Photograph by Kathy De La Torre

Ram Pin: Willow Glen's Steve Lopez rides Westmont's Matt Meo (at right) before turning him to his back (above) for a pin at 154 pounds. The pin by Lopez helped the Rams pulled out a 46-33 dual match win over the Warriors.




Arballo nails mat crown at JFK

Different results for Ram soccer teams

By Dick Sparrer

James Arballo had never made it to the championship round of a varsity wrestling tournament before. But the Willow Glen junior got there last Saturday night, and he made the most of the opportunity.

Arballo made it to the championship match at 127 pounds at the John F. Kennedy Tournament in Fremont last weekend, and he came through with an 8-4 win in the finals to claim an individual title.

"He beat a kid who had beaten him just a couple of weeks ago," said Willow Glen coach Phil Luna. "He did a great job."

Arballo was one of five Rams to reach the finals and one of seven Willow Glen wrestlers to place in the tournament, helping the Rams clinch third place in the team standings.

Deer Valley ran up 200 points to win the team championship with Mitty second (166) and Willow Glen third (154).

"We only took eight wrestlers and placed seven," said Luna. "We just didn't have enough guys. If we had taken a couple of more wrestlers, we might have won it."

"It was a great tournament for us," he added. "I was real proud of 'em. We didn't expect to have five guys in the finals. It was pretty intense."

Ureal Rivero (112 pounds), Daniel Valadez (137), Henry Chavez (142) and Adam Copas (154) joined Arballo in the finals.

Rivero, just a freshman, lost a 6-4 heartbreaker in overtime in his last match to settle for second place and Chavez, a senior, lost a tight 5-4 decision in his last match.

Seniors Valadez and Copas also finished second with Steve Klein (189) and Memo Rivera (160) both finishing third.

Willow Glen will head to the Overfelt Tournament on Jan. 26-27 after visiting the Royals for a league dual match on Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m.

The Rams are 2-2 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League after pinning Westmont 46-33 last week.

Valadez, Copas and Steve Lopez each won by fall to lead the Rams to the team victory against the Warriors.

Valadez nailed a quick pin in 48 seconds at 137 pounds for the Rams. Copas pinned at 3:25 at 162 pounds and Lopez pinned at 4:53 at 154 pounds.

Chavez handled his opponent for a 12-1 major decision win at 147 pounds for Willow Glen's only other win on the mat against the Warriors.

Samuel Olivias (105), Ruben Rodriguez (119), Manuel Cousino (127) and Frank Sariana (142) each won by forfeit.

Girls win, boys lose

The Willow Glen soccer teams had very different results last week.

The girls rolled to back-to-back wins in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, beating Del Mar 4-2 and Westmont 2-1. But the boys were blanked twice in the Mt. Hamilton Division, falling 1-0 to both Overfelt and Leland.

The Willow Glen boys slipped to 1-4-1 in division play and to 3-7-2 for the year with the two losses.

The girls, however, improved to 6-2 in league action and to 7-6-1 for the year with the two wins.

Lisa Hunter had a goal and two assists in the 4-2 win over Del Mar to open the week. Samantha Bruni scored off one of the Hunter assists and assisted Hunter on her goal.

Colleen Wozny knocked in a goal off a Hunter assist and set up Lindsey Rovai for a goal.

Wozny scored two goals off assists from Hunter and Bruni to lead the Rams to the tight 2-1 win over Westmont later in the week. The Warriors were unbeaten in league play heading into the game.

Panthers win, tie

The Presentation girls soccer team pushed its record to 3-1-3 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL with a win and two ties last week.

The Panthers, 7-4-4 for the year, fought both Santa Teresa and Prospect to scoreless ties last week, and also pulled out a tight 2-1 win over Independence.

Jaime Moore knocked in a first-half goal off an assist from Kelly Sweitzer, and the Panthers and 76ers were tied 1-1 at intermission. But Nicki Nigos snapped the tie when she scored off an Aubrey Ellzey assist in the second half.

Volleyball signups

The United States Youth Volleyball League is now accepting registration for its spring program in Los Gatos and San Jose.

The coed league is open to players ages 8-14 and the fee of $90 per player includes instruction, games, uniform T-shirt and equipment. League play runs March 31-June 16.

Teams will meet twice a week: on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. at Camden Park West, and on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. at Los Gatos High School.

For information, call 1.888.988.7985. or visit their website at www.USYVL.org.

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