March 23, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Paly girls on track this year

by Keith Peters

Paul Jones is looking forward to Sunday, when he can finally put his feet up and relax. It will mark the end of a hectic two-week period for the Palo Alto High girls' track and field coach.

During that time, Jones and his fellow coaches will have overseen two dual meets and two big invitationals, including the annual Stanford Invitational this Friday and Saturday. And, picture day at Paly.

Helping make this busy schedule easier to deal with is the fact the Paly girls' team is a downright joy for Jones to coach this season. The Vikings are 2-0 in SCVAL De Anza Division dual-meet action, including a 75-52 victory over host Los Gatos last week.

The Paly girls also produced a solid team effort at last Saturday's West Valley Relays at West Valley College in Saratoga, where the Vikings won the team title with 43 points.

Paly accomplished that without standout sprinter/jumper Katrina Zawojski, who was in Colorado competing with a club volleyball team.

"We have a pretty good group," Jones said. "I think it will be a pretty good track season around here."

That could be for both Paly and the other local squads, who distinguished themselves in last week's dual-meet and invitational action.

In the girls' division of the West Valley Relays, for example, Menlo School senior Libby Jenke officially opened her outdoor season in the 800 meters with a meet-record winning time of 2:11.88. She came back to finish second in the 1500 meters (4:40.67).

Paly junior Katy Wanner produced her team's lone victory in the relays, winning the triple jump at 35-2, while Menlo-Atherton senior Laurie Roberts won the high jump at 5-6, Castilleja sophomore Tori Anthony was an easy winner in the pole vault at 10-6, the Menlo-Atherton girls' 400 relay won in 51.15 and Paly took the 4x1600 relay to help win the team title.

"Usually you don't go into these (invitationals) with the idea you're going to win," Jones said. "But, I'm excited about the girls' team this year."

Paly's Ranecia Fields is just one of many athletes giving Jones reason to be optimistic. She was third in the long jump at 16-9, a huge improvement over her marks last season; M-A senior Jennifer Connet was second in the girls' 100 hurdles (16.54); Paly junior Elissa Chandler was third in the 400 hurdles and Gunn's Orlie Kapitulnik was third in the 100 in 12.91.

In the boys' relay action, Gunn senior Evan Anderson duplicated Jenke's feat (in reverse) by winning the 1500 (4:01.31) and taking second in the 800 (1:58.10).

Anderson's effort helped the Bears finish 10th in the team scoring, while Palo Alto was 17th and Gunn 19th.

The Sacred Heart Prep boys' 1,600 relay team, featuring 2004 state meet qualifier David Jackson, won going away in 3:31.68.

In dual-meet action last week, the Paly boys and girls swept Los Gatos while the Gunn girls won the final 1,600 relay to beat Lynbrook, 67-59. The Gunn boys fell to Lynbrook, 65-43.

Pierre Meloty-Kapella won the 100 (11.63) and 200 (24.29) to help the Paly boys beat Los Gatos, 84-43, while a balanced effort led the Viking girls past the Wildcats.

Kapitulnik (100, 200) and Audrey Periera (shot put, discus) sparked the Gunn girls in their dual-meet win.

The Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track & Angell Field will get under way Friday with high school events starting at 3 p.m. Saturday's action begins at 9 a.m., with the final relay scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
Girls lacrosse

Gunn (2-0) pulled off a big upset by edging host Menlo, 6-5, in a Peninsula Athletic League match last week. The loss for the Knights was their first ever in league play.

Kate Kosco scored three goals for the Titans while Maggie Wynn added two and Becka Tisdale had won. Menlo juniors Megan Teixiera and Erican Swanson each scored twice to pace the Knights (2-1, 3-3).

"It was a very intense game," said Menlo coach Jen Lee. "Gunn played very well."

The game was a rematch of last season's PAL championship game, won by Menlo.
Boys lacrosse

Menlo-Atherton won the third annual Carmel Tournament, posting a 5-0 record last weekend. The Bears defeated Bella Vista, 7-2; Lick-Wilmerding, 10-1; Leland, 8-2; Carmel, 7-0, and Santa Cruz, 11-3. Goalies Justin Lazar and Matt Weber were among the standouts for M-A.
Swimming

Menlo, Menlo-Atherton and Gunn all finished among the top 10 at the annual Steve Yamamoto Memorial Invitational at St. Francis on Saturday.

M-A juniors Kelly Eaton and Heidi Kucera were the only individual winners among the local entries. Eaton won the 50-yard backstroke in a school-record 28.31, breaking the previous mark of 28.36 by Beth Irwin in 1997. Kucera won the 100 IM in 1:00.40.

Mitty, which swam away with the team title (310 points), earlier in the week snapped Sacred Heart Prep's dual-meet win streak with a 112-61 West Catholic Athletic League triumph.

The Sacred Heart Prep boys, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 (5-0 overall) with a 113-62 win over host Mitty. The Gators, however, were expecting their streak to end Tuesday against St. Ignatius. Two of SHP's best swimmers, Kameron Flores-Maxfield and Alex Navarro, are gone at Junior Nationals this week in Orlando, Fla., and seniors Doug Wigley and Dylan Mobley left early for vacation in Costa Rica.

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