TheLounge
06-07-2007, 02:35 PM
Quick, can you name the best high school baseball player on the Peninsula? How about the best softball player? Are those too easy? Who was the best male swimmer this spring? Best boys’ badminton player?
For bonus points: Who were the best male and female athletes this school year?
Yes folks, it’s that time again — Athletes of the Season. The Daily Journal will run a pair a day, starting today, and culminating in the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletes of the Year next week.
You may ask yourself, “How do they choose the best?” There are no super secret computer formulas in which we dump a bunch of stats and information and it spits out a name. It’s much more low-tech —*myself and uber reporter Emanuel Lee list the sports on a piece of paper and then start throwing out names, checking stats and other info to make sure we’re on the right track and then agree or disagree. Sometimes it’s as cut and dry as to how somebody performs in the postseason and the Central Coast Section tournaments. Sometimes the award is one for “lifetime achievements” during their high school career. Other times the winners are those that overcame tremendous obstacles to excel in their particular sport.
In years past, some winners were clear cut. This year there was a lot more discussion on more sports. Regardless, we believe we chose the right athletes for the right reasons.
***
Much like the Athletes of the Season we write about at the end of each sports’ season, so to is the thrice-annual Moments of the Season. I had to dig deep and think hard for some of the best athletic achievements that happened this spring. I’m sure I’ll leave something out but here they are:
Baseball
Woodsid vs. Hillsdale: These two battled it out for the Lake Division crown and there was no doubt they were the best two in the division.
They played each other four times, with each winning twice. The first and last meetings were the best. On March 28, Hillsdale rallied from a 7-2, fifth-inning deficit to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. Woodside went on to win in the eighth.
On May 2, they hooked up again. Woodside prevailed 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel. Hillsdale’s Chris Schindler pitched six innings of four hit ball, allowing only one run. He took the loss.
Woodside’s Ray Torres was even better. Torres allowed only one hit and four baserunners.
Softball
Notre Dame-Salinas vs. Notre Dame-Belmont: Although this was only a CCS semifinal matchup, it was no doubt the Division III finals. Salinas came in as the nine-time defending DIII champ, while Belmont was making its second CCS final in two years and had a breakthrough year.
After spotting Salinas a 1-0 in top of the first, Belmont responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and added a fifth in the second.
The pitching and defense then held off the Spirits. They had the tying run at second when Belmont pitcher Emma Holden notched her 13th strikeout by striking out a pinch hitter to end the game.
Sequoia vs. Westmont: The game was Sequoia’s first CCS appearance since 2002 and despite suffering a 10-0 loss to Westmont, the Cherokees went down smiling. The Cherokees gave up eight runs in the first yet forced the game to the bottom of the sixth when Westmont finally got to 10 runs. The fact the Cherokees did not allow any runs for four innings was a moral victory.
Swimming
Boys’ 50 free, Bay Division swimming championships: The most exciting race of a long day featured one swimmer from a powerhouse team and one from an up-and-coming squad.
Menlo’s Derrick Chen and Westmoor’s Terence Leung finished in a dead heat —*both touched the wall with the same time of 22.63.
Track and field
Helena Silva, CSM javelin thrower: The diminutive dynamo saved her best for last, finishing third in the state in the California Community College Track and Field Championships. After her first three throws, Silva barely qualified for the finals. Things didn’t go much better on her fourth throw but something clicked. She moved up to fourth place on her fifth throw and on her sixth and final toss, she set a personal best with a distance of 125 feet, nine inches.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
For bonus points: Who were the best male and female athletes this school year?
Yes folks, it’s that time again — Athletes of the Season. The Daily Journal will run a pair a day, starting today, and culminating in the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletes of the Year next week.
You may ask yourself, “How do they choose the best?” There are no super secret computer formulas in which we dump a bunch of stats and information and it spits out a name. It’s much more low-tech —*myself and uber reporter Emanuel Lee list the sports on a piece of paper and then start throwing out names, checking stats and other info to make sure we’re on the right track and then agree or disagree. Sometimes it’s as cut and dry as to how somebody performs in the postseason and the Central Coast Section tournaments. Sometimes the award is one for “lifetime achievements” during their high school career. Other times the winners are those that overcame tremendous obstacles to excel in their particular sport.
In years past, some winners were clear cut. This year there was a lot more discussion on more sports. Regardless, we believe we chose the right athletes for the right reasons.
***
Much like the Athletes of the Season we write about at the end of each sports’ season, so to is the thrice-annual Moments of the Season. I had to dig deep and think hard for some of the best athletic achievements that happened this spring. I’m sure I’ll leave something out but here they are:
Baseball
Woodsid vs. Hillsdale: These two battled it out for the Lake Division crown and there was no doubt they were the best two in the division.
They played each other four times, with each winning twice. The first and last meetings were the best. On March 28, Hillsdale rallied from a 7-2, fifth-inning deficit to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. Woodside went on to win in the eighth.
On May 2, they hooked up again. Woodside prevailed 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel. Hillsdale’s Chris Schindler pitched six innings of four hit ball, allowing only one run. He took the loss.
Woodside’s Ray Torres was even better. Torres allowed only one hit and four baserunners.
Softball
Notre Dame-Salinas vs. Notre Dame-Belmont: Although this was only a CCS semifinal matchup, it was no doubt the Division III finals. Salinas came in as the nine-time defending DIII champ, while Belmont was making its second CCS final in two years and had a breakthrough year.
After spotting Salinas a 1-0 in top of the first, Belmont responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and added a fifth in the second.
The pitching and defense then held off the Spirits. They had the tying run at second when Belmont pitcher Emma Holden notched her 13th strikeout by striking out a pinch hitter to end the game.
Sequoia vs. Westmont: The game was Sequoia’s first CCS appearance since 2002 and despite suffering a 10-0 loss to Westmont, the Cherokees went down smiling. The Cherokees gave up eight runs in the first yet forced the game to the bottom of the sixth when Westmont finally got to 10 runs. The fact the Cherokees did not allow any runs for four innings was a moral victory.
Swimming
Boys’ 50 free, Bay Division swimming championships: The most exciting race of a long day featured one swimmer from a powerhouse team and one from an up-and-coming squad.
Menlo’s Derrick Chen and Westmoor’s Terence Leung finished in a dead heat —*both touched the wall with the same time of 22.63.
Track and field
Helena Silva, CSM javelin thrower: The diminutive dynamo saved her best for last, finishing third in the state in the California Community College Track and Field Championships. After her first three throws, Silva barely qualified for the finals. Things didn’t go much better on her fourth throw but something clicked. She moved up to fourth place on her fifth throw and on her sixth and final toss, she set a personal best with a distance of 125 feet, nine inches.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.