Tolu Wusu, Palo Alto
Sport: Track and field.
Events: Jumps. Class: Senior.
Accomplishment: Wusu twice shattered his personal record in the triple jump and challenged the heavy favorite, Greenfield's Joel Tuosto, before finishing second by 4 1/2 inches at the Central Coast Section championships Friday. Wusu, who entered the meet with a week-old personal record of 46-5, struggled early in the competition. But after taking a short walk and refocusing, Wusu hit a 46-10 1/2 and then a 47-2 1/4, which would have been among the top 10 jumps in the state if not aided by a 2.2-meter-per-second wind. The maximum allowable for record purposes is 2.0.
Comment: ``My first three or four jumps were too high on the first phase,'' Wusu said. ``My leg would collapse and I couldn't finish out the jump. So I decided to switch things around a little bit by jumping off my other foot and staying low. That allowed me to keep my balance and jump farther on the final phase.''
Honor roll
Baseball: Chuck Lofgren, Serra.
Track and field: Angelo Fobbs-Valentino, Serra; Jeremy Mineau, Menlo-Atherton.
Tennis: Matt Seeberger, Mills.
Allie Miller, Los Altos
Sport: Track and field.
Event: High jump, hurdles. Class: Junior.
Accomplishment: Miller jumped 5-9 1/4 to break a 20-year-old school record and win the CCS title by 4 1/2 inches, a huge margin in the high jump. Miller won the competition with a personal-record 5-6 3/4, then exceeded that with two more personal records. Her final height beat the Los Altos mark of 5-9, originally set by Rachel Bray, and gave the 5-foot-8 Miller the distinction of jumping over her head. Miller credits her improvement to a tighter and quicker approach run. The sharper turn allows her to explode harder into the jump. Miller also qualified for this weekend's state meet in the 400-meter relay and both hurdle races.
Comment: ``In warm-ups I cleared 5-4,'' Miller said. ``Last year at this meet, I didn't even clear that. I thought to myself, today's going to be a good day.''
Honor roll
Track and field: Ruth Graham, Gunn; Nicole Theus, Carlmont.
Softball: Alyssa Fonseca, Burlingame; Jennifer Chamberlin, Burlingame; Sarah Adams, Half Moon Bay.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to make athlete of the week nominations from Friday through 4 p.m. Sunday. Phone (408) 920-5814 or e-mail [email protected] Please provide statistics and a home telephone number for the coach and/or athlete.
Nik Kay, Los Gatos
Sport: Track and field.
Events: Throws. Class: Senior.
Accomplishment: Kay won the shot put and the discus at the Central Coast Section finals Saturday at San Jose City College. In the shot put, Kay had three throws over 60 feet, shattering his previous record by more than six feet on his final throw of 62-11, the best in the state this year. Soon after, Kay broke the CCS discus record set in 1970 by Los Altos' Chris Adams with a mark of 204-10, again the best in the state this year. Kay, who was second in the state meet last year in the discus, will attempt to win both events Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
Comment: ``Physically and mentally everything is going in the right direction for Nik, and we're excited about next week,'' said Kay's throw coach, Ron McKee. `Nik is a hard worker, and I'm really glad to see such a well-mannered young man find success at the highest level.''
Honor roll
Baseball: Jason Codiroli and Tyler Duran, Archbishop Mitty; Michael Cardinalli, Monterey; Simon Mandel and Lauren Gagnier, Santa Cruz.
Track and field: Jacob Evans, Aptos; Will Faules, Homestead; Ronnie Drummer, North Salinas.
Galina Becker, Mt. Pleasant
Sport: Track and field.
Events: Jumps/hurdles/sprints. Class: Sophomore.
Accomplishment: Becker won three events at the CCS finals. She took the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 11 inches. In the triple jump, she came through on her last attempt of the day with a jump of 40-5, third-best in the state this year. Becker also won the 100-meter hurdles (14.42) and was third in the 100 meters (12.32). Becker and teammate Jade Myles, who was second in the long and triple jumps, helped lead the Cardinals to the team title. Galina's sister Undine, now competing at Stanford, won three CCS titles in 2001.
Comment: ``This year Galina has taken the torch from her older sister and run with it,'' said Cardinals jump coach Jamal Elmidge. ``She has earned the accolades and deserves the recognition.''
Honor roll
Softball: Kim Reeder, Notre Dame-Salinas; Monica Abbott, North Salinas.
Track and field: Alicia Follmar, Saratoga; Cherie McPherson, Silver Creek; Kirsten Loftin, Aptos; Ashley Monfort, Valley Christian; Veronica Walker, Oak Grove.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to make athlete of the week nominations from Friday through 4 p.m. Sunday. Phone (408) 920-5814 or e-mail [email protected]. Please provide statistics and a home telephone number for the coach and/or athlete.