Gatos girls, Kay win CCS gold
Large pack of Cats head to state meet
By Dick Sparrer
They were going for the gold at the Central Coast Section (CCS) track and field finals at San José City College last Friday night.
And Los Gatos struck gold ... and then some.
The Gatos girls came through with a gold medal-winning performance in the 4x400 relay and used that victory as a springboard to winning the team title at the CCS meet.
What's more, Nik Kay heaved the discus 184-7 and win CCS gold in the process.
Now Kay and a host of Los Gatos girls will make the trip to the state meet coming up May 31 and June 1 at Cerritos College in Norwalk in Southern California.
Ashley Caldwell and Kim Christiansen have each qualified for state in two events, and Carolyn Penner and Sally Stanton have also earned state berths.
Overall, it was a sensational night for the Wildcats. Caldwell and Penner finished second and third in the 800 meters to maintain the school tradition in the half mile; Christiansen came on strong in her later jumps to qualify in both the long jump and triple jump, setting a new school record in the triple; and Kay placed in the shot put, then won the CCS title in the discus.
Caldwell, Christiansen and company helped the Gatos girls win the team title with 49 points. Mt. Pleasant was second at 39, with St. Ignatius third at 32.
"The meet was tied going into the 4x400 relay," said Los Gatos head coach Monica Townsend, whose Cats were tied with Mt. Pleasant heading into the final event. But the Cardinals had no team running in the relay, so Townsend knew that "as long as we got the stick around we'd win it."
The Wildcats did more than get the stick around--they ran 3:55.44 to win the event.
Freshman Caroline Stege opened the relay with a 60.5 split, and sophomore Ali Dodson followed with a 59.2 lap. Penner sprinted to a 58.2 on the third leg, and Caldwell anchored in 57.0.
The CCS win in the 4x400 was the third for the Cats, and it marked the 11th time since 1984 and the ninth time since 1990 that Los Gatos has qualified for state in the event.
It was the second straight year that the Cats won the CCS title in the event, and it lifted Los Gatos to the section championship.
"I told the girls that Mt. Pleasant had opened the door for us," said Townsend, "and all of our girls just busted through the door."
Caldwell, a senior, put on quite a show individually, finishing second in the 800 in 2:10.80 and second in the 1,600 in 4:58.14.
"That was the first time we've ever run a girl in the mile and 800 at CCS," said Gatos coach Willie Harmatz. She finished second in the mile and, after just an hour's rest, came back to run second in the 800.
Caldwell will concentrate on just one of the two events at the state meet. "Right now we're leaning toward the 800," said Harmatz.
The 800 is traditionally a strong event for the Wildcats. Los Gatos has shipped 18 half-milers to state since 1980, including 12 section champions. Prior to 1980, the last Cat to make it to state in the event was Bob Chambers ... in 1944.
This year, both Caldwell and Penner will run the 800 at the state meet. It marks the second time Gatos has sent two girls to state in the event (Ally Lombardi and Lina Biber-Ferro qualified in 1997) and the third time in LG history that two athletes competed in the 800 at state (Tom Newman and Bebe Rutledge went in 1996).
Caldwell was second in the 800 last Friday, and Penner, a junior, finished third in 2:14.66. Caldwell's 2:10.27 ranks second on the Gatos all-time list and Penner's time ranks fourth.
Christiansen, like Caldwell, has qualified for CCS in two individual events. The senior soared 39-0.25 to nail second and set a new school record in the triple jump, and she was also fifth in the long jump at 18-2.5.
"She had a phenomenal night," said Townsend of Christiansen. "She had PRs in both jumps."
"She had just a huge jump in the triple jump," added the coach. "Her last jump pushed her into second place."
Christiansen was sitting on a 38-3 effort heading into her last attempt, then topped that mark by almost a foot to clinch second and a new school record.
"It was huge--for the school record, for state and for points," said Townsend of the jump. Christiansen had already broken the record of 37-5 set by Lezli Jensen in 1986.
Christiansen also uncorked her 18-2.5 long jump late in the competition. She ended up fifth (the top three automatically advance to state), but won a state berth by topping the qualifying mark of 18-0.75.
"She kept getting better and better," said Townsend. "She's just an incredible competitor."
So is Stanton, says Townsend. The sophomore pole vaulter had finished seventh at the CCS trials to barely qualify for the finals, but "she saw herself as a top three," said Townsend.
And Stanton came through with a third-place finish at the finals to earn a state berth. She topped the bar at 11-0, bettering her showing at the trials by a foot.
Dodson supported with a sixth in the 200-meter dash in 25.88, and senior Michelle Beritzhoff was seventh in the 1,600 meters in 5:06.99, each one picking up important points for the Cats.
For the Wildcats, fifth in CCS a year ago, it marked their third section title. The Cats had finished first in 1986 and 1994. Townsend was a member of that team that won it all in '86.
In boys competition, Kay single-handedly led the Wildcats into the top 15 in the team standings. His win in the discus and fourth in the shot put helped the Cats earn 14 team points, good for 14th on the team charts.
Kay, who just a week ago whirled the discus 196-1 for a new school record, threw 184-7 to take the CCS crown. He's the first Gatos discus thrower to win a section title since Gary Bersano won the crown in 1974. It was Bersano's school record of 181-10 that Kay shattered last week.
Kay, a junior, also placed fourth in the shot put with a heave of 53-3.75.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Ashley Caldwell of Los Gatos finished second in the 800 meters.
