Trail Blazing: Freshman Cristina Diaz of Willow Glen finished 21st overall in 19:58 at the CCS Division III girls cross country finals last weekend. Diaz had finished first in the West Valley Division and ninth overall at the BVAL finals a week earlier.




Photograph by Tsutomu Fujita







Grelli runs to BVAL, CCS titles; Phan qualifies for state

By Dick Sparrer

Presentation's Melissa Grelli backed up a Blossom Valley Athletic League championship with a Central Coast Section crown when she raced to an individual title at the CCS Division III championships at Crystal Springs in Belmont last Saturday.

Grelli, a sophomore, had won the BVAL title when she covered the 2.95-mile distance at Crystal in 17:56. But despite wet and rainy conditions, she bettered that effort Saturday when she ran 17:31 to finish 10 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Michelle Gallagher (17:41) of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Grelli led the Panthers to a team fifth with her individual championship. Sophomore Mandy Williams ended up 17th overall in 19:41 with senior Laleh Jalilian 36th in 20:31, followed by freshman Sierra Siemer. Senior Adrianna Morici rounded out the top five for the Panthers, running 71st in 21:43.

San Lorenzo Valley ran up a low 60 team points to win the CCS Division III title with St. Francis (77) second, Harbor (79) third, Sacred Heart Cathedral (106) fourth and Presentation (149) fifth.

Grelli will compete with the state's best next weekend when she travels to Woodward Park in Fresno Nov. 24 for the state championships.

At the league meet run a week before CCS on the same course, Grelli ran to the individual title to lead the Panthers to a team second behind Mitty. The Monarchs ran up 59 points to win the team title with Presentation second at 71.

Grelli led the pack at 17:56 with McKayla Plank of Mitty a distant second at 18:08. Williams finished 12th in 20:12 with Morici 15th in 20:29, Siemer 22nd in 21:00, Jalilian 23rd in 21:00, Morgan Brown 68th in 23:32 and Nicole Butler 70th in 23:37.

The Willow Glen girls, meanwhile, finished ninth as a team at the CCS Division III meet. Freshman Cristina Diaz led the Willow Glen effort, finishing 21st overall in 19:58.

"Unfortunately, Cristina struggled with a minor leg injury she suffered the day before, and so she was not 100 percent, but she still ran a great race to lead our girls team to a ninth place finish overall," said Willow Glen coach Victor Santamaria.

"The girls tied for eighth with North Monterey County, but their sixth girl was ahead of our No. 6 girl, so NMC took the eighth team place," added the coach. "We were striving for a top eight finish, so we came very, very close to accomplishing our goal."

Freshman Kelsey Siebert ran 43rd in 20:51 for the Rams, with senior Vanessa James 57th in 21:17, sophomore Eleni Mastorakos 58th in 21:18 and junior Jenny Cook 60th in 21:20.

"[Siebert] ran an excellent race in a personal best time," Santamaria said. "She has been a strong and consistent force for the girls all season long, and will surely be a key runner for us for several years to come."

"[James] ran a strong race," added the coach, "and [Mastorakos] ran her greatest cross country race ever."

Overall, Santamaria was pleased with the performance of the girls at CCS, and of their season.

"This race was definitely a step up for the girls from BVAL and represented a successful culmination to an outstanding season for them," he said. "With five of the seven varsity girls returning, their potential for next year is exciting."

The Willow Glen boys also ran well at the CCS Division III meet, nailing 10th place overall.

Sophomore Ngoan Phan led the Rams by finishing eighth in 16:18 in a rugged field, good for a trip to state.

"Phan was determined to qualify for the state meet, and he knew he had to finish in the top eight," Santamaria said, "so he grabbed a top six position right from the beginning and hung tough with the top runners."

"This was a very important race for Phan because it puts him among the very best runners in CCS, and to do this as a sophomore makes it that much more significant," added the coach. "Also, this was a very special achievement for Willow Glen, who has never had a boy qualify for the state meet."

Phan, like Grelli, will head to Fresno Nov. 24.

"This should be a great experience for him, and will probably inspire him to reach an even higher level in running," said Santamaria of Phan. "He works very hard and truly deserves this honor."

Freshman Augie Adams finished 44th in 17:14 for the Rams at CCS. Sophomore Gilbert Rosales was 54th in 17:32 with Luis Varela 62nd in 17:47, Kamachi Mbawa 70th in 18:15 and Rich Folk 71st in 18:15.

"Adams ran a remarkable race," Santamaria said. "He ended up the second-fastest freshman overall in the CCS Division III finals."

"Rosales also had a breakthrough race," said the coach.

"Overall, it was a very successful race for the boys," Santamaria added. "The division was extremely strong, and I am very pleased with our 10th place finish, most especially because we are returning all of our runners next season, which should make us very strong in CCS."

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