Bellarmine already had established itself as the team to beat before the Central Coast Section ``Top 8'' track and field meet at Los Gatos High. And despite disappointing results in two of their strongest events Friday, the Bells ran away with the team title.

Bellarmine amassed 101.5 points, easily surpassing second-place Aptos' 34, but still saw room for improvement.

Shannon Sevor, who finished second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, was shaking his head after the Bells' failure to finish in the 4x100 relay because of a faulty hand-off in the third leg.

``That's never happened before. So far this season we've gotten through all our races,'' said Sevor, who was timed at 10.9 seconds in the 100, two seconds behind teammate Jarred Belser. ``It's a little disappointing, but we still want to finish in the top three at state.''

Bellarmine's Jihad Beachman, who has the CCS's top mark in the high jump this season at 6 feet, 10 1/2 inches, was unhappy with his lowest mark (6-2) in the event since last season. Not even his first-place distance of 44-5 in the triple could cheer him up.

``I've never been unable to clear 6-4 in the high jump since the WCAL finals last year,'' Beachman said. ``It was hard to judge how far I was from the bar, but I got high enough. I can't feel too bad though, because at least I earned some points for the team.''

Teammate Kent Centers, who finished second in the CCS in the high jump last year, won the event but came four inches short of breaking his personal best of 6-8, which he set at the ``Top 8'' last year.

Although it didn't show in their performances Friday, Bellarmine Coach Derrick Bell said Beachman and Centers have the ability to be the first CCS jumpers in a long time to clear seven feet. He said he saw their potential when the pair was on the freshman/sophomore level.

``I had foresight that this was going to the best group of jumpers the school's ever had,'' Bell said. ``This is probably the best and most well-rounded team around. We're three deep in the high jump, two deep in the long jump and two deep in the triple jump.''

In the girls meet, Lynbrook's Kim Gleeson also felt she performed below par. But she still managed to repeat in the discus and shot put.

Gleeson, who holds the top CCS marks in both events, began the day by obliterating the field in the discus with a throw of 143-6 -- 30 feet farther than her nearest opponent. But she expected to come closer to her personal best of 149-6, set last week at the Arcadia meet. That mark is currently the fifth-best in the state, but she wants to break 150 feet.

``It's coming, I can feel it,'' said Gleeson, who won the CCS title last year with a throw of 134-6. ``Everything's going well this season. It's all about staying consistent.''

After the first day of competition, Los Gatos leads with 56.25 points. Monterey is second with 43, and third-place Carlmont has 32.

In the boys discus, Los Gatos' Nick Kay and Mills' Adam Tafralis went head-to-head. Kay, the athlete of the meet at the freshman/sophomore level last year, bested the defending CCS champion by two feet with a throw of 172-2.

Tafralis got a measure of revenge in the shot put, winning with a mark of 55-5.