Sobrato runners place high in CCS Championships
SALINAS
Sobrato senior Winston van Keulen clocked a season-best 17 minutes, 21 seconds Saturday to lead all locals in the Central Coast Section Championships at Toro Park in Salinas.
Van Keulen placed 26th in the Division II race, which featured several up-and-coming cross country talents from Morgan Hill but no state qualifiers.
Freshmen Matt Hanlon (18:41), Cody Hulme (18:43) and Kyle Alexander (19:36), part of a decorated boys group that came out of Britton and Martin Murphy Middle School, finished 74th, 75th and 85th for the Bulldogs, who placed 10th in the team standings.
Sobrato sophomore Ryan Corvese (17:35) crossed 36th in a solid second run at section finals, and senior teammate Derek Diesenroth (18:24) placed 66th.
Los Gatos senior Will Geiken won the Division II race in 15:21.
In Division III, Live Oak’s Kalum Bergstrom (17:55) placed 32nd as the second fastest freshman in the field. Donald Plazola won that race in 15:50.
Sobrato’s Sarah Gilbert dominated among local girls. The junior covered the 2.95-mile course in 20:51 and placed 33rd in Division II. She finished 18th in 2009.
Seniors Cassandra Valenzuela (23:52) and Emily Thoms (24:13), juniors Akane Hashimoto (23:00) and Courtney Ellenburg (24:08) and sophomores Cynia Sapp (23:25) and Jasmine Caskey (24:54) also ran for the Lady Bulldogs, who took 14th as a team.
Live Oak sophomore Amber Thomas (22:36) crossed 56th in Division III, and senior teammate Chelsie Faulk (22:37) followed a second later in 57th.
Mountain View’s Allison Sturges (18:48) won the Division II girls race, and Rachel Hinds (18:24) of St. Ignatius was tops in Division III.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Live Oak mounted a strong opening two games against host Sacred Heart Cathedral only to lose 25-19, 25-17, 25-15 in the Division III quarterfinals Saturday.
Senior Gabi Cinkova had eight kills, Fa Saulala added seven, and Alli Unger provided 19 digs for the fifth-seeded Acorns, who ended their season 24-11. Allison Shedden chipped in four blocks.
Ranked No. 11 in the section, the fifth-seeded Irish (26-9) are closing in on a fourth straight CCS title.
BOYS WATER POLO
After a close first quarter, No. 2-seeded Menlo scored seven goals in the second period on the way to beating No. 7 Live Oak 15-4 Saturday in a Division II quarterfinal at Sacred Heart Prep.
The Acorns (14-10) received two goals by Danny Robinson and one apiece by Daniel Enriquez and Saul Orona.
