By Dick Sparrer
Butch Lumby considers Beebe Rutledge and Tom Newman to be among the best distance runners in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
And Rutledge and Newman certainly proved his point at the St. Francis-Foothill Invitational held recently at Foothill College.
The two Wildcats lived up to their coach's expectations by running to individual victories at the tough meet in Los Altos Hills.
Rutledge led a solid Los Gatos showing in the 1,500 meters at Foothill. Three Wildcats finished among the top five in the event.
The senior star breezed to a win in the 1,500 in 4:09.3 with Newman second in 4:09.9 and Peter Carter fifth in 4:15.8.
Newman joined Rutledge in the winner's circle in the meet. The senior romped to a victory in the 800 meters in 1:57.5 to record a first to go with his second.
Not to be outdone, Lina Biber-Ferro and Rose Sczawinski starred in girls' competition the same day for Los Gatos.
Biber-Ferro led another solid Gatos showing, this time in the 800 meters. The sophomore sensation, who finished third in the Central Coast Section in the 800 as a freshman, was second in the event in 2:25.3 with freshman Amy LaPine fourth in 2:27.3 and Ally Lombardi fifth in 2:27.6.
Sczawinski supported with a second in the 400 meters in 58.2 for the Wildcats, and she also ran a leg on the Los Gatos 400 relay team that finished second in 49.9.
Los Gatos will return to league competition this week. The Wildcats will host Palo Alto in a De Anza Division meet on April 18, 3 p.m. Gatos will then send athletes to the Mt. Sac Invitational and the Hampton-Phillips meet at San Jose City College this weekend.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, April 17, 1996
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