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The Los Gatos girls were all together when the Central Coast Section race began last weekend, and the Wildcats finished as a pack to clinch the CCS Division I championship. Visible in the picture are (l-r) Carolyn Penner (No. 343), Heather Hennessy (No. 341), Kate Leary (No. 342), Michelle Beritzhoff (No. 337) and Lynsey Harris (behind Beritzhoff).
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Wildcats win two CCS titles
And it's not the first time it's happened
By Dick Sparrer
Willie Harmatz hardly knew where to begin.
His Los Gatos boys cross country team had just won the Central Coast Section Division III championship and qualified for the state meet.
And his Gatos girls team had just won the CCS Division I crown and also earned a trip to state.
But, then, he also had seven individual runners finish in the CCS top 10--five in the boys division and two in the girls race.
Harmatz had quite a bit to talk about on Sunday morning. "This was the third double CCS championship in Los Gatos history," he said. The Wildcats matched girls and boys titles in 1988 and 1992 before doing it again in 1999.
It was just one of many milestones for Los Gatos on Saturday at the 2.95-mile Crystal Springs course in Belmont.
The varsity boys had the lowest score (26 points) in LG history; won back-to-back CCS titles; had the fifth best team time in LG history; won by the largest margin (58 points) in LG history; won the school's seventh CCS boys championship; solidified their No. 2 state ranking in Division III.
The varsity girls won the school's ninth CCS girls championship; won their third CCS championship in four years; won their fifth CCS title in the decade of the 1990s.
Russ Martin, Tomas Viramontes, Jeff Hoeft, Zack Regner and Matt Bates all finished in the top 10 to lead the Los Gatos boys to the CCS title, and Michelle Beritzhoff and Merin Clark were top-10 finishers for the CCS championship-winning LG girls.
"This was a great race to watch," said Harmatz of the Gatos boys' championship performance. "These guys ran the best build-up two mile I've ever seen a group do."
Martin romped to a third-place finish in 15:50, with Viramontes fourth in 15:56, Hoeft fifth in 16:08, Regner sixth in 16:11 and Bates eighth in 16:20. Greg Tolan was 19th in 16:55, with Darren Key 40th in 17:41. The Cats ran up a low 26 points to 84 for second-place St. Francis.
"[Martin] has been our No. 1 man in almost every race," said Harmatz of the junior star. "Russ is so consistent. He is someone you can always count on to do his best."
Viramontes and Hoeft, two more juniors, each ran their best time of the year on the Crystal Springs course.
"This was the best race of the season [for Viramontes]," said the coach. "And [Hoeft] made a big move on the second mile that gave him great confidence to carry it through. He passed many runners."
Regner, a senior, was sick but "gave it everything he had," said Harmatz.
Beritzhoff, just a sophomore, was also sick, "but led our team to the league and CCS titles," said Harmatz.
The Gatos soph was seventh in 19:52, with Clark ninth in 20:20, Carolyn Penner 11th in 20:35, Kate Leary 23rd in 21:22, Theresa Rehder 24th in 21:23 and Lynsey Harris 40th in 22:24.
"A sign of a great team is when runners come through for you," said the coach. "Our top two junior varsity runners [Clark and Rehder] from league finals were our second and fifth girls [at CCS]. This saved us and allowed our depth to win CCS."
"[Clark] had a big come-through performance and a personal best," added Harmatz.
Clark and Penner are just freshmen, but both had strong races for the Wildcats.
"Penner's consistency this season made us a great team," said Harmatz.
Junior Heather Hennessy, the No. 1 Gatos runner all season, had to drop out of action for a second straight week because of a hip injury.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
