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The Number One Source
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March 11, 2004
By Justin Petersen Pioneer High School basketball players Ceylon Elgin-Taylor and Harold Richardson went out in style. Despite finishing on a low, losing to St. Ignatius 74-54 in the CCS Div. III semifinals last week, the two seniors led the Mustangs in, arguably, one of the finest seasons in the school's history. Pioneer finished 22-7 this year, winning two playoff games before finally falling to the Wildcats March 3.
According to Berticevich, St. Ignatius, who is scheduled to begin the state tournament this week, after beating Burlingame High School in the CCS Div III championship game on Mar. 5, played their best game of the season versus Pioneer. After jumping out to an 18-14 first quarter lead, Pioneer faltered. St. Ignatius outscored the Mustangs 60-36 over the last three quarters behind the inspired play of S.I. sophomore, Matt Jones. Jones, who proved to be the game's major difference maker, finished with 26 points. As for Elgin-Taylor and Richardson, they'll see better days. Questionable calls by officials led to a rough night, where neither player had any opportunities from the free-throw line, a spot where both usually cash in for several points. “Jr. [Elgin-Taylor] usually spends a lot more time on the free-throw line,” said Berticevich. “We count on his going to the line for a lot of our points, but that didn't happen tonight.” Despite his absence from the stripe, Elgin-Taylor dumped in 23 points. Voted the 2003-2004 Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mount Hamilton Division, Most Valuable Player, Elgin-Taylor finished the season averaging 23.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Richardson finished the year averaging 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Pioneer juniors Mark Bundlie and Mile Kaufman also played hard versus the Wildcats, scoring 13 and 16 points respectively. Bundlie and Kaufman, both named First Team All-League in the MHAL for 2003-2004, will lead a talented pack of juniors next year when the team will try and fill big shoes left by the graduation of Richardson, Elgin-Taylor, and the rest of the Pioneer seniors including, Nick Sqarlato, Nick Nobriga, Justin Kulish, and Kevin Lewis. “We'll need to get better over the summer, but we'll be competitive next year,” said Berticevich. “Our frosh-soph team tied for first place in their league, so we have some talent coming up. It all depends how hard we work.”
SAN JOSE SEAHAWK RUGBY PROGRAM PRODUCES POWERFUL CITIZENS —By Karl Laucher Players of the Week Jamie Vranich , #1 Against Saratoga last week, Vranich pitched a complete game, striking out six and giving up only three hits. On offense, she went 3-5 with a homerun and 5 RBIs. “She's doing a great job,” said Head Coach Joe Gron. “She's showing a lot of leadership qualities, everyone rallies around her on the mound.” Adam Lara , #8 Lara currently leads his team in batting average (.455), RBI (7) and homeruns (1). “Adam had a two run homeruns against Santa Cruz,” said Head Coach Scott Gillis. “Last year, he was behind a first team all-leaguer, and this year he's come in and done really well to fill that position, as well as the number-four spot offensively.” Sports Schedules
Thursday 3/11 JV baseball @ St. Francis 3:30 Golf vs. Leigh @ Almaden 3:30 Girls lacrosse vs. Foothill 3:30 Softball vs. Live Oak 3:30 JV softball @ Live Oak 3:30 Track and Field vs. Silver Creek @ West Valley College 3:30 Boys volleyball @ Branham 5– 6 p.m. (JV, V) Friday 3/12 Boys tennis vs. Bellarmine 3:15 Saturday 3/13 Baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament 10 a.m. (Leland) Baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament 3 (Leigh) JV baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament 3 (Westmont) Boys lacrosse vs. St. Mary's and James Lick (TBA) Boys swimming @ Serra 9 a.m. Girls swimming @ St. Francis 9 a.m. Track & field @ Soquel High School 9 a.m. Boys varsity volleyball @ Aptos (all day) Boys JV volleyball @ Oak Grove (all day) Monday 3/15 Baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament 3:30 (Prospect) JV baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament 3:30 (Leland) Girls lacrosse vs. Castilleja 3:30 Tuesday 3/16 Golf @ Santa Teresa 2:15 Boys lacrosse vs. California 3:30/5 (V, JV) Softball @ Willow Glen 3:30 JV softball vs. Willow Glen 3:30 Boys tennis vs. Mt. Pleasant 3:15 Boys volleyball vs. Oak Grove 6/7PM (JV, V) Badminton vs. Piedmont Hills 3 Wednesday 3/17 Baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament (TBA) JV baseball, Mt. Hamilton Tournament (TBA) JV golf vs. Leigh @ Rancho Pueblo 3 Boys tennis vs. Los Gatos 3:15 Pioneer High School Thursday 3/11 Badminton @ San Jose 3:30 Boys tennis vs. Yerba Buena 3:15 Track vs. James Lick 3:30 Boys volleyball vs. Leland 5-6 (JV, V) Friday 3/12 Swimming/diving @ Branham 3 Baseball @ Del Mar 3:30 JV baseball vs. Del Mar 3:30 Monday 3/15 Golf vs. Piedmont Hills (TBA) Baseball vs. Independence 3:30 JV baseball @ Independence 3:30 Tuesday 3/16 Badminton @ James Lick 3:30 Boys tennis @ Piedmont Hills 3:15 Boys volleyball @ Westmont 6/7 Wednesday 3/17 Baseball vs. Silver Creek 3:30 JV baseball @ Silver Creek 3:30
SPORTS BRIEFS Myron Zaccheo, head coach of the Pioneer High School golf team, is happy about their performance against Santa Teresa High School on March 9. With a final score of 215-232, the Chargers celebrate their first league victory of the season, and also in the Mt. Hamilton Division. “We're a young team, and I expect to stumble down the road a bit, but I think we'll do just fine,” says Zaccheo, “This was a good way to start the season.” He added that Leland and Branham would be their toughest competitors this season. Junior Tom Garcia was the lowest scoring player against Santa Teresa, shooting a 38 in 9 holes at the Santa Teresa Golf Course. The team faces Santa Teresa again on March 10 at The Villages Golf Course. The Leland High School golf team also won its first league match on March 9 against Leigh High School with a score of 194-206. Head Coach Adam Schiro says, “They played well, but I think they're capable of so much more. Even so, it was a good way to start the season.” Junior Michael O'Connor had the best score, a 36 over 9 holes at Cinnabar Golf Course. The boys face Bellarmine, on March 10, and expect them to be tough. On Thursday, they will face Leigh again, this time, on their home course, where Schiro expects a better performance. Head coach of the Leland High School baseball team, Scott Gillis, said that the game Leland played on March 8 against Santa Cruz was, “Probably the worst beating we had in 12 years.” The game ended in a 14-7 Santa Cruz victory. Gillis expects more out of his team, and said it was just a bad day. “We played poorly all around,” he says. The Chargers have a record of 1-2-2, and will play their season opener against Westmont at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Pioneer High School boys tennis team won its first league match on March 9 against Branham. A close 4-3 match against Branham left Head Coach Julie Szarlacki pleased with their performance. My doubles really pulled through for me.” The doubles she is talking about are the no. 2 sophomore team, Adam Gregersen and Gleb Yavorkovsky, and the No. 3 team of seniors Justin Kulish and Andy Wilder. Freshman Noah LaMoyne, senior Art Soshnikov and junior Kareem Berdai each had stellar performances as well. “Three of the matches were split sets,” says Szarlacki. “It came down to the wire.” The next match is against Yerba Buena on March 18 at Pioneer High School.
Bret Harte soccer girls show they are worthy opponents Rheanna Rinauro, a sixth grader on the Bret Harte soccer team, scores a goal in their match against Willow Glen on March 2, where they won 9-0. The girls are heating things up already this season. On March 9, they beat Britton from Morgan Hill 1-0, and were missing three starting players. Head Coach Massoud Shamshirian says, “Morgan Hill is a good team and I only had two subs for the game. The girls were really tired but they hung in there together.” The next home game is on March 18 at 3 p.m. Swim team brims with talent By Justin Petersen There's something in the water near Leland High School. Or maybe the Charger girls are spending more time in the water themselves. Whatever the reason, year in and year out, the Leland girls swim team competes for league championships and CCS recognition. This year, a squad filled with proven winners and ridiculously talented newcomers aims to improve upon a 2003 campaign that crowned the ladies Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mount Hamilton Division, champs. “As MHAL defending champs, we know all of the other teams will be gunning for us this year,” said Leland Coach Mike Haake. “Our job is to stay prepared and stay focused.” Topping Leland's lengthy list of returning players are reigning league champions Nichole Atkin and Casey Armstrong. Last year, Atkin won the 100-meter backstroke event outright and finished second in the 200-meter individual medley. Meanwhile, Armstrong was busy securing the 100-meter breaststroke event. In addition, Leland added an asset in Presentation High School transfer Jenny Wickersham. Wickersham joins the Chargers after sitting out last season due to the transfer. However, in 2002, Wickerson was a CCS finalist in the 200- and 500-meter freestyle events. Ironically, however, Leland's most talented swimmer is just a freshman. Courtney Monsees may be a newcomer to Leland, but she's a seasoned vet in terms of competitive swimming. Monsees, who swims year round at the Santa Clara Swim Club, has already logged Olympic qualifying times in four events: the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 500-meter freestyle events, as well as the 200-meter individual medley. “She's a great all-around swimmer,” said Haake of his freshman phenom. “She absolutely surges through the water.” So far this season, Leland has competed in two practice meets beating Live Oak High School 106-79 and Valley Christian High School 92-91. The real competition begins this Saturday at St. Francis High School. There, Leland will compete in the St. Francis Invitational, making their 14th appearance since 1989. “It's a very competitive meet,” said Haake. “We'll see the most competitive teams in this area.” Saturday's field includes CCS defending champion Archbishop Mitty High School, Palo Alto High School, Menlo High School, and Menlo-Atherton High School, in addition to host St. Francis. Leland, Pioneer start 1-1 By Karl Laucher Leland High School's badminton team was a league co-champion in 2003, but is looking mighty young in 2004. And the youth movement is lead by 19-year-old Head Coach Linh Banh. The Chargers were looking particularly young and vulnerable as they lost a pre-season match to Oak Grove High School 10-5 in the Eagles' spectator-unfriendly gym on Tuesday. Leland got wins in the No.1 position on in girls singles from junior Diane Ko and in mixed doubles from senior Nathan Shih and freshman Esther Lee. It is considered unbecoming for a team in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's top-caliber Mount Hamilton Division (Leland) to lose to a team in the BVAL's (second tier) Santa Teresa division, but the Chargers, co-champions with Santa Teresa High in the Santa Teresa division last season, lost some key personnel due to graduation and could be in treacherous waters as a Mount Hamilton division entry. Leland opened the season a week earlier with a 9-6 pre-season win over the Santa Teresa division's Yerba Buena High School. After two matches, the only undefeated No. 1-level Charger is Shih with two different partners. The Chargers face Cupertino High School today in the final pre-season match before opening the BVAL Mt. Ham campaign hosting Piedmont Hills on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Cupertino, it happens, is where Coach Banh played just last season, qualifying for the Central Coast Section championships. She now is a San Jose State University freshman majoring in computer science. Ko, who won I5-13, 15-13 over Oak Grove sophomore Peggy Ly, said Coach Banh is “working us hard and we have made a lot of improvement.” Banh isn't the only teenager working as head coach in the BVAL. It seems there is a sizable influx of cheeky youngsters taking the reigns. Gunderson High School has two teenagers sharing the head coach positions, and Oak Grove's Hy Diep is in his third year as head coach at age 20. Diep said his first season was difficult because his former teammates couldn't differentiate between him as friend or as coach. “They now know that I'm their coach and not their friend,” he said. Diep, currently attending De Anza College, says he expects to be at either UC-Santa Cruz of UC-Davis as a psychology major next year. Pioneer earns first victory
COUNTDOWN TO IGNITION --By Karl Laucher Bowl-A-Thon to support Junior Achievement set for this weekend By Miranda Schultz Century 21 Realtor Dave Roche is lacing up his bowling shoes in anticipation for the Bowl-A-Thon he's putting on this weekend in support of Junior Achievement. The event gets rolling at 1 p.m. on March 13 at the Moonlight Bowl in Santa Clara. “I met with the president and vice president of the Bay Area Junior Achievement to discuss what I could do. They have such a great organization and it's something that benefits our children. I remember it from when I was a kid, and I thought it would be a good cause to support,” says Roche. Pledges to sponsor Roche's team of bowlers have poured in from friends and family. In support of the team, one can either pledge an amount per pin, or just give a donation. Junior Achievement is a national organization that uses hands-on experiences to help young people understand the economics of life. In partnership with business and educators, the organization brings the real world to students in an effort to open their minds and potential. Junior Achievement volunteers, educators, parents and contributors reach out to 4 million students each year, in grades K-12. With elementary, middle and high school programs, Junior Achievement aims to improve critical thinking skills, encourage students to become entrepreneurs and help them understand the importance of staying in school. The Bowl-A-Thon team will be comprised of Roche, Doug Keller of Y2 Marketing, David Silveira of Washington Mutual Bank and Bob Swan of Mortgage Magic. Each member hopes to raise more than $100 for Junior Achievement. To sponsor the team in their efforts, call Roche at (408) 250-0304 and let him know. “If they want to sponsor anyone, it should be me,” says Roche. “Because I'll be, by far, the worst bowler on the team.”
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Pioneer boys fall in CCS Div. III basketball semifinals