Saratoga's Connor Peck celebrates after his club's win over Gunderson in the CCS playoffs. He had even more reason to celebrate when he was picked to the all-league first team.










Top fall athletes win all-league honors

Weitsman, Van Hoesen each win special awards

By Dick Sparrer

It was a special season for the Saratoga football team. The Falcons finished strong enough in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League to earn a place in the Central Coast Section playoffs, and advanced to the Division IV semifinals before ultimately losing to Pioneer.

"I think it was a great year," said Saratoga coach Kurt Heinrich. "The kids played their butts off and got themselves into the playoffs."

And since it was such a special year for the Falcons, it came as little surprise to find Saratoga getting some special attention when it came time to name the division's all-league team.

Senior A.J. Weitsman and junior Greg Van Hoesen each won special honors and 14 other Falcons earned places on the all-league team when the coaches got together to honor the stars of 2001.

Weitsman was named the league's outstanding kicker and Van Hoesen, a junior guard, shared the league's outstanding offensive lineman award with Milpitas senior tackle Henry Ott.

Earning places on the all-league first team offense for the Falcons were senior quarterback Scott Moran, senior lineman Connor Peck, junior lineman Chris Barrett, senior running back John Griffin, senior wide receiver Devin Shrock and senior tight end Troy Follmar.

Senior defensive end Marc Muniz was the lone Saratoga player named to the all-league first team defense.

Winning all-league second team honors for the Falcons were senior fullback Todd Ziegler, senior center Justin Oliver, junior lineman Jon Anderson, junior defensive back Marc Crosby, junior running back Jeff Lee and senior defensive backs David Lii and Billy Miroyan.

All-BVAL

Over in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Bryen Blankenship and Chad Helmonds each won special honors after leading Westmont to a sensational finish in the 2001 season.

The Warriors rebounded from a dismal 2000 season to post an 8-2 regular season record. Westmont breezed to four straight wins in non-league play, then notched a 4-2 record to finish second to Gunderson in the Santa Teresa Division. That was good enough for a trip to the CCS playoffs for the Warriors.

Blankenship and Helmonds were key players on the Westmont offense that rolled through the division season. Blankenship, a junior quarterback, was tagged the division's junior of the year and Helmonds, a senior, was named the league's most outstanding lineman.

Del Mar's D.J. Eddy and Prospect's Ryan Schaefers, both seniors, also figured among the division's special honors winners. Eddy was selected the most outstanding wide receiver and Schaefers was named the most outstanding linebacker.

Blankenship and Helmonds were joined on the all-league list by teammates Connor McDonald, a senior wide receiver; Gareth Gorman, a senior defensive lineman; Jacob Goytia, a junior linebacker; and Todd Bethke, a senior linebacker.

Joining Eddy on the all-league list for Del Mar were senior quarterback Greg Myers and senior linebacker Erik Garcia, and Prospect's senior running back Trevor Rodgers was picked to the all-league team along with Schaefers.

Blankenship had an exceptional season for the Warriors, completing 110 passes for 1,793 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also ran for five touchdowns.

His favorite target was McDonald, who hauled in 34 tosses for 691 yards and nine touchdowns. Bethke, picked as a defensive player to the all-league team after getting in on 76 tackles, ran for 526 yards and six touchdowns for Westmont.

Goytia led the league in tackles with 104 and Gorman was among the league leaders with four quarterback sacks.

Eddy was the league's top receiver with 46 catches for 761 yards. Myers finished up with 101 completions for 1,545 yards and 12 TDs. Eric Bayliss led the ground attack with 902 yards on 192 carries for the Dons.

Garza was in on 100 tackles to lead the Del Mar defense.

Schaefers was in on 80.5 tackles for Prospect, and Rodgers ran for 583 yards on 54 carries and scored five touchdowns.

BVAL Volleyball

Prospect's Cassie Gilford, a senior outside hitter, earned a place on the all-league first team when it came time to pick the best in the Mount Hamilton Division of the BVAL.

In the Santa Teresa Division, Del Mar's Sarah Kolstad was named the junior of the year and Westmont's Andrea Conley was picked the freshman of the year after outstanding fall seasons.

Kolstad, a junior middle blocker, was joined on the all-league list by senior middle blocker Rebecca Binden of Del Mar.

Along with Conley, a freshman outside hitter, Westmont players named to the all-league line-up were senior middle blocker, a first-team pick, and senior outside hitter Stephanie Carver, a second-teamer.

Field Hockey

Prospect and Del Mar were well represented on the all-league field hockey list in the BVAL's Santa Teresa Division.

Senior forward Alex Harkins of Prospect was named the division's co-mvp along with Kelsey Alloo, a senior mid from Los Altos. Harkins headed a pack of six Panthers named to the squad.

Winning all-league first team honors for Prospect were junior mids Brooke Madsen, Rachael Gagliasso and Stephanie Nichols. Panthers on the second team were junior forward Melissa Shouse and junior mid Jenn Iwaghoshi.

Morgan McGill was one of five Del Mar players named to the division's dream team. McGill, a senior forward, was tagged the league's senior of the year.

Joining McGill on the list from Del Mar were senior forward Lindsey Menkemeller and senior sweeper Hilary Mercante, both first-team picks, and senior mid Breanne Condie and sophomore mid Veronica Sykes, both second-team picks.

In the West Valley Division, Westmont's Karly Brownridge, a senior forward, was named the division's senior of the year.

Junior mid Jennifer Chaney, junior defender Lauren Luque and senior forward Nicki Baughman were all named to the first team for Westmont and senior forward Kate Razina, senior forward Kristen Rowland and junior defender Victoria Alexander were Warriors on the second team.

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