Cats could be the best ever in cross-country history

By Dick Sparrer

Willie Harmatz has mentored some outstanding teams in his career as the cross country coach at Los Gatos.

So when the veteran coach says that the 1999 team could possibly be the best of them all, the rest of the teams in the area should take notice.

"Our varsity boys teams has the potential to be the best team in Los Gatos history," admits Harmatz heading into the '99 season.

And that's not just a boastful claim. Los Gatos features five returners from a team that won league and Central Coast Section titles and finished third in the state.

Gatos won the league championship for the seventh straight year last fall (the 13th in the last 14 years), and backed that up by winning the school's sixth CCS crown.

Topping the list of returners for the Wildcats are last year's top four runners, including three-time most valuable runner Russ Martin and two-time co-MVPs Matt Bates and Zack Regner.

"We will not only continue to dominate," said Harmatz, "but we have a very realistic opportunity to win the state Division III title."

Martin, just a junior, set the school frosh-soph record in the 3,200 meters and was sixth in CCS in the varsity 3,200 during the last track season.

Bates, also a junior, matched Martin's effort in the spring, setting the school frosh-soph record at 1,600 meters and placing sixth in CCS in the event.

Regner, a senior, was seventh in the CCS at 1,600 meters and is a top cross country returner along with junior Jeff Hoeft (the fastest sophomore in the 800 in LG history), senior Billy Stanton (sixth man on last year's championship team), junior Tomas Viramontes (last year's frosh-soph MVP), junior Greg Tolan and junior Darren Key.

"This group is a very excited and determined team that realizes exactly what they can accomplish," said Harmatz.

The Gatos boys opened the season with an impressive showing at the Danville Invitational. The Cats finished third in the state behind private schools Jesuit (No. 10 in the Division I state rankings) and De La Salle (No. 4 in the Division II state rankings).

Martin finished second overall in 10:36, with Bates 12th in 10:55, Viramontes 17th in 10:59, Regner 27th in 11:14, Tolan 34th in 11:27 and Key 38th in 11:32.

Girls look strong

But it's not just the Gatos boys team that looks good in 1999. The Los Gatos girls are also running strong this fall.

"This team could be a CCS championship contender," said Harmatz of his girls.

Gatos has won eight CCS titles and 15 league championships since 1983, and over that span 11 times finished in the state top 10.

"Our varsity girls' record is the best record in CCS history and Los Gatos history in any sport," said Harmatz.

Junior Heather Hennessy, last year's team MVP and a third-place finisher in the CCS 800 meters in the spring, leads the LG effort this season.

Sophomore Michelle Beritzhoff and junior transfer Simone Drucker figure to be the top three runners for the Wildcats.

Varsity returners Lynsey Harris, Kate Leary, Aly Chavez, Andie Knudsen, Theresa Rehder and Kim Pugh, are other top competitors. Knudsen and Rehder are seniors, and the others are sophomores.

Freshmen Carolyn Penner, Merin Clark and Erica Williams are top prospects this fall.

The girls opened the season by winning the title at the Lynbrook Invitational.

Hennessy and Bertizhoff crossed the finish line together to tie for first, covering the 2.15-mile course in 13:49.

Drucker was fifth overall in 14:12 with Harris seventh in 14:17, Leary ninth in 14:39 and Clark 10th in 14:49.

Frosh-soph, JV

The Los Gatos frosh-soph and junior varsity teams look strong again this season.

The boys frosh-soph team will go for a fifth straight league championship with sophomores Jason Yuki and Will Lampe and freshmen Geoff Hubbard, Jon Dunphy and Webb Knudsen leading the way.

Leading the boys JV squad will be Tim O'Dell, Caleb Hayashi, Tim Chen, Doug Penner and Mike Rossmassler.

The girls junior varsity team has a strong tradition, winning two of the last three league titles and eight of the last 11. The best runners who don't qualify for varsity competition will make up the JV team.

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