Photogragh by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Fancy Footwork: Willow Glen's Nikki Leader battles Alex Harkins of Prospect for the ball in recent field hockey play. The Rams lost a tough 2-1 nod to Lynbrook last week and face a couple of tough tests this week against division leaders St. Francis and Mitty.
Phan, Cook lead Rams to wins
Adrianna Morici stars for Presentation
By Dick Sparrer
Ngoan Phan, Jennifer Cook and Adrianna Morici each finished strong when the teams of the Blossom Valley Athletic League converged on Montgomery Park in San Jose for cross country action last week.
And, by no small coincidence, Willow Glen and Presentation did pretty well, too.
Cook finished third in the individual field led the Willow Glen girls to wins over Lincoln and Branham in West Valley Division competition, and Morici was first overall to pace Presentation to girls' wins over Andrew Hill, Westmont and Prospect in the Santa Teresa Division.
Phan was second in the West Valley boys race to lead Willow Glen to a split against the Lions and Bruins.
Phan covered the 2.59-mile course in 18:24 to finish second in the West Valley race. His effort helped the Rams defeat Branham 18-41, but Willow Glen lost a close 24-31 decision to Lincoln.
In the West Valley girls race, Cook was third in 22:54 to lead the Rams past Lincoln 15-48 and past Branham 15-50.
Morici finished first in the Santa Teresa Division race in 20:02 to lead Presentation past Hill 23-32, Westmont 19-40 and Prospect 19-55.
Alison Williams finished seventh overall in 22:21 with Mandy Williams eighth in 22:27 for the Panthers.
In league action a week earlier, Cook was third to lead the Rams to a split against Pioneer and Yerba Buena. Cook ran 23:58 on a 2.95-mile course to nail third overall. The Rams beat the Mustangs 19-42, but lost to the Warriors 24-31.
Phan finished eighth in 19:45 as the Rams lost 24-32 to Pioneer and 19-37 to YB.
In Santa Teresa action, Morici was second in 20:51 on the 2.85-mile Alum Rock Rock Park course to lead Presentation to wins over Leigh and Independence. Aubrey Ellzey was third in 21:10 for the Panthers.
In invitational competition, Phan finished 12th in 13:32 to lead the Willow Glen boys frosh-soph to a fifth-place finish in the small school division on the 2.25-mile course at the Artichoke Invitational at Half Moon Bay.
Alex Leatherman finished 21st with Eric Turnage 31st and Anthony Howell 48th.
Willow Glen rolled to a team sixth in the girls frosh-soph division behind an outstanding eighth-place finish by Cook.
Cook was eighth in 16:04 with Eleni Mastorakos 36th, Veronica Najera 48th, Francesca McArthur 77th, Sarah Roberts 78th and Cassie Alvarado 90th.
The Rams were 10th in the boys junior varsity division. Juan DeLara was 48th in 16:00 to lead the Rams with Andrew Lovell 73rd, Jason Benjamin 78th, Scott Peltz 79th and Steven Alvarado 90th.
Willow Glen finished 18th the girls varsity team standings behind the efforts of Michelle Castaneda, Laura Jackson and Andrea Miller.
Presentation ended up 10th in the large school team standings. Morici was 21st in 15:18 with Ellzey 40th in 15:57. M. Williams was 72nd for the Panthers and A. Williams finished 77th.
The Presentation girls finished fourth in the large-school junior varsity division with Karen Krouse 25th in 17:36, Laleh Jalilian 35th, Natalie Garcia 36th, Helena Mellish 37th and Gina Chavez 45th.
Tough WG loss
Samantha Bruni drilled a second-half goal, but the Willow Glen field hockey dropped a tough 2-1 decision to Lynbrook last week.
Bruni scored off an assist from Nikki Leader, but the Rams had given up two goals to the Vikings in the first half.
Willow Glen slipped to 2-2-2 in division play with the loss.
The Rams face a tough test this week. Willow Glen will host a pair of league powerhouses--St. Francis (3-1-2) on Oct. 25, 3 p.m., and first-place Mitty (4-0-2) on Oct. 27, 3 p.m.
Polo teams fall
The Willow Glen girls and boys water polo teams each lost a couple of decisions last week.
The boys lost 13-1 to Mt. Pleasant despite a goal by Josh Liu, then they fell 17-4 to Independence. Kyle Buchanan scored two goals for the Rams against the 76ers.
A few days later, the Rams lost 16-1 to Lincoln to slip to 0-5 in the West Valley Division. Liu scored the lone goal for the Rams.
Courtney Livak tossed in five goals, but the Rams lost 11-6 to Presentation. Jaime Watts also scored for WG.
Livak, Watts and Kara Buchanan each scored goals, but the Rams lost 7-3 to Valley Christian.
Panthers win again
The Presentation girls volleyball team won again in the Mt. Hamilton Division, beating Oak Grove 15-0, 15-4, 15-0 in play last week. Lynzy Caton pounded down seven kills to lead the Panthers to the victory.
Presentation is now 8-1 in division play and 18-2 for the year.
Willow Glen, meanwhile, lost a 15-2, 15-6, 15-13 decision to Westmont in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.
Rams, Panthers fall
The Willow Glen and Presentation girls tennis teams each lost in BVAL play last week.
The Panthers lost a 7-0 Mt. Hamilton Division decision to Leland to slip to 6-5 for the year.
The Rams lost 5-2 to unbeaten Prospect in the Santa Teresa Division. Kelsey Giambruno won by default at No. 2 singles and Nhuchi Tran and Jovanie Barraza won 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 3 doubles for the only Willow Glen victories in the match. The Rams are 5-7 in league play.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
