Kay breaks discus record, tops list of LG qualifiers
By Dick Sparrer
Nik Kay was a man in pursuit of a record when the 2002 high school track season began.
The junior weightman had his sights set on the longstanding discus record of 181-10, set in 1974 by former Los Gatos great Gary Bersano.
Well, Kay broke the record a couple of weeks ago, and last Saturday he destroyed it at the Central Coast Section track and field trials at San José City College.
Kay whirled the discus 196-1 to crush his own school standard. His mark now ranks as the second best in the state and fifth best in the nation this season.
Kay's performance was just one of the many highlights for the Wildcats at the track trials. He was one of seven Wildcats to qualify in 10 events for the upcoming CCS finals set for May 24, 6 p.m., at San José City College.
Kay won the discus and finished sixth in the shot put for the Wildcats with a heave of 49-11.75. He's the only Los Gatos boy to advance to the CCS finals.
The girls, though, it was another story. Ashley Caldwell and Kim Christiansen each qualified in two events to top a list of six Gatos girls to move on to the finals in individual events.
Los Gatos will also send its 4x400 relay to the finals. The Cats ran sixth at the trials, with Ali Dodson, Caroline Stege, Sally Stanton and Carolyn Penner running 4:40.74. Despite the sixth, Gatos should be the title favorite in the event on Friday night when Caldwell joins the relay team. Los Gatos is the defending CCS champion in the event.
"We should be favored with Ashley in there," said Los Gatos coach Willie Harmatz.
Caldwell was second in the 1,600 meters in 4:58.80, with teammate Michelle Beritzhoff eighth in 5:06.06, and she was fourth in the 800 in 2:19.05.
Penner, who anchored the 4x400 relay in 58.9, romped to a second in the 800 in 2:15.29, good for the fifth-fastest time in Los Gatos history.
"She was unbelievable," said Harmatz of Penner.
Christiansen qualified for CCS finals in two events, with a fourth in the long jump at 17-3 and a fifth in the triple jump at 35-11.
Dodson romped to a sixth in the 200 in 25.81, and Stanton was seventh in the pole vault at 10-0.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Carolyn Penner (left) had a big day at the CCS track trials, finishing second in the 800 and anchoring the 4x400 relay.
