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Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Team Effort: Willow Glen's George Torres, taking the baton from Cody Fickes, ran a leg on the 400 relay team that finished fourth at the league finals.
Rams roll to league track crown
Grelli, Williams finish strong for Panthers
By Dick Sparrer
There were no Willow Glen placers at the Central Coast Section track and field championships. In fact, the Rams weren't even represented at the championship meet on May 26 on the Los Gatos track.
But don't get the idea that the lack of CCS representation was a disappointment to head coach John Owens and his Rams. How could it be after the sensational showing Willow Glen put together during the league season?
The Willow Glen girls posted a 7-0 record to win the dual meet championship in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, then backed that up with an impressive showing at the league finals.
The Rams ran up 165 points to easily win the title at the league meet. Branham finished a distant second with 85 points.
"I'm very excited about winning the girls team title," said Owens. "The girls really came together as a team all season, and put in a great effort to win the title [at the league finals]."
"It's definitely been a dream season this year," he added. "It was a great end to a season which began with much promised when we beat Westmont, a upper division team."
"The girls came into league finals with the attitude that they would not be denied the league championship," said girls head coach Rich Mendez, "and they came together and left no doubt who was the best team."
Sweeps in the mile and 2-mile helped the Willow Glen sweep up the field at the league meet.
Freshman sensation Janelle Zetterquist won the mile in 5:42 with junior Vanessa James second in 5:55 and sophomore Jennifer Cook third in 5:59.
Zetterquist also took the 2-mile in 12:48 to lead a WG sweep. Cook was second in 13:20 with James third in 13:28 and Andrea Miller fourth in 14:49.
"The girl distance runners certainly demonstrated tremendous strength and depth," said distance coach Victor Santamaria. "Zetterquist capped off an historic undefeated season by bringing home two individual league titles."
Michelle Castaneda came through with a league title in the high jump, finishing first at 4-6 with Erica Prieman second at 4-4. Castaneda was also second in both the 110 hurdles in 16.83 and the 300 hurdles in 51.8. Prieman was third in the 110 hurdles in 18.18 and added a third in the triple jump at 29-6.
James was second in the 800 in 2:35 with Eleni Mastorakos third in 2:40.3 and Cook fourth in 2:40.7
Sophomore Edna Sison was second in both the 100 in 13.2 and the 200 in 27.9, and soph Crystal Salazar was third in the discus at 86-11 and fourth in the shot put at 26-4 with Erika Delk fifth at 25-5.
Mastorakos and James teamed with Diana Eap and Krista Smestad to finish third in the mile relay in 4:48.8.
"So many girls from all of the events came together brilliantly to win the team title," added Santamaria. "After the meet, when the final scores were announced was a special moment for me as coach, because I saw the girls go absolutely crazy in celebration. They will certainly remember this team celebration forever."
Liquigan leads Rams
The Willow Glen boys were celebrating quite as much as the girls, but Tino Liquigan certainly had reason for celebration.
The WG junior ran to an individual victory in the 400 meters to lead the Willow Glen effort in boys competition.
Liquigan ran 52.4 to win the event and qualify for CCS. He went on to placed eighth in the CCS South Subsection meet at Soquel, running 51.3, and he finished 11th at the CCS semifinals, running 50.57.
"The boys showed that they are a young team with much future potential," said Owens after his Rams finished fifth at the league meet.
Liquigan joined forces with Luis Varela, Gilbert Lozoya and Nick Rohwer to finished second in the mile relay in 3:36.7, and freshman Ngoan Phan was second in the 2-mile in 10:26.
"[Phan] had a remarkable race against older and more experienced racers," said Santamaria. "He raced another tactical gem, and showed he's a fierce competitor by hanging with the leaders."
Robbie Watkins soared to a fourth in the triple jump at 40-9 and a fifth in the long jump at 18-0.
Varela, Lozoya and Rowher teamed with George Torres to finish fourth in the 400 relay in 47.1, and Rohwer was seventh in the 100 in 11.6.
Sophomore Amir Faraj-Perry was seventh in the shot put at 36-8 and seventh in the discus at 110-6 with Nate Oxsen 10th at 107-0.
Trong Nguyen ended up seventh in the triple jump at 36-8.
Grelli, Williams star
Freshman standouts Melissa Grelli and Mandy Williams wrapped up super seasons at Presentation with strong performances in the postseason for the Panthers.
Grelli earned a place in the CCS finals and romped to a ninth-place finish in the 1,600 meters. The talented freshman stopped the clock at 5:19.45.
Grelli had run 5:15.84 in the CCS semifinals to finish 11th and qualify for CCS. Williams was 15th in the 800 at the semi's, running 2:27.58 for the Panthers.
Grelli was fifth in the CCS South Subsection meeting, running the 1,600 in 5:17.53, and Williams was fifth in the 800 in 2:23.35.
Adrianna Morici also made it to the CCS semifinals and finished 22nd in the 3,200 meters in 12:50.0.
Grelli and Williams were both league champions for the Panthers, but Presentation had to settle for a second-place finish at the league meet to Oak Grove.
The Panthers, after a 7-0 dual meet season, ran up 98 points at the finals while Oak Grove rolled to 140 points at the Santa Teresa Division meet.
Grelli was a double winner for the Panthers, taking the 1,600 in 5:20.5 and the 800 in 2:27.5.
Williams was a league champion in the 400 in 61.16 and she added a second-place finish in the 800 in 2:29.7.
Stacey Kim soared to a league title in the triple jump with a 34-0 effort.
Morici was third in both the 1,600 in 5:41.9 and the 3,200 in 13:80.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
