Palo Alto Weekly 11.12.2010 - Section 1

Page 29

Sports CROSS COUNTRY

CCS ROUNDUP

A rivalry is renewed at CCS

M-A, SHP girls keep tennis tournament very interesting

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Priory’s Gregory, Castilleja’s Skokowski should battle again for Division V title by Keith Peters at Gregory of Priory and Rachel Skoskowki of Castilleja have had quite a rivalry during their cross-country careers. Both hope their head-to-head battles continue for at least two more weeks. That would take the two not only through Saturday’s Central Coast Section Championships at Toro Park in Salinas but the CIF State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 27. There’s a very good chance that either runner will win the Division V individual title on Saturday. After all, a runner from Castilleja or Priory has won for the past eight years. Don’t be surprised if both teams also qualify, which generally is the case, as well. Gregory, junior, is the defending CCS Division V champion. She won last season in 19:07 at Crystal Springs in Belmont while helping the Panthers win the team title. Skokowski was second in 19:35, helping the Gators finish third and also qualify for the state finals. In 2008, the last time the section finals were held at Toro Park, it was Skokowski’s time to shine. She won the individual crown in 20:21 to help Castilleja win the team title. Gregory, then a freshman, finished third in 21:01 while the Panthers grabbed second in the team race. In Skokowski’s freshman season in 2007, she finished sixth in 20:44 at Crystal but the Gators won the team title. Then-freshman Devon Errington of Priory won individual title to help her team take second. Based on performances this season, it appears Gregory is ready to take back the title. She captured the West Bay Athletic League crown last Friday in 18:52 over the 2.95 Crystal Springs course while Skokowski was second in 19:08. It has been that way all season as the two have dominated in their league competitions. “I had my lucky pink shoes,� Gregory said as perhaps why she won the WBAL title. Gregory came in as the heavy favorite, having won three times in league-wide meets prior to Friday. “It’s sort of an uncomfortable position for me,� Gregory said of the favorite’s role. “I’d rather be the underdog. But, today it was more about us doing well (as a team). I had to push myself. I don’t think we were looking to win the team title, it was more just to move on.� Gregory actually missed two weeks of training to prevent a possible stress fracture, returning just this week. “I had two days of practice and then the meet,� she said. “My coach-

K

Keith Peters

Keith Peters

Priory junior Kat Gregory is the Division V defending champ.

Castilleja senior Rachel Skokowski won Division V in 2008.

es had confidence in me that I’d be able to pull through. So, I’m happy to be here.� While the Priory and Castilleja girls battle it out, another showdown looms in the CCS Division I girls’ race on Saturday between Carlmont and Gunn. The Titans are the defending champions, but Gunn coach Ernie Lee knows last year’s effort means little. “Carlmont is the favorite, especially after what they ran at their league finals compared to how we ran,� Lee said. “We’re just hoping to have everyone run their best race of the year. San Benito has been running very well lately, so they could also challenge for a state meet berth.� In Division I, only the top two boys’ and girls’ teams qualify for state. In Division V, it’s three each.

Division II has three each while Division IV advances two boys’ teams and three girls’. Jessie Petersen of Carlmont returns to defend her Division I title while Gunn senior Erin Robinson is back to improve upon her runnerup finish last season. The Titans put five runners among the first 13 in 2009, but two of those were seniors. Junior Kieran Gallagher is back after taking sixth and senior Emma Dohner returns after finishing 13th. The big addition to Gunn’s team is freshman Sarah Robinson, Erin’s sister who finished third while Erin took second at the SCVAL El Camino Division finals two weeks ago. The Menlo-Atherton boys also have a shot of advancing to the state finals, but is running in a tough Division I field that includes No. 1-ranked Bellarmine. N

TRELLIS

n paper, the Menlo-Atherton and Sacred Heart Prep girls’ tennis teams were expected to be done for the season following the second round of the Central Coast Section Team Tournament. Fortunately for the Bears and Gators, they made the most of their opportunity to prove the seedings wrong. The unseeded Bears shocked No. 6 seed St. Ignatius, 4-3, in Golden Gate Park while the unseeded Gators upended West Bay Athletic League rival Harker, 4-2, in San Jose. The victories moved both teams into Friday’s quarterfinals, where they will face even more difficult opposition. Menlo-Atherton (15-5) will make the short trip to Menlo School to take on the No. 3-seeded Knights (18-5) at 2:30 p.m. Sacred Heart Prep (17-6) gets the unenviable task of facing top seed Saratoga (19-0) on the Falcons’ court, also at 2:30 p.m. On paper, neither the Bears nor the Gators have a chance on Friday. Then again, that was supposed to be the case Wednesday. On a cold and clear afternoon in San Francisco, M-A used its depth in doubles and at the bottom of the singles lineup to shock the favored Wildcats. The match was tied at 3 before M-A’s No. 1 doubles team of Chloe Rehlaender and Jordyn Fantuzzi rallied from a 6-4 loss in the first set and won the next two, 6-2, 6-1, to clinch the thrilling victory. St. Ignatius grabbed a quick lead when nationally ranked Caroline Doyle dispatched M-A’s Paige Keating at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-0. The Bears notted things when Erin LaPorte won her No. 3 singles

match, 6-1, 6-0. The Wildcats regained the lead when the Bears’ Julia Sommer fell at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-1, before M-A’s Lauren Diller made it 2-2 with a 7-6 (7-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 4 singles. All three doubles matches were still in progress at that point, with M-A’s No. 2 tandem of Siena RoatShumway and Lindy LaPlante giving their team a 3-2 lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win. The No. 1 and 3 doubles matches then went to a third set, with Rehaender and Fantuzzi clinching the team triumph before the No. 3 doubles finished. Sacred Heart Prep’s upset win wasn’t as dramatic, but nonetheless effective. The teams had split their WBAL regular-season matches, with the Gators winning their second meeting, 4-3. In that match, the teams split the singles. This time, Harker held a 2-1 lead (with No. 2 singles halted due to darkness. Thus, just like in the previous match, doubles decided it. Kelsey Hemm and Alexa Bokman posted a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles (Hemm and Isabelle Thompson had won previously) while Ceci Marshall and Danni Struck registered a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory at No. 2 (they also had won in three sets in the prior match). The difference turned out to be at No. 3 doubles, where Nicole Schulz and Ruthy Sarwal scored a 6-2, 7-5 win. In the previous match, Schulz and Sarwal had lost in three sets. In the only second-round match that went true to form on Wednesday, No. 3 Menlo ended Palo Alto’s season with a 6-1 victory. The Vikings finished 12-8 after being the last team to squeeze into the tournament. N

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