1. Kuppe’s deuces
Not only was the 2010-2011 girls’ volleyball team the first in school history to win the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship, but the team also gave the spectators their money’s worth. Outside hitter Maddie Kuppe (‘12) kept the fans on the edge of their seats, as her serve skimmed the top of the net and barely inched over to Long Beach Polytechnic’s court to snag a one point advantage the fifth game. The next serve wasn’t any less suspenseful as Kuppe launched the ball into the far corner of the court, just inside the line. Kuppe’s one-two punch sealed the state championship and the top spot on The Viking’s top 10 countdown.
2. Maurice’s timely tip
Thirty-five seconds; not even enough time to read this entire article, but enough time to secure a state crown by blocking a field goal. After leading the entire game, the Palo Alto High School Vikings had to hold the Centennial Huskies and thanks to a team effort and standout wide receiver Maurice Williams (‘11) the team did just that. Williams got a hand on the ball to prevent a game-winning field goal from flying in between the yellow poles although many in the crowd failed to see his hand reach up. The CIF championship was just icing on top of an already unbelievable undefeated regular season and Central Coast (CCS) title.
3. Tell your friends its a PA party
After two state championships, what could be more fitting than a city-wide party? The community was more bonded than ever in the Palo Alto parade celebrating our top tier athletes and superior athletic community. After all, the downtown streets were closed as Paly athletes, cheerleaders, band members, and coaches marched down University Ave. carrying banners and riding in floats. With a jumbo screen in front of the Palo Alto police department, the representative coaches and players were able to be seen and heard all throughout the downtown area. The glory parade kicked off another season of Paly sports who carried on the torch of domination.
4. EJ’s saionara slam
Losing to a team once is hard enough, but twice? Now that’s unbearable. Luckily, the boys’ basketball team avoided this the second time it faced Cupertino High School. Late in the fourth quarter after his team had been down by 12 at the half, Viking post E.J. Floreal slammed the ball with one hand into the net off a fast break. Floreal’s dunk not only electrified the crowd, but also tied the game at 42, which Cupertino had controlled until this point. Floreal had 19 points on the night and led his team to a 45-42 victory that secured a second consecutive league title for the Vikings.
5. Tosky’s incredible catch-up
Six seconds. That was the margin of deficit Jasmine Tosky (‘12) had in her 4×100 race against Gunn High School for the league championship. When she left the blocks her opponent had a six second lead, which is usually more than comfortable in a swim race. But Tosky is not the average swimmer, and she was not going to lose the championship without a fight. As the anchor, she was the last lifeline for Paly and somehow managed to catch up to and beat Gunn. She brought her team back from what seemed to be a sure-fire loss and landed her team a league championship.
6. Adams’s Miraculous Mitty catch
The rain poured down, the stands were soaked, the fans were leaving by the second, the minutes wound down along with the hopes of advancing to the CCS semi-finals when all of a sudden the tables turned. Despite the weather, quarterback Christoph Bono (‘11) and wide receiver Davante Adams (‘11) changed everything in the quarter-final game against Archbishop Mitty. Trailing by four with only seconds left, Adams defied gravity. After many failed passes that slipped past Vikings’ hands, Adams held onto Bono’s Hail Mary pass, held onto the ball to score the game winning touchdown with thirty five seconds left, held onto his team’s chances in CCS and held onto undefeated season.
7. Sydney’s half-court huck
Pulling off a three-peat against your cross-town rival is pretty sweet. Doing it with swag is the icing on top of the cake. While the Paly girls’ basketball team held a comfortable lead against Gunn High School in the CCS championship, point guard Sydney Davis (‘11) still felt the need to dig the knife a little deeper with a shot clock buzzer beating three at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The shot was taken closer to half court than the three-point line and the ball only found net, swishing with complete neglect of the rim. The Lady Vikes went on to take the CCS championship making Paly history.
8. Gold, silver, bronze meet Paly green
One, two, three; the building blocks to education, math and common understanding. Gold, silver, bronze; the highest awards granted in sporting competitions. This is nothing unusual, unless one school sweeps. Welcome to Paly awesomeness. Paly sprinters Maurice Williams (‘11), Miles Anderson (‘11) and Tremaine Kirkman (‘12) placed first, second and third, respectively in the 200 meter dash in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship, proving true Viking track dominance. Although the three Viking speedy-racers had swept many 200 meter races this season, this particular one, two, three performance guaranteed a league championship and earned a number eight spot on Viking’s Top Ten.
9. Marchant’s mid inning relief
Sixty seven pitches in seven innings. 9.57 pitches per inning. If you have three batters an inning that’s 3.19 pitchers per batter. Wow. Pitcher Graham Marchant (‘11) threw a complete game after relieving Kevin Kannappan (‘12), who had loaded the bases with the first and only three batters he faced. Marchant shined against Wilcox in the league championship series, although he had only pitched 9.1 total innings before. The Vikings went onto to dominate the game, beating Wilcox, 10-1, to tie the series, 1-1. A day later, the Vikings defeated Wilcox, 5-3, to seal a league playoff championship. Wilcox, however, had won the regular season, beat Paly twice, so the two teams shared the league title.
10. Marshall’s senior day smack
Hitting the first home run on a brand-spanking new field is news and Top 10 moment worthy. Doing it on senior day makes it even more special. Shortstop Gracie Marshall (‘11) blasted a three run homer, her first of the season, over the left center field fence against Santa Clara High School in one of the most watched games of the season. The bomb made her four-for-four on the day and sealed a 16-8 victory for the Lady Vikes. Paly beat Santa Clara a total of three times this season; the third time on senior night The win was imperative in granting Paly a seed in CCS, and landing them the fourth spot in the De Anza League.