Sports
Palo Alto boys wrap up De Anza Division hoop title; Eastside Prep girls clinch title tie
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
by Keith Peters he high school basketball regular season is coming to a close and only one league title has been wrapped up. That means there’s still a lot to be decided in the next few days. The Palo Alto boys don’t have to worry about that after they clinched the SCVAL De Anza Division title with an easy 60-19 romp over lastplace Cupertino on Tuesday night. The Vikings won their 18th straight game while improving to 10-0 in league (20-1 overall) with two games remaining in the regular season. Paly will celebrate Senior Night on Friday against visiting Los Gatos at 7:45 p.m. Senior Aubrey Dawkins will be among those honored after leading Paly with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals against Cupertino. The Vikings, who shot 53 percent from the field, grabbed a 33-9 halftime lead and coasted from there with 10 players scoring. The Eastside Prep girls, meanwhile, all but locked up their firstever West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) title as senior Hashima Carothers scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 4734 win over visiting Pinewood on Tuesday. The host Panthers (8-1, 17-5) ) won their ninth straight and clinched at least a tie for division crown by beating co-leading Pinewood (7-2, 18-5). Eastside Prep can make it official on Friday (6;30 p.m.) by beating visiting Castilleja while Pinewood visits Menlo School. The WBAL playoffs will begin next week. Eastside Prep ended Pinewood’s five-game win streak. Menlo School, meanwhile, can earn a share of second place by beating Pinewood on Friday. The third-place Knights (6-3, 16-7) got 25 points and 14 rebounds from Drew Edelman in a 53-48 win over visiting Mercy-San Francisco on Tuesday. In Atherton, Sacred Heart Prep tuned up for the WBAL playoffs by surviving a 52-49 overtime win over Castilleja in a game that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. Helen Gannon and Melissa Holland each tallied 14 points for SHP (4-5, 16-7) while Paige Vermeer led Castilleja (0-9, 4-19) with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six steals. Yasmeen Afifi added 10 points and 13 rebounds while Lauren Rantz, back from a broken hand, became the fifth player in Castilleja history to collect at least 700 rebounds. In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Gunn moved into a virtual tie for second place with Wilcox following a 60-38 romp over host Saratoga on Wednesday night. Olivia Tapia poured in 22 points and Zoe Zwerling added 14 as the Titans won their third straight and improved to 7-2 (13-5) heading into a big showdown with first-place Lynbrook (10-1) on Friday at Gunn (6:15 p.m.). The Titans also will host rival Palo Alto on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Vikings (4-5, 8-12), mean-
T
Cadence Lee
Aubrey Dawkins
Gunn High
Palo Alto High
The junior won her third straight title at the Girls’ CCS Wrestling Championships by pinning all three of her opponents in the 103pound division and scoring 28 points as the Titans finished fourth overall.
The senior had 45 points and 14 rebounds in two basketball wins, including 26 points in a victory over Homestead that clinched a title tie in the SCVAL De Anza Division as the Vikings improved to 19-1.
Honorable mention Gabi Bade Pinewood basketball
Olivia Biggs Pinewood soccer
Hashima Carothers* Eastside Prep basketball
Chloe Eackles Pinewood basketball
Marissa Hing* Pinewood basketball
Megan Tall Palo Alto soccer
Kirby Gee Palo Alto soccer
Preston Kuppe Palo Alto soccer
Chris Meredith Palo Alto soccer
Bobby Roth Menlo basketball
Brendan Spillane Sacred Heart Prep soccer
John Strong Menlo soccer * previous winner
To see video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to www.PASportsOnline.com
Wrestling (continued from page 33)
She is a prospective league champion and has a 20-1 record against the boys. So, I am playing it by ear with her wrestling at league.” After thinking about that for a moment, Horpel added: “Right now the answer is yes. She will have to re-injure her knee a little for me to say no.” So, pencil in Lee as one of Gunn’s title contenders. While Gunn’s season has been filled with positives, Palo Alto has battled injuries and health issues that have decimated its dual-match season. “We are still dealing with some health and injury issues,” said Paly coach Dave Duran. “We are hoping to get everyone back by the weekend. If we do, we will make a splash.” Duran sees Gunn and Monta Vista as the prohibitive favorites for the team title. “Monta Vista has competed in some tough tournaments this season,” said Duran. “This will make a difference for them this weekend and through the CCS tournament. The dual-meet champions (Gunn and Cupertino) are usually a strong
contender for the tournament title. However, only one EC (El Camino Division) dual champion has won the tournament title (Los Altos in the mid-1990s). Tino is young; they may not have enough points to make a dent. Fremont and Wilcox are young and have been wrestling well. They both have a few wrestlers who can score big points this weekend.” Palo Alto also has its share of contenders and point scorers, depending once again on health issues. Senior Trent Marshall is the No. 1-ranked SCVAL wrestler at 152 pounds. He was third in this meet last year. Senior Erik Anderson is No. 1 at 182 pounds (No. 4 in CCS) and will defend the title he won last season. Paly junior Andrew Frick is rated No. 2 at 220 pounds (No. 4 in CCS) and looks to improve upon last year’s third-place finish. Paly senior Gary Hohbach, who was seventh at the league meet last year, is ranked only No. 13 in the CCS at 152 pounds but has had a very solid season and could be a big point-scorer. Junior Jordan Gans (160) and senior Alex Taussig (195) also could factor in the scoring. Wrestling begins each day at 10 a.m., with finals on Saturday evening. N
while, suffered their fourth straight setback in a 56-41 drubbing by host Wilcox (7-2, 19-2). In the PAL South Division, Menlo-Atherton saw its title hopes slip away in a 46-40 loss to previously winless Carlmont in Belmont. Emma Heath had 13 points for the Bears (7-3, 11-11) while first-place Woodside improved to 10-0 with a 43-42 win over Sequoia. Boys’ basketball Menlo School (10-1, 14-7) held on to first place in the WBAL with a 6151 win over host King’s Academy. The Knights will close their regular season with three straight home games against Pinewood, Eastside Prep and Crystal Springs —likely needing two wins to clinch no worse than a tie for the league title. Menlo won its 10th straight game with its second win in as many days. The Knights beat Priory in a makeup game Monday.
Menlo overcame a late charge by TKA, which tied the game at 48 with about four minutes remaining. Over the last few minutes, the Knights’ defense clamped down to end the game on a 13-3 run. Bobby Roth (17 points) and Liam Dunn (11 points) were instrumental in the run as they came up with big baskets and free throws to seal the game. In Atherton, host Sacred Heart Prep (9-2, 13-8) remained in second place in the WBAL with a 57-19 win over Eastside Prep (2-9 (13-10). The Gators grabbed a 30-4 halftime lead and cruised to victory. Corbin Koch led SHP with 13 points while Ricky Galliani and Ian Bennett combined for 21. In the PAL South Division, host Menlo-Atherton won its second straight with a 37-36 victory over Carlmont. The Bears moved to 5-5 in league (9-13 overall) with three games remaining. N
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