TheLounge
12-03-2007, 06:16 PM
Once the Menlo-Atherton football team beats Palo Alto Friday night in the Central Coast Section Large School Division championship game, the fall high school sports season will be officially over on the Peninsula.
So now is a good time as any to review the first three months of the 2007-08 season.
Most dominant athletes: Katherine Douglas, Woodside volleyball and Marietta Tuionetoa, M-A tennis. Only a junior, Douglas solidified her standing as one of the top volleyball players in Northern California. She was virtually unstoppable this season in leading the Wildcats to the PAL title and the most wins (30) in school history. Early in the season she had a run that defied logic. In five matches, she averaged 18 kills. Considering those matches were either two or three games, that is quite an impressive number. She maintained that consistency all season long. In a five-game thriller against Carlmont, Douglas finished with 34 kills. She had 20 kills in a three-game sweep of Los Altos in the first round of CCS and had a match-high 12 more in a loss to Mitty in the CCS semifinals.
Tuionetoa, the super soph, had a breakout year last year and took another step forward this season. Moving up to the No. 1 singles spot, Tuionetoa went undefeated in regular-season play — beating Menlo School twice this year, something no one has accomplished since Menlo came into the PAL. Tuionetoa then teamed with Marjorie Adams to take the PAL doubles title and a third-place finish in the CCS tournament.
Most entertaining game: Hillsdale at Sequoia football. The last several years, this matchup has proven to be one of the better games on the schedule and this year was no different. The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense, 15 touchdowns and 100 points in Sequoia’s 60-42 win. Sequoia had three running backs eclipse the 100-yard mark — Miguel Flores, Jose Ramirez and George Holland. Hillsdale countered with receiver/returner Marcus Dunlap, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and made a 70-yard scoring catch.
Biggest surprise: M-A boys’ and girls’ water polo. The Bears water polo program is one of the strongest in the PAL. This year, they proved their the best in CCS as both won the Division I section championship, flying the banner high for public schools. The boys’ post-season run was especially exciting. They won three games —*all by one goal. They got past Los Altos 11-10 in double overtime, downed top-seeded Salinas 10-9 and then held off Palo Alto 3-2 in the championship game. The girls, who became the first school other than Menlo to win the PAL title over the last five years, downed Mitty 6-4 in the semifinals before dispatching Leland 10-5 in the finals.
Most dedicated athlete: Gambileg Bor, Jefferson cross country. As the only member of the Jefferson cross country team, it would be easy for Bor to just go through the motions. Instead, he is one of the most dedicated athletes around, training by himself yet experiencing success other runners only dream about. For the second year in a row, he won the PAL title. This year, he followed that with a record-breaking performance at CCS, winning the Division III race in a course-record time of 14:56. He was sixth at the State Meet.
Most dominant performance: M-A over Woodside, football. The Bears beat the Wildcats 48-7 in the regular-season finale for both team. The final score, however, gives no indication to M-A’s dominance. The Bears scored 41 first-half points, rolling up 424 yards of offense in the process.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
So now is a good time as any to review the first three months of the 2007-08 season.
Most dominant athletes: Katherine Douglas, Woodside volleyball and Marietta Tuionetoa, M-A tennis. Only a junior, Douglas solidified her standing as one of the top volleyball players in Northern California. She was virtually unstoppable this season in leading the Wildcats to the PAL title and the most wins (30) in school history. Early in the season she had a run that defied logic. In five matches, she averaged 18 kills. Considering those matches were either two or three games, that is quite an impressive number. She maintained that consistency all season long. In a five-game thriller against Carlmont, Douglas finished with 34 kills. She had 20 kills in a three-game sweep of Los Altos in the first round of CCS and had a match-high 12 more in a loss to Mitty in the CCS semifinals.
Tuionetoa, the super soph, had a breakout year last year and took another step forward this season. Moving up to the No. 1 singles spot, Tuionetoa went undefeated in regular-season play — beating Menlo School twice this year, something no one has accomplished since Menlo came into the PAL. Tuionetoa then teamed with Marjorie Adams to take the PAL doubles title and a third-place finish in the CCS tournament.
Most entertaining game: Hillsdale at Sequoia football. The last several years, this matchup has proven to be one of the better games on the schedule and this year was no different. The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense, 15 touchdowns and 100 points in Sequoia’s 60-42 win. Sequoia had three running backs eclipse the 100-yard mark — Miguel Flores, Jose Ramirez and George Holland. Hillsdale countered with receiver/returner Marcus Dunlap, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and made a 70-yard scoring catch.
Biggest surprise: M-A boys’ and girls’ water polo. The Bears water polo program is one of the strongest in the PAL. This year, they proved their the best in CCS as both won the Division I section championship, flying the banner high for public schools. The boys’ post-season run was especially exciting. They won three games —*all by one goal. They got past Los Altos 11-10 in double overtime, downed top-seeded Salinas 10-9 and then held off Palo Alto 3-2 in the championship game. The girls, who became the first school other than Menlo to win the PAL title over the last five years, downed Mitty 6-4 in the semifinals before dispatching Leland 10-5 in the finals.
Most dedicated athlete: Gambileg Bor, Jefferson cross country. As the only member of the Jefferson cross country team, it would be easy for Bor to just go through the motions. Instead, he is one of the most dedicated athletes around, training by himself yet experiencing success other runners only dream about. For the second year in a row, he won the PAL title. This year, he followed that with a record-breaking performance at CCS, winning the Division III race in a course-record time of 14:56. He was sixth at the State Meet.
Most dominant performance: M-A over Woodside, football. The Bears beat the Wildcats 48-7 in the regular-season finale for both team. The final score, however, gives no indication to M-A’s dominance. The Bears scored 41 first-half points, rolling up 424 yards of offense in the process.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.