San Mateo County local sports roundup • Friday, Sept. 16, 2022

PAL Meet #1

Oceana’s Lara Scanziani-Grijalvo pulled off the upset of the day as she bested a tough Menlo-Atherton team to win the first PAL meet of the season at 2.33-mile course at Half Moon Bay.

Sequoia’s Ethan Bae won the boys’ varsity race.

The M-A girls’ team is the odds-on favorites to win the PAL title and as a team, the Bears won the team competition Wednesday, easily out-distancing second-place Carlmont, 35-61.

But it was Scanziani-Grijalvo, a sophomore, who ran to the individual win in a time of 14:36, nipping M-A Katie Lorenz at the tape, who finished a second back at 14:37.

The Bears, however, had four finishers in the top 10, taking fourth, fifth and sixth place. Tatum Olesen clocked a 15:13, Cleo Rehkopf ran a 15:19 and Annie Pflaum had a time of 15:20.

Katherine Peacock of Carlmont broke up the Bears finishers, taking third in a time of 15:00.

Hillsdale’s Naia Hsieh (15:21) and Lauryn Matsumoto (15:45) finished seventh and ninth, respectively. Carlmont’s Emma Goldman (15:30) and Naomi Metzler (15:55) finished eighth and 10th, respectively, to round out the top 10.

On the boys’ side, Bae led Sequoia to the team win over M-A, 31-54. Bae covered the 2.33-mile distance in a time of 12:17, the first of four Ravens’ runners in the top 10.

Sequoia and M-A alternated the first four spots. M-A’s Aidan Doherty claimed second in a time of 1:20, followed by Sequoia’s Rowan Henige (12:36).

Dylan Lanier (12:40) gave the Bears a fourth-place finish, but Jackson Bae (12:47) finished fifth for the Ravens. He was followed by teammate Luc Brennan (12:53).

Woodside and Half Moon Bay dominated the second half of the top 10, placing two runners each in the final four spots. HMB’s Moss Michelsen (12:53) and Hideto Hara (13:01) finished eighth and 10th, respectively. Woodside’s Macimilian Hohendorf (12:53) and Dominic Barty (13:01) were seventh and ninth.

Girls’ water polo

Acalanes-Lafayette 11, SHP 8

Acalanes, a Northern California power, knocked off fellow blue blood Gators in a rematch of the 2019 Nor Cal Division I championship game.

The Dons won that game as well, 10-2. In the last five meetings, SHP is 1-4 against Acalanes, beating the Dons 14-3 last season.

Wednesday, SHP (1-3 overall) just could not get over the hump in the East Bay. The Gators were outscored 3-2 in each of the first three quarters and trailed 9-6 after three periods.

The Gators did do enough to win the match, they just didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. They outshot the Dons 23-21 and went 4-for-10 on the power play, compared to just 2-for-6 for Acalanes (4-0).

Natalia Szczerba carried the offense for SHP, finding the back of the net six times on 11 shots. Riley Hooker and Lucy Horner rounded out the goal scoring for the Gators.

Boys’ water polo

Menlo School 10, St. Francis 7

Trailing 4-2 after the first period, the Knights held the Lancers to single goals in the second, third and fourth quarters, enabling them to mount a comeback and pull out the WCAL victory.

Cormac Mulloy came up huge in the cage for Menlo (2-0 WCAL, 7-2 overall), finishing with 13 saves while also assisting on a pair of goals.

Ethan Babel paced the offense for the Knights, scoring four goals. Tommy Kiessling added a hat trick, Jackson Coleman scored twice and Michael Fang rounded out the scoring for Menlo.

Sacred Heart Prep 18, Serra 7

The Gators got off to a bit of a slow start, but they turned on the jets in the second period before cruising to the win in the second half in San Mateo.

SHP (2-0 WCAL) led just 4-1 after the first quarter, but the Gators erupted for nine second-period goals to hold a comfortable 13-1 lead at halftime.

Hassen Hove, Andrew Spencer and Jake Tsotadze each scored hat tricks to pace the SHP offense. Harrison Rohlen added a pair of goals while Will Swart had a goal and two assists.

Serra (0-2) was led by Sandro Salerno, who scored four times. Carson Valdi scored twice and Tyler Formolo rounded out the scoring for the Padres.

Girls’ tennis

Sacred Heart Prep 4, Menlo-Atherton 3

It looks like the Gators are poised for a strong season after knocking off the Bears in a non-league match.

SHP (5-0 overall) lost three of the four singles matches, but swept the doubles. Sadie Goldstein’s win at No. 4 singles gave the Gators the match they needed to beat M-A (1-2).

The Gators’ No. 1 doubles team of Berkeley Bernstein and Leah Lynch, along with the No. 3 tandem of Shannon Bennitt and Thalia Stavroupolos, dominated their matches — winning 6-1, 6-1, and 6-1, 6-0, respectively.

Sophie Frolik and Audrey Hampton rounded out the doubles sweep with a 6-1, 7-5 decision.

M-A’s Ava Martin won at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-4.

Girls’ golf

Mercy-Burlingame 245, Notre Dame-SJ 252

The Crusaders got past the Regents in a WBAL match at San Jose Municipal.

Jaylyn Remolona posted the low round of the day for Mercy, shooting an even-par 36. Evea Denten finished with a 6-over 42 for the Crusaders.

Rebecca Lee had the low round for NDSJ, carding a 45.

Aragon 226, Mills 266

The Dons downed the Vikings in a Bay Division match at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo.

Kate Chong and Hannah Lin led the way for Aragon (3-1 PAL Bay) as each shot 42s. Sofia Dioli and Grave Tao each had 46s and Bridget Stewart rounded out the scoring for the Dons, finishing with a 50.

El Camino 209, Capuchino 234

The Colts beat the Mustangs in a match that was called after seven holes at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae.

El Camino’s Francesca Junio had the low round of the day, carding a 29. Lyanne Urroz shot a 44 for the Colts as well.

Kyla Kim led Capuchino, finishing with a 38.