Nils Gilbertson came through with the best pitching performance of his career, shutting down one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country. He used pinpoint control to shut out the lancers in six innings. Saint Francis capitalized on all three of Gilberton’s mistakes as Chris Hoo belted a homer, and Kyle Macey and Dennis Duran hit back-to-back homeruns in the following inning. Patrick Moriarty replaced a tired Nils Gilbertson and sealed the shocking upset over the Lancers. Menlo-Atherton’s head coach said “Nils Gilbertson threw the game of his life. We scratched and clawed to get those nine runs in what is our only win against a WCAL team.”

The Bears notched 16 hits from 10 different players. Wally Hansen went four for four and had two RBI’s. Chace Warren led the team with four RBI’s.

The Lancers, who were ranked in the top 7 in the state prior to the Bears’ shocking win, were distraught following the game.  Although the Menlo-Atherton baseball team was unable to keep their cinderella season alive after losing 10-2 against the Bellarmine Bells on Saturday, their shocking upset over the powerhouse St. Francis lancers will never be forgotten. Jeff Keller said “In both baseball and basketball, I’ve played St. Francis in CCS games. Nothing compares to the intensity of those games, and winning this baseball game shows that M-A has the talent to compete with St. Francis in a number of sports.”

The team ended their season with a record of 0-8 in league play and an overall finish of 3-16. From the start, the team was faced with adversity. Their head coach, Roger Mendez, took an extended leave of absence and eventually stepped down as head coach of the team, leaving assistant coach Christina Chiesa responsible for the team. “We never really meshed with Roger,” said Peters “he pretty much just gave us conditioning sets and plays and left most of the individual coaching to assistants and other players”.

Compounding the team’s struggle, was a smaller and less talented group of seniors than the previous year, which is not surprising considering that 4 seniors from the 2009 class made first team all-league. Notable senior efforts this year come from Hillary Benedict, who contributes a “solid defensive effort” according to Peters, as well as Caroline Edwards, who uses her size and strength to win draws or face-offs. Adding to the team is goalie and senior Ashley Starr, who averages 12 saves a game despite 2010 being her first year in front of the net.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for our team though, as juniors and assistant captains Paige Solomon and Christina Rodgers have shown great promise and are expected to make a major contribution next year. Rogers already has, achieving the title of leading scorer for this year’s team because of her speed and agility. Hopefully next year the girls will be able to spring back and return to their previous prestige and success.

Ultimate Frisbee is unlike most sports, but that’s what sets it apart. The player can not run with the 175 gram frisbee but can only throw to advance it further; the basic goal is to get the frisbee into the opposing team’s endzone. It’s very simple and easy to get involved in, McClure says “It’s a wonderful way to get exercise and learn the simplest game in the world!”

Unfortunately for the 15 person M-A team, it does not garner students P.E credits. Team Captain Sam McClure “It’s the biggest reason we lose players.” Even without school support and funding, the team has been very successful in recent years led by head coach Jimmy Cappels who plays at San Francisco State.

The Menlo-Atherton Ultimate team has been exceptional for a fairly young team. This year they went 12-4 and finished 3rd place in state. The likes of Gunn, Berkeley, Granada, Foothill, Terra Nova, South Pasadena, and Redwood high schools have all been beaten by M-A. Even though the team is new, like most in the Bay Area, it is on the upswing and is a force to be reckoned with. Being a primarily upperclassman sport, the team is losing 8 seniors this year and will be carried by Co-Captains Gabriella Meffert and Hale Tussing next year. McClure says “It’s been a pleasure of mine to lead such a well-rounded and diverse team of kids.”  and encourages all kids to come out and try out for the very competitive sport. Even though it will remain no cut (everyone makes the team) until there is more school support and attention, which is most definitely deserves.

Menlo-Atherton Football Preview from M-A Bear News on Vimeo.

The Sea Otter, which began on April 15th, doesn’t have only one purpose. The Classic is one of the most important races in the world for many Downhill bikers, and has races for every other type of rider, including road bikers. Just as importantly, the Sea Otter has hundreds of exhibitions, all bike-related companies who release new products at the festival.

While at the Sea Otter, I got a chance to ride with one of mountain biking’s greatest heroes, Ned Overend. Ned started biking in the first years of biking’s development, and was one of the greatest in the sport due to his monstrous aerobic capacity. He retired at the age of 41, and immediately afterwards won two triathalon world championships. At the age of 49, he’s still competing. When I met him on Saturday, he had just raced in the road biking race and placed second. He was teaching a quick class on racing skills, and knew more about the mechanics of the sport than anyone I’ve met. Ned’s built his life off of mountain biking, and lives the pro sports dream of holding a sports job through middle age, as he’s now the Specialized team captain.

The best part about the Sea Otter is the people it collects. Upwards of 50,000 people visit, most of whom bring their bike. Innumerable attendees were riding downhill bikes, the heaviest class of bike available. Scads of riders rode Santa Cruz bikes, an expensive and classy bike brand whose bikes usually sell for above $5,000. The sheer variety of bikes was enormous, with bikes in every imaginable color, even colors purposely unattractive to the eye (Who buys a puke green bike, anyway?).  Despite some rather vomitous shades, attending the Sea Otter classic– and meeting Ned Overend– was a very worthwhile weekend.

Mike Amoroso, History teacher and the team’s head coach, believes that this year’s team is the most well-rounded team in his head coaching experience. He says that they are “deep in each position, the bench is strong. [We have] talented kids who are benched, but would start on other teams.” Amoroso states that the M-A program will be very talented for years to come and also that the team is a “great group of kids with good chemistry” that plays very well together.

A defining example of their great play would be this past Friday’s exciting win over their rivals, the Burlingame Panthers. The Bears led 7-2 earlier in the game and allowed the Panthers to come back to tie the game. In the bottom of the 8^th inning, with Chace Warren on third base, Wally Hansen laid down a perfect suicide squeeze that allowed Warren to score, giving the Bears a thrilling 8-7 victory.

Taufoou looks promising as he brings with him an impressive display of experience and love for the game of football. Alofongia Sakalia declared, “I am excited with the new hiring of coach Sione. With the support of coach Sione, I feel that the team will change and have a lot of success this next year.”

With words of hope and excitement hovering around the new coach, I felt the need to catch up with him and get to know him myself.

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Did you play college football anywhere? If so, where did you play?

Yes, I played college football at the University of Mary, a small school in North Dakota.

Do you have any other past coaching experience prior to coming to M-A?

I coached at Menlo High School last year. I also coached the Mainland vs. Polynesian game in Hawaii last year. The game was a great experience and even televised on national TV.

What are your strengths?

I think my strength is my ability to motivate my players. I am also skilled in teaching my players how to train at an elite level.

What will you bring to the Menlo-Atherton program that was lacking in last year’s program?

I don’t know what was lacking last year, but I am bringing hard work, endurance, and motivation to the team.

What are your expectations for this upcoming year’s team as you prepare to enter your first season as the Menlo-Atherton head coach?

My expectation for this next football season is to develop a hard-working team that progressively gets better day after day.

Why did you decide to leave your coaching job at Menlo High School and come to coach at Menlo-Atherton?

I chose to coach at Menlo-Atherton because it was a great opportunity to work with a great group of kids along with a great community.