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Photograph by Chad Pilster
Near Miss: Willow Glen left fielder Gabe Candelaria just misses snagging a shot hit by 1995 WGHS grad Scott Hare in the fourth inning of Saturday's alumni game.
Zetterquist is a Classic winner
Rams hope to wrap up baseball title
By Dick Sparrer
Janelle Zetterquist may be just a freshman, but the Willow Glen track star has been unbeatable this season in varsity competition in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
And when she took her show on the road to Los Gatos for the Central Coast Section Frosh-Soph Classic recently ... well, it was more of the same.
Running against girls her own age from all over the section, Zetterquist was a winner, racing to a victory in the 3,200 meters in 12:08.4.
Zetterquist led an impressive Willow Glen showing at the biggest meet of the year for frosh-soph competitors. She backed up her win in the 3,200 with an eighth-place finish in the 1,600 meters in 5:35.8.
Sophomore Jennifer Cook supported with a seventh in the 3,200 meters in 13:05.0 and a 22nd-place finish in the 1,600 in 5:57.2.
Crystal Salazar placed in both the weight events, finishing 12th in the shot put at 23-10 1/2 and sixth in the discus at 79-0.
Freshman Erica Preiman covered the 100-meter high hurdles in 18.96 for an 11th-place finish, freshman Eleni Mastorakos was 13th in the 800 meters in 2:41.9 and sophomore Edna Sison finished 14th in the 100 meters in 14.08.
The young Rams will be back on the track this week hoping to wrap up a West Valley Division dual meet championship. Willow Glen will put its 6-0 league record on the line when the Rams host Pioneer on April 26, 3 p.m. in the final dual of the regular season.
Zetterquist enters the meet unbeaten in both the mile and 800 in league competition.
Juniors Michelle Castaneda, Andrea Miller and Vanessa James will join talented underclassmen Zetterquist, Sison, Cook, Mastorakos, Salazar and Preiman in the race against the Mustangs. Freshmen Francesca McArthur and Krista Smestad are other top performers for the Rams.
Following the dual meet with Pioneer, Willow Glen will send teams to Los Gatos for the frosh-soph league finals on April 28, the varsity trials on May 1 and the varsity finals on May 3.
The Willow Glen boys will also run against Pioneer on Thursday, but there's no title on the line for the Rams. Willow Glen will take a 2-4 league record into the meet.
Freshman Ngoan Phan will lead the Rams into action this week.
Phan was fifth in the 3,200 meters in 10:23.2 at the Frosh-Soph Classic, and he's the top Willow Glen runner in the 800, mile and 2-mile.
Sophomore Gilbert Lozoya is a top sprinter for the Rams who teams with Luis Varela, Cody Fickes and Trung Nguyen in the 400 relay.
Fickes and Varela are tough in the 400 for the Rams and they join forces with Lozoya and Alex Green in the 4x400 relay.
Sophomore Amir Perry is a leader in the shot and discus.
Back to business
The Willow Glen baseball team will get back to business this week after taking a week away from the Santa Teresa Division season for spring break.
The Rams return to the diamond this week with a division-leading 11-1 record to visit second-place Pioneer on April 24, 3:30 p.m., and host Silver Creek on April 26, 3:30 p.m.
The Rams, who have all but wrapped up the division championship, need just two wins in the last five games to mathematically secure the title.
Willow Glen was slated to face Santa Teresa in a nonleague game last week, but rain washed the Friday game away. The Rams played their alumni in an exhibition game on Saturday and posted a 9-4 victory.
Softball resumes
The Presentation and Willow Glen girls softball teams will also return to BVAL action this week, but the teams face very different goals.
The Panthers get back on the diamond in their bid to chase down a championship in the Mount Hamilton Division. The Rams, meanwhile, are hoping to put some distance between themselves and last-place Gunderson in the Santa Teresa circuit.
Willow Glen lost 7-0 to Leigh and 7-3 to Independence to slip to 2-6 in the division. The Rams, who rest just two games ahead of winless Gunderson, have their sights set on sixth-place Prospect (3-4-1) and fifth-place Mount Pleasant (4-5) as they head down the final stretch.
Presentation is chasing someone, too, but the Panthers are hoping to chase down Mitty in the race for the Mount Hamilton Division flag.
Mitty tops the pack at 8-1 and Presentation is currently locked in a second-place tie with Leigh at 7-2.
The Panthers, who pulled out a thrilling 1-0 win over Fife of Washington in a nonleague game last week, tightened the race with a 2-0 win over Mitty.
Shannon Linerud tossed a one-hit shutout at the Monarchs, striking out 11 along the way. She helped her cause at the plate with a solo home run and two singles.
Presentation ran its season record to 20-6 with the 1-0 win over Fife. Linerud fired a four-hit shutout in this one, pushing her season pitching record to 12-3. Amber Durica doubled twice and singled to lead the offensive attack for the Panthers.
Prior to the win over Mitty, Presentation had blanked Piedmont Hills 4-0 on a four-hit shutout by Linerud. A two-run single by Durica sparked a four-run rally in the second for the Panthers.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
