Brandon Vance has lofty goals as the coach of the Los Gatos High track and field team.
“I don’t like to set my sights just on CCS,” he said. “My big thing is the state championships is where the kids have to go in order to be recruited and to be considered Division I type athletes. When I was an assistant coach here from 2002 to 2008, we tried to win as many CCS titles as we possibly could, both individual and team-wise. But I also want state champions coming out of our program and podium placers. I want to go battle down in LA and have a team that can represent and compete down south.”
The girls team took third in the Central Coast Section Finals last year, just nine points off second. Their top returner is senior Emma Curran, who tied for fourth in the 400 meter run in 58.77 seconds. Curran has a personal-record (PR) of 58.43 in the event, and looks to be a state qualifier in the event this season.
A dynamic talent, Curran also is one of two returners—junior Gianna Golino being the other—off the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams that took third and second, respectively, in the 2021 CCS Finals.
“Emma Curran is the cornerstone of our women’s sprints and jumps events,” Vance said. “She is a tremendous young woman in regards to capability and what is asked of her and what she gives to the team. She is just fantastic. We’re just finding out what her true strengths are and where she can go. I think she’s going to be a great quarter miler in her own right (in college) and be a great asset to any program in the U.S.”
Vance praised the girls in the mid- and long-distance events. They’re mostly the same group from the cross country team that advanced to the CIF State Championships in November. Junior Sophie Tau is the top returner as she finished in eighth place in the 1600 in 5:15.64.
Tau had a breakout season on the cross country team, and she’s carried that success over to the track. Showing she’s already in midseason form, Tau ran a PR of 5:13.08 to finish in fifth place in the K-Bell Classic at Westmont High on March 12.
Senior Fiona Herron took second in the 800 in a season-best 2:19.33, and has already hit a PR of 1:04.76 in the 400 earlier in the season at the Rustbuster Invitational. The quartet of Herron, Tau, Tatum Pyle and Shea Elmore went 9:57.85 in the 4×800 relay event earlier in the season to qualify for Arcadia, one of the top high school invitationals in the nation.
“Our girls distance team is outstanding in terms of depth and quality,” Vance said. “I knew they would be a huge asset for the team, and coming from the CCS Championships in cross country was a big move they made in joining the CCS elite again. It’s fantastic for our track program as well.”
Los Gatos has a premier talent in senior Hannah Slover, whose PR of 5 feet, 5 inches ranks third in the CCS this season. Slover is currently doing club volleyball and makes it to the track and field practices and meets whenever it doesn’t conflict with volleyball duties.
“The sky’s the limit for her,” Vance said. “She held the middle school county record and has a lot of ability, but she is limited because her volleyball commitment is so large. She is obviously one of the best volleyball players in the state, so she’ll come down to practice when she can. Her going 5-5 is an amazing effort from someone who literally spends one quarter of the time as the rest of the kids (jumping). She’s definitely a Division I quality high jumper for sure and can go as high as she wants to go.”
Vance is optimistic in what the boys can accomplish despite not having a single returner who advanced to the CCS Finals in 2021. However, Wil Brennan has already made a statement early, nailing a PR of 50.91 seconds in the 400 to take second at K-Bell.
Brady Kamali tied for fourth in the high jump at K-Bell with a mark of 5-10. The 4×400 relay team of Brennan, Aydon Stefanopoulos, Luke Pittock and Alex Denman took second in 3:29.09, the section’s top mark so far. Vance said Brennan, Pittock and Denman are the cornerstones of the boys program, while Stefanopoulos—who is only a freshman—will no doubt be a cornerstone type piece if not now then in the very near future.
Stefanopoulos advanced to the CIF Cross Country Championships in November and ran a PR of 4:21.91 in the 1600 at K-Bell. He also excels in the 800 and 3200 and is projected to contend for a state berth in whichever races he chooses.
Denman will be one of the first decathletes in the last 30 years at Los Gatos, which is unique because most schools don’t offer the event because of the degree of difficulty to coach it, organize it and find an athlete who can compete in it.
However, Los Gatos checks all those boxes as Vance has experience coaching the decathlon and Denman excels in several different disciplines.
“Alex is one of those guys who lead by example,” Vance said. “He’s a fantastic, coachable kid. I really enjoy working with him. I’m teaching kids 10 different events for the decathlon and he’s picking it up really well.”
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at el**@we*****.com
