany's Thomas Rupprath. Bal also won the 100 back in 51.61, which ranks No. 2 in the world behind Rupprath's 50.95. Bal's times currently lead the USA rankings . . . Castilleja grad Jackie Nguyen opened the indoor track and field season by registering a personal record of 13-3 1/2 while taking third in the Open Women No. 1 division at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno last weekend. Nguyen currently competes for UCLA. Another former Castilleja standout, Amy Chow, won the Open Women division 2 competition with a vault of 11-5 3/4. Chow, a former Olympic medalist in gymnastics, is now a second-year med student at Stanford and is just now making the transition from gymnastics to pole vaulting. Stanford grad Toby Stevenson cleared 18-4 1/2 to finish fourth in the Men's Elite division . . . Palo Alto's Chris Lundy finished eighth in the women's division at the Rock'n Roll Marathon in Phoenix last weekend, clocked two hours, 46 minutes, 19 seconds.

LOCAL SOCCER NEWS . . . The Stanford Earthquakes CYSA Under-14 boys' Class 3 team will hold a tryout at Greer Park (Field 5) on Sunday, Jan. 18. Information: 858-2076. The team last weekend advanced to the Round of 16 in Association Cup play after winning three matches to open the 60-team tournament, the Division 3 equivalent of the State Cup . . . The Stanford JV, an Under-12 boys' Class I team that plays in the Ambronzino League, will hold tryouts Jan. 24 and 31 at Mitchell Park. The team is coached by European pro Chris Sullivan. Information: 269-4971 . . . The Stanford Vortex Under-14 boys' team is holding tryouts for the spring and fall seasons. Information: 321-5944 or www.stanfordsoccerclub.org . . . The Palo Alto CYSA Soccer Club will be conducting tryouts for the upcoming season for boys and girls between the ages of 10-14 at the Cubberley fields. The Under-10 and Under-12 boys' and girls' teams will conduct tryouts on Saturday, Jan. 24, Sunday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 7. The Under-13 and Under-14 boys' and girls' teams will hold tryouts on Sunday, Jan. 25, Saturday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, Feb. 8. For more information, visit the website at www.pasoccerclub.org . . . The Union Football Club is a recently formed CYSA club located in Palo Alto and will be holding tryouts. For information, visit the website at www.unionfootballclub.com or call 387-4128 . . . The MVLA CyberRays, a CYSA Under-12 girls' Class 3 (born after 7/31/91) is looking for several fast, skilled and dedicated players to help the team 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. For more information: 996-0505 or by email at almartin@stanford.edu . . . The Stanford Wildfire, an Under-12 girls' 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 . . . The Mountain View-Los Altos Earthquakes soccer club, for boys born after July 31, 1994, will hold tryouts at the Santa Rita Elementary School on Saturday, Jan. 24 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. For information, visit the website at www.eteamz.com/earthquakessoccer/.

SOFTBALL SIGNUPS . . . The second day for walk-in registration for the 2004 Palo Alto Girls' Softball league season will be Wednesday, Jan. 21 from 7-9 p.m. in Room H-1 at the Cubberley Community Center. The final signup session at Cubberley will be Jan. 31 from 10 a.m. to noon. Players ages 5-15 also can register online at www.paloaltogirlssoftball.org. The league, affiliated with the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), serves players from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills. The spring season begins in March and runs through June.

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Woodside Priory is looking for baseball, golf plus track and field coaches for the spring 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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