 |
|
|
|
|
Kay making history for Gatos track team
By Dick Sparrer
Nik Kay is chasing history. It's been more than 25 years since any Los Gatos weightman has whirled the discus more than 170 feet in track and field competition.
But Kay has now gone over that mark ... a couple of times.
The Los Gatos junior pitched the platter 172-2 last Friday night to win the discus event at the prestigious Central Coast Section Top 8 meet at Los Gatos. And that effort didn't even match his season best.
A few weeks earlier, at the Arcadia Invitational, Kay tossed the discus 179-11 to nail a fourth-place finish and push him to third on the Los Gatos all-time list.
Kay also had a second in the shot put to lead the showing for the Gatos boys at the CCS Top 8 meet. The Los Gatos girls won the team title in the meet, thanks to outstanding performances by Ali Dodson, Kim Christiansen, Sally Stanton and Ashley Caldwell.
But in boys competition, Kay was definitely the star of the night for the Wildcats. And now he finds himself in some pretty weighty company on the Los Gatos all-time lists.
Kay ranks with Los Gatos superstars Gary Bersano, Bret Mannon and Bob Brannen at the top of the school's weight charts in both the discus and shot put.
Bersano is the school record holder in the discus, tossing the platter 181-10 in 1974 on his way to a CCS championship. Mannon threw the dish 180-1 in 1972 and Brannen flipped it 174-0 in 1964. Kay has passed Brannen, and he was just a couple of inches shy of Mannon's best with his effort at Arcadia.
Kay had a second in the shot put to go with his win in the discus at the CCS Top 8 meet, and his 53-6 effort was a lifetime best, leaving him fifth on the LG all-time list behind some pretty historic efforts.
Mannon is the school record holder in the event with a 63-11.5 heave in 1972--when he was a CCS champ, fourth in the state and seventh in the nation. Brannen's best was 63-9 in 1964; Bersano went 61-2 in 1974 and Cline Armstrong put the shot 54-9 back in 1954.
So Kay is in some pretty impressive company on the Gatos charts ... and he's just a junior.
Kay's effort led the Wildcats to a tie for eighth place with Mills in the team standings at the Top 8 meet. Clay McKell finished 15th in the 800 meters in 2:04.3, and Nathan Young was 16th in the 1,600 in 4:43.75 for the Cats.
The girls, meanwhile, ran up 56 points to win the team title at the Top 8.
Dodson, Christiansen, Stanton and Caldwell each managed a second-place finish individually to lead the Wildcats to the team championship, and Gatos also raced to a win in the 4x400 relay.
Dodson (60.8), Carolyn Penner (58.9), Stanton (62.7) and Caldwell (58.3) teamed to run 4:02.72 to take the relay win. Stanton, Dodson and Penner joined with Christiansen for a fifth in the 4x100 relay in a season best 50.46.
Caldwell was second in 2:11.92, and Penner was fourth in 2:16.46 in the 800-meter event that meet director Willie Harmatz said was "just loaded."
Freshman Ashley Benson ended up 15th in the 800 in a lifetime best 2:29.52.
"She's a real up-and-coming star," said Harmatz of Benson.
Stanton had a big day for the Wildcats. Along with running on the two relay teams, she also flew to a second in the pole vault at 10-0 and ran to a third in the 300-meter hurdles in 47.43. Teammate Kristen Turner went 8-6 to get seventh in the vault.
Christiansen soared to a second in the triple jump at 35-10 and added a 10th in the long jump at 14-9.5, and Dodson raced to a second in the 400 in 1:00.11.
Harmatz called the efforts of Lanie Chin and Michelle Beritzhoff "big come-through performances."
Chin went 5-0 to finish third in the high jump, and Beritzhoff ran 5:07.67 to finish fifth in the 1,600 meters.
Karen Rossmassler topped the high jump bar at 4-10 for a seventh, and Erica Williams ran a lifetime best 11:51.28 to finish 12th in the 3,200.
In the boys frosh-soph division, Chris Parides ran 53.55 to finish third in the 400.
"This is really a CCS preview meet," said Harmatz of the Top 8 event. "It was a great meet, and we had a big crowd."
Two weeks earlier, on the same Los Gatos track, Dodson and Stanton were each double winners for the Wildcats in the CCS Frosh-Soph Top 8 meet.
Dodson took the 100 in 12.6 and the 200 in 26.5, and Stanton was first in the 300 hurdles in 47.0 and the pole vault at 10-2. Stanton was also second in the 100 hurdles in 17.0.
Chin added a third in the high jump at 4-10, Shea Dailor was fifth in the discus at 84-9 and Kristi Yackle was fifth in the 800 in 2:29.4 with Benson eighth in 2:31.4.
In boys action, Parides finished fourth in the 400 in 52.5.
|
|
|
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
