Paly girls Paly girls (May 04, 2005)are on track for a title

Undefeated Vikings carry favorite's role into league finals this week

by Keith Peters

It has been eight years since the Palo Alto girls' track and field team won a league title. Paly coach Paul Jones figures his squad is due.

The time for that title-less streak to end could come Thursday, when the Viking girls carry the favorite's role into the SCVAL De Anza Division championships at Los Altos High at 2:30 p.m.

The Paly girls finished third in the league finals a year ago, but are primed for much better things.

"We hope so," said Jones, whose squad went 6-0 in dual meets this season. "This is probably the best group - up and down the line -- since I've coached here."

That would be 28 years.

"We really don't have a hole," Jones said.

Not only do the Vikings have everything covered, but they have enough depth to bring the title home.

Paly showed some of that depth last week when the Viking girls handed then-unbeaten Milpitas an 86-41 dual-meet loss. Paly won 11 events and went one-two in six of them.

Key performers for the Paly girls this week will be senior Katrina Zawojski (200, long jump, triple jump, relays), Katy Wanner (triple jump, high jump, relays), Mia Lattanzi (400, relays), Renata Cummins (1,600, 3,200), Elissa Chandler (hurdles) and Linda Oseso (discus, shot put).

While the Paly girls are favored for the team title, Gunn senior Tori Tyler carries that role into the 1,600 and 3,200 races. She ranks No. 1 in the CCS in the metric two-miler and among the leaders in the four-lapper.
Softball

Menlo-Atherton senior Danielle Kielty pitched her second no-hitter of the week when she blanked host San Mateo, 11-0 on Friday in a PAL Ocean Division game. Kielty helped herself with a double, triple and drove in two runs for the Bears (8-2, 9-6).

In another division game, Menlo junior Ali Lycette pitched a two-hitter to beat host South San Francisco, 19-0. Lycette had three hits and drove in three runs while Alex Oceguera had two hits and four RBI for the Knights (8-1, 13-5).

In the West Bay Athletic League, Castilleja junior Alex Chang-Graham struck out 13 and tossed a two-hitter as the Gators (6-0, 9-3) handed visiting Notre Dame-San Jose a 6-0 loss.

In the SCVAL El Camino Division, junior Brittany Stankovic had three hits and drove in two runs, including the winning one in Palo Alto's 3-2 win over host Santa Clara on Saturday night.
Baseball

Palo Alto (8-4, 12-8) tuned up for Wednesday's showdown against second-place Wilcox (10-4) at Paly (3:30 p.m.) by handing Mountain View a 4-2 win over visiting Mountain View last week. Junior Andrew White and senior Karl Laughton combined on a one-hitter. The lone hit came with one out in the top of the seventh.

Junior Jon Koepfgen drove in two runs for the Vikings.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.