Benjamin Bouie, Crystal boys’ track and field. The senior entered Saturday’s CCS Track and Field Championships with two previous CCS track titles to his credit, and returned from Gilroy with twice that. Bouie defended his title in both the 1,600 and 4x800 relay, while running a significantly better time in the solo event. Not only was his 1,600 time of 4:06.02 a personal record, it set the CCS Championships meet record as well. In the 4x800, Crystal’s time of 7:51.87 was on par with last year’s time of 7:51.66, but the difference this year was Bouie’s anchor leg, as he recorded a split of 1:50.3, which technically doesn’t correlate with the boys’ 800, as one gets a running start in the relay. But for a perspective check, there are only two faster times in the individual boys’ 800 event in the history of CCS.
Avery Boyse, Burlingame girls’ track and field. It was the most difficult of days for Boyse to pole vault at the CCS Track and Field Championships Saturday at Gilroy High School. Not only was there a mean crosswind blowing across the infield during the mid-afternoon girls’ pole vault finals, Boyse was also noticeably under the weather to add to the degree of difficulty. That didn’t stop the Burlingame senior, and the top girls’ pole vaulter in the section all season long, from claiming her rightful CCS championship in the event, as she topped out at a (modest by her standards) 11-feet, 9-inches to bring home the crown. Two vaulters topped out at 11-9, with Leigh senior Quinlyn Abel matching Boyse. Because Boyse hit the first attempt on the three previous heights, however, she earned the tiebreaker nod and the CCS championship.
Emilio Oseguera, South City baseball. The Warriors opened the CCS playoffs with a win for the second straight year, and racked up 12 hits doing it. Oseguera was the driving force of South City’s 9-3 victory over North Salinas, going 4 for 4 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored, while turning in fine defense at the hot corner. The Warriors have been legit at the plate this season, hitting .332 as a team. The junior Oseguera has led the way with a team-best .472 batting average, ranking third among all hitters from the Peninsula Athletic League.
Shiloh and Sydney Semans, South City softball. It’s impossible to single out any one of South City’s players for the team’s 16-1 mercy-rule win over Design Tech in Saturday’s CCS Division V opener, as the Warriors rallied for 15 runs in the second inning to settle the shortened game in three innings. The Semans sisters were the catalysts, combining for a 5-for-6 showing at the plate, with senior Shiloh Semans totaling two doubles, five RBIs and a run scored, while sophomore Sydney Semans was 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs. Sydney Semans also earned the win in the circle, recording a three-inning complete game to improve her record to 12-3 on the season.
Oskar Herlitz, Sacred Heart Prep boys’ track and field. The junior long jumped his way into the Sacred Heart Prep record books Saturday at the CCS Track and Field Championships at Gilroy High School. Herlitz took second place in the boys’ long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 11 3/4 inches, punching his ticket to CIF State Track & Field Championships in the process. The distance also ranks third in the CCS this season, and sets a new program mark in the discipline for SHP, breaking the former mark of 22-10 set by Nico Robinson in 2013.
Ava Normant, Mercy-Burlingame girls’ gymnastics. The senior was the only gymnast to represent Mercy-Burlingame at the CCS girls’ gymnastics championships last Wednesday at Gymtowne Gymnastics in South San Francisco, but still put her school on the podium in several disciplines. The Moss Beach native tied for sixth-place in the all-around, and also placed fourth in the vault with a score of 9.550, while tying for fifth in the floor exercise with a 9.700, earning her three medals.
Landon Pretre, Menlo School boys’ track and field. There has been a Pretre sibling at Menlo School every year since 2017, when Kyra Pretre started the family’s distance-running legacy. Saturday at Gilroy High School, the youngest of the three siblings ran in his final CCS Track and Field Championships, adding to the legacy by topping the podium in the boys’ 3,200 with a time of 8:48.57. It seems strange, but it marks the first individual CCS track title for the senior, as he took second in the 3,200 last season. As a sophomore, he recorded the fastest time in the 3,200 preliminaries, but was a scratch from the finals. He does share a CCS relay title in the 4x800 from 2023 with his brother Justin Pretre, and also earned the CCS Division V cross-country championship as a senior in the fall.
Fletcher Cahill and Reid Plamondon, Menlo School baseball. The Knights won their CCS playoff opener in a marathon extra-inning battle with Soledad, thanks to a pair of freshman standouts. Plamondon, a freshman right-hander, entered in the fourth and held a 3-3 tie in check through 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out eight, to earn the win in relief. Cahill then delivered Menlo to victory with his second hit of the day, an RBI knock in the bottom of the ninth to score KC Chavinson for the walk-off win.
Veronica Taira, Menlo School girls’ track and field. The senior is a converted sprinter, who only took up distance running as a junior last season. Even with that, her one title in 2024 was in middle distance, with a WBAL crown in the girls’ 800. This year, she broke through at the CCS Track and Field Championships, earning the title in the 3,200 with a time of 10:48.53. It wasn’t her best time in the event, as she ran it faster April 11 at the Arcadia Invitational in 10:35.88, the fastest in CCS this season. The Arcadia time also just missed cracking the all-time CCS top 30, ranking 33rd all-time in the section, as well as the second fastest in Menlo history.
Kavan Kumar and Ben Levin, Menlo boys’ tennis. The Knights rolled through the CIF USTA Northern California Championship tournament with wins of 6-1 over Lowell in the opening round, 7-0 over Amador Valley in the semifinals, and 6-1 over defending Nor Cal champ California-San Ramon in Saturday’s finals. The senior tandem of Kumar and Levin put the finishing touches on the title Saturday, as Menlo’s team captains paired for the first time all season to earn a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Kaitlyn Schuh, San Mateo girls’ track and field. Schuh has emerged as the top sophomore high jumper in CCS this season, and proved it Saturday at the CCS Track and Field Championships. While she settled for second place in the event, Schuh’s top jump of 5-feet, 4-inches matches the CCS championship jump by Monta Vista junior Lelani Laruelle, but the title was decided via tiebreaker with Laruelle needing less jumps to execute her earlier heights. Still, Schuh’s mark tied for the second-best height in CCS this season, short of Laruelle’s CCS best of 5-8 from the March 22 Firebird Relays.
Benicio Labuguen, Westmoor boys’ track and field. Westmoor earned one podium finish Saturday in Gilroy, and it was from the triple jumper Labuguen. The junior took second place in the discipline with a distance of 46 feet, 5 inches, just off the top jump of St. Ignatius senior Noah Gonzalez at 46-7 3/4. Still, Labuguen earned a personal record in the event, and became the only Westmoor athlete at the CCS Track and Field Championships to punch his ticket to the CIF State Track & Field Championships.
Hannah Walker, Woodside softball. The junior right-hander is turning in quite a workload toward the end of the season, continuing her workhorse ways into the CCS playoffs. Walker fired her fourth straight complete game in the Wildcats’ 7-1 win over San Lorenzo Valley in Saturday’s CCS Division IV opener, and with it enjoyed the finest outing of her three-year varsity career. Woodside’s ace allowed just one unearned run on one hit, one walk and three hit batsmen while striking out nine. With the win, Walker improves her record to 14-9 with a 2.22 ERA, and has now struck out 118 through 138 2/3 innings.
Mattheo LaCasia, Woodside boys’ track and field. The Woodside senior is the fastest boys’ 400 runner in the CCS this century. In his first season of competitive track and field, LaCasia emerged as a contender for the section’s 400 title early on, and realized his potential Saturday in Gilroy by topping the podium in the event with a runaway time of 46.92 seconds. Not only is it the fastest 800 time in CCS this season, it is the section’s fastest time since 1993, when North Salinas had two runners record better times — the all-time CCS record of 45.25 set by Calvin Harrison, while his twin brother Alvin Harrison ran it in 46.25 that same year. All told, LaCasia’s performance Saturday at the CCS Track and Field Championships is the sixth fastest in CCS history.
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