May 1, 2008

SPORTS

Leland girl swimmers score three-way tie for first place

Swim meets are exciting no matter what, but the Leland girls swim team had to win its last dual meet against Santa Teresa to stay in first place.

The Leland girls’ swim team, with a few extras, are working to come out on top during the Blossom Valley Athletic League team finals this upcoming weekend.

Last Friday, the team was up against an undefeated, at the time, Santa Teresa team, and it was the last meet before league championships. Anything less than a win would put them out of a three-way first place tie with Pioneer and Santa Teresa.

The girls were down 11 points going into the last three events, but they managed to sweep the back, breast and 400-free relay to win the meet by 9 points. It was quite exciting.

The medley relay, which took first place, was comprised of senior captain Cassandra Scott, Emily Chortek, Brianna Sherrin, and Melinda McKenzie. The 200-free relay of Eleni Sarantinos, Melinda McKenzie, Ariel Young and Kelsey Nolan, as well as the 400- free relay of Brianna Sherrin, Emily Chortek, Ariel Young, and Kelsey Nolan also took first.

Individually, Nikki Sarantinos won diving, Kelsey Nolan won the 50 and 100 free, Cassandra Scott won the 100 back, and Emily Chotek won the 100 breast.

What allowed the girls to win the meet was the team’s depth, said coach Eric Rise.

“It wasn't just our top swimmers in each event. It was the fact that swimmers like Courtney Gold, placing third in the fly and breast (almost qualifying for CCS in the latter event); Ariel Young placing third in the 200 and 100 free; Melinda McKenzie and Meghan Bucter placing third and fourth in the 50 free; freshmen Eleni Sarantinos and Sophia Weller placing fourth in the 100 fly and 100 breast, and each dropping three seconds in their respective events; freshman Brianna Sherrin placing second in the 200 and 500 free while making a CCS cut in the latter event; and sophomore Tam Nguyen dropping time to place third in the 100 back.

“Also, our 200 free B relay team of Meghan Bucter, Tam Nguyen, Grace Chang and Courtney Gold took third place. We had strong swims from Alyssa Brown and Amy Georgiou in the 500 free, with both have made significant drops in time this season and expected to be factors in that event,” Rise said.

“These girls are the definition of team,” he added. “The have a ton of heart, work exceptionally hard, and are very competitive. We may not have top five CCS swimmers, but we definitely have a lot of strong swimmers up and down our line up. It's our depth that is the key to our success.”

Trials are Thursday and finals on Friday. With a three-way tie for first and a strong Live Oak team not far behind those three teams, the winners will be whichever school has the most swimmers putting up best times. It should be another exciting meet.

High School Sports Schedule May 2 – May 8

Leland

Friday—Baseball vs. Westmont at 3:30 at Leland (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Softball vs. Pioneer at 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Swimming Boys swimming trials, 1 p.m. at Live Oak

Saturday—Swimming finals, 2 p.m. at Live Oak

Tuesday—Badminton vs. Weestmont at 3:30 at Westmont

Wednesday—Baseball vs. Leigh at 3:30 at Leigh (JV at opposite field)
Wednesday—Softball vs. Evergreen at 3:30 at Leland (JV on opposite field)

Thursday—Badminton vs. Piedmont Hills at 3:30 at Leland

Pioneer

Friday—Baseball vs. Piedmont Hills 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Softball vs. Leland at 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Boys swimming trials, 1 p.m. at Live Oak

Saturday—Swimming finals at 2 p.m. at Live Oak

Tuesday—Badminton vs. Prospect at 3:30 at Prospect

Wednesday—Softball vs. Live Oak at 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)
Wednesday—Baseball vs. Santa Teresa at 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)

Thursday—Badminton vs. San Jose—at 3:15 at Pioneer

For more information about Leland and Pioneer sporting events, go to:

Pioneer Athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletic League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

U11 Girls Class 1 Soccer Tryouts
Santa Clara Sporting 97G White, a girls U10 Class 1 soccer team that will be playing U11 in the Fall, will be holding an open tryout session on Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. at Jenny Strand Park in Santa Clara. For more information and to register, please contact coach Dave Ballard at daveballard12@sbcglobal.net or 408-799-1213.

AVYSL Registration is now open
Registration for the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League’s Recreation Program for fall 2008 is open from April 21 to May 31. Late registration will be from June 1 – 15, and will only be accepted if space is available. A non-refundable fee of $25 will be charged for each player registered during late registration, so please register on time.

See our website www.almadensoccer.org for registration instructions and some exciting changes to our fall program. We hope to see you on the soccer field this fall.

San Jose area residents participate in 2008 WALK MS for Multiple Sclerosis
Hundreds of San Jose area residents will make great strides in the fight against multiple sclerosis (MS) at Walk MS San Jose, held Saturday, May 3 Organized by the Northern California Chapter of the National MS Society, San Jose is one of 11 Walk MS locations throughout Northern California.

Walk MS participants can chose between a 5K or 10K walk along the Guadeloupe River Trails starting and finishing at Arena Green Park. Walkers will be greeted at the festive finish line with a free lunch provided by Subway and live entertainment provided by MOViN 99.7 and the Los Gatos High School Steel Drum Band. There will be a special victory martial arts demonstration led by San Jose Walk Ambassador, Laine Meyer. Funds raised will go towards critical research and programs for the 20,000 Northern Californians living with MS.

Registration begins at 8 a.m.; the walk starts at 9 a.m. For more information and to register online, visit nationalMSsociety.org/walkMS or call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.

Presentation High School’s 23rd Annual Golf Tournament
This annual fundraising event is scheduled for May 9 at the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. Lunch is set for 11:30 a.m. followed by a 12:30 p.m. Tee Off. The $225 cost includes golf fee, tee prize, lunch, course refreshments and the awards dinner. All proceeds benefit academic programs at Presentation High School. For additional information, contact Jane Jeziorski at 264-5110 x2428 or jjeziorski@presnet.com.

Free city wide Youth Track Meet
The City of San Jose and San Jose Police Amateur Athletic Foundation are sponsoring the City Wide Youth Track Meet for boys and girls born between 1994-1999 (ages 9-14), on May 18, 2008 at Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose. The event is free for all participants. For more information or to pre-register, please call Steve Ryan at 871-3825 or via email steve.ryan@sanjoseca.gov or Meet Director: Judi Baxter via email at judibax@sonic.net.

Evergreen Valley Soccer summer camps
EVS will be offering two soccer camps this summer. Sessions begin June 22 -26, with the All Girls Academy. The Academy is designed to help players develop all aspect of their game and topics will include: Ball mastery / Beginning and intermediate technical skills / Small-sided games / Offensive and defensive team tactics / Training for speed, agility, quickness.

Eligible girls are ages 8 – 17 and the fee is $145 per person (team discounts are available). Academy hours are 4 – 7 p.m.

The “Little Hawks” Academy is designed for players age 5 – 8 and focuses on having fun while learning new soccer skills. Coached by members of the EVC Men’s and Women’s Soccer Team, campers will participate in a variety of soccer games and activities. Session one is Aug. 4, 6 & 7 and Session two is Aug. 11, 13 &14. The fees are $90 fro one session, $140 for both. Hours are 9 – 11 a.m.

For additional information or to register, call Felicia Perez at 274-7900 x6910 or email Felicia.Perez@evc.edu.

Get listed!
Sports Briefs listings are subject to the following fee structure: $25 per month, per publication for the Evergreen and Almaden Times; $10 per month, per publication for the monthly newspapers. Indicate publication placement at the time the listing/payment is submitted. Sports Briefs accepts checks – payable to Times Media, Inc – VISA or MC.
To charge your payments call Sonia Pineda at 494-7000 x205. Be sure to reference your team/organization with your payment. Listings appear once payments are received. TMI sponsored events and full-proceed charity fundraisers
exempted. Email, fax or mail listing text to: candy@timesmediainc.com 1310 Tully Road, Suite 107, San Jose, CA 95122. 408-494-7078 (fax) Limit 200 words. Questions? Call 494-7000 x225