 |
|
|
|
Out in Front: Freshman superstar Janelle Zetterquist led a sweep in the mile in Willow Glen's girls track win over Pioneer last week.
Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Rams sweep to win over Pioneer
Zetterquist, Phan star at CCS Top-8 Meet
By Dick Sparrer
It's been a long time since a Willow Glen girls track team has won a league championship--two and a half decades to be exact.
But the Rams put themselves in position to end that long drought with a perfect dual meet season in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
The Rams outran Pioneer 84-42 last week to push their dual meet record to 7-0 in the division. Now they need to just back that up with a strong showing at the league finals on May 3 at Silver Creek to wrap up the championship.
"We're enjoying a near perfect year for the girls, being undefeated," said Willow Glen head coach John Owens.
"It's exciting that our girls have a chance to win a league title, since it's been so long," added girls coach Rich Mendez, who also serves as the throwing coach for the Rams.
Willow Glen clinched the dual meet championship with the win over Pioneer last week, and three sweeps on the track sparked the Rams to the team victory.
Freshman superstar Janelle Zetterquist led a sweep in the mile, winning the event in 6:05. Zetterquist remains unbeaten in league competition in the event.
Sophomore Jennifer Cook ran second in the mile in 6:08 with junior Andrea Miller third in 6:40.
Junior Vanessa James was a double winner in the 800 meters and 2-mile, leading Willow Glen sweeps in each event.
James was first in the 800 in 2:44 with Cook second in 2:53 and sophomore Charlotte Hall third in 3:07.
James also took the 2-mile in 12:42 with Miller second in 14:47 and Francesca McArthur third in 15:23.
"[Zetterquist] is making history with her undefeated season," said WG distance coach Victor Santamaria. "And I'm very proud of all of my distance runners who have contributed much consistency and strength to the team."
But the Rams were winning more than just the distance events against the Mustangs.
Sophomore Edna Sison sprinted to wins in the 100 in 13.9 and the 200 in 29.2, soph Crystal Salazar heaved the shot put 27-2 for a first with sophomore Erika Delk second at 26-4, and freshman Erica Preiman soared to a win in the high jump at 4-4 with junior Michelle Cantaneda second at 4-3.
"We've had super performances from the three distance runners [Zetterquist, James and Cook], and consistent sprinting [Sison] and throwing [Salazar] forces help balance the team," said Owens. "Our depth has been very good also, helping us with many second- and third-place finishes. We're a young team with much future potential."
Mendez certainly feels that way about his young throwers.
"Our girl throwers have been very strong, with [Salazar] leading the way with many wins this season," said Mendez. "She has a chance to win the individual league championship in both the shot put and discus."
The coach added that Delk and Aquina Turner are other top young throwers "with a bright future ahead of them."
"There's definitely a strong spirit and excitement burning among the girls team with a potential league title within their reach," said Santamaria. "Since the girls have worked so hard for this undefeated record, it would be a great honor for them to go into league finals and clinch the team championship. If so, the girls will essentially be making Willow Glen track history, because it's been almost a quarter of a century since the last girls title."
A big reason for the success of the Willow Glen girls team has been the emergence of Zetterquist as a leader in the distance events. And she continues to prove her talents each week.
Zetterquist places
Zetterquist ran with the best runners in the Central Coast Section last Friday night in the CCS Top-8 Meet at Los Gatos, and the freshman sensation raced to a ninth in the 3,200 meters.
The runners with the top 16 3,200-meter marks in the section this season were invited to compete at Los Gatos, and Zetterquist romped to a ninth-place finish in 11:53. The mark bettered her best time ever by 15 seconds and ranks as the seventh best time ever recorded in the event at Willow Glen.
"Janelle's qualifying mark seeded her 14th in this race, so her ninth-place finish represented a huge breakthrough into an elite group of the best 2-milers in CCS," said Santamaria. "She ran an outstanding race, moving from last place during the first mile to eighth place over the final laps."
Zetterquist was nipped at the finish line by Mary McCormick of Santa Cruz, who finished eighth in 11:52.7
"Our goal was a top 10 finish, so she achieved our objective," added Santamaria. "But the most impressive part of her race was how tough she ran over the final laps. She has shown that she will fight to gain every position all the way to the end, and this is what it's going to take for her to advance to the CCS semi-finals and beyond."
Phan nails third
Ngoan Phan, another freshman prospect at Willow Glen, starred in the boys frosh-soph 3,200 meters at the CCS Top-8 Meet.
Phan topped his previous best by 11 seconds to finish third in the frosh-soph 3,200 meters in 10:12.7.
"He ran an outstanding race," said Santamaria of Phan, who qualified for the event with one of the top 12 times in CCS this spring. "He was seeded with the fifth best time, so his third-place finish was a great achievement for him, and it earned him a Top-8 medal."
Phan pulled up from sixth during the first mile to move into third place with three laps to go. He challenged for the lead, but ended up settling back into third.
"Ngoan ran a brilliantly strategic race," said Santamaria. "This race established him among the very best frosh-soph 2-milers in CCS."
WG boys fall
The Willow Glen boys lost the dual to Pioneer last week 84-41 to finish 2-5 in the league season.
Junior Tino Liguigan raced to a win in the 400 meters in 53.4 and was second in the 200 in 29.2, and sophomore Rich Folk was first in the 2-mile in 11:34 with soph Alex Leatherman second in 12:07.
Luis Varela, Cody Fickes, Gilbert Lozoya and Nick Rohwer teamed for a win in the 4x400 relay in 3:52.
Phan was second in the mile in 4:55 with sophomore Amir Faraj-Perry second in the discus at 107-7, senior Jason Benjamin second in the 800 in 2:24 and junior Robbie Watkins second in the triple jump at 39-7.
"We're a very young team meeting some great competition from other schools in our league," said Owens. "There is definitely much potential for a strong boys team next year."
"[Liguigan] is one of the best track athletes in the entire league," added the WG head coach. "His 400 mark of 52.5 is the best in the league, and he's had to overcome a quadricep injury. But he should advance to CCS."
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
