Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Willow Glen foursome finishes 12th at Nike Outdoor Nationals

By Kevin Sparrer

Mohamed Abdalla ran his last race as a Willow Glen Ram, but he went out with a bang.

The recently graduated Abdalla led the Rams track and field team to the Nike Outdoor Track and Field National Championships on June 20 and 21 at North Carolina State University A&T in Greensboro, N.C. Abdalla not only anchored the 4xmile relay for Willow Glen, but he also ran in the 2-mile and the open mile.

Abdalla ran a 9:08.61 in his 2-mile on Friday night to take second in his heat and 14th in the nation, and just 12 hours later he turned around and ran a 4:14 as the anchor for the team's 12th-place 4xmile relay. To put even more pressure on Abdalla, he entered in the open mile, which he ran seven hours after the relay in a personal best time of 4:12.09 for an eighth-place finish in the nation. Abdalla ran three heats, totaling 4 miles, in less than 24 hours and has made his mark in Willow Glen history.

"Abdalla performed one of the best distance triples I have ever seen," said Willow Glen distance coach Victor Santamaria. "And with his showing at these 2008 national championships, he can arguably be considered the greatest distance runner in the history of Willow Glen."

There has never been a runner for Willow Glen who did as well as Abdalla in both the mile and 2 mile, not to mention in less than a day.

Mark Stillman has Willow Glen's and the Central Coast Section's record in the mile at 4:06 in 1977, and his best 2-mile was 9:26. Joe Rubio has the school record in the 2-mile at 9:06 in 1980, and his best mile was 4:18. Abdalla now has the second fastest mile and 2-mile in Willow Glen history and the top distance triple.

"Abdalla will be missed at Willow Glen. He has had an enormous impact in our program, both in terms of his competitive greatness but more so in terms of his incredible enthusiasm, passion and leadership," said Santamaria.

Abdalla will be heading to UCLA in the fall, where he will compete in the Pac-10 program.

As a team, Willow Glen finished the 4xmile relay in 17:26 which was good for 12th, six places better than its finish last year.

An unfortunate accident might have cost the Rams a few positions, but ultimately it was the heart of a rookie that kept Willow Glen in the race at all.

Freshman Donald Plazola ran the first leg but was tripped on the first lap of the race and fell hard, slipping from the lead pack. With what Santamaria called great determination and strength, Plazola got back up and finished his leg of the mile two seconds off of his personal best with a time of 4:43. It wasn't until later, when Plazola underwent an x-ray, that he discovered he had a slight fracture in his anklebone.

"He's just a freshman, but Plazola demonstrated tremendous competitiveness, and composure and despite this unfortunate accident, and he contributed significantly to the team and received national championship experience as a freshman," said Santamaria.

Junior Nohe Lema was a little off his game and finished 4:29 in the second leg, while junior Valentino Julien also slipped a little from his personal best, finishing in 4:39.

Abdalla brought the Rams back with a 4:14 finish in the anchor position.

The finish was bittersweet. Willow Glen was able to improve on last year but was marked at fifth best in the country entering the championships.

"This team should truly feel proud about this, because they worked so hard for a year and demonstrated college-level dedication, motivation and discipline every day," said Santamaria.

Aside from Abdalla, every member of the team will return next year, which bodes well for the Rams.