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Clark dives to second at CCS finals
Branon finishes strong at section golf finals
By Dick Sparrer
Sara Clark, Catherine Eastman and Richie Crowder starred for Los Gatos at the Central Coast Section (CCS) swimming and diving championships held last week at the Santa Clara International Swim Center.
Clark soared to a second in the 1-meter diving event and Eastman was third in the 500-meter freestyle and seventh in the 200 free to lead the Los Gatos girls to a tie for 11th place in the girls standings, and Crowder was third in both the 50 free and 100 free to lead the Gatos boys to a tie for 15th in the team chart.
Clark rolled up 423.10 points to nail second in the diving event. Sara Bowling of Castilleja was first with 450.85 points.
Clark was the No. 3 qualifier after the preliminaries, but outscored Tayler Eldridge of Harbor in the finals to wind up second. Eldridge finished third with 398.90 points, with Katie Lampe of Los Gatos fourth at 391.05.
Eastman cruised to a third in the 500 in 5:02.00 for the Cats. The junior standout was also seventh in the 200 free in 1:56.47, with teammate Gabriella Hdez, a sophomore, eighth in 1:58.61.
The Gatos girls ran up 71 team points to tie Los Altos for 11th place overall.
Crowder, a junior, was outstanding for the Los Gatos boys. He raced to a third in the finals of the 50 free in 21.23 after racing to a 21.20 in the preliminaries, and he added a third in the 100 free in 46.88.
Brian Williams, a sophomore, came through with a fifth in the 500 free in 4:42.53, and he was also seventh in the 200 free in 1:46.11.
Crowder and Williams teamed with sophomores Eric Soung and Austin Nichols to finish seventh in the consolation finals, and 15th overall, in the 200 medley relay in 1:45.49.
Los Gatos finished with 62 team points to tie for 15th with Lynbrook.
Branon fourth
Trevor Branon fired an even-par 72 at the Rancho Cañada Golf Course to finish in the seven-way tie for first place in the CCS golf championships last week. But it was Erik Anderson of Woodside winning the playoff to take the CCS individual title. Branon ended up fourth overall.
Anderson, Branon, Will Haydon of Palo Alto and Michael Wilson of Pacific Grove have all qualified for the Northern California tournament.
Spikers third
The Los Gatos boys volleyball team lost a 15-12, 14-16, 15-7, 15-13 heartbreaker to Mt. Madonna in the CCS semifinals last week to wind up third in the section tourney.
Fletcher Anderson led the Wildcats with 18 kills, and Shaun Sullivan finished with 13. Trevor Christiansen had 10 kills and two service aces.
Max Haueter came through with eight kills and Brady Smith added seven. Michael Conry led the Cats with 57 assists.
Sullivan had 17 kills and Anderson chipped in with 15 in a 15-4, 9-15, 15-12, 15-8 win over Aptos in the tourney quarterfinals. Haueter had 10 kills and two aces in the win, and Christiansen had six kills. Conry finished with 56 assists.
Los Gatos finished the season 34-7 after posting a 12-0 mark in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).
"We won many more than we lost, went undefeated in league, and almost reached the top of the section," said Los Gatos coach Tom Jack. "It was a great season."
It marked the fourth time in six years that Los Gatos has advanced to the CCS semifinals. The Cats won the section title in 1997.
Doubles stars
Only the area's best tennis players make it to the CCS tournament. And the best of the CCS will be in action this week when singles and doubles runs through May 23 at the Imperial Courts at Cabrillo College in Aptos.
Tourney play was to begin Tuesday with first round and quarterfinal action. The semifinal round begins at 10 a.m. Thursday with the finals getting under way at 1 p.m.
SCVAL standouts Ken Kao of Monta Vista, A.J. Kerin of Saratoga and Dan Duong of Fremont will represent the area in singles action.
Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monta Vista and Fremont will also be represented in doubles play.
Robert Yee and Bastian Bartels of Monta Vista; Saratoga's Garrett Wyatt and Ashvin Soin; Fremont's Matt Wong and Sidney Pang; and Will McAlister and Brian Brogan of Los Gatos will all represent the SCVAL in the doubles tourney.
The Gatos pair, seeded No. 5, opens up against Nolan Paula and Yoshi Arakaki of Menlo.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Going high for the kill in boys volleyball play last week is Los Gatos senior Trevor Christiansen. It was a tough night for the Wildcats, though. They lost to Mt. Madonna in the CCS semifinals.
