By Dick Sparrer
Nothing seems to distract the dedicated members of the Los Gatos girls' and boys' cross-country teams this fall.
Not even white, sandy beaches, warm tropical breezes and hula dancers?
Well, maybe the young Wildcats were just a little distracted when they visited islands for the Oct. 25 Hawaii Invitational. But they weren't so distracted that they couldn't zero on top efforts in both divisions in the weekend competition.
The Los Gatos runners brought back many souvenirs from their trip to Hawaii, but none more precious than the second-place medals in the team competition.
The Los Gatos boys finished second to Clovis in the 18-team field in Hawaii. Clovis, a visitor from the Fresno area, finished second with 42 points and Los Gatos was a close second at 53. Kailiu finished third with 75 points.
Clovis also won the title in the girls' division, finishing with a low 30 points. Los Gatos was second at 50 with Hawaii Prep third at 79 and Kaimkana fourth at 100.
Joseph Carter was the big winner on the day, finishing first overall in the boys' division. Carter clocked in at 17:34 on the 2.0-mile course.
"He ran great," Los Gatos coach Willie Harmatz said of Carter.
Sarah McAleer and Jeanne Fishback finished five-six in the girls' field to lead the Los Gatos effort on the trip that turned out to be more than just competition.
"It was a fantastic five-day trip," Harmatz said of the Hawaiian experience. "The runners had a great time, and we also watched the world championship Ironman Triathlon. It was a very motivating trip."
Carter was certainly motivated. The talented sophomore led the Cats to the team second with his individual victory.
Teammate Jedd Martin was sixth overall in 17:52 and Peter Carter nailed seventh in 17:54. The older Carter, a senior, is just coming back from an injury.
Ben Martin finished 11th in a solid 18:12 for the Cats. Pat Sullivan was 26th in 18:58 with Ryan Smith 35th in 19:40 and David Landers 38th in 19:49.
The Los Gatos boys are ranked No. 5 in the Central Coast Section.
The girls, meanwhile, came through with a balanced effort to finish second overall at the invitational.
"The team competed very well," Harmatz said of his girls. "They were aggressive throughout the race and we all in great position the first 800 before starting the gradual uphill."
"Most of them were mentally strong in the middle, tough part of the race, which made the difference overall in the performances," he added.
McAleer was fifth in 13:47 with Fishback sixth in 14:00 and Sarah High ninth in 14:03 to give Gatos three runners in the top 10.
"[McAleer] is really running well," Harmatz said. "Her pacing was perfect." For Fishback, it was "another solid race," the coach said, adding that it was the "best race of the season" for LG High.
Senior Lina Biber-Ferro ended up 12th in 14:24 with Amy LaPine 18th in 14:45 and Andie Knudsen 25th in 15:03.
In the girls' junior varsity division, Krista Ellsworth topped a list of three Wildcats in the top 10.
Ellsworth finished sixth in 15:31 with Laura Sund ninth in 15:44 and Carol Chen 10th in 15:48.
Los Gatos will now move on to the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals Nov. 5 at Crystal Springs in Belmont. The Gatos boys and girls are defending league champions in the varsity division.
The Gatos girls are currently ranked No. 2 in the CCS and No. 10 in the state Division III poll.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 6, 1996.
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