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Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Los Gatos freestyle star Alix Eastman finished fourth in the 500 and seventh in the 200 at the CCS championships.
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Crowder leads Cats to fourth
Gatos girls swim to seventh at CCS
By Dick Sparrer
For Bobby Crowder, the Central Coast Section swimming championships were as easy as one, two ... four?
That's right. Crowder finished first and second in individual events to lead the Los Gatos boys to a fourth-place finish in the team standings at the section finals.
But there was really nothing easy about it.
Much hard work went into Crowder's effort, and it was that effort that sparked the Wildcats to a solid finish behind Bellarmine, Palo Alto and St. Francis.
The Bells ran up 389 1/2 points to take the team title. Paly was a distant second at 230 with the Lancers third at 224 and Gatos tying Valley Christian for fourth with 155 points each.
The Los Gatos girls, meanwhile, finished seventh in the CCS team standings behind solid efforts by Kelly Weeks, Sara Clark and Alix Eastman.
Crowder and junior diver Nathan Sheffer starred for the Gatos boys in the championship meet.
Crowder, a junior sensation for the Wildcats, cruised to a first in the 100-yard backstroke in 50.49 and breezed to a second in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:51.01, finishing just a half-second behind the winner.
Sheffer earned points for the Wildcats by nailing a fourth-place finish in the 1-meter diving event. Sheffer rolled up 418.95 points to place in the top five, posting 192.05 points in the prelims and 292.20 points in the finals.
Rich Comeau and Richie Crowder also placed in the championship finals for the Wildcats. Comeau nailed an eighth-place finish in the 50 free in 22.18, and Crowder was eighth in the 100 free in 47.40.
R. Crowder placed second in the consolation finals of the 200 free in 1:45.70.
Phil Roan and Chris Lee each placed in the consolation race in the 100-yard breaststroke, with Roan second in 1:02.56 and Lee eighth in 1:03.94.
The Crowder brothers teamed with Comeau and Lee to finish second in the 200 medley relay. The foursome clocked in at 1:37.90 in the finals.
The Crowders joined forces with Comeau and Adam Mayer for a third in the 200 free relay in 1:27.59
Weeks had the top finish for the Los Gatos girls. The senior was second in the 200 free in 1:52. She backed that up with a fourth in the 100 fly in 57.68.
Clark dove to a fourth-place finish from the 1-meter board. The sophomore standout finished with 446.85 points overall after rolling to 196.40 in the prelims and 306.05 in the finals.
Eastman rolled to a fourth-place finish in the 500 free, stopping the watch at 5:03.20. She was also seventh in the 200 free in 1:56.57.
Weeks and Eastman teamed with Marian Roan and Catherine Eastman for a fifth in the 400 free relay in the championship round. The quartet finished in 3:42.22.
C. Eastman, just a freshman, was third in the consolation in the 500 free, finishing in 5:11.48, and Roan, a sophomore, was fifth in the consolation 200 free in 1:59.37.
Weeks and A. Eastman combined with Rachel Jeffers and Rebecca Stein for a third in the 200 free relay consolation race in 1:44.35.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
