Rams ready to clinch boys, girls track championships
By Dick Sparrer
The finish line's in sight, and the Willow Glen track and field teams are running away from the field.
There's only one meet remaining, and the Rams seems to be well on their way to winning dual meet championships in boys and girls competition in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Willow Glen improved to 6-0 in both boys and girls action with wins over Lincoln last week, and only Yerba Buena stands in the way of unbeaten seasons for the Rams.
John Neal and Tino Liquigan were each double winners for the Willow Glen boys in the 89-36 win over Lincoln last week.
Neal took the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.7 and the 300 intermediate hurdles in 43.1, and Liquigan was first in the 200 in 24.5 and the 400 in 54.4.
Amir Faraj-Perry heaved the shot put 40-10.5 for a win, and Nate Oxsen was first in the discus with a heave of 120-10.
Gilbert Lozoya sprinted to a win in the 100 in 11.8, Kamachi Mbawa won the 2-mile in 11:26.4 and Stephen Evans took the triple jump at 37-3.
The win over Lincoln came a week after Willow Glen swept to a key league win over Santa Teresa.
"We won a good, tough meet [against Santa Teresa]," said Willow Glen head coach John Owens. "The meet showed that we have a well-balanced team, with strong guys in all of the events. We were able to respond in several events to counter any losses that we suffered."
The Willow Glen girls were equally as impressive. Michelle Castaneda won two events to lead the Rams to a 107-24 win over the Lions.
Castaneda romped to a win in the 100 hurdles in 18.2 and took the 330 intermediate hurdles in 49.8.
Cristina Diaz rambled to a win in the mile in 5:48, Andrea Miller rolled to a victory in the 2-mile in 13:45 and Meagan Finkle raced to a first in the 400 in 69.1.
Jumpers Krista Smestad, Lucy Lynn and Erica Prieman all soared to victories for the Rams--Smestad at 12-7 in the long jump, Lynn at 4-8 in the high jump and Prieman at 28-0 in the triple jump.
In the weights, Brooke Cooke was tops in the shot put at 30-7 and Crystal Salazar won the discus at 80-2.
The win left the Willow Glen girls 6-0 in the division and 6-1 for the year, and it comes on the heels of a key win over Santa Teresa.
"By beating Santa Teresa, the girls preserved their undefeated league record to maintain their first-place position in the West Valley Division," said coach Victor Santamaria. "The girls team is now one step closer to defending their league championship."
Willow Glen was coming off a solid showing at the Hampton-Phillips Invitational held April 20 at Silver Creek High School in East San Jose.
Castaneda finished first in the girls high jump at 4-6, and she also nailed a sixth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.48.
Sophomore Janelle Zetterquist nailed a fourth in the 1,600 meters in a personal best 5:27, and she ran a personal best 2:31.80 to finish 13th in the 800. Diaz was 11th for the Rams in the 800 in 2:30.49, and Eleni Mastorakos was 18th in 2:35.73.
Angela Miller was 11th in the 3,200 meters in 13:21.70, and Angelica Montelongo was 12th in the shot put at 27-4.5.
In boys action, Mbawa was eighth in the 3,200 in 10:55.05, with teammate Rich Folk ninth in 11:13.23. Evans added a ninth in the triple jump at 34-1.5, and Oxsen was 13th in the discus at 120-9.
Juan De Lara ran fourth in the boys frosh-soph 800 for the Rams, stopping the watch at 2:06.96. Mike Morales was seventh in the 200 in 24.48, and Chris Stephens was ninth in the shot put at 38-9.
Panthers fall
The Presentation girls track and field team dropped a tough 80-66 decision to unbeaten Mitty in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
Christine Kim won a pair of events for the Panthers in the meet, taking the long jump at 15-7 and the triple jump at 33-10.
Morgan Brown raced to a win in the 100 hurdles in 19.27, Mandy Williams was first in the 800 in 2:24 and Sierra Siemer was tops in the 2-mile in 12:12.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
