The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Jump Ball: Willow Glen's Cory Warren skies high for two of his six points in the Rams' win over Prospect in the league opener last week.

Rams off to perfect soccer start

Dion Saunders leads Willow Glen to hoop win against Prospect

By Dick Sparrer

It was a rocky start for the girls' soccer team at Willow Glen.

Michael Herauf's Rams won just one nonleague game and entered play in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with a dismal 1-5 record.

Still, Herauf was optimistic about his club's chances in the 1997-98 league season. And it appears as though he had good reason for optimism.

The Rams are off to a hot start in league play. Willow Glen won two more games last week to improve to 4-0 in the division.

Freshman forward Colleen Wozny knocked in four goals in two games to lead the Rams to back-to-back wins over San Jose Academy and James Lick.

Wozny drilled three goals in a 5-2 win over San Jose to open the week. Melissa Ybarra supported with a goal and an assist, and Kristen Rovai also scored a goal. Kellie Arnone chipped in with an assist for the Rams.

Wozny came back with a goal and an assist to lead Willow Glen to a tight 2-0 win over Lick a couple of days later. Arnone added a goal and Lara Covey had an assist.

The Rams, now 4-0 in league play and 5-5 for the year, will host Yerba Buena on Jan. 13 and Andrew Hill on Jan. 15 in a pair of 3:15 p.m. games this week.

Saunders' big night

Dion Saunders bombed 26 points to lead the Willow Glen boys' basketball team to a 57-48 win over Prospect in the first game of the year in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.

Saunders dumped in 12 field goals and added two free throws to lead all Willow Glen scorers in the win.

Rayvon Jackson joined Saunders in double digits with 11 points. Manny Myers hit seven points, Cory Warren six, Eric Dean four and Guy Beahm two for the Rams.

Panthers win big

Erica Timiraos buried three goals, and Stephanie Neustadter knocked home two to lead the Presentation girls' soccer team to a lopsided 5-0 win over Independence in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.

Timiraos had an assist to go with her three goals, and Rachel Neustadter provided an assist on her sister's second goal. Sarah Bryson had two assists, and Eileen Fincutter added one on the three goals by Timiraos.

The Panthers, now 3-0 in division play and 6-1 for the year, will visit Mitty on Jan. 13 before hosting Piedmont Hills on Jan. 15 in a pair of 3:15 p.m. games this week.

Watkins wins title

Sophomore Kurt Watkins rolled to an individual title at 154 pounds to lead the Willow Glen wrestling team into the top 10 at the Lone State Tournament at Live Oak last weekend.

The Rams finished seventh in the team standings with 80 points. Willow Glen trailed fifth-place King City by just points.

Watkins topped a list of four placers for Willow Glen. The sophomore was a division champion at 152 pounds.

Junior Lupe Duran was third at 119 pounds for the Rams, and senior Mike Von Rueden was third at 215. Sophomore heavyweight Erik Lupercio was fifth at 275 pounds.

Pioneer's Rob Basuino starred for the Mustangs in the tourney, finishing fifth at 171 pounds. Tom Jack was sixth at 135 pounds for the Mustangs.

Willow Glen had opened the league season earlier in the week, losing a 57-18 decision to Piedmont Hills in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Freshman Henry Chavez pinned in 49 seconds at 135 pounds, and Von Rueden (215) and Doug Murr (189) each won by forfeit.

The Rams will battle Prospect on Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m., at Willow Glen before taking part in the Jim Root Classic at West Valley Community College on Saturday.

Panthers win one

The Presentation girls' basketball pulled out a thrilling 54-53 win over Leland in the first game of the year in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.

The Panthers, now 10-4 for the year, were led by center Sara Werner, who tossed in 17 points in the win. Senior star Molly Shanley had two three-pointers among her five field goals to finish with 12 points for the Panthers.

Cheyenne Brown added seven points for the winners, and Megan Moniz and Rosanna Moreno had six apiece. Jaleh Donaldson added four, and Jessica Borello hit two.

Rams lose a pair

The Willow Glen girls could score just 24 points in two games last week and opened the season in the Satna Teresa Division of the BVAL with two straight losses.

The Rams were pounded 69-4 by Piedmont Hills in the opener. Only Brigitte Boney and Sondra Corpus could pitch in buckets for Willow Glen.

Letisha Trumpo tossed in six points and Corpus had five, but the Rams lost 72-20 to Independence later in the week. Angel Ocampo had four points, Vanessa Sifuentes three and Boney two.

Molina stars

Roberto Molina knocked in three goals to lead the Willow Glen boys' soccer team to a 5-2 win over Leigh in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL last week.

Joel Cibrian and Carlos Mendoza also scored goals in the win for the Rams.

Molina and Robert Heinzelman each scored goals, and Cibrian and Oscar Rivera added assists to help the Rams to a 2-0 win over James Lick two days later.

The Rams are now 2-1 in the division and 7-2-2 for the year.

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