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The Number One Source
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Feb 05, 2004
Local 10-U boys baseball team to receive recognition from
the city of San Jose By Miranda Schultz On Feb. 17, the Fontanetti Yankees, a 10-U Little League team from Almaden Valley, will receive a commendation by the city of San Jose for their outstanding achievements. The Yankees won the Super Series National Baseball Championships held in Glendale, Ariz. Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. In the course of a year and a half, the boys have played in about
70 games and have not lost a 10-U tournament yet. They are proud
to represent the city of San Jose and California as the National
10-U champions.
Head Coach and Team Manager Larry Walkley, Sr. feels that the recognition by the city of San Jose will be a real honor for the kids. “They did an outstanding job representing California and
the city of San Jose, they are good kids and acted like good kids,
practiced outstanding sportsmanship and really handled themselves
well,” says Walkley. Besides their athletic focus, most of the boys are outstanding
students at their respective schools. Three team members attend
Williams Elementary School in Almaden Valley and coincidentally
have the three highest batting averages on the team. David Rosas,
Conner Jauch and Larry Walkley, Jr. had averages of about .500,
and were composed under pressure, leading the team in RBIs. “They had just as much fun playing laser tag and swimming
in the pool as they did playing baseball, and having fun is really
what it’s all about,” says Walkley. The boys will continue to have fun this weekend when they will be competing in the Silicon Valley Baseball Tournament.
Chargers host 22-team event Saturday By Karl Laucher It’s been a season that may be remembered as the Dark Ages
for the Leland and Pioneer high school wrestling teams. But like
the real Dark Ages in the late 10th Century, great moments are not
impossible. And so it is that the coaches at both schools conjured up some
optimism as they prepare their thinly-populated teams for the Blossom
Valley Athletic League wrestling championships hosted by Leland
on Saturday. Neither Leland nor Pioneer could salvage a winning season as they
finish the dual meet season in the BVAL Santa Teresa (B division)
Thursday (Feb. 5), the Chargers visiting Leigh High School and Pioneer
home against Andrew Hill High. But at the BVAL championships, Leland coaches Dan Lloyd and Val
Esquivel said will enter nine wrestlers with expectations of at
least seven finishing in the top six and earning a berth in the
Central Coast Section Championships set for Feb. 20-21 at Independence
High School. Pioneer Coach Mike Medlock will put six entrants into
the draw and won’t be surprised if at least five don’t
pass the test for a ticket to the CCS. The BVAL has 22 schools with Oak Grove High School appearing to
be the alpha male at this time, but the only BVAL schools returning
2003 individual champions are Silver Creek High, which had a winner
at 145 pounds in Rudy Herrera, who will wrestle at 152 this time
around, and Piedmont Hills High, for which Vinson Phan aims to repeat
as the 119-pound champion. Leland senior Mark Azzarello placed fifth at 119 pounds last year
and also will be competing in the same weight class. Brian Herz,
seventh at 112 pounds as a freshman in 2003, is a contender at 135
pounds this year. Other Chargers entered are Cortney Atsatt at 112,
Ian Chang at 125, Kris Pinula at 130, Jon Tran at 152, Ryan Hong
at 160, Greg Edwards at 171 and Jeremiah Harvey at 189. Pioneer’s entries are Brian Watts at 112, Tuan Nguyen at
125, Eric McCormick at 145, Nick Esposito at 160, Jeff Terry at
215, and Armando Apolinor at 275. Of the 15 Leland and Pioneer candidates, only Terry is rated a
serious title contender by The California Wrestler Newsletter (www.thecalirorniawreslter.com). BVAL preliminary rounds begin at 9 a.m. with the championship bouts
expected to begin at 6 p.m. Player of the week Mark Bundlie, Pioneer junior In Pioneer’s biggest game of the year, shooting guard Mark Bundlie hit a 3-pointer to tie the Leigh Longhorns with 0:22 remaining. Bundlie then ran to the other end of the court, where he stole the ball from Longhorn star Marcus Morgan, who, in return, fouled Bundlie with just 0:01 left. Bundlie proceeded to hit one of two free throws, securing the Mustang victory in amazing fashion. “He really stepped up his game this past week,” said Pioneer Coach Joe Berticevich. “He started opening up his shot with penetration and it paid off.” In the Mustangs second game versus Andrew Hill, Bundlie came through
again, nailing six of eight 3-pointers on the night.
Sports Schedules
Thursday 2/5 Friday 2/6 Saturday 2/7 Tuesday 2/10 Wednesday 2/11 Pioneer High School Thursday 2/5 Friday 2/6 Saturday 2/7 Tuesday 2/10 Wednesday 2/11 Leigh High School Thursday 2/5 Friday 2/6 Saturday 2/7 Tuesday 2/10 Wednesday 2/11 MUSTANG DUO PIN DOWN JV WRESTLING TITLES —By Karl Laucher
USYVL Volleyball spring signups in progress Spring season registration is in progress for United States Youth
Volleyball League (USYVL) in Los Gatos, San Jose and Morgan Hill.
All children and parents are invited to join recreational volleyball
practices and games. This is considered to be a great opportunity
for parents to spend quality time with their kids while helping
to teach them the value of teamwork mixed with fun. The USYVL season runs for eight weeks, from April to June. It is
an instructional league that operates in a coed format for boys
and girls ages 8-14. The organization’s mission is to provide
every child with a chance to learn and play volleyball in a fun,
safe, supervised, low-pressure environment. The philosophy is “every
child plays” and learns the game, while emphasizing sportsmanship,
cooperation, and teamwork.
Leland girls basketball team tops MHAL, faces showdown
with Leigh this week By Justin Petersen The basketball ladies of Leland High School maintained their first place post in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mount Hamilton Division this week, winning two ball games in two tries. Apparently there’s even better news. According to Leland coach, Wade Nakamura, the girls have yet to reach the peaks of their ability. “We’ve really trudged our way into first place,” said Coach Nakamura. “We’re trying to peak at the right time, for the CCS playoffs, but we haven’t arrived yet.” This week the Chargers (14-5, 6-1) play at Leigh High School (14-7, 5-1) on Feb. 6. Beginning at 7 p.m., the audience can expect a real barnburner, as Leland continues to climb toward its peak. It’s a big game for both teams because the victor will probably win league. The Chargers and Longhorns are currently tied for first place, carrying one loss apiece. The similarities don’t stop there. Each team boasts a young lineup, Leland starting two freshmen and a sophomore, while Leigh starts four sophomores and a junior. “Leigh’s young, but they’re the biggest team in the league,” continued Nakamura, referring to the Longhorns’ lineup boasting four players 5-11 or taller. However, Leigh’s size won’t cloud Charger vision. “We had two goals at the beginning of this season,” said Nakamura. “One was to win a league championship and the other was to get the highest possible seed going into CCS.” A win Wednesday night takes a big step toward reaching those goals. Frankly, every win is a step toward the Chargers’ goals. Last week they took two steps, beating Oak Grove High School and Piedmont Hills High School. “They are probably the two most athletic teams in the league,” said Nakamura of last week’s opponents. “It seems like everyone plays their best game against us and they [Oak Grove and Piedmont] made no exceptions.” Despite their best efforts, the Pirates and Eagles were no match for the Chargers, who beat Piedmont by nine, 45-36, and Oak Grove by 13, 53-40. Leland’s Liz Widgren and Jackie George set the tone for the
games combining for 46 points on the week.
Pioneer boys basketball overcomes Leigh in Hollywood ending,
nabs Andrew Hill as expected By Justin Petersen Hitchcock, take note. On Jan. 28, junior Mark Bundlie and the Pioneer High School boys basketball team rewrote the script on your quintessential suspense thriller. Tied with Leigh High School and Piedmont Hills High School for first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mount Hamilton Division, the Mustangs knew they had to win at home versus the Longhorns. Initially, however, it looked as though Pioneer would record their second loss in league, trailing Leigh and senior muscleman Marcus Morgan throughout the first three quarters. Behind by 12 points at the beginning of the fourth, the Mustangs, who lost to Leigh in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 12, rallied back, going on a merciless 12-0 run, tying the game with five minutes remaining. Mustang sixth man Joe Montelongo played the unsuspected hero, grabbing two steals and scoring two baskets along the way. Point guard Ceylon Elgin-Taylor also came through in typical fashion, converting a three-point play and nailing a close jumper. As the clock continued to wind its way down, Pioneer and Leigh exchanged baskets and free throws, matching one another at every turn. With the Mustangs down by one point and only 0:32 remaining, Leigh’s Morgan intercepted a Pioneer pass and went coast to coast for a layup extending the Longhorns’ lead to three points. Enter Pioneer’s Bundlie. After a Mustang timeout, the junior caught the ball at the top of the key, squared to the basket, and, without hesitation, fired an off-balance three-pointer over the hand of a defender and directly into the bottom of the net. Then, with 0:07 left, Bundlie snatched the ball from Morgan, and began what felt like an epic journey to the other end of the court. At 0:01, Bundlie arrived at the basket, suffering a foul at the hands of a chasing Morgan. The foul sent Bundlie to the line needing one of two shots to secure the victory. Bundlie hit the first. The shot was enough for Pioneer to win, clearing the stands as students and fans rushed the floor celebrating with the team. “We could have given up, said Pioneer Coach Joe Berticevich. “But we didn’t. This team has the mentality that they won’t give up until that final buzzer sounds.” Pioneer’s Elgin-Taylor finished with 34 points in the game, while Bundlie connected for 19. Leigh’s Morgan finished with 24 points. Coming off the big win versus Leigh, Pioneer didn’t let down, beating Andrew Hill High School 70-55. Bundlie starred versus the Falcons as well, nailing six of eight shots from beyond the arc. He finished with 22 points. This week, Pioneer gets a relative rest, playing at home versus
Santa Teresa High School (4-9, 1-5) on Feb. 6. However, it’s
back to work next week when the Mustangs continue the grapple for
first place versus Piedmont Hills High School at Piedmont. Both
tipoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m.
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