LO ruggers take second at Stanford tourney Led by all-tourney
choices Dustin Muhn and Mark Pimentel, the Live Oak High rugby team
advanced all the way to the title match of the inaugural Pacific
Coast High Invitational Championship at Stanford University last
weekend. Competing at Stanford
’s Steuber Stadium, the Acorns won three straight games before
falling to Skyhawk Conference rival East Palo Alto 24-12 in
Sunday’s finale of the two-day tourney.
LO ruggers take second at Stanford tourney
Led by all-tourney choices Dustin Muhn and Mark Pimentel, the Live Oak High rugby team advanced all the way to the title match of the inaugural Pacific Coast High Invitational Championship at Stanford University last weekend.
Competing at Stanford’s Steuber Stadium, the Acorns won three straight games before falling to Skyhawk Conference rival East Palo Alto 24-12 in Sunday’s finale of the two-day tourney.
LO, which recently competed in the NorCal playoffs, beat Fullerton 17-0 and 19-14 in Saturday’s play, then edged another Skyhawk rival, Silicon Valley, 21-17 in the tourney semifinals on Sunday.
Muhn, a junior fullback, was selected as the tourney’s Most Valuable Back. Muhn, who is also a noted football and track athlete for the Acorns, scored 20 total points in the tourney on four tries in three matches. He also competed at the Tri-County Athletic League track finals on Saturday.
Pimentel, a junior flanker, also earned all-tourney honors.
LO, which had advanced to the NorCal Tier 2 semifinals before losing earlier this year, finished 8-5-1 overall this season.
Meanwhile, LO held its team awards banquet on Friday, May 13, and the following players received special recognition:
Captains: Ben Frates, Dustin Vertin
Most Inspirational: Mark Pimentel
Most Improved: Eduardo Arias, Marcial Portilla
Most Valuable Back: Dustin Muhn
Most Valuable Forward: Dustin Vertin
MH gymnast wins state, regional titles
Carly Pipkin, a sixth-grader at Paradise Valley Elementary in Morgan Hill, recently finished off an outstanding Level 8 competition season, which culminated in winning the State Uneven Bars Championship title and then going on to win the Regional Floor Exercise Championship title.
Pipkin, who trains and competes for Airborne Gymnastics, a nationally ranked Junior Olympic gymnastics training center located in Santa Clara, competed at both the Level 8 State Championships gymnastics meet held at San Jose State University April 9-10, and the Level 8 Regional Championships, held in Long Beach later in the month.
She captured the State Uneven Bars title by scoring a 9.5, and also placed third in the All-Around with a 37.05. Her All-Around score qualified her to compete at the Regionals.
Competing on the day after her 12th birthday, April 23, Pipkin won the Regional Floor Championship with a score of 9.5, and also placed second on the uneven bars with a score of 9.4.
Meanwhile, Airborne’s 11 Level 8 gymnasts competed in six of the nine age divisions at the State Championships, capturing two of the six individual All-Around Championship titles and five individual event championship titles within the age divisions. They also won the coveted overall NorCal Level 8 Team Championship title, culminating an undefeated season for the team.
Pipkin, who lives in Gilroy, has consistently scored well on both bars and floor throughout the season, breaking her gym’s Level 8 event score record on bars at a previous meet when she scored a 9.775.
LO skaters fall to Santa Teresa
After beating Santa Teresa in the first face-off between the two schools, the Live Oak High hockey team was hoping for a repeat performance. But, on Friday, in the teams’ second meeting Santa Teresa emerged victorious 11-2. Live Oak’s Ricky Lasher filled in for an absent Michael Anvari as goalie, and was able to make several key saves in the net. Live Oak kept the pressure on and sophomore Brian Costello scored two goals off assists from sophomore Kyle Dutra.
Bunten leads Canisius into NCAAs
Former Gilroy High standout Andrea Bunten and the Canisius College softball team qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships for the second year in a row. Bunten, who was recently named the school’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year, led the Golden Griffins (22-17) to the Metro Atlantic Conference Tournament title last weekend, earning an automatic bid into the NCAA tourney. Bunten was named the tourney’s Outstanding Player for the second straight year. The senior pitcher, who graduated from GHS in 2001, is the only player in the Canisius softball program’s 26–year history to reach 600 career strikeouts. For the regular season, Bunten went 10–9 on the mound, posting a 1.70 ERA while striking out 166 batters in 115 innings. She also set the school record for most strikeouts in a game when she retired 18 Niagara batters in an April 19 game. Canisius was set to play a first-round game against the nation’s No. 1 team, Michigan (55-4), Friday. Live Oak High ace pitcher Juliette Bowers recently signed a letter of intent to play for Canisius next season, and could replace Bunten on the mound for the up-and-coming program.
MHPB Colt tryouts at LO Saturday
Morgan Hill Pony Baseball is accepting registration applications for the upcoming Colt baseball season. Colt Division baseball is for players aged 15-16 only. For the first time, applicants from Hollister, as well as Gilroy and San Jose (south of Bernal Road), will be eligible to play in the Morgan Hill league. Tryouts will be held at Live Oak High on Saturday, May 21 at 9am. For an application, visit the MHPB website at www.MHPB.org Download an application and send it in with your payment made out to MHPB. Submit applications to: MHPB, PO Box 353, Morgan Hill, Calif., 95038. Positions are being filled rapidly.
Details: call John Bennett at (408) 776-0983.
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