2-sport St. Francis athlete pulls off unusual double duty




Mercury News

Michael Calcagno had a lot on his mind Friday night.

The St. Francis junior was preparing for the biggest cross-country race of his life, which was on the same day as the Lancers' most important football game of the year.

Calcagno pulled off the unusual double with style, despite feeling a bit under the weather Saturday.

First he helped the Lancers to a fourth-place Division III team finish in the California Interscholastic Federation State Cross-Country Championships in Fresno, covering the 3.1-mile Woodward Park course in 17 minutes, 7 seconds. He finished 100th out of 195 runners.

His parents then drove him to San Jose in time for the 7 p.m. kickoff in the Central Coast Section Open Division semifinal against Palma. Calcagno, a place-kicker, made his second field goal of the year -- a 25-yarder -- and converted an extra-point attempt in the Lancers' 16-10 loss.

Michael's father is Greg Calcagno, a former star quarterback for St. Francis who later played at Santa Clara. His grandfather is Ron Calcagno, the longtime Lancers coach after whom the school stadium is named.

``The main difference is, in a race, if you make one misstep, it doesn't make that much of a difference,'' said Calcagno, who made 33 of 35 extra-point attempts this year. ``But in football, one small mistake can cost your team. They are more dependent on you.''

• The Blossom Valley Athletic League will have a new look next football season when Live Oak moves from the Tri-County Athletic League to the BVAL's top tier, the Mount Hamilton Division.

Lincoln, co-champion of the Santa Teresa Division, will move up to the Mount Hamilton, and Silver Creek and Leland are expected to play in the Santa Teresa Division, Pioneer Coach Mark Krail said.

West Valley Division champion Del Mar will move up to the Santa Teresa, and Willow Glen will drop to the West Valley Division.

• College commitments:

Soccer: Kevin Santora, Bellarmine College Prep (UC-Irvine).

Water Polo: Jessica Safir, Los Gatos (Pacific).