Junior Lynsey Harris romped to a ninth-place finish at the CCS finals.

Cats run to girls, boys section championships

By Dick Sparrer

There were times this season that the Los Gatos girls cross country team really struggled.

Injuries and illness often left the Wildcats at less than full strength for meets early in the year and even well into the heart of the season.

It was a troubling time for head coach Willie Harmatz and his Wildcats.

But there was certainly nothing troubling about the way the Gatos girls ran last weekend at the Central Coast Section Division II finals--unless, of course, you were running for Leland.

The Los Gatos girls rambled to a CCS championship last Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont, running up a low 50 points to 67 for runner-up Leland.

It was one of two CCS titles for the Wildcats on the day. The Los Gatos boys won the CCS Division III title, outdistancing St. Francis 36-78 in the race for the section crown.

The dual title means that Harmatz will take two teams to the state meet Nov. 25 at Woodward Park in Fresno. And it also means that Los Gatos maintains its cross country dominance in the section.

"This was the fourth double championship in Los Gatos history," said Harmatz, who had teams win both titles in 1988, '92 and '99. Harmatz has now coached 18 CCS champs in cross country alone.

The Los Gatos boys dominated the field to win their third straight CCS championship. But because Harmatz expected his Cats to claim the boys' crown, it was the girls' title that was the sweeter of the two.

"This was by far the best team effort of the season," said Harmatz of the girls' showing. "It was the best since 1985."

Five Gatos girls registered personal bests on the 2.95-mile course at Crystal, and there wasn't one senior among the top seven LG finishers.

"The five PRs was a super big come-through performance," said the coach. "This is one of the finest teams I have ever coached."

Junior Michelle Beritzhoff finished third overall in 18:49 to lead the Gatos effort at CCS.

Junior Ashley Caldwell, a transfer from North Carolina, was eighth in 19:34, a personal best.

"She was really focused," said Harmatz of Caldwell. "This was a huge effort."

Junior Lynsey Harris ran "her best race ever" to finish ninth in 19:38, and sophomore Erica Williams ran a "fantasic race" to nail 14th in 19:54.

Sophomore Jen Rubnitz was 16th in 19:55 with freshman Kristi Yackle 32nd in 20:28. Both were personal bests.

Freshman Shannon Kehrig was 63rd in 21:49 for the Cats.

It was the second straight CCS title for the Gatos girls, their fourth in five years and their 10th overall.

The Los Gatos boys, meanwhile, won their third straight CCS crown and their eighth is school history by outrunning St. Francis.

"It was another great overall effort," said Harmatz of the Gatos boys, who had four runners finish in the top 10.

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