Photograph by George Sakkestad
Fremont's Joe Naivalu runs to a win in the 110-meter high hurdles at the CCS Top 8 Classic held at
Los Gatos on Friday night. Naivalu also won the 100- and 200-meter runs, and he was picked the
co-track athlete of the meet.
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.
Fremont sensation Joe Naivalu was a triple winner in the rugged meet, and he was picked as the co-track athlete of the meet for his efforts.
Naivalu romped to wins in the 100 meters in 10.81, the 200 meters in 21.91 and the 110-meter high hurdles in the meet record time of 13.8. He also helped the Indians to a seventh in the 400-meter relay in 43.83.
Naivalu, a 1995 state champion in the hurdles, was named the co-track athlete of the meet along with Dan Sikiric of Leland, who won the 800 meters in the meet record time of 1:51.77.
Naivalu's Fremont teammate, Bryan Johnston, was also a Top 8 champ. Johnston finished first in the triple jump with a leap of 44-0.
Homestead's Marcy Lucido placed in the girls' division at the Top 8 Classic. Lucido was fifth in the 3,200 meters in 11:42.1
Indians fall
The Fremont boys' track team dropped a tough 67-60 decision to Cupertino last week in the battle of the two unbeaten teams in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Naivalu raced to wins in the 100 in 10.84 and the 120 high hurdles in 13.92, but it wasn't enough for the Indians.
James Hodgkiss and Roy Ross were also double winners for Fremont. Hodgkiss took the discus with a toss of 137-10 and the shot put with a 40-7 effort, and Ross was first in the 440 in 53.47 and the 330 intermediate hurdles in 53.47.
Charles Ferguson was a winner in the triple jump at 44-3 1/2.
Fremont slipped to 6-1 in the division with the loss, and Cupertino improved to 7-0.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 1, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.