Instead of celebrating another CCS victory, junior high jumper Kiersten Dolbec spent this year’s meet on a hospital bed.

During CCS trials, where Dolbec placed third with a 5’6” jump, Dolbec’s appendix burst although she didn’t realize it at the time. It wasn’t until later that night, at Los Altos’ senior prom, that Dolbec realized something was wrong. She was rushed to the emergency room where they first diagnosed her with food poisoning. After a CAT scan, it was determined that the real cause of Dolbec’s pain was a burst appendix. She was quickly rushed into surgery and underwent an appendectomy.

Confined to her hospital room for the following week, Dolbec was released Saturday May 24, a day after the CCS finals meet.

The meet did not go well for the other Saratoga hopefuls either. The girls 4x400m relay team, consisting of seniors Nicole and Rachel Sabes as well as juniors Katie and Claire Marsh, placed fifth in CCS finals with a time of 4:01.84. This time, two places and five seconds off last year’s finish, was not good enough for advancement to state finals. Rachel ran a 60 second lap, Katie came through with 59.7 seconds, Claire contributed a strong 59.3 seconds and Nicole anchored in 61 seconds.

“Nicole dropped the baton in the first 100m of the fourth leg. It hit her knee and flew out of her hand,” said Katie. “I think if we had gotten that four seconds back, we would’ve gotten third for sure and would’ve made state.”

Juniors Kian Banks and Alan Menezes also competed in CCS finals in the 800m and 1600m, respectively. Seeded fourth going into the race, Banks finished eighth in the 800m with a disappointing 2:01.08, several seconds off his PR, 1:58.04, which he ran the week before at CCS trials. Menezes likewise did not qualify for the state meet with a tenth place finish in the 1600m and a time of 4:26.67.

Although no one qualified for state this year, the season was not a total failure as more runners made CCS finals than before. ◆