Saratoga News Vikes run to conference titles, NorCal seconds By Dick Sparrer There was no team better than West Valley Community College in the Coast Conference cross country finals early last month. And, as it turned out, there weren't too many better in all of Northern California. The Vikings won both the men's and women's titles at the conference finals, then backed up that finish by finishing second in the men's division and third in the women's division at the Northern California meet at Crystal Springs in Belmont. Sophomore sensation Juan Miramontes was the individual champion in the men's race to lead West Valley to a team second at NorCal meet behind American River. American River also won the women's title with Hartnell second and West Valley third. Rosemarie Lagunas finished second overall for the Vikings. Miramontes covered the 4.2-mile men's course in 20:25 to finish just a second ahead of runner-up Michael Kasahun of Fresno City College. Nick Piellusch was 11th in 21:47, with Jules Villanueva 17th in 22:09, Jacob Green 37th in 22:53, Jose Acosta 39th in 23:01 and Isireli Naikelekelev 40th in 23:03 to help the Vikings to the team second. Former Cupertino High School star Nuru Abdella finished in the top 25 for De Anza College. Abdella was 22nd in 22:22 for the Dons, who were 12th in the team standings. Freshman Noe Torres, a former Willow Glen sensation, was 52nd in 23:27 to lead the San Jose City College effort at NorCal. Lagunas was second in 17:31 on the 2.95-mile course for women to lead West Valley to a team third. Mary Vidovich was 11th in 19:21, with Rachael Wiseman 16th in 19:40, Heidi Janes 18th in 19:49 and Veronica Garcia 33rd in 21:01. Pam Johnson of De Anza finished 36th in 21:17, with Teresa Guardado of San Jose City 43rd in 21:59. A week earlier, West Valley had run to team titles in both the men's and women's division at the Coast Conference finals at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Miramontes covered the 4.0-mile course in 20:19 to finish first overall with Naikelekelev fifth in 21:14, Villanueva eighth in 21:18, Acosta 10th in 21:30 and Piellusch 12th in 21:41. Abdella and Torres each ran strong in the conference meet. Adbella was sixth in 21:15 to lead De Anza to a team fifth. Emilio Vindiola was 25th in 22:29, with Pablo Viramontes 39th in 23:37, Jamiel Danesh 41st in 23:48 and former Fremont High star Brian Cooper 52nd in 24:52 for the Dons. Torres led the Jaguars by finishing 21st in 22:14. West Valley's Lagunas was the women's champ at the conference meet, running over the 3-mile course in 17:55. Wiseman was fifth in 19:52, with Vidovich seventh in 20:00, Janes eighth in 20:28 and Garcia 13th in 21:25. Christina Van Meter of De Anza was ninth in 20:46 to lead the Dons to a team third. Johnson was 15th in 21:55, with Mitzi Marter 25th in 23:43, Phuong Ly 31st in 25:27 and Anne Marie Weiss 32nd in 25:36. Guardado was 17th in 22:05 for San Jose. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.