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Alejandro runs to West Valley victory
Teams score in top 10
By Dick Sparrer
Competing at the West Valley Relays was as easy as one-two-three for the Saratoga track and field team.
At least, that's the way Jesse Alejandro, Julia Stewens, David Cheng and Alexi Sevastopoulos must have thought after competing in the relays on March 17 at West Valley Community College in Saratoga.
Alejandro nailed a first, Stewens a second and Cheng and Sevastopoulos a pair of thirds to lead the showing for the Falcons at the rugged meet.
"It was a great showing for Saratoga," said veteran 'Toga coach Marshall Clark. And that it was. The Falcons were sixth in the team scoring for varsity boys squads and ninth in the girls standings.
Alejandro led the Falcons with a win in the 800-meter run, covering the two laps in 1:59.01 to finish ahead of the field. Teammate David La was fourth in 2:02.30.
Stewens starred in the girls division, soaring to a second in the long jump at 16-11 and flying to a third in the high jump at 5-0. She also teamed with Eevi Aura, Jamie Pfeifer and Samantha Smith for a second in the 400-meter relay in 51.57.
The was enough to get the Saratoga girls 22 points and a ninth-place finish in the field of over 50 teams.
The Saratoga boys did even better behind Alejandro, Cheng and Sevastopoulos. The Falcons were sixth overall with 32 team points.
Cheng supported Alejandro's effort with a third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 58.60, and Sevastopoulos was third in the high jump at 6-0.
Alejandro and Cheng joined with Arnold Chu and John Griffin for a fourth in the 400 relay in 44.72.
Don Prolo ran a solid 4:26.13 for 12th in the 1,500 meters, but only the top eight placers figured in the team scoring.
In frosh-soph action a day earlier, Conway Teng finished ninth in the 800 meters in 2:13.5, Aaron Blair was 10th in the 65 high hurdles in 11.16 and Roy Jang was 12th in the shot put at 38-8.
A week earlier, Alejandro had led the Saratoga effort at the K-Bell Invitational at Los Gatos.
The senior speedster finished first in the 400-meter run in 51.01 to star for the Falcons, and he also joined Cheng, La and Richard La for a fifth in the 1,600-meter relay.
Sevastopoulos soared to a second in the high jump at 6-2, Cheng was third in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 41.86 and Prolo was fifth in the 1,600 in 4:42.8.
The Saratoga boys managed a top-10 finish in the meet that featured 76 schools.
Stewens led the Saratoga girls with a fifth in the high jump at 5-0, and she also teamed with Aura, Pfeifer and Neha Talreja for a third in the 400 relay in 52.27. Aura had run a solid 13.51 in the 100 but didn't place.
In a dual meet sandwiched between the two invitationals, Saratoga lost varsity decisions to Los Gatos 72-50 in boys competition and 82-40 in girls action.
Alejandro and Cheng were each double winners for the Falcons in the loss to the Wildcats.
Alejandro breezed to a first in the 400 in 52.3 and also won the 200 meters in 23.1 with Chu second in 23.4. Cheng took the 110 high hurdles in 15.9 and the 300 intermediates in 41.6,
Sevastopoulos flew to a first in the high jump at 6-2 and added a second in the long jump at 18-10 and a third in the triple jump at 37-5.
Justin Gardner was first in the 3,200 meters in 11:22 with Ian Kolb second in 11:36.
Chu raced to a second in the 100 in 11.4 with Kirk Robinson third in 11.7 and Griffin fourth in 11.8.
Stewens and Smith were the only winners for the Saratoga girls in the loss to the Cats.
Stewens took the high jump at 5-4 with Smith third at 4-6, and Smith won the 300 low hurdles in 51.1. Smith was also second in the 100 hurdles in 18.2 and Stewens was second in the long jump at 15-10 and third in the 200 in 26.8.
Stewens joined with Aura, Pfeifer and Talreja to win the 400 relay in 51.2. Aura added a second in the 100 in 12.9, and Pfeifer was second in the 400 in 66.2 with Elizabeth Howe third in 66.8.
Melody Lee chipped in with a second in the discus at 74-2 and a third in the shot put at 24-5, and Rachel Foust was second in the 3,200 in 13:27 with Joanna Chan third in 14:01.
Saratoga managed a 92-35 win over Los Gatos in the boys frosh-soph division, and the Falcons won 73-52 in the girls junior varsity class.
Gene Lu raced to a win in the 100 in 12.0 and soared to a first in the long jump at 16-5 1/2 to lead the Falcons to the frosh-soph win.
Conway Teng was first in the 800 and second in the 400.
Shaheen Jafri won three events to lead the Saratoga girls to the JV win over the Wildcats.
Jafri was first in the shot put at 21-9, the discus at 59-10 and the high jump at 4-4 to lead the Saratoga effort.
Carol Liu romped to a win in the 3,200, Stephanie Shen was first in the 300 hurdles and Megan Mighdoll took the 800.
Mighdoll, Kira Noodleman, Claire Tero and Allie Dunn added a win in the 1,600 relay.
The Falcons will return to De Anza Division dual meet action this week when they host Wilcox on March 29, 3:15 p.m. Saratoga will head to the Stanford Invitational on Saturday.
Zelinski first
Prospect's Danielle Zelinski finished first in the 2,000-meter steeplechase at the West Valley Relays. Zelinski, a junior, stopped the clock in 8:03.27 to win the event.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
