HOME TEAM ADVANTAGE FAMILY, FRIENDS CHEER GOLD MEDAL SOFTBALL WINNER.Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - That makes four. Crystl Bustos, shortstop on the U.S. softball team, is bringing home the fourth medal won by Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. natives, and hers is gold. The 1995 Canyon High School Canyon High School can refer to:
traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. around her neck and the American flag clutched in her hands. Bustos, 23, brings home the second gold to the valley after swimmer Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981 in Burbank, California) to a white mother and a black father, is an American swimmer who won the gold medal in the Men’s 50m Freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics, finishing with the same winning time as Gary Hall Jr. tied with Gary Hall Gary Hall can refer to several people:
Adam Setliff, a Valencia discus thrower, was in medal contention but couldn't beat his second toss of 216-7. He settled for fifth place, which beat his 12th-place finish in Atlanta. ``We couldn't be prouder,'' Gail Ortiz, city spokeswoman, said of the area's Olympians. ``It says Santa Clarita is a great place to raise children and a family.'' Ortiz said the City Council plans to invite each athlete to a future meeting so they can honor and recognize their accomplishments. Bustos and the team started their victory celebration shortly after the game, and she called her brothers, Gabriel and Victor, about 8:30 a.m. to share her joy. ``It was pretty loud and you could hear all the girls in the background,'' Gabriel Bustos said. ``Wherever she was, they were having fun. She worked a long time to get this.'' Her brothers already knew about the win. They had stayed up all night to watch the game play-by-play on the Internet. Then, they caught it television later that morning. ``We got another medal to add to the collection,'' he said as the girls piled on top of each other after Laura Berg Laura Kay Berg (born January 6, 1975 in Whittier, California) is an American softball player. She graduated from Fresno State in 1998. She has a rare distinction of having won three gold medals in the Summer Olympics. drove in the winning run. Bustos was the team's second leading hitter with .270 batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. . She led the team with three home runs and tied for the lead with four RBIs. She had no errors in Tuesday's game. Though Bustos went 0-for-3 at bat Tuesday, she was defensively strong with a double play beginning at second with a throw to first. But Bustos had more to think about during the Olympic games. Her grandfather, a man who has lived with her family all her life, died Sept. 19 while she and her parents were in Australia. The family debated whether to head home, but eventually they told her to stay and finish the games. ``That's what they (the grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl ) would have wanted,'' Gabriel Bustos said. Her family has always been important to her, said Greg Hayes, former Canyon High softball coach. They encouraged her to play softball, which she began at an early age. By 6, Bustos knew the ball field would be her second home. But softball wasn't her first love; it was baseball. She began her career playing tee-ball until she was told she could no longer play because she was a girl. Bustos didn't give up and began playing softball. Her young career took her to traveling teams, gave her a spot on the varsity team at Canyon High for four years and then moved her to Florida to play at Palm Beach Community College Locations Palm Beach Community College's main campus is located in Lake Worth, Florida. In addition to the Lake Worth campus, the largest (114-acre/51 building complex) and longest established campus (1956), PBCC also serves students at full-service locations in Belle Glade . After being named the National Junior College First Team All-American, she joined the Women's Professional Softball League, where she was named the league's most valuable player and home-run champion. In June 1999, she joined the Olympic team and during its 60-game exhibition schedule, hit .452 with 16 home runs and a team-leading 68 runs batted in 168 at-bats ``She's a complete player,'' Hayes said. ``She fielded well, showed her arm and hit with power, and it seems like she did it all.'' The former softball coach doesn't take any credit for Bustos' success and says he simply put her in the right environment for her talent. Regardless of where she goes, he said, she's still playing with the same compassion and care for her teammates. `It might be the Olympic stage, but it's Crystl playing,'' he said. `I'm like everyone else at home, watching with admiration.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) The Bustos family of Canyon Country watch Tuesday as Crystl Bustos and the U.S. team win a gold medal for softball. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News (2) Softball shortstop Crystl Bustos, right, and her teammates celebrate the winning run in their 2-1 gold-medal victory over Japan on Tuesday. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press |
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