Photograph by Robert Scheer
Saratoga freshman Anne Ricketts scoots around the pack on her way to a fifth in the 1,600 meters at the CCS Top 8 Classic at Los Gatos.
By Dick Sparrer
Only the best were there... the cream of the crop.
It was the Central Coast Section Top 8 Track and Field Classic, and only the athletes with the best marks in the CCS this spring were invited to compete in the meet on the Los Gatos track.
How tough was the Friday night field? Well, the meet produced a national best, five meet records and seven CCS top marks.
St. Francis junior Damesha Craig had the top mark of the night. Craig, the daughter of former San Francisco 49ers superstar Roger Craig, covered the 100 in 11.3, a national best this season.
But Craig was just one of the many stars in the prestigious CCS Top 8 field.
Westmont's Lisa Renteria and Serena Delaplace and Saratoga's Anne Ricketts were other stars shining in the meet of superstars.
The talented Renteria raced to a first in the 1,600 meters in 5:12.0 and she added a fourth in the 800 in 2:22.6.
Delaplace was third in the 1,600 in 5:13.0 with Ricketts fifth in 5:15.9. Ricketts is just a freshman for the Falcons.
Warriors top Pioneer
The Westmont girls were coming off an 89-27 dual meet win over Pioneer. The Warriors improved to 7-0 in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with the victory.
Stephanie Herrera and Phung Hinh starred for the Warriors in the dual meet with two wins apiece. Herrera raced to wins in the 100 in 13.3 and the 200 in 28.2, and Hinh took the long jump at 12-11 and the triple jump at 29-0. The two teamed with Loan Hinh and Lisako Bridgewater for a first in the 440 relay in 55.7.
Saratoga splits
The Saratoga boys were winning, but the girls were losing in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League last week.
Brian Carroll raced to a win in the 100 in 11.1 and took the 300 intermediate hurdles in 40.5 to lead the Saratoga boys to 65-62 win over Lynbrook. Carroll also joined with Daniel Miner, Adam Urbano and Alex Lux to win the 400 relay in 45.9.
Junior star Hank Nothhaft took the 400 in 54.1 and got together with Danny Cheng, Robert Chin and Lux for a first in the 1,600 relay in 3:39.4.
Alex Fields added a first in the shot put at 39-2 1/2, Mark Marshall was a winner in the discus at 120-2 1/2 and Gabe Calebotta was tops in the high jump at 6-1.
The win helped the Falcons improve to 4-3 in the division.
Aman Sinohl took the 1,600 in 4:59 and the 800 in 2:13 to lead the Lynbrook effort in the meet. Nick Tung was first in the 200 in 23.2, Paul Nevis won the 3,200 in 10:42.1, Jaime Baer was tops in the 110 high hurdles in 15.6, D. Chen took the triple jump at 40-11 3/4 and Josh Moore was a winner in the long jump at 20-4.
In girls' action, double winners Megan McCloskey, Janet Wu, Dooja Mehta and Farah Hussain led Lynbrook to a 71-56 win over the Falcons.
McCloskey was first in the 800 meters in 2:30.5 and the triple jump at 32-7, Wu took the 1,600 meters in 5:50.7 and the 3,200 in 13:45, Mehta was tops in the 100 in 12.9 and the 200 in 28.1 and Hussain took the high jump at 4-4 and the long jump at 14-3.
Sue Pan was a double winner in the weight events for the Falcons in the loss. Pan took the shot put at 27-8 1/2 and added a first in the discus at 80-3 1/2.
Ann Birenbaum came through with a first in the 400 in 1:06.7 for the Falcons. Laura Prolo took the 100-meter hurdles in 18.2 and Andrea Graziosi was a winner in the 300 hurdles in 51.9.
Leah Blackwell, Stephanie Sun, Nicole Coghlan and Kim Fong teamed for a win in the 1,600-meter relay in 4:38.2.
The Falcons slipped to 4-3 in the division with the loss.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, May 1, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved