Farnady, Bates win CCS titles
Edwards joins champs for trip to state meet
By Dick Sparrer
Annie Farnady beat her lifetime best in the discus by over six feet at the Central Coast Section track and field finals last Friday night.
More importantly, though, she beat her nearest rival by almost two feet to win a CCS title for the Los Gatos girls track team.
Farnady was one of three Los Gatos athletes to win titles at the CCS finals. Matt Bates finished first in the boys 800-meter run, and Heather Hennessy ran to a victory in the girls 800, only to have it snatched away from her when race officials disqualified her (see related story).
Farnady's win stood up, though. The Gatos senior whirled the discus 142-5 to finished first and cap an outstanding CCS career.
But the win didn't mark the end of her high school track and field career. Farnady will make the trip to Cerritos College in Southern California for the state meet June 2-3.
Farnady, who is coached by Ron McKee and her father, Dies Farnady, finished nearly two feet ahead of runnerup Sabrina Kirkwood of Mercy, whose toss of 140-8 was good for just a CCS second. Farnady's 142-5 was good for a CCS title and the No. 2 spot on the Los Gatos all-time list.
Bates and Brian Edwards will join Farnady for the trip to state. Bates raced to a win in the 800 and Edwards ended up second in the 400 meters.
Bates covered the two laps in a lifetime best 1:53.88, good for third on the LG all-time charts.
"He ran with the pack for one lap, then took off and no one went with him at all," said Gatos coach Willie Harmatz of Bates. "He won by over three seconds."
Bates, a junior, was the CCS leader in the 800 all season, and his winning time at the section finals ranks No. 8 in the state.
Edwards, another junior, was second in the 400 in 48.90, his second best time this season. The second-place finish at CCS is the best in Los Gatos history in the event.
Bates and Edwards, the top sprinter for the Wildcats this spring, also joined with Matt Hintz and Jeff Hoeft to finish sixth in the 4x400 relay in a season best 3:22.99, good for fourth on the all-time list.
Michelle Beritzhoff and Carolyn Penner barely missed qualifying for state. The top three finishers in each event advance, and Beritzhoff and Penner each finished fourth.
Beritzhoff, a sophomore, was fourth in the 1,600 in a lifetime best 5:06.21, good for fourth on the all-time list.
Penner, a freshman, ran 58.42 to finish fourth in the 400 and rank No. 4 on the LG all-time list.
"She's our best freshman 400 runner in Los Gatos history," said Harmatz of Penner. "She has a great future.
"I'm proud of the way she came back from her mid-season hip injury to really come on at the end."
Penner also teamed with Kristen Fumia, Simone Drucker and Megan Kirby-McFarland to finish sixth in the 4x100 relay in 49.54.
Kim Christiansen placed in a pair of events for the Wildcats. The sophomore sensation was sixth in the long jump at 16-11 3/4 and added an eighth in the triple jump at 35-7 1/2.
Russ Martin, seventh in CCS a year ago, finished sixth in the 3,200 meters in 9:34.72.
Emily King claimed a seventh in the long jump with a leap of 16-11 3/4, and Mallory Thornton ran 11th in the 3,200 in 11:31.27.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
