May 8, 2008

SPORTS

Wallace scores six TDs for Veritas Christian

Veritas Christian Academy of Campbell started the spring football season in impressive fashion with a 53–22 victory over Beacon Christian of San Mateo April 19.

Senior Chris Wallace runs to score one of six touchdowns he ran in the game against Beacon Christian of San Mateo.

Veritas started scoring in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by senior Chris Wallace. Beacon answered on its first play from scrimmage when Rick Chang ran 60 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. But Beacon’s try for the extra point failed, making the score 7–6.

From that point on Veritas scored the next four touchdowns, all by Wallace, including a perfectly executed pass and lateral play from quarterback Gabriel Flores to Garrison Hardie, who pitched the ball back to Wallace who took the ball 35 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. The score gave Veritas a 34-6 halftime lead.

Early in the third quarter, Hardie caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Flores to extend the Veritas lead to 40-6. Beacon turned the ball over on downs and Wallace scored his fifth touchdown of the afternoon on the same hook and lateral play that ended the first half, making the score 47- 6.

Late in the third quarter, Beacon’s quarterback, Alex Wheland connected with Tom Vranjes on a 15-yard pass for Beacon’s second touchdown boosting their score to 13.

Veritas responded with its last touchdown drive of the day as Hardie connected with Flores on a 22-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring for VCA. Beacon Christian managed one more touchdown on a 45-yard pass from Wheland to Chang .

“I felt we picked up right where we left off at the end of our fall season,” coach Greg Hardie commented. “Our execution on offense was the best I’ve seen from our team this year. I was very proud of their effort.”

Veritas and Beacon squared off again on May 3 at the Harker Elementary Field. Veritas also plays Willowvale on May 10 and Voice of Pentecost out of San Francisco on May 17.

Leland baseball’s hopes fade as season winds down

Charger baseball got a much-needed boost with a win over rival Pioneer on Friday, April 25 beating the Mustangs 3-1 on their diamond.

This game saw the emergence of junior pitcher Greg Hipwell as one of, if not the team’s ace of the staff.

Nate Jones doubles against Pioneer. Photos by Kevin Jones

“The pitching was outstanding. Hipwell gave us the kind of effort we needed to win that game. We got some timely hitting where we were able to string something together,” said coach Tim Thompson afterwards.

During the rally, sophomore Trevor Marino hit a solid single to right field. Senior Nate Jones tagged Medlinger for a double to the right center gap setting up second and third with nobody out. Drew Marino hit a sacrifice fly to score Trevor. The right fielder misplayed the ball and it fell to the ground setting up first and third. Marino stole second and Spencer Lanoue was retired.  Next up, junior Will Boring lined a single to score Jones and Marino.   

“When you play against number-one starters, (pitchers) it takes three things to win--pitching that matches up, good defense that doesn’t give anything away and timely hitting. For the most part we had all three and it was also one of those games where we got a break in a key spot, something we haven’t got a lot of this season” said Thompson. Sophomore second baseman Vinny Gemette lashed a double down the left field line for another Charger hit.

Pioneer staged a late rally and threatened to score a few runs, but only managed to bring across one.

Hopes of getting into the CCS playoffs were severely diminished when the Chargers lost back-to-back games at home to league leader Live Oak 1-0 and then to a tough Westmont squad 8-1. This means the team is likely to miss CCS playoffs for only the second time in 17 years.

The Live Oak game featured another strong pitching performance from Hipwell, who seems to have hit his stride from the mound. He held the team in check nearly the entire game allowing only one run to score. That turned out to be all the Acorns would need to win the game. The game turned on some find defensive plays from Live Oak as they threw out seniors Scott Wooten and Kevin Krail on plays at the plate.

Greg Hipwell breaks one off against Pioneer.

The Westmont game seemed to be over as fast as it started. Before they knew it, the Chargers had spotted the Warriors eight runs after only four innings of play.

“That was a pretty tough game. We just dug ourselves an early hole with walks and they are a good hitting team we know that. And we know they are going to get hits, so you can’t make those hits into big rallies with walks. I thought our defense was pretty solid as it has been for about the last month or so. Trevor Marino had a really good game at shortstop and is really coming into his own,” Thompson said.

In an otherwise dismal offensive effort, being limited to just three hits, Jones was a bright spot for Leland when he went two for three with a double and a sharply hit single to left field by Lanoue.

With only two games left in the 2008 campaign, the chances of getting into the playoffs seems out of reach for the Chargers.

The Chargers finish up with two road games against Leigh and Piedmont Hills on Wednesday, May 7 and Friday, May 9.

Leland lady swimmers swim great at league finals

While the Leland Charger womens’ swim team ended up in third place behind Pioneer and Santa Teresa, the season’s league finals were close.

The team had some tough swims during trials on Thursday; and with only one diver it was down 44 points going into the finals on Saturday. The team was projected to be about 60-70 points behind Pioneer and Santa Teresa, but the Chargers swam hard, with many of the girls swimming their best times and closing the gap to around 40 points

With the large senior class lost last year and the number of young swimmers on the team this year, coach Eric Rise didn’t think anyone the team could have been in a three- way race for first going into league championships. The six freshman, three sophomores, nine juniors and three seniors on varsity this year worked hard and showed a lot of fight and heart all season.

During the league meet, the Charger 200-medley relay team of Scott, Chortek, Sherrin and McKenzie and its 400-free relay of Sherrin, Chortek, Young, and Nolan both placed second hitting best times. The 400-free relay team dropped 2 seconds off its previous best.

The Chargers went 1-2 in the backstroke with freshman Brianna Sherrin, winning the 100 back in 1:03.04, and Cassandra Scott placing second in 1:03.18. Sherrin also placed fifth in the 500, and Scott placed in the top six in the 200 IM. Sophomore, Kelsey Nolan placed second in the 100 free at 55.28 and third in the 50 free at 25.68. Junior Emily Chortek placed third in the 200 IM at 2:20.5 and third in the breaststroke in 1:10.57.

Junior Ariel Young placed in the top six in the 50- and 100-free, while freshman, Nikki Sarantinos placed sixth in diving. Junior Courtney Gold placed eighth and ninth in the breaststroke and butterfly, dropping 2 seconds in the latter event.

Junior Melinda McKenzie also placed eighth in the 100-free. Grace Chang also placed top 10 in both the 200 IM and backstroke events. Swimmers Meghan Bucter, Amy Georgiou, and Tam Nguyen all placed top 16 in two different events while Alyssa Brown, Sarah Giarritta, Eleni Sarantinos and Sophia Weller also placed top 16 in one of their events.

That kind of depth is what allowed the team to make a close run at winning league this year.

Led by senior captain Cassandra Scott, the team had nine individual CCS qualifying times along with all three relays qualifying for CCS at Stanford May 16-17. Chortek, McKenzie, Nolan, Sherrin, Scott and Young will all be representing Leland at CCS.

Almaden scores with new sports fields

Community kicks off opening of Leland Sports Field Complex

This highly anticipated opening of the Leland Sports Field Complex will be celebrated this weekend. On Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m., there will be a special kickoff ceremony at Leland High School, 6677 Camden Ave.

The event will feature District 10 Councilmember Nancy Pyle as well as San Jose Unified School District Superintendent Don Iglesias and Area 5 SJUSD trustee and Vice President Leslie Reynolds along with officials from the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Leland’s ASB President Crystal Adams and local professional sports teams, such as the Earthquakes, the SaberCats, the Giants and the Stealth.

The kick-off will be immediately followed by sports clinics that include representatives and players from the San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team, San Jose SaberCats arena football team, San Jose Stealth lacrosse team and San Jose Giants minor league baseball team.

The Leland Sports Field Complex is a joint-use facility between the city of San Jose and the San Jose Unified School District. The complex, located on the grounds of Leland High School, contains two artificial turf fields, lined for soccer and lacrosse; and the Pat Tillman Stadium, which includes amenities to support community use, such as restrooms, storage and a concession area.

San Jose has a strong tradition of partnering with local school districts to improve service deliveries to the community. This joint-use facility represents a new approach that leverages mutual assets while minimizing operational costs. The city and the district look forward to utilizing this agreement as a template for future collaborations in other areas throughout the District.

Funding for the Sports Field Complex, which totaled $5.8 million, came from the San Jose Unified School District Measure F Fund, Council District 10 Construction and Conveyance Tax Funds and the city’s Park Trust Funds. PRNS will oversee the public reservation of the complex.

High School Sports Schedule May 9 – May 15

Leland

Friday—Baseball vs. Piedmont Hills at 3:30 at Piedmont Hills (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Softball vs. Piedmont Hills at 3:30 at Piedmont Hills (JV on opposite field)

Monday—Week of May 1 Badminton finals at Independence High at 5 p.m.

Wednesday—CCS baseball and softball begins

Pioneer

Friday—Baseball vs. Branham 3:30 at Pioneer (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Softball vs. Leigh at 3:30 at Leigh (JV on opposite field)
Friday—Boys swimming trials, 1 p.m. at Live Oak

Monday—Badminton league finals at Independence High at 5 p.m.

Wednesday—CCS baseball and softball begins

For more information about Leland and Pioneer sporting events, go to:

Pioneer Athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletic League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

Almaden Force Boys U16 Soccer tryouts
Almaden Force is a U16 Select Boys Soccer Team that will be holding tryouts Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 – 7 p.m. through the end of May at San Jose State University, behind Spartan Stadium, off of 10th street. For additional information, contact Team Manager Angelo Gallo at 314-2732.

U11 Girls Class 1 Soccer Tryouts
Santa Clara Sporting 97G White, a girls U10 Class 1 soccer team that will be playing U11 in the Fall, will be holding an open tryout session on Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. at Jenny Strand Park in Santa Clara. For more information and to register, please contact coach Dave Ballard at daveballard12@sbcglobal.net or 408-799-1213.

AVAC hosts twelfth annual tennis tourney fundraiser
Almaden Valley Athletic Club invites community members to watch or participate in the 2008 AVAC NTRP Doubles Classic Tournament on May 23-26 at their facility, 5400 Camden Avenue in San Jose. Matches will begin at 5 p.m. on May 23; 8 a.m. May 24 and May 25; and at 9 a.m. on May 26.

This will be the 12th consecutive year that AVAC hosts the tournament, with 50 percent of the proceeds benefiting the National Tennis Championships (“NTC”). NTC is a non-profit corporation that organizes both the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships in Berkeley and the After-School All-Stars offered through the San Jose Unified School District.

Named a ‘USTA NorCal Tournament of the Year’ for the tenth time, this event charges no admission to spectators and is open to the entire community. For more information about the tournament or competition eligibility, please visit, http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/tournamenthome/tournament.aspx?T=59583 or visit the Almaden Valley Athletic Club website at www.avac.us.

AVYSL Registration is now open
Registration for the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League’s Recreation Program for fall 2008 is open from April 21 to May 31. Late registration will be from June 1 – 15, and will only be accepted if space is available. A non-refundable fee of $25 will be charged for each player registered during late registration, so please register on time.

See our website www.almadensoccer.org for registration instructions and some exciting changes to our fall program. We hope to see you on the soccer field this fall.

Free city wide Youth Track Meet
The City of San Jose and San Jose Police Amateur Athletic Foundation are sponsoring the City Wide Youth Track Meet for boys and girls born between 1994-1999 (ages 9-14), on May 18, 2008 at Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose. The event is free for all participants. For more information or to pre-register, please call Steve Ryan at 871-3825 or via email steve.ryan@sanjoseca.gov or Meet Director: Judi Baxter via email at judibax@sonic.net.

Evergreen Valley Soccer summer camps
EVS will be offering two soccer camps this summer. Sessions begin June 22 -26, with the All Girls Academy. The Academy is designed to help players develop all aspect of their game and topics will include: Ball mastery / Beginning and intermediate technical skills / Small-sided games / Offensive and defensive team tactics / Training for speed, agility, quickness.

Eligible girls are ages 8 – 17 and the fee is $145 per person (team discounts are available). Academy hours are 4 – 7 p.m.

The “Little Hawks” Academy is designed for players age 5 – 8 and focuses on having fun while learning new soccer skills. Coached by members of the EVC Men’s and Women’s Soccer Team, campers will participate in a variety of soccer games and activities. Session one is Aug. 4, 6 & 7 and Session two is Aug. 11, 13 &14. The fees are $90 fro one session, $140 for both. Hours are 9 – 11 a.m.

For additional information or to register, call Felicia Perez at 274-7900 x6910 or email Felicia.Perez@evc.edu.

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