Honor roll: The week’s best performances by San Mateo County high school athletes

“It’s really exciting, especially since this is my first year doing this event,” Reichow said. “Just kind of seeing the progressing through my whole season, and my hard work paying off was really special.”

Reichow medaled in two events Saturday at Gilroy High School, teaming in the 4x400 relay with Elise Spenner, Lauren Gonzalez and Cora Haggarty for a fourth-place finish of 4:01.58.

Jacob Brewer and Declan Mendel, Capuchino baseball. Brewer led the offense while Mendel was nearly unhittable on the mound as they helped lead the Mustangs to a first-round win over Saratoga in the CCS Division V bracket. Brewer homered, doubled and drove in five runs. Mendel pitched a complete game, giving up one run on just four hits while striking out 11.

Grace Schumacher, Carlmont softball. The senior paced the Scots’ offense in a 14-2 win over Stevenson in the first round of the CCS Division I bracket. Schumacher went 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs.

Carter Shaw, Sacred Heart Prep boys’ track. Known for his blazing speed as a wide receiver on the gridiron, Shaw showed off that speed in its rawest form Saturday in Gilroy. The senior sprinted his way to three medals, including a fourth-place finish in the boys’ 100 (10.88) and second-place in the 200 (21.66). The highlight of his day, though, was in the 4x100 relay, as Shaw, Tynan Macaluso, Luke Maxwell and James Mustarde took first-place with a time of 41.60.

Daniel Gee and Connor Schmalzle, Sacred Heart Prep baseball. SHP baseball appears to be in good hands for the next couple of years. Both sophomores, Gee and Schmalzle had big days at the plate to lead the Gators to the 10-5 win over Carlmont in the CCS Division III bracket. Gee went 2 for 4 with five RBIs, while Schmalzle added three RBIs, going 3 for 4.

Jim O’Brien, Serra baseball. After injuries limited the senior to just 11 games during the regular season, he made up for lost time in his 12th. Serving as the designated hitter, he helped lead the sixth-seeded Padres to a 10-4 win over No. 3 Burlingame in the CCS Division I bracket. He drove in a pair of runs, with another scoring when he grounded into a double play, but he put a charge into the crowd when he launched a solo home run to the power alley in right-center field in the top of the fourth inning at Burlingame’s Washington Park.

Tudor Braicu, Menlo School boys’ tennis. After losing the CCS team title to Cupertino 4-3, the Knights got their revenge in beating the Pioneers to capture the Northern California team championship 4-3 at Broadstone Sports Club Saturday in Folsom. With the team score tied at 3-all, Braicu, the senior captain, proved to be the difference. In a match that was nearly three hours long, Braicu rallied from down a set. He dropped the first set 2-6, but came back to win the second set 7-5. He was up 2-0 in the third-set super-tiebreaker when his Cupertino counterpart retired due to injury.

Melanie Castelli, Notre Dame-Belmont girls’ track and field. Only one Sam Mateo County girl earned a first-place medal at the CCS Track & Field Championships, and that girl was Castelli. The senior topped the podium in the girls’ high jump, clearing the bar at 5 feet, 7 inches.

Ainsley Waddell, Sequoia softball. Although the senior pitcher/cleanup hitter saw her high school career end with a disappointing 3-2, eight-inning loss to Mitty in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division bracket, she did everything in her power to continue the season. She pitched into the eighth inning, allowing three runs while scattering nine hits. She also provided the offense for the Ravens, blasting a two-run homer that gave her team a 2-0 lead.

William Floyd, Menlo School boys’ track and field. The NCAA Division III commit to the University of Chicago was breathing rare air Saturday night in Gilroy, as he earned first-place in the boys’ pole vault with a top jump of 15-0. Floyd was dueling with Aragon’s Erik Dodge, Salinas’ Michael Nolan and Leigh’s Kiyal Abel, all of whom cleared 14-6. But Floyd was the only one who cleared 15-0, a new personal record of the senior, who went on to attempt 15-6 all by his lonesome, and had the crowd at Gilroy High School oohing and aahing as he just missed clearing it on his final attempt.

Nick Strezo, Hillsdale baseball. The senior pitcher had a dominant performance as the eighth-seeded Knights knocked off top-seeded Harbor 4-0 in the CCS Division V bracket. Strezo, who earned co-pitcher of the year honors in the PAL Ocean Division this season, held the Pirates to just three hits in a complete-game effort.

Allison Liu, Notre Dame-Belmont softball. The sophomore, who started the 2022 Division I title game, is trying to pitch the Tigers to the Division V championship game in 2023. She got off to a strong start in a 5-1 win over Sacred Heart Cathedral in the first round Saturday. Liu threw a complete game, allowing one run on just four hits.

Pia Cho and Erik Dodge, Aragon track and field. After taking third-place in the girls’ long jump last season at the CCS Track & Field Championships, Cho moved up the podium to second-place this year with a jump of 18-4, over 5 inches better than her best from a year ago. It was just shy of her PR of 18-4.5, but was otherwise the best jump of the junior’s season by far.

Dodge also earned a second-place finish for his performance in the boys’ pole vault, and like Cho moved up from his third-place finish in the event a year ago. He too missed his PR, finishing with a top height of 14-6; earlier in the year, he hit a 15-1 in a dual meet against Westmoor. But the senior’s vault was still good enough to claim second-place via tiebreaker format, as Salinas’ Michael Nolan and Leigh’s Kiyal Abel both hit the same height, but each did so later in the round than did Dodge.

Emily Geraghty, Burlingame softball. Geraghty and the Panthers showed they belonged in the CCS Division V bracket. After finishing seventh in the PAL Bay Division standings, Burlingame opened the postseason with a convincing 13-6 win over Monte Vista Christian. Geraghty had a big game, going 4 for 5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Trevor Moquin, Serra boys’ golf. The senior had the highest finish of any San Mateo County golfer, taking second at the CCS championship with a 4-under 67 and qualifying for Monday’s Northern California championship. Moquin was tied for the lead after 15 holes and was 6-under before a double-bogey at 16 was the opening champion Luke Brandler of Stevenson needed to post the win.

Tatum Olesen, Menlo-Atherton girls’ track. The junior ran to second-place in the girls’ 800 meters, finishing neck and neck with St. Francis sophomore Sabrina Zanetto. Olesen recorded a new personal record of 2:10.47, just 12 one-hundredths of a second back of Zanetto, who also PR’d with a 2:10.35.