The Best of San Mateo Sports in 2010-11 School Year

With the 2010-11 school year recently in the books, here is a look at the top accomplishments of the teams and athletes at Aragon, Hillsdale, San Mateo and Serra High Schools:

1. Aragon Girls Soccer: A year after winning its first Central Coast Section championship, the Dons made some more history in the 2010-11 season. Aragon claimed the program’s first title in the top-tier Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division on the final day of the regular season. The Dons were winless after their first four league games, but rallied to finish 9-2-3 to narrowly edge San Mateo, Burlingame and Woodside in a taut four-team battle. Junior Rachel Killigrew was named the PAL Bay Defender of the Year. In the CCS Division II playoffs, in a quarterfinal game before falling 5-1 to St. Ignatius 5-1 in a few days later. Midfielder/forward Kat McAuliffe, the top playmaker for a team that finished 14-3-5 and No. 3 in Patch’s , will play for NCAA power Santa Clara in the fall.  

2. Hillsdale Softball: Ace Jordan Richwood helped Hillsdale rack up 24 wins and a second straight PAL Bay title before the Knights bowed out to perennial CCS heavyweight Mitty in the Division II semifinals. Richwood, who now heads to Memphis, struck out 11 in . Earlier, she was named the PAL Bay . Hillsdale, which finished the season 24-6, was slotted No. 2 behind CCS Division III champion Capuchino in Patch’s final .

3. Serra Basketball: Steady guard Connor McGrath guided the Padres to the brink of their sixth CCS title. But Serra, the No. 1 team in all year, fell to Santa Teresa in the Division I final, 46-44. McGrath scored 20 points in the title-game defeat at Santa Clara. Then in the opening round of the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs, to Franklin of Elk Grove to finish the year with a 21-10 overall record.

4. Ronald Chen—San Mateo Boys Swimming: The standout junior set two meet records at : the 200-yard individual medley (1 minute, 55:47 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (59.56). Chen now owns PAL Ocean finals records in three of the eight individual events—he also set the 200 freestyle mark as a sophomore. This spring, he shattered the four-year-old record in the 200 IM by seven seconds, in winning the race by 14 seconds. A week later, Chen advanced to the CCS finals in two events for . He finished sixth in the 500 freestyle (4:38.75) and eighth in the 200 IM (1:53.34).

5. Dalyn Pacheco and Ben Parodi—Serra Track and Field: The two Padre seniors both won a West Catholic Athletic League title to kick off the postseason. Pacheco soared in the boys triple jump at , taking first in 44 feet, 5 ½ inches. (He also finished third in the high jump.) Parodi secured the shot put crown with a toss of 56-4, beating rival Cody Bickham of St. Francis by more than three feet. Of the pair, Pacheco enjoyed the superior showing at . He finished second in the high jump by clearing 6-5. Pacheco also took eighth in the triple jump at 42-7 ½. Meanwhile, Parodi finished fourth in the shot put at 54-7 ¼.

6. Jesse Wong—San Mateo Boys Track and Field: The senior enjoyed a fabulous day at the PAL championships at College of San Mateo, finishing as the top overall boys performer. Wong claimed league championships in the 110-meter hurdles (15.91 seconds) and 300 hurdles (41.16), and took third in the triple jump (41-10.75). After advancing to , he capped his prep career by placing fifth in the 300 hurdles in 40.29.

7. Lauren Croshaw—Aragon Girls Track and Field: Croshaw, a junior, defended her PAL championship in the 1,600 – at the league finals. Two weeks later, she dialed up a fantastic showing on the big stage of the CCS finals. and shattered her personal best in the 1,600 by four seconds, finishing fourth in 5:02.08.

8. San Mateo Girls Soccer: The Bearcats came extremely close to notching the impressive feat of winning the PAL Ocean title one year and then the Bay crown the next. Entering the final week of the regular season, San Mateo appeared poised to do just that – but the Bearcats ended up finishing second behind crosstown rival Aragon. Senior Katelyn Turtletaub was a goal-scoring machine for San Mateo, finishing with 18 goals and six assists. The Bearcats, who lost 4-2 to high-powered Los Gatos in a CCS Division II opener, finished the year 11-5-2 and were No. 8 in Patch’s .

9. Miya Oto—Aragon Girls Swimming: The senior was one of just two girls to win multiple events at , joining Woodside star Alicia Grima. Oto defended her 2010 championship in the 50 freestyle in 25.28 and also won the 100 freestyle in 55.03.

10. Grayce Ujihara—San Mateo Girls Basketball: The speedy Bearcats guard was named the PAL Bay MVP during a 2010-11 season that saw San Mateo finish 15-13 overall. Ujihara hit during a game against eventual league champ Terra Nova on Feb. 5. The Bearcats also won their first CCS playoff game since 2008, defeating Saratoga 50-36 in a Division III second-rounder.

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Interested in the top athletic feats in other parts of San Mateo County? Here are the highlights from , , , , , , and .