Homestead's Nick Miluso sets the volleyball in last week's big match against Los Gatos. The Mustangs ended up dropping a tough 15-6, 15-12, 7-15, 15-6 decision to remain in second place.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Cats edge Mustangs in match for title
McDonough, Orton place at invitational
By Dick Sparrer
It was the battle for the boys volleyball championship in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).
But when Los Gatos and Homestead locked up in the fight for first last week, the Mustangs needed a victory much more than the Wildcats did.
Homestead went into the important match trailing Los Gatos in the league standings. The Mustangs needed to tag Gatos with a loss if they hoped to get at least a share of the league title this spring.
But it wasn't to be.
Homestead dropped a tough 15-6, 15-12, 7-15, 15-6 decision to the Wildcats to remain in second place in the circuit. Los Gatos improved to 11-0 in league play while the Mustangs slipped to 8-2.
"It was great to win two straight against Homestead, and to take the top position in the league," said Los Gatos coach Tom Jack, whose club beat the Mustangs earlier in the year at Gatos, then won again last week at Homestead.
It marks another season when the Wildcats and Mustangs have fought it out for SCVAL volleyball titles. It's the first title for the Cats in the league after three second-place finishes behind the Mustangs.
Josh Cavin hammered down 26 kills to lead all players in the match, but it wasn't enough to lift the Mustangs to a win over Wildcats.
Homestead, 16-4 for the year after the loss to the Cats, came back last weekend to tie for fifth in the Los Gatos Invitational Tournament.
Pioneers place
Brian McDonough was fifth in the 1,600 meters and Steve Orton was sixth in the 3,200 to lead the Cupertino showing at the Hampton-Phillips Invitational held on April 20 at Silver Creek High School in East San Jose.
McDonough ran fifth in the 1,600 in 4:35.94 and Orton raced to a sixth in the 3,200 in 10:37.44 for the Pioneers.
In dual meet action later in the week, Ben Reynolds won a pair of events to lead Cupertino to a tight 66-61 El Camino Division win over Fremont.
Reynolds finished first in the weight events, winning the shot put at 42-7 and the discus at 131-3.
McDonough raced to a win in the mile in 4:46, Joe Lordan soared to a first in the triple jump at 39-7, Robert McCoy flew to a first in the high jump at 6-4 and Allan Rowe raced to a win in the 110 high hurdles in 17.09.
Amy Wong won three events to lead the Cupertino girls to a 72-54 win over Fremont. Wong won the 800 in 2:47, the mile in 6:05 and the 2-mile in 13.28 to pace the Pioneers to the win.
Susie Nakamura added a pair of wins for Cupertino, taking the 110 hurdles in 17.37 and the triple jump at 32-0.5.
Homestead lost in both girls and boys action against Milpitas. The Homestead boys slipped to 3-3 in the El Camino Division after an 89-31 loss to the Trojans, and the Mustangs fell to 2-4 in the division in girls action after a 72-55 loss to Milpitas.
Britteney Reynolds was a double winner for the Mustangs in the loss to the Trojans. The junior standout raced to a win in the 200 in 26.85 and flew to a first in the long jump at 16-10.
Sandra Kiel was first in the shot put at 34-0.5, and freshman Emily Linkin won the high jump at 4-4.
Steven Nichols and Anthony Capizzi were each double winners, but the Homestead boys still fell to the Trojans.
Nichols won the long jump at 21-3 and the triple jump at 44-7, and Capizzi took the shot put at 45-3 and the discus at 129-8.
William Faules romped to a win in the 110 high hurdles in 14.87 and Ben Verstegen took the 300 hurdles in 39.01 for the Mustangs.
Faules and Nichols also teamed with Eddie Sumpter and Pat Rugo for a win in the 4x100 relay.
In other action, Lynbrook superstar Kim Gleeson heaved the shot put 41-4 to break her own school record in the event, but the Vikings lost to Los Gatos. Julie Chen ran 16.2 in the 110 hurdles.
Durrell Roberts raced to win the 100 and 200 leading the Lynbrook boys to a win over Los Gatos. Dan Rimmer won the high jump at 6-0, and Rimmer, Chris Deal and Allan Chang dominated the long jump and triple jump.
Matt Meyer had a big day for the Vikings with three third-place efforts, in the 100 (12.4), 1,600 (4:51) and 2-mile (11:23).
Pioneers fall
The Cupertino baseball team dropped a tough 8-4 decision to first-place Wilcox last week, but the Pioneers still remain alive in the fight for second place in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
Wilcox has already clinched the title with a 14-0 record, and Gunn is second at 8-5. Fremont and Los Gatos share third with matching 7-7 records, but Cupertino is close behind at 6-7, with two weeks left in the regular season.
Andrew Ravadge homered and singled twice, but the Pioneers couldn't pull off the upset against the Chargers last week.
The Pioneers lost an 8-3 non-league decision to Santa Clara last week.
In El Camino Division play, Homestead split a pair of decisions to slide to 9-5 in league play. The Mustangs lost 6-5 to first-place Palo Alto (11-1), but fought back to edge winless Monta Vista 9-8 in nine innings.
Bryan Silverman had four hits, including a pair of doubles, to drive in four runs, leading the Mustangs to the thrilling win.
Brian McGee tripled twice and doubled for Homestead, and Brad McGee and Brian Maihack each doubled.
Drew Rogers homered and drove in four runs for Monta Vista in the game, and Ryan Katz doubled and tripled.
Cupertino, California Since 1947
