Los Gatos freshman impresses in shot put win
SANTA CLARA >> It's not unusual for a high school freshman to continually set personal records in track and field.
But when a personal record is also the second-best mark in the section — that's extra impressive.
Los Gatos High School's Nicole Steiner set that mark in the girls shot put May 6 at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League championship meet with a throw of 37 feet, 9 inches. Jocelyn Alexander of San Benito leads the Central Coast Section with a mark of 3710, also achieved May 6 at the Pacific Coast Athletic League meet. No other CCS athlete besides Alexander and Steiner has a mark better than 36-7 in the event this season, according to the Dyestat. com Central Coast rankings.
Steiner won the shot put at the CCS Top 8 meet on April 22 with a mark of 37-2, which was a personal best before her May 6 performance. In her first meet this season on March 24, she went 336, which would have taken third place at the SCVAL championships, held at Santa Clara High.
The top six placers in each event qualified for the CCS Semifinals Saturday at Gilroy High School.
Los Gatos director of track and field Brandon Vance said Steiner has huge potential.
“Who knows what she can do at this point? She is yet to see what she is really capable of,” Vance said.
On May 6, Steiner improved on five of her six attempts. She took the lead on her first attempt (348), then had marks of 35-7, 35-8 and 36-6 before her personal record of 37-9 on her fifth attempt. Second-place Ningning O'brien of Homestead achieved her best mark of 35-1 on her fourth attempt.
Steiner said she wants to improve her consistency in technique and form.
“Sometimes if I do something right, then another thing falls apart. I need to make sure everything stays consistent,” Steiner said.
Steiner competed in the shot put three years ago in sixth grade but did not compete in it again until this season, she said.
“I just wanted to try it out at high school because I thought I still had some potential and I guess I do have a little,” Steiner said.
“The fact that she had some exposure early on helped her, plus she's so athletic,” Los Gatos girls coach Paul Lawryk said.
Steiner also played for the Los Gatos junior varsity softball team this spring. She was a starter for the Wildcats' CCS Division I championship girls basketball team and the 6-foot forward/center led the team in rebounds per game and field goal percentage. Steiner also was a key member of Los Gatos' varsity girls volleyball team last fall that advanced to the CIF Division I Northern Regional semifinals.
Hannah Slover, a UC Santa Barbara commit for volleyball, also won an SCVAL title for Los Gatos. In the girls high jump, Slover cleared 5-4 on her first attempt, which was the winning jump. It took Monta Vista freshman Clara Fan, the second-place finisher, three attempts to clear 5-4. Both competitors did not clear 5-6.
“I felt great at 5-4, felt snappy and explosive, but then I think that my step was too close at 5-6,” said Slover, whose father, Scott, was a two-time California high school state champion in the pole vault for Leland. “I moved my step back like a few inches each time, but I think I need to do a more drastic change to adjust.”
A stiff wind that plagued the track meet was hard to deal with in the high jump.
“The headwind initially made me want to scoot up a little bit … and then the wind started dying down and I was too close,” said Slover, a junior who is tied for the best mark in CCS in the event this season (5-8).
The wind also played into the strategy of Los Gatos' Wil Brennan in the boys 400 meters, who was victorious with a time of 50.22 seconds.
“It was tough on the backstretch with that wind, but I had enough to bring it home,” said Brenan, whose best time of 49.51 this season ranks third in CCS. “It is a lot of strategy involved (in this race).”
Brennan also ran a 50.16 split as the anchor of the Wildcats' victorious 1,600 relay team. Connor Blum ran the first leg, followed by Brady Kamali. Levi Romero took the lead on the third leg with a split of 50.77, followed by Brennan, as Los Gatos clocked a time of 3:26.01. Its best time this season (3:23.97) ranks first in CCS.
Romero, a junior who is competing in track and field for the first time, also qualified for the CCS semifinals in the 400 by placing fourth in 51.43.
“He's been nothing short of awesome,” Vance said.
Los Gatos swept first in both pole vault competitions. In the girls, Hailey Stone, a sophomore, won with a 9-0 clearance. Alex Denman, a junior, was first in the boys (10-6). Both were personal records.
Other Los Gatos boys athletes who qualified for the CCS semifinals are freshman Aydon Stefanopoulos in the 1,600 (fifth, 4:28.01), the 400 relay team (sixth, 44.40). Kevin Wang and Kamali in the high jump (tied for fifth, 5-8) and Jacob Sherman in the pole vault (fourth, 7-0).
In the girls competition, Los Gatos' qualifiers for the CCS semifinals included Emma Curran in the 400 (third, 1:00.54) and 200 (fifth, 26.41), freshman Addison Lundstrom in the 800 (a personal record of 2:23.38, for third place), Fiona Herron in the 800 (fourth, 2:24.22) and 1,600 (fifth, 5:08.30), Sophie Tau in the 1,600 (second, 5:07.34) and 3,200 (fifth, 11:17.94), the 400 relay team (fourth, 50.94), 1,600 relay team (fifth, 4:14.60), Juliette Vrijen in the pole vault (second, 7-0) and Gianna Golino in the pole vault (fourth, 6-0).
Swimming
Los Gatos's Zoe Frangieh and Ewan Lonergan both qualified for the CIF State championships with top-three finishes at the CCS championships May 6 at the Santa Clara International Swim Center.
Frangieh, a senior, was third in the girls 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.76. She was only 0.02 behind second-place finisher Eugenie Lanilis of Homestead.
Lonergan, a sophomore, was third in the boys 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.51, only 0.39 behind winner Jonah Lee of Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The top three placers in each event qualified for the state championships, which will be held at Clovis West High School on May 12-14.
Baseball
Los Gatos finished its regular season with a split of a series with Homestead.
The Wildcats, who completed the regular season with a 12-15 record, 7-7 mark in the SCVAL De Anza Division, received a three-hit shutout by Kaito Haake in a 4-0 victory over visiting Homestead on May 4. Haake, a senior, struck out five and walked two in the impressive performance.
Carter Johnstone was 2 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI and teammate Alejandro Quijada had a double and an RBI in the win. Nick Temple also had an RBI and scored for the Wildcats, who took control of the game with a three-run first inning.
Two days later, host Homestead scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning in a 4-3 victory. Johnstone again went 2 for 3, including a double, with two RBIS. Teammate Drew Dillehay was also 2 for 3 with a double. Jake Boyd had 10 strikeouts and only one walk in 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Los Gatos' first game in the SCVAL De Anza Division Tournament this week occurred after this article went to press. The championship game is scheduled for today.
Softball
Los Gatos' 11-game winning streak was snapped on May 4 when Milpitas edged the Wildcats 2-1. Those two teams entered this week tied for first in the SCVAL De Anza Division. Results of Wednesday's games, including Los Gatos' matchup against Wilcox, were unavailable at press time. Los Gatos hosts Mountain View today in its regular-season finale at 6 p.m. Milpitas is scheduled to host Fremont-sunnyvale today at 4 p.m.
In the game against Milpitas on May 4, host Los Gatos took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI by Anna Bean. But Milpitas scored two runs in the sixth inning. Los Gatos entered this week with a 20-3 overall record and 9-1 SCVAL De Anza Division mark.