Napa Masters sparkle in track and field

By Marty James

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Thursday in the Napa Valley:

Mark Bozzini of Napa began the indoor track season by placing in three events at the Mid America Region Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Air Force Academy field house in Colorado Springs Sunday.

Bozzini won the high jump (1.53 meters), was second in the shot put (10.73 meters) and sixth in the 60-meter run (8.84 seconds).

Both Bozzini and Tony Giovannoni, who is also a Napa resident, will be competing in the 2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Prince George’s Center in Landover, Md., later this month in the indoor pentathlon. It consists of the 60-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and 1000 meters.

In 2005, Bozzini was ranked in the top-10 in the U.S. and top-25 in the world after finishing sixth in the outdoor pentathlon at that year’s USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Hawaii. The outdoor pentathlon consists of the 200, long jump, javelin, discus and 1500.

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Two local water polo players, Zephyr Barnes and Drew Teicheira, made a strong showing at the try-out for the Central California Zone All-Star Teams at Johanssen High-Modesto on Sunday.

Barnes, a sophomore utility player, tried out for the youth team in the morning for players born in 1993 or later.

In the afternoon, Teicheira, a junior goalie, tried out for the junior team, comprised of players born in 1991 and 1992.

Due to the high level of competition, some of this year’s athletes included current freshmen from top water polo colleges across the country, such as USC and UCLA, whose permanent residence is in the Central California Zone.

According to coach Mackenzie Heys, who attended with both athletes, “Zephyr did exactly what he is known for: he hustled relentlessly, played a strong defensive game, and his play demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the game. Drew’s performance was phenomenal. He rose to the occasion and truly proved his potential to compete at any level of the sport.

“Both boys showed that they understand the true meaning of playing a team game and represented themselves and Napa well.”

Barnes and Teicheira both play on the Napa Valley Water Polo club and Napa High School teams. They were joined at the tryout by their fellow NVWP teammate and Sonoma Valley High School two-meter player, Peter Armstrong.

Armstrong, Barnes and Teicheira were the only local athletes at the tryout. Though none made the team, their participation and strong showing by all took a large step forward to moving Napa boys’ water polo into a larger and more competitive arena, said Heys.

The Zone teams, which are a feeder program for selecting USA Water Polo National Teams, focus on instructing players in the National System of play. The Central California Zone is consistently one of the most competitive nationally.

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In the last home game of his collegiate career, San Francisco State’s Ryan Wessels had four points and a career-high seven blocked shots in 24 minutes on “Senior Night,” but the Gators lost to Cal State San Bernardino Saturday, 80-73, in California Collegiate Athletic Association action last week.

Wessels played basketball at Vintage and Napa Valley College.

Prior to the contest, the Gators recognized their six seniors, including Wessels, as part of “Senior Night” festivities.

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Jack Dennis, the color radio analyst for Justin-Siena football, will be the guest of the “KVON Sportsvine” Saturday.

The show starts at 9 a.m. on KVON-1440 AM and is hosted by Terry Simpkins, Charles Kennedy and Mark McLeod.

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Freshman Haylee Yepson posted career-high marks on two events and the all-around, but Seattle Pacific fell short of Eastern Michigan in a non-conference gymnastics dual meet at Brougham Pavilion last month.

Yepson, who is from Napa, had a 9.525 on the floor and a 9.35 on the bars, both topping her previous best scores. Her 9.475 on the vault equaled the score she received Feb. 13 at Illinois-Chicago.

Yepson also had a 9.475 performance on the beam, earning her second place on that apparatus. Yepson’s all-around total was 37.825.

“Haylee is a good solid gymnast,” Falcons coach Laurel Tindall said on the Seattle Pacific athletic web site. “She doesn’t really have a lot of difficulty on stuff, but she hits and has been consistent on four events for us.”

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Ricky Del Zompo’s game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the San Francisco State baseball team a 2-1 victory over visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Maloney Field.

Del Zompo’s hit helped the Gators to their first California Collegiate Athletic Association victory of the season and snap an eight-game losing streak overall. He is a Vintage graduate and transferred from Napa Valley College.

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Micah Putnam has started each of the first 15 games and is batting .238 with a home run and 10 RBIs for the Cal State Northridge softball team.

Putnam, who plays second base, went to Justin-Siena.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.

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