CSU's combo drive: Brains and brawn

Sam Kuo was a freshman when her mom, Sue, wrote a letter to the Crystal Springs-Uplands athletic department talking about Sam's exploits in the shot put. A meeting occurred shortly thereafter and Gryphons' swim coach Albert Caruana agreed to do some double duty and head the school's first-ever track and field team.

Actually, his main role was facilitating transportation for Kuo to get to her meets. You see, Kuo was the CSU team. Nick Neely and Taylor Holubar arrived later in the season. The numbers have steadily increased since then, and so have the results.

The CSU girls took second-place in the Serra Top 7 Invitational three weeks ago. Not bad considering they had only five competitors there. The entire CSU team is made up of 25 athletes, but the number is actually a lot less than that because some of the team members spend more time competing in other sports such as tennis or swimming.

Crystal Springs-Uplands, a 52-year-old school set in the plush confines of Hillsborough, has always been known as a strong academic institution, sending students to prestigious universities. But lately CSU has proven that brilliant minds can be equally as proficient in sports.

Kuo is a perfect example. The junior placed fifth last year in the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in the shot put with a mark of 38 feet, 6 inches. She was four inches short of making state. She won the shot put in the prestigious Logan Top 8 meet two weeks ago with a throw of 39-0, a personal-best.

It's performances like those that has given CSU name recognition in the track and field world. When Kuo showed up for meets during her freshman and sophomore years, her fellow competitors couldn't help but ask what the letters on her uniform stood for.

"They asked, 'does CSU stand for California State University?'" Kuo said. "I was like no! No one really asks that anymore. I guess that's a good thing."

Holubar, a junior who runs the 800 and 1,600, takes great pride in seeing the CSU track and field team grow every year.

"When I was a little freshman Nick (who graduated last year) was a junior and Sam was winning everything," Holubar said. "It was a little intimidating. Now I'm one of the oldest members of the team and it's great to see how far we've come. It's an absolute thrill. The track and field team is my baby."

Other CSU standouts include sensational sophomore Sydney Blankers, who runs the 100, 200 and both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. She won the 100 in the Serra meet and placed second in the Logan meet. The girls 4x100 relay team of Blankers, Haley Landeen, Madeleine Evans and Caroline Scanlan recently ran a 51.5.

"We have a lot of talented athletes and everyone has fun," Caruana said. "I really had no idea the team would grow this fast. We might never have a full team like a Westmoor, which has 130 kids this year. But our goal is to have as many of our athletes qualify for NCS. In that regard, we've been doing well."

What makes CSU's accomplishments all the more remarkable is the intense work the student-athletes have to deal with off the track. Two days ago Kuo spent three and a half hours in class. Yes, she was on campus on a Saturday afternoon studying English literature. Kuo says once she gets home from practice at 6 p.m., she studies until 1 a.m. and sometimes all the way until 3 a.m. Kuo has already taken some flying lessons out of Half Moon Bay airport and is training to be a pilot in the Air Force.

Holubar, who was taking his SATs on Saturday, when asked what his favorite subject was, replied, "I like them all." Even though there's hardly any free time, neither Kuo nor Holubar would trade in their respective situations at Crystal Springs. Holubar says the environment on campus is conducive to learning and there's plenty of room to grow.

Caruana's motto to the team is "the more you bleed in practice, the less you bleed in battle."

No doubt the Gryphons' track and field team have paid their dues to become one of the more efficient squads in the highly competitive NCS.