May 31, 2007

SPORTS

Leland’s Barnett, Nelms headed to State Track Championships

Sophomore Stephanie Barnett places second in 3,200-meter at CCS Track Finals,
while freshman Katie Nelms finishes third in 300-meter hurdles

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

Leland’s Stephanie Barnett and Katie Nelms will compete at the 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships this week after both runners qualified in their respective events at the CCS Track and Field Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School.

Leland's Katie Nelms advanced to the CIF State Track and Field Championships after she finished third in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles during the CCS Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School. Photo by Dan Miranda

Barnett, a sophomore, reached the state meet after finishing second in the girls’ 3,200-meter run with a time of 10 minutes and 51.41 seconds. Nelms, meanwhile, placed third in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.03 seconds, qualifying for the state meet as a freshman. The state meet will take place June 1-2 at Sacramento City College.

For Barnett, the second place finish had a redeeming quality. During last year’s CCS Track Finals, Barnett, then a freshman, took a spill on the track after a runner stepped on the back of her foot during the first of eight laps in the girls’ 3,200-meter event. Although Barnett recovered, finishing ninth, the spill forced her out of a chance to advance to the state meet.

Despite the spill in 2006, Barnett said the second place finish this year—in which she also established her personal record for the event—tasted sweet.

“I’m really happy,” Barnett said. “I’ve been working really hard at this all season, and finally, it all paid off. I was really nervous today and I just wanted to finish in the top three, and I did that by getting second.”

Barnett said she walked the track with head coach Jerry Rose and her father prior to the event in order to establish a proper pace in her mind. Coming into the event, Barnett came in with the third best time—11 minutes and 3.14 seconds—at the CCS Semifinals, well behind frontrunner Katy Daly of St. Ignatius, who ran the event in 10 minutes and 32.79 seconds. With that in mind, Barnett said she knew, in terms of time, what she had to run in order to place in the top three for the state meet.

“That’s one of the things I’ve learned to do better this season,” said Barnett, who finished behind Daly’s time of 10 minutes and 47.87 seconds at the CCS Finals. “…I was going to try and work off of (Daly) but I didn’t think I’d be able to stay so close behind her.”

Nelms, meanwhile, bounced back from a tough eighth place finish in the girls’ 400-meter dash earlier in the day to place third in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles. Rose applauded Nelms’ rebound effort, and noted that the freshman runner benefited from a short memory span during the CCS Finals.

“Katie does not let a past race bother her,” Rose said of Nelms. “She looks forward to the next race. She’s one of those who can find it in herself to pull herself out of what she’s in to get back and do the job.”

Leland's Stephanie Barnett is headed to the CIF State Track and Field Championships after completing the 3200-meter event in second place during the CCS Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School. Photo by Dan Miranda

All told, Rose said it was a valiant effort by Nelms, who fell behind slightly during the middle portion of the race, before catching up during the final stretch to the finish.

“It’s a great effort by her,” Rose said of Nelms’ performance in the 300-meter hurdles. “She had to run the 400 just an hour earlier and she came and did one heck of a race. She PR’d (achieved a personal record) by over a second-and-a-half. It’s huge. That kid is a gutsy little kid.”

As for Nelms’ pending performance at the state meet, Rose said he feels the freshman runner can improve on her time still, noting that she will only be competing in one event in Sacramento, instead of two at the CCS Finals.

“She can very well run a 43 (second) hurdles without running the quarter-mile first,” Rose said.

One Leland track team member who missed out on a chance to compete at the state meet was senior Dana McKenzie, who finished tied for sixth in the girls’ high jump with a height of 5 feet and 2 inches.

“Dana has been a steady jumper for us for four years,” Rose said of McKenzie. “She’s been in the hunt every year for state. Obviously, she has cleared the height (at the BVAL Finals) that qualifies for state, at 5 feet, 4 inches. …She was right there on the bubble but couldn’t quite get over.”

Despite missing out on the state meet after making it to the CCS Finals three straight years, McKenzie said she was happy with her performance.

“I’m still happy because it was a good attempt,” McKenzie said. “I’ve made it to CCS Finals for three years, so it’s OK.”

School board approves permanent stadium lights for Leland, Pioneer

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of constructing permanent football stadium lights at Leland and Pioneer high schools at a May 24 public meeting.

The board also voted unanimously in favor of constructing stadium lights at Lincoln, Gunderson and Willow Glen high schools. Light construction, according to SJUSD, is tentatively scheduled to begin and be completed in August, in time for the start of the 2007 high school football season.

“We’re very thrilled,” Leland Principal Bob Setterlund said. “We think this will be tremendously positive for the school, for our student body, and I think it will be positive for the community as well. We’ve learned a great deal in this process about how we can work with the community to be good neighbors, to be an integral part of the community and support the community. I look forward to working with any and everyone to make this project as a success.”

Likewise, Pioneer Athletic Director Mark Krail, who also serves as the school’s head football coach, expressed satisfaction with the vote, as well as the hope that the permanent lights would bring increased community, student and parent involvement with school activities.

“It’s just nothing but excitement,” Krail said. “We had two (pilot) games each of the past two years here under (temporary) lights and they all turned out to be fun events with big crowds. We’re hoping that carries over on a permanent basis. …It’s a real positive thing, and the fact that there was little opposition, speaks to the support of the community.”

The vote brought to an end months of study and community input regarding the stadium lights proposal. Both Pioneer and Leland, in coordination with SJUSD officials, held three community meetings earlier during the school year to discuss the projects with neighbors while relaying information about potential impacts—traffic, parking, noise, etc.—the permanent lights may bring to the surrounding area.

As part of the stadium lights approval, according to Setterlund, Leland will put in place a parking management plan for night events in order to help minimize the impact on nearby neighbors, among other mitigating measures. At previous meetings, Setterlund and SJUSD officials said the school has 1,900 on-site parking spaces, as well as overflow parking spaces at Bret Harte Middle School, located next to Leland. As part of the plan, Setterlund said the school will hire four to six police officers during night events to help handle traffic, parking and security.

“The end result is that we will have activities for our young people,” Setterlund said. “It will be a wonderful and lively place, and we’ll do so without disturbing the community as well.”

Krail, meanwhile, said the school will also have a parking management plan in place, and that the school has extended an agreement with nearby Cornerstone Community Church for overflow parking. The school has used the church’s parking lots in previous years for events as well. In addition, Krail said the school will provide additional lighting for on-site parking spaces as a way to increase pedestrian safety.

“It was a rise in community response and community involvement, and I think that’s a positive thing,” Krail said of the process that led to the board’s vote on May 24. “It forced us to look at all aspects of game management, how we run a game, how we go about the nuts and bolts. …From that standpoint, it was really good. The district did a great job of listening to the community and coming up with solutions for their concerns. Now it’s incumbent upon us to abide by those agreements and make it a positive thing for everybody.”

As part of the overall agreement with all of the schools approved for permanent stadium lights, night events will be limited to a maximum of 10 per school year, with an additional maximum of 10 night practices for school teams per school year. Leland and Pioneer will also have new public address systems in place with narrow dispersion speakers to focus sound more directly within the confines of the stadiums, as well as sound compression systems to limit the level of sound, as part of the agreement. Notices of night events will also be posted on the schools’ Web sites.

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Friday – 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento City College, 2 p.m.

Saturday – 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento City College, 3 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Friday – 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento City College, 5 p.m.

Saturday – 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento City College, 3 p.m.

*JV or frosh/soph team plays at opposite site of varsity at the same time

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

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

Pioneer’s Sarge surges to CIF State Track and Field Championships

McReynolds, Heffner, as well as two boys’ relay teams fall short at CCS Finals

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

Pioneer sophomore Toni Sarge is headed to the 2007 CIF State Track and Field Championships after placing third in the girls’ 1,600-meter run during the CCS Track Finals on May 25.

The Pioneer boys’ 4X100 relay team finished sixth with a time of 43.11 seconds at the CCS Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School. Photo by Dan Miranda

Sarge came into the CCS Finals with the section’s third best time at 5 minutes and 5.63 seconds—a personal best—set during the CCS Semifinals the week before, and was less than 2 seconds of that pace on May 25, finishing with a time of 5 minutes and 7.32 seconds. For Sarge, reaching the state meet as a sophomore was an accomplishment she didn’t envision happening so soon.

“It feels really good,” said Sarge, who also competed in the girls’ 800-meter run at CCS Finals. “I remember thinking last year as a freshman, ‘wow, I can’t wait until junior year or senior year.’ State was something I’d think about and wonder if I’d ever get there, that kind of thing. It’s kind of been hitting me the past couple of days that it’s here. It came really fast.”

Sarge said she came into the CCS Finals with a boost in confidence, based in part on her performance the week prior at the CCS Semifinals at San Jose City College.

“I guess I finally realized what I was capable of,” Sarge said after turning in a time of 5 minutes and 5.63 seconds at the CCS Semifinals. “…I just decided in my fourth lap to kick it in and go as fast as I can to see what kind of time I could get myself.”

Confidence aside, Pioneer head coach Aaron Hansen said the Pioneer coaching staff, as well as Sarge, decided before the CCS Finals to pick their battles wisely. Reasoning that Sarge had a better chance at medalling in the 1,600-meter run, as opposed to the 800-meter run, Hansen said there was a general agreement that Sarge would save her best effort and energy for the 1,600-meter run later that night.

Pioneer's Marquee Heffner finished eighth in the boys’100-meter dash with a time of 11.39 seconds at the CCS Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School. Photo by Dan Miranda

“We realized the 800 wasn’t that important for her. So it was kind of our agreement to kind of settle down on the 800 and not pursue it as much as she’d pursue the mile (1,600-meter),” Hansen said. “We encouraged her to gear down for the 800 about 500 meters into it and it definitely worked out better for her, because she got to go to the mile with confidence.”

Hansen said the move will also pay off this week, when Sarge will head to the state meet at Sacramento City College on June 1-2. Competing in only one event at the state level, said Hansen, should keep Sarge in better position to improve on her time in the 1,600-meter run.

“It would be great for her to get exposure in two events, but at the same time, she has a great shot at competing at the state meet (in the 1,600-meter run),” Hansen said. “With two events, it gets harder because at the state meet, you have to go through qualifying rounds for everything. She’d have to run in the qualifying rounds for the mile and the 800 on the same day, and go back out the very next day. This way, she only has to run the mile and she can focus on that. …Essentially, she’ll have more gas in her tank.”

And while Sarge is pleased to be headed to the state meet, she’ll do so alone, after members of the Pioneer boys’ track team missed out on a chance to place in the top three at the CCS Finals in four events.

Things got off to a bad start, noted Hansen, when Dan Perez, the anchor leg of the boys’ 4X100 team, showed up ill, forcing Hansen to reshuffle the team. In for Perez was Shane Murray, while Drew McReynolds, a regular 4X100 member, shifted over to run the anchor leg of the race. The end result was a sixth place finish for the Mustangs, who recorded a time of 43.11 seconds.

Pioneer's Toni Sarge is headed to the CIF State Track and Field Championships after she finished third in the1600-meter run at the CCS Finals on May 25 at Gilroy High School. Photo by Dan Miranda

“They ran a great time,” Hansen said of the boys’ 4X100 team. “But it was unfortunate, because we were missing the anchor leg of that race, which is the guy who holds that team together.”

Hansen added that the finish in the 4X100 also had a ripple effect on the 4X400 team, comprised of Sam Villegas, Steven Lopes, Drew McReynolds and Marquee Heffner, which ended up placing fifth with a time of 3 minutes and 24.18 seconds.

“It affected them (the 4X400 team) because the 4X100 is the first thing you see on the track, and that sets the tone for everything mentally and physically,” Hansen said. “What you see from the 4X100 team is almost going to be an echo for the entire track meet.”

Heffner also missed out on a chance at state in the boys’ 100-meter dash, placing eighth with a time of 11.39 seconds.

“His eighth place finish is not what I expected at all,” Hansen said of Heffner. “I have high expectations for him because he’s an outstanding athlete.”

Lastly, McReynolds, a senior, narrowly missed out on reaching the state meet, finishing fourth in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles. Hansen said McReynolds has had trouble with the third and fourth hurdles of the event in the past, and consequently found that trouble plaguing him at the CCS Finals when he bashed his ankle into the fourth hurdle.

“He had the best start I’d ever seen out of him,” Hansen said of McReynolds. “…But he hit the fourth hurdle pretty hard with his ankle, and that took him out of it. He smashed into it, and I saw the mark it left afterward, and it was a pretty nasty contusion on his ankle.”

Bret Harte/Castillero tennis team captures Mid-peninsula Tennis League Championship

The Bret Harte/Castillero tennis team's perfect season came to an end last week when the squad defeated Harker to win the Mid-peninsula Tennis League Championship.

Led by USTA star Eric Johnson in the No. 1 singles spot, the team finished the season undefeated for the first time in team history.

Going into the finals with an 8-0 record against schools from Saratoga, Los Gatos and Cupertino, Bret Harte was feeling confident, but Harker came to the courts to win as well. After Johnson, Kennedy Davis, and the No. 1 doubles team of Brent Johnson and Albert Wu reported quick victories, things tightened up as Harker tied the match at three all. That quickly changed, however, as Hanson Hermsmeier, also undefeated for the season, came off the court with another singles victory for Bret Harte. Needing the best of nine to win, all eyes were on the two doubles matches still on the courts, in determining the champion. In short, Bret Harte needed one to win, while Harker would have to take both matches to bring home the gold.

In exciting championship drama, both matches split sets and went to a seven-point tiebreaker. Doubles partners Gary Lin and Joshua Mah finally secured Bret Harte's name on the championship trophy by winning the tiebreaker 7-5.

Head coach Nicole Arnold said knew she had a strong team from the beginning and was thrilled to make Bret Harte sports history with the 5-4 victory.

"This was a great team effort from a group of dedicated kids," Arnold said. "At the beginning of the season, I knew we had a very strong chance of taking it all. Other coaches said we had the best team they had ever seen in the middle school leagues. Apparently, they were right."

Leland juniors show promise for next year in CCS individual tennis finals

Klinger, Norton carry torch into next season

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Leland juniors Thomas Norton and Stace Klinger represented the Chargers at the Central Coast Section individual tennis finals last week.

Thomas Norton

The Chargers’ No. 1 and 2 singles stars entered the tournament unseeded, after finishing in the same order at the Blossom Valley Athletic league finals, hosted by Mount Pleasant on May 14.

Klinger advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Salinas’ Farren Cassad 6-0, 6-0 in the first round.

“Stace’s game was a huge forehand,” said Leland head coach Pam Headley. “A lot of guys just can’t get to it, and it was working for him in the first round.”

Klinger faced Bellarmine standout Donald James, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, in the quarterfinals.
Headley noted that the two have played each other a lot growing up.

“If all of his tools are working for him, Stace can slug it out with anyone,” she said.

However, Klinger’s run stopped there, as James prevailed 6-2, 6-0 in straight sets.

“We mostly talked about the mental side of his game,” said Headley. “Physically, he is all there with these guys. Stace always responds well. I am really lucky that my (No.) one and two guys are mature. They are not going to give up tennis because they lost the match. They are going to go back out there and work harder.”

Norton, meanwhile, faced the section’s No. 1 seed, Steve Stege from Los Gatos, in the opening round. While Stege went on to win the tournament outright, becoming the section champion for 2007, Norton became his first victory in the opening round.

“Stege is obviously some pretty tough competition,” said Headley. “He is graduating in a few weeks and plays in national tournaments and those sorts of things. It was an uphill battle for Thomas.”

Headley noted she hopes both Norton and Klinger will return the favor to underclassmen when they return as seniors next season.

Stace Klinger

“We have a great bunch of guys returning,” said Headley.

The tournament ended a season in which Leland won the Mount Hamilton Division Championship, fielding a roster made up mostly of underclassmen.

“We achieved all of our goals that we set out to,” said Headley. “We faced a tougher schedule than Leland has in recent memory and we got a seed in CCS. I think it bodes well.”

Hadley called the Chargers’ opening round playoff match versus Gunn High the highlight of the season.

In the final singles matches of the afternoon, Norton overcame a 2-5 deficit in the third set tiebreaker to win, evening the score at three matches apiece, between the Chargers and Titans.

Leland was then defeated 4-3 after officials called Brian Higashi’s No. 3 singles match when he cramped up and could not continue.

Yet, the effort was momentous for Leland tennis, according to Headley.

“One of the biggest things was getting these guys to work together as a team,” she said. “They are all great individuals.”

BVAL All-League spring sports honorees

Leland baseball – Mt. Hamilton Division
Freshman of the Year - Trevor Dyer
First Team - Nate Jones
First Team - Alex Todd
Second Team - Kevin Krail

Pioneer baseball – Mt. Hamilton Division
Senior of the Year - Garret Lewis
First Team - Derek Clark
Second Team - Kyle Burchfiel
Second Team - Matt Montelongo

Leland softball – Mt. Hamilton Division
First Team - Jessica Talaugon
First Team - Kristen Rorie
Second Team - Sara Adams

Pioneer softball – Mt. Hamilton Division
Second Team - Brittney Rivas
Second Team - Alyssa Walker

Leland boys’ volleyball – Mt. Hamilton Division
First Team - Kenny Tran
First Team - Daniel Ortiz
Second Team - Justin Conmy
Second Team - Seth Anderson

Pioneer boys’ volleyball – Santa Teresa Division
MVP - Taylor Luebkeman
Senior of the Year - Ryan Williams
Coach of the Year - Howard Gibson
First Team - Aaron Yi
First Team - Ben Lee

Sports Briefs

FitCamp Sign-Ups Going On Now
TotalFit Solutions is registering participants for their Summer FitCamp programs at Evergreen College, Los Gatos and Mt. Pleasant High School.  You can sign up for a 6 week session, or chose 2 or 3 day a week programming.  You can get started today!

FitCamp is a fun filled exercise program that is open to all ages and abilities.  FitCamp meets everyday and is designed to be a total fitness solution for kids and parents alike. Every day has a different workout which not only keeps our participants excited and challenged, it keeps your body moving in a way that guarantees results.

Whether you are looking to better your sports conditioning, lose weight or just get in shape; FitCamp is a great alternative to commercial fitness centers and gyms.

At FitCamp you can always try a class for FREE!  For more information, contact TotalFit  Solutions at (408) 227 – 2216 or on the web at www.totalfitsolutions.com.

TotalFit Solutions offers wellness coaching, personal training, corporate wellness packages and adventure travel for individuals and families.  Contact us today!

CV Strikers Boys U14  Soccer Tryouts Class III  
Join the Division A Central Santa Clara Valley Strikers! Players of all skill levels are welcome to join the fun, but must be born between Aug 1, 1993 and July 31, 1995. For questions and/or additional information, call Coach Omar Alvarado at 408-242-3835, or go to www.cvstrikers.org. 

Bay Area Starters Softball Program
Competitive "A" Ball Program has a few openings for 15U/16U 2007 Summer Roster.  Season begins May 15th upon the completion of High School Ball. Bay Area Starters' goal is to provided Talented, Committed, Hard Working Student/Athletes further opportunities to better their Softball Skills through training and aggressive work-outs, while introducing Age-Appropriate High School Athletes to the College Environment and Scouting Events. For more information, visit our website www.BayAreaStarters. com or e-mail BayAreaStarters@aol.com.

KidSportz to hold free family fitness and camp signup Saturday

KidSportz professional fitness and summer camp organization will offer free family fitness and training and signups for its summer camp programs Saturday, June 2 at the Almaden Community Center, 6445 Camden Ave. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will also offer a Tricks and Kicks Martial Arts Show from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and games prizes and fitness demos from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To find out more about KidSportz after-school athletic programs and summer camps, visit www.KidSportz.com.

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