State high school cross country: Los Gatos High's Danielle Katz places third in Division II
By Phil Jensen pjensen@bayareanewsgroup.com Posted: 11/24/2012 09:24:53 PM PST Updated: 11/24/2012 10:52:54 PM PST FRESNO -- Los Gatos High's Danielle Katz sought redemption in the California Interscholastic Federation Division II girls' state cross-country championship race Saturday at Woodward Park. The last time the senior raced in the state championships two years ago, her finish left a sour taste in her mouth. She was feeling much better this year, as she placed third with an impressive time of 17 minutes, 46 seconds for the 3.1-mile course. "I've been thinking about this for two years," said Katz, who moved up from sixth at the mile mark to fourth at the two-mile mark. She said that with approximately a kilometer remaining, she made a move for third place. Milpitas' Yohaness Estifanos did not expect to be leading at the one-mile mark of the Division I boys' race but was first at that point with a time of 4:49. His fast start propelled him to a sixth-place finish in 15:21. "I didn't want to go out too fast at the beginning, but nobody showed up (in front)," said Estifanos. He was sixth at the two-mile mark with a time of 9:52. Estifanos said he wasn't expecting a top-10 finish after suffering a foot injury at the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 29. "I feel all right," he said about his race Saturday. Leland's Richard Ho also got an extremely fast start in the Division II boys' race. He led by six seconds at the one-mile point (with a 4:41 split) on his way to a seventh-place finish in 15:21. "I thought they would be right behind me, but I guess their strategy was to be conservative," Ho said. "I wanted a good time. I have no regrets." Ho's time was the fastest in Leland's history for the course, said coach Rudy Montenegro. Ho led the lead pack through two miles in 9:48. Sobrato's Ryan Corvese placed fifth in the Division III boys' race with a time of 15:33. He outkicked Austin Tamagno of Brea Olinda (sixth, 15:34) to the finish. Scotts Valley's Vanessa Fraser defended her individual title in the Division IV girls' race with a time of 18:00. She led by 14 seconds at the two-mile point on her way to a 12-second victory over second-place Danielle Shanahan of Bishop Montgomery-Torrance. In the Division IV boys' race, Scotts Valley's Scott Edwards placed fifth (15:45).