Athletes of the week
SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
Luke Short, Los Gatos
Sport: Baseball
Position: Pitcher
Class: Senior
The Saint Mary’s College commit was senstational on the mound and productive at the plate in Los Gatos’ 3-1 victory over Palo Alto in the Central Coast Section Open Division quarterfinals. Eight days after the Wildcats lost to Palo Alto in a league tournament final, Short pitched a complete game, allowing no earned runs and five hits with seven strikeouts. Also had two hits and a walk of his own and scored two runs.
Hannah Edwards, Archbishop Mitty
Sport: Softball
Position: First base
Class: Junior
In a CCS Open Division quarterfinal showdown against topseeded Carlmont, Edwards got the Monarchs off to a great start, blasting a two-run homer in the first inning. Mitty, the eighth seed and defending champion, went on to win 3-1 to advance to the semifinals Thursday against St. Ignatius. The home run was Edwards’ fifth of the season. She began the playoffs with a .420 batting average.
EAST BAY
Jonah Cooper, Foothill
Sport: Swimming
Events: 100 backstroke, 200 free
Class: Junior
Broke his own meet record at the CIF state championships in the 100 backstroke, completing the distance in 46.62 seconds during the prelims Friday. The Ohio State commit did not have to go so fast in the final Saturday, cruising to victory in 47.08. Also swam the 200 freestyle in 1:36.87 to finish second to Northgate star Alexei Sancov, who set a meet record in 1:34.13.
Miranda Heckman, Granada
Sport: Swimming
Events: 200, 500 freestyle
Class: Junior
The Texas commit won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races at the CIF state championships last weekend in Clovis, stretching her total of individual state crowns to five. She won her third consecutive championship in the 500, covering the 20-lap race in 4:44.04 to edge runner-up Nicole Oliva, a sophomore from St. Francis, who touched the wall in 4:44.26. Earlier, Heckman successfully defended her title in the 200 free in 1:46.49.
Highlight reel
Luke Casper, Bellarmine College Prep tennis: No. 2 seed won his first three at the Central Coast Section singles championships in straight sets, then the freshman rallied to beat No. 1 seed Issa Yoshida of Westmont 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
Siddharth Chari, Bo Leschly, Clark Safran, David Quezada, Menlo tennis: The senior captains led Menlo to its 13th CIF NorCal championship with a 6-1 victory over Bellarmine College Prep. Menlo, which also won the National Invitational Tournament, finished the season with a 29-0 record. Earlier, Safran and Leschly won the CCS doubles crown.
Spencer Daily, San Ramon Valley swimming: Won the 50-yard freestyle at the California Interscholastic Federation state championships in Clovis with a time of 20.07. Daily also took second in the 100 butterfly (47.52) to help San Ramon Valley tie Bellarmine for third in the team competition.
Alex Dalla Ricca, Irvington volleyball: Senior captain finished with 31 kills, many at crucial moments, as Irvington outlasted host Amador Valley 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 23-25,15-12 in the North Coast Section Division I final.
Hannah Damore, St. Francis softball: Had two hits, including a two-run double, and scored a run as St. Francis defeated one of its West Catholic Athletic League rivals, Valley Christian, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs. Zoie Hartman, Monte Vista swimming: Won the 200 individual medley at the CIF state championships by more than four seconds, touching the wall in 1:55.95. Followed that up by breaking the meet record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.66. Lauren Hermes, Foothill softball: For the second consecutive turn through the order, Amador Valley issued intentional walks to pitch to the Foothill senior. The first time, Hermes struck out. The second time, she smacked a three-run homer to ignite the Falcons to an 8-0 victory in the East Bay Athletic League title game. Ethan Hu, Harker swimming: Took first in the 100butterfly at the CIF state championships in Clovis, clocking a time of 47.14. Chris Jhong, Amador Valley swimming: Reached the wall first in the 200 individual medley at the CIF state championships, covering the distance in 1:46.78.
Daniel Kim, Archbishop Mitty golf: Shot a 67 at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch to win the CCS individual championship by one stroke over Menlo’s Max Ting.
Kelli Kuramoto, Los Altos gymnastics: Sophomore won the CCS individual all-around title with a score of 39.0, the first from Los Altos to do so since 1990. Won the vault (9.7) and bars (9.9) and finished second on the beam (9.65) and floor (9.75).
Tierra Robinson-Jones, Bishop O’Dowd track and field: Won the 200 and 400 at the North Coast Section Bayshore championships, running the 200 in 24.11 and the 400 in 53.90. Also helped O’Dowd take first in the 4×100 relay in 47.74.
Camille Rodriguez, James Logan softball: Threw a no-hitter and had two hits as the Colts clinched another Mission Valley Athletic League championship, beating host Newark Memorial 7-1. Alexei Sancov, Northgate swimming: USC-bound star set a meet record at the CIF state championships in the 200 freestyle, winning in 1:34.13.
Chris Santiago and Trace Tammaro, De La Salle baseball: Santiago hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Tammaro launched a grand slam in the fifth as De La Salle rolled past Foothill 11-4 in the East Bay Athletic League championship game. Rayna Stanziano, Concord track and field: Finished first in the 1,600 at the NCS Tri-Valley championships in 4:59.33. Also took second in the 800 in a season-best 2:13.79, placing behind only defending state champ Alyssa Brewer of Cal, who won in 2:10.76. Emma Tsao, Los Altos gymnastics: Sophomore finished as the CCS individual all-around runner-up — her score of 38.8 just a fraction behind teammate Kelli Kuramoto (39.0). Took second on the beam (9.65) and floor (9.75) and third on the bars (9.8) as Los Altos won the team championship.
Nathan Yates, Emmanuel Ngbemeneh, Kevin Sichak, Max Saunders, Bellarmine College Prep swimming: Broke the meet record in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the CIF state championships in a sizzling 1:22.34. Along with Gavin McGee, Yates, Sichak and Saunders also won the 400-yard freestyle relay as the Bells tied San Ramon Valley for third in the team standings.
Movin’ On Up
Mitch Haniger and Trevor Hildenberger, Major League Baseball: The 2009 Archbishop Mitty High graduates squared off in the eighth inning of a recent big league game as Haniger, playing for the Seattle Mariners, ground out to Hildenberger, pitching in relief for the Minnesota Twins. Hildenberger gave up the game’s only run in the inning as Seattle won 1-0. “Both great guys who have battled to become Major Leaguers,” former Mitty coach Bill Hutton wrote on Facebook. “Very proud coach here.”