Acalanes Paul Kuhner, right competes in the final leg of the Boys 4x100 Meter Relay during the North Coast Section Meet of Champions at Dublin High School in Dublin, Calif., on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Acalanes would place first with a time of 41.46. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
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TRACK AND FIELD: ACALANES STARS AT IT AGAIN
Paul Kuhner and Trevor Rogers are state champion football players who also are accomplished track and field athletes.
Last spring, the Acalanes duo helped the Lafayette school take home the silver medal in the 4×100 relay at the California Interscholastic Federation state championships, running the lap in 40.96 seconds.
Rogers also finished fourth in the long jump.
They’re back at it this spring, just months after playing starring roles in Acalanes’ run to the Division 3-AA state football championship.
Last weekend at the prestigious Stanford Invitational, the Princeton-bound Kuhner placed first in the 100 meters, covering the distance in 10.49 seconds. The time ranks fourth in the state this season, second among wind-legal marks, according to Athletic.net.
“Not surprising anyone, but @paul_kuhner decided he wanted to be best in show,” Acalanes sprints coach Jesse Stewart wrote on Twitter/X, accompanied by video of the race.
Kuhner added on the social-media platform, “Getting dialed in for the postseason.”
The Cal-bound Rogers also had a big Stanford meet, winning the long jump in a state-leading and personal-best 24 feet, 3 ¼ inches.
“Nothing new here, just a future @CalFootball athlete dominating at Stanford,” Stewart posted on Twitter/X.
– Darren Sabedra
BASEBALL: HOW SHC SLUGGER DOES HIS DAMAGE
Sacred Heart Cathedral slugger Tate Medicoff is listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, so it’s easy to credit the senior’s Central Coast Section-leading seven home runs to an imposing frame.
Those blasts, which include a three-run homer off Stanford commit Quinten Marsh in SHC’s 6-3 stunner over then-No. 1 Valley Christian last month, can be chalked up to overwhelming physical tools, right?
Medicoff begs to differ.
The majestic moon shots, each chronicled with video on his personal Twitter/X account, are the product of hours upon hours of tweaking his mechanics.
“I made my swing capable of being on time to the fastball, but also able to adjust to off speed pitches and still do damage with them,” Medicoff told the Bay Area News Group via text.
How’d Medicoff do that?
“I did that by creating a stretch and releasing it like a rubber band, which slings the barrel at the ball,” he said. “When an off speed pitch comes, you just hold the rubber band a little longer, and your swing is adjustable.”
That adjustment has helped Medicoff go from hitting six homers in 29 games in 2023 to seven in 14 games in 2024.
Led by their senior power hitter, the Fightin’ Irish believe they have what it takes to challenge the elite programs in the West Catholic Athletic League.
“We aren’t afraid of anyone, and we love winning,” Medicoff said.
– Joseph Dycus
LACROSSE: WHY MENLO-ATHERTON IS STILL PERFECT
Menlo-Atherton has long been a solid boys lacrosse program under coach Steven Kryger, normally winning more games than it loses and being competitive in league play.
But this season, the Bears have gone from good to potentially great.
The public school is 12-0 and boasts victories over Serra, Bellarmine, San Ramon Valley, St. Francis and other high-level programs.
Kryger credits top-notch talent such as Amherst-bound Peter Koren, whom the coach said “is a bulldog out on the field,” as the driving forces for the team’s success.
Koren is close to breaking M-A’s all-time goals record.
Kryger’s sons Colin and Jack Kryger are also key contributors, and goalkeeper Olivier Yuk, freshman sensation Ford Long and faceoff specialist Eric Torre can match up with anyone.
“We’re not as deep as a St. Ignatius or Sacred Heart Prep or De La Salle, but I think in that next level down, we do have kids who can compete,” Kryger told the Bay Area News Group. “There’s a ton of camaraderie on this team. They push each other, and embrace each other.”
One thing has stayed consistent as M-A has continued to rise toward the top. Kryger said he still relies on his own players to get their friends to fill out the roster.
It’s worked so far.
“Half of our team never played until high school,” the coach said. “But they’re great athletes, and all of these kids have recruited their friends that they know are great athletes, but also know are great kids.”
– Joseph Dycus
SOFTBALL: DEL MAR COACH GOES SOLO
Amanda Perez literally does it all as a one-woman coaching staff for Del Mar.
When the team’s catcher took a while to put her gear on in between innings, the former Utah Valley University player crouched behind home plate and caught fastballs from pitcher Natalie Dixon.
“It can be difficult, but everyone is very supportive,” Perez said before looking over at her team and adding, “Yeah, I’m the only one, but at the same time, it doesn’t matter because I’ve still got them.”
– Joseph Dycus
BASEBALL: HE’S NOT THAT BIG
Acalanes ace Peter Thorn is listed at 6-4 and 260 pounds on the team’s MaxPreps roster. But that’s quite a bit off, noted the school’s JV coach, Dan Meade, who wondered where the Bay Area News Group found those measurements.
Meade said Thorn, a senior, is more like 5-9, 180.
Told about the MaxPreps page, Meade noted that Thorn’s teammates might have been “pranking” him.
All is certainly good, though.
With 4 ⅔ scoreless innings Wednesday in a 7-1 victory over Vintage, Thorn lowered his ERA to a miniscule 0.78.
Even better, Acalanes is 14-0 on the season.
– Darren Sabedra
BASEBALL: MONTE VISTA IS PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
A little more than two weeks ago, Monte Vista had lost four in a row and was 2-4 on the season.
But since then, the Mustangs have gone 6-2, punctuated by beating Palo Alto 9-0 on Wednesday in the final at the Sacred Heart Prep tournament after wins over the host school and James Logan in earlier rounds.
While Monte Vista still sits in ninth place in the East Bay Athletic League standings, its success this week has shifted the team’s mindset as it returns to league play next week.
“We came into the tournament 5-6 and now we’re coming out 8-6,” Monte Vista coach Mateo Miramontes said. “Our entire outlook of our season has changed. Our goal now going into the playoffs is to do some damage.”
After a slow start to the season, senior Brad Ballard has heated up just like the team. The senior was named tournament MVP this week after going 7 for 7 with three RBIs in the three victories.
“I just told him, ‘Remember who you are. You’ve been a clutch player all your life,’” Miramontes said. “This is his third year starting, he’s never hit under .300 . He’s just a stud of a baseball player and we’re not surprised as coaches to see him play this well.”
– Nathan Canilao
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: O’DOWD EYES NCS THREE-PEAT, MORE
Bishop O’Dowd is quietly building a volleyball dynasty.
The Dragons, who are looking to capture their third consecutive North Coast Section title, are 19-1 and have won in straight sets 18 times. O’Dowd is ranked No. 22 in the country and No. 1 in the San Francisco Metro area, according to MaxPreps.
Led by the senior trio of Roan Alviar, Cameron Kosty and Will Mullen, the Dragons have not lost a league game since 2022.
But O’Dowd is still trying to win the coveted CIF NorCal regional title, something the Dragons fell short of capturing in 2022 and 2023.
“Every year we have moved up the rankings a little,” O’Dowd coach Nova Bramed said. “I think that’s the goal for us every year. … But also to move beyond the NCS playoffs. Hopefully we can finish the job this year.”
– Nathan Canilao
SOFTBALL: HILLSDALE STAR MAKING CASE FOR POSTSEASON HONORS
Led by power hitter Claire Shelton, Hillsdale is off to one of its best starts in program history
Shelton is batting .513 with three home runs and 19 RBIs.
The senior has a hit in all but one game this season for a team that is 11-1 overall and 4-1 in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division.
Shelton also leads the Knights in stolen bases (11), slugging percentage (.871) and extra-base hits (8).
Hillsdale is in contention for its first league title since 2016.
– Nathan Canilao
BASKETBALL: COACH FINDS NEW TEAM
Chris Lavdiotis, who said he was let go at Miramonte after coaching boys basketball at the Orinda school for the past five seasons, told the Bay Area News Group that he has found a new home.
He will be the coach next season at San Marin in the North Bay.
During his time at Miramonte, Lavdiotis led the Mats to four winning seasons, including a 24-6 record in 2021-22 and 19-12 mark this past season.
– Darren Sabedra
Originally published at Darren Sabedra, Joseph Dycus, Nathan Canilao