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August 7, 2002
Saratoga, California Since 1955 |
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Contributed photograph
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The Los Gatos Athletic Association sent five
athletes to the Junior Olympic regionals, and
Christine Jones and Hilary May earned spots
in the nationals. The team members were
(front row, l-r) Brantley Rideau, Jones and
May; and (back row, l-r) John Udall, coach
Willie Harmatz, Steven Udall and coach Roger
Adams.
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May runs in Junior Olympic
track finals
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Dick Sparrer
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The meet may have been a couple of thousand
miles away, but Saratoga was represented at
the Junior Olympic track and field meet held
in Omaha, Neb., when Hilary May of Saint
Andrew's School competed in the 1,500-meter
run.
May and Christine Jones of the Los Gatos
Athletic Association (LGAA) each won places
in the national meet by finishing in the top
three in their events at the Junior Olympic
regionals.
Jones, 14, finished second in the youth girls
800 in 2:21.5 to claim a spot in the
nationals. She had won county eighth-grade
championships in the mile and 800 for Fisher
Middle School in May.
"Christine has been dropping her times so
fast, she is really becoming a star
overnight," said Willie Harmatz, a track
coach at Los Gatos High School who teamed
with Roger Adams of Saint Andrew's to coach
the LGAA squad. "She has a great future."
May, who attends St. Andrew's in Saratoga,
ran third in the 1,500 in 4:57.5 to qualify
for the nationals.
May, 13, won the seventh-grade county titles
in the mile and 800 in the spring, setting
new records in each event.
"She is one of the best runners in the
country for her age," said Harmatz of May,
who has recently moved to Corona Del Mar.
At the nationals, Jones ran a personal best,
2:21.5, to finish second in her 800 heat, but
she was disqualified in the finals for
running on the lane line. Jones was eighth in
her 1,500 heat in 5:01.0.
"Things didn't go that great [at the
nationals], but I'm real proud of the two
girls," said Harmatz. "It was a great honor
for them to make it that far, and it was
great experience for them."
Brantley Rideau, John Udall and Steve Udall,
all seventh-graders at St. Andrew's, also
competed for LGAA at the regionals.
May was named a National Elite All-American
in track and field at Saint Andrew's. She ran
4:59 in the 1,500 and 10:59 in the 3,000
meters to qualify among the top 20 runners in
the nation in the 13-14 age division.
She shattered the county record in the
seventh-grade mile last spring, running 5:20
to beat the old mark by 19 seconds. She also
set a new county standard in the 800 meters
in her age group, bettering the old record by
two seconds.
May ranks fifth in the nation for
13-year-olds in the 1,500 and she is ranked
12th nationally among youth girls in the
event. She is ranked 16th in the nation in
the 3,000.
The outstanding trackster was also a standout
in the classroom at Saint Andrew's, where she
was a member of the National Junior Honor
Society.
May is top-notch swimmer, too, and is among
the best in her age group in the
breaststroke. She combined her swimming and
running talents with a solid performance on
her bicycle to win her division at the
Silicon Valley Triathlon held in June at De
Anza College.
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