Saratoga News
Sports
Hernandez, Gonzales lead West Valley men into the 2007 cross country season
By Kevin Sparrer
The West Valley College cross country team has a lot to live up to, but with Josh Hernandez returning this season, it's a step in the right direction.
Both the men's and women's squads from last year qualified for state after they each finished third in the conference and 10th in Northern California.
The men are returning four runners from last year, including Hernandez who was all-conference in cross country and track.
"Things are already shaping up to be action packed," said West Valley head coach Lisa Renteria. "It looks to be an exciting season for the West Valley cross country program."
Hernandez, a former Evergreen Valley High School star, earned his first all-conference award when he finished fourth in the 2006 cross country season. He then received his second in the spring, taking third in the 1,500 meters at the conference track finals. He also finished third in Northern California to win all-NorCal honors as well and ultimately placed eighth in the state.
"With a solid year of experience under his belt, there's no telling how many more barriers this young, hard-working man will break down this year," said Renteria.
Running alongside Hernandez will be Angel Gonzales, a fellow state track competitor. Gonzalez was a redshirt last year and comes to cross country after a "very decorated spring."
"He has very high aspirations for this season; the only thing we need to do is keep him healthy," said Renteria. "He looks to be one of the top male runners, not only in the north, but in the state as well."
Also coming back to run for the men is Ian Lujan. Lujan finished 10th at the conference championships last year and was West Valley's top finisher at NorCal.
After redshirting last spring to focus on his schooling, team captain Andrew Taylor will also be a major contributor this season, and Phillip White "returns fired up to improve upon last year's results."
Coming in as freshmen for West Valley this season are Eduardo Lopez from Piedmont Hills, Damien Capizzi of Evergreen Valley and Alex Oliver of Los Altos.
Some other recent graduates joining the team are Logan Gordon of Milpitas, Alp Mimaroglu of Wilcox and Jonathan Spinner of Los Gatos Academy.
"We have a very young team of women, with all different backgrounds," added Renteria.
West Valley has only one true freshman on the women's team this season. There are five coming with freshman eligibility and four returning sophomores.
Paulina Guerrero returns this year hoping to lend her experience to this young team. Also coming back are Brianna Hagen and Emma Asiyo. Melissa Prestano is also planning on joining the squad toward the end of the season due to her rigorous schedule on the soccer field. She did the same thing last year and earned all-conference honors by finishing 10th.
Maria Sosa is coming from Cal Poly-Pomona for her first year of cross country. Nicole Haggerty is coming from Santa Barbara City College and Luz Gomez, who graduated from Yerba Buena in 2005, has decided to run. Jackie Tennant is running her first ever cross country season and Natalia Crema is running for the first time since middle school. The only true freshman is Sandra Sosa from Willow Glen.
"With these 10 women on the official roster, things look to be heading in the right direction," said Renteria. "The coaching staff is really looking forward to what adventures this season will bring."
Dons look strong
De Anza is also returning to the trails this year with a little bit more depth. "We have great numbers this season and are pretty balanced in our runners from one to 10," said head coach Nick Mattis. "We're a young team without much experience in our top runners, however we'll be a much improved team due to our depth."
De Anza has six returning lettermen in Charles Hug, Craig Kawashima, Ajay Pala, David Thompson, Daniel Tran and Louis Vo.
"We have pretty good leadership out of our returning letter winners and our freshmen are really pushing to be the top runners on our team," added Mattis. De Anza also has a sophomore transfer from West Valley in Aaron Sommer.
As for the women, De Anza is returning letter winners Katarina Nowack and Van Anh Tran. The only other sophomore for De Anza is a transfer from San Francisco State University, Cynthia Chaidez.
"If these girls can improve and progress like I feel they can, and the whole team can stay healthy and with a little luck, I look for our women to be a top team in the Coast Conference," said the coach.
