Publication Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2004
It's a sprint to the finish line
It's a sprint to the finish line
(April 28, 2004) Local track and field athletes are making solid preparations for the postseason
by Keith Peters
As far as the high school track and field season is going, it's out of the blocks and sprinting to the finish line.
In barely one month, the area's best athletes will be competing at the Central Coast Section championships at San Jose City College. At stake for the top three finishers will be berths in the CIF State Meet June 4-5 at Sacramento City College, the first time the event has been in Northern California in a number of years.
Heading into the final week of the dual-meet season, a number of local runners and jumpers have solidified themselves among the best in the CCS, state and nation.
Libby Jenke of Menlo School and Laurie Roberts of Menlo-Atherton, both juniors, sit atop the CCS in addition to ranking among the top 10 nationally. Jenke owns a career best of 2:11.66 in the 800 meters while Roberts cleared a career best of 5-feet-8 to win the girls' high jump at the Bay Area Top 8 Invitational last weekend at James Logan High in Union City.
Jenke also ranks No. 1 in the state and No. 8 in the nation. She showed her range last Friday by taking third in the 1,600 (5:08.79) at the CCS Top 8 meet at Los Gatos High. That makes her No. 6 in the CCS this season.
Roberts is tied for No. 2 in the state and has only eight others ahead of her in the national rankings after winning the Bay Area Top 8 meet by eight inches.
Menlo-Atherton senior Jeremy Mineau ranks No. 2 in the CCS in the 3,200 with a best of 9:08.86 (converted from a 9:12.16 two mile). That ranks him No. 3 in the state and No. 15 in the nation.
Mineau and junior teammate Evan Anderson also were busy at James Logan High last weekend. Mineau was second in the 3,200 in 9:21.43 and fourth in the 1,600 in 4:19.69. Anderson finished second in the 1,600 in 4:19.51 and grabbed foukrth in the 3,200 in 9:32.38.
The Menlo-Atherton girls also clocked 4:09.43 to finish fifth in the 1,600 relay.
Stanford-bound Wopamo Osaisai of Pinole Valley won the boys' 100 (10.75) and 200 (21.91) while future Cardinal Lindsay Allen of College Park moved into the nation's No. 3 spot in the girls' 3,200 with a winning time of 10:35.82.
At Los Gatos High, Gunn High's Orlie Kapitulnik was fourth in the girls' 100 in 12.81 and was followed by Palo Alto's Ashley Gadson in seventh (12.95) and Paly's Alison Seedman in 10th (13.13).
Paly senior Danielle Miller was sixth in the 3,200 (11:26.07) and ninth in the 1,600 (5:19.39). The Vikings' 1,600 relay team was third in 4:07.85 while the girls' 400 relay squad was fifth in 50.09. In the field events, Paly's Katrina Zawojski leaped 35-3 for second in the triple jump and Gunn's Tal Cohen cleared 10 feet for eighth in the girls' pole vault.
A day earlier, Palo Alto and Gunn clashed in their annual SCVAL De Anza Division showdown. Fittingly, perhaps, each varsity team came away with a victory. The Paly girls romped 75-47 while the Gunn boys pulled out a 68-58 win.
The boys' meet nearly came down the the 1,600 relay, which Gunn won in 3:41.0. Just before the teams went to the line for that final race, however, the Titans wrapped up the meet with a one-two finish in the high jump. Brennan Blair won at 5-6 and David Kao was second at 5-4.
Until that point, the meet was close throughout. The Titans swept the 400 with John McGee leading the way in 52.1, and took the top three spots in the triple jump with Derrick Brooks leaping 43-9 for the victory. Gunn senior Andrew Lipkin led an 8-1 finish in the mile in addition to winning the two-mile in 9:55.1. Brooks also won the 200 in a wind-aided 22.5 and took the 100 in 11.0. He just missed winning four individual events when Rahsaan Carty posted a surprise win in the long jump at 21-3 3/4.
Palo Alto's only double winner was senior James McCluskey in the shot put (47-3) and discus (137-3) while Chris Reade led an 8-1 bulge in the 110 high hurdles.
In the girls' meet, Zawojski paced the Vikings with victories in the long jump (17-1 1/2) and triple jump (33-10 1/2) while senior Jessica Brown captured the 100 hurdls (16.9) and 300 hurdles (50.0). Paly had only six victories, but made up the difference with 11 runnerup finishes and by taking 12 out of a possible 13 thirds.
Gunn had double winners in Tori Tyler and Kapitulnik. Tyler had a tough distance double with impressive wins in the mile (5:15.9) and two-mile (11:15.1) while Kapitulnik took advantage of a strong aiding win to take the 100 (12.2) and 200 (25.5).
Palo Alto will visit Los Altos on Thursday (3 p.m.) to close out its dual-meet schedule. The De Anza Division trials will be Tuesday, May 4 at Los Altos, with finals set for Thursday, May 6.
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
