Sports
Castilleja senior Samantha Albanese tied a national record and a state mark this season.
Year in sports
The Knights toppled a very good Saratoga team three times during the season, once in the national tourney in addition to the CCS and NorCal finals. That in itself was quite a feat. While tennis topped the list of accomplishments at Menlo this school year, it was just the best of many highlights by a small school that produced big results. The Menlo baseball team won the CCS Division III championship with an 8-2 victory over Hillsdale just a few weeks after tennis finished up. The Knights went 25-6, captured
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Sacred Heart Prep junior Abby Dahlkemper was the Gatorade State Player of the Year in girls’ soccer.
the fourth section crown in school history and concluded the year on a 14-game winning streak. Senior shortstop Danny Diekroeger wrapped up a remarkable prep career after starting the season by leading Menlo (9-4) to its firstever appearance in the CCS football playoffs and Small School Division finals. Despite losing the title game to Carmel, 56-35, Diekroeger broke all kinds of records with 470 passing yards and five touchdowns. His 4,187 passing yards (with 35 touchdowns) was a Bay Area record. Also in the fall, the Menlo girls’ tennis team won its 168th straight league match since 1994 while winning the West Bay Athletic League crown. The Menlo boys’ water polo team reached the CCS Division II finals before losing to rival Sacred Heart Prep. In the spring, the Menlo girls’ lacrosse team successfully defended its league title with a 16-14 overtime victory over Burlingame to finish a solid season at 17-4. The Knights also had the best golfer in the CCS in junior Patrick Grimes, who won individual honors in the section tournament — his 64 was the lowest round ever in the finals
— and advanced all the way to the state finals where he finished sixth. If there was an award for best overall sports program in the area this past season, Menlo School undoubtedly would have earned it. In a season filled with highlights, here are a few of the best:
In the fall . . . s 4HE 3ACRED (EART 0REP BOYS and girls’ water polo teams set their sights on winning a third consecutive CCS championship and both teams succeeded in their quest. The SHP boys became the first Division II teams to win three in a row with a surprisingly easy 15-6 romp over rival Menlo. The SHP girls won a defensive battle with St. Ignatius, 6-2, with both Sacred Heart teams sending their seniors off the best way possible. The Gators’ David Culpan and Ben Dearborn shared MVP honors on the CCS Division II team while Heather Smith was the girls’ CCS Division II MVP. s 4HE 0ALO !LTO GIRLS VOLLEYBALL team started the season just 2-3, but then compiled a 33-match winning (continued on next page)
Keith Peters
completed one of the more remarkable seasons in local prep basketball history. Pinewood overcome the injury problems, put the end of its 149game league winning streak behind it and won a state title with only two available seniors. Thus, the future is very bright for the Panthers heading into the 2010-11 season. The same could be said for the Menlo boys’ tennis team, which los-
es only two senior starters in singles (Jamin Ball and Patrick Chase) from a squad that went 27-0 and team and made local tennis history by winning the National High School AllAmerican Boys Invitational Team Tournament, the CCS and NorCal titles in addition to finishing the season undefeated. No team in NorCal history ever had pulled off such a feat. “You can’t do better than we did this year,� said Menlo coach Bill Shine. “If you’re talking about the best teams in the country, Menlo has to be in that conversation.�
Keith Peters
Keith Peters
Keith Peters
Sacred Heart Prep sophomore Tom Kremer won two individual titles at the Central Coast Section swim championships.
Palo Alto junior Jasmine Tosky set CCS records while winning the 200 free and 100 fly at the section finals. Page 36ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â˜iĂŠĂ“x]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž