Sports Shorts

NATIONAL CHAMP . . . Palo Alto resident Kim Fitchen, who trains with the Stanford-based Farm Team but whose affiliation is with Nike International, clocked 20:04 over the 6,017-meter layout in Boston's Franklin Park to win the women's race at the USA Fall Cross Country Championships last weekend. After sharing the lead for much of the race with Carrie Tollefson of adidas, Fitchen broke away over the last mile to win the individual title by 13 seconds. Fitchen, 32, who was a member of the U.S. bronze medal-winning team at the World Cross Country Championships this year, did not compete seriously in college and says she became dedicated to the sport in 1992. In the men's race, Stanford grad Greg Jimmerson, also of The Farm Team, finished fifth in the 9,855-meter race in 29:20 to help The Farm Team finish third overall.

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Palo Alto High grad Brooke O'Hanley will try to help her Portland women's soccer team post its third straight upset when they take on UCLA tonight (7:30 p.m.) in the semifinals of the NCAA Women's College Cup at San Jose's Spartan Stadium. O'Hanley, a junior midfielder, has helped the Pilots (18-3) to consecutive upsets over No. 7 Penn State (in overtime) and No. 2 Washington. In tonight's 5 p.m. opener, No. 1 Notre Dame will face defending national champ North Carolina. The winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. . . . Palo Alto resident and Gunn graduate Brian Martin teamed with Mark Grimmette on the United States doubles luge team to win the bronze medal on Saturday in the opening round of the 2000-01 World Cup series in Sigulda, Latvia. "This was a pretty solid result for Mark and I," said Martin. "We had some problems during the week, but we were able to find some pretty fast lines today, and winning a medal in the our first race out is certainly a confidence builder." Martin and Grimmette raced to a two-run time of 1 minute, 26.492 seconds.

SCHOLASTIC CHAMPS . . . The Menlo girls' cross-country team and Castilleja girls' volleyball and tennis teams all ranked No. 2 in their respective sports in the 2000-2001 Fall Season Scholastic Championship Team Awards. The awards, instituted by the CCS Board of Managers in 1985, recognize the varsity team, from each CCS sport, with the highest collective grade point average. Menlo had a combined 3.7272 GPA while Castilleja was 3.6271 for volleyball and 3.6909 in tennis. A host of local teams ranked fourth, including the Menlo-Atherton boys' cross-country team (3.6545), Menlo girls' volleyball squad (3.5000), Menlo boys' water polo team (3.3250) and Menlo girls' water polo squad (3.4948).

NOTEWORTHY . . . Stanford baseball coach Mark Marquess and former pitching coach Tom Dunton will be among eight college speakers featured at this year's C.C.S.A. baseball/softball Clinic of Champions to be held Saturday, Dec. 9 at St. Joseph's School in Atherton. The clinic begins at 11:30 a.m. and costs $35 per person, or $30 each for groups of four or more. Menlo College softball coach Kyle Brumbaugh will also speak. For more information, contact Ray Calcagno at 650-969-3295 or visit the web site at www.ccsa.net . . . The Palo Alto Volleyball Club has openings on its junior girls' 14-and-under team to play in NCVA Area league tournaments between January and May. Tryouts are scheduled for Dec. 3. For information, call Perry Popovich at 856-0672 . . . Entries are now open for the Art Rosenbaum Sportswriting Scholarship, sponsored by the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Entries, for students who have written sports-related articles for their high school publications, are due by April 15 and can be sent to The Rosenbaum Scholarships, BASHOF, 235 Montgomery Street, 12th floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. For information, call 1-415-352-8827.

COACHING CLASSIFIEDS . . . Gunn High needs coaches for the following teams: JV girls soccer, JV girls softball, frosh-soph boys baseball and varsity badminton. Interested persons should contact Gunn athletic director Christy Eustice at 354-8214 . . . Menlo-Atherton High is looking for a badminton coach in the spring. Anyone interested should call M-A Athletic Director Pam Wimberly at 1-650-322-5311, ext. 5706.

OVER 50 RUN . . . The Fifty-Plus Fitness Association 18th Annual 8 Kilometer Run at Stanford University will be held March 18, beginning at 9 a.m. Also featuring 5 Kilometer Racewalk and 5K Fitness Walk, Bicycle Ride, Swim, Skate and Health Fair. 8K Run and 5K Racewalk is for participants age 50 and over only. Flat USATF certified course. The 8K Run is the Seniors 8K Championship for the Pacific Association of USA Track and Field. Start at Stanford Stadium. Tel: 650-323-6160, Fax: 650-323-6119, e-mail: fitness@ix.netcom.com, website: www.50plus.org.

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