Reach for the Sky: Presentation middle blocker Katie Turley-Molony goes up for a block in a CCS Division III win over Palo Alto in the semifinals. The Panthers came back Saturday to beat Los Altos for the CCS championship.
Photograph by Tsutomu Fujita
Grelli, Phan off and running at state
Presentation rolls to CCS volleyball title
By Dick Sparrer
There were a number of division champions crowned at the Central Coast Section cross country finals Nov. 10 at Crystal Springs in Belmont.
There were boys and girls champs in CCS Division I, there were boys and girls champs in CCS Division II ... and so forth and so on, right through Division V.
But when you're talking about champions, throw out the divisions when the name Melissa Grelli, of Presentation, comes up. Because Grelli didn't just win the CCS Division III title ... she won it all.
Grelli ran ahead of the field to win the CCS overall crown. The sophomore covered the 2.95 - mile Crystal Springs course in 17:31 to finish 10 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Michelle Gallagher of Sacred Heart Cathedral, who coincidentally also competed in Division III.
Grelli and Gallagher will both be back on the trails this weekend when the top runners from the section advance to the State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Grelli and Gallagher will battle it out with the rest of the girls in the Division III field when the starting gun blasts at 11:45 a.m. Saturday. In all, there will be 10 different races for boys and girls with runs beginning from 8:30 a.m. to 1:25 p.m.
Willow Glen's Ngoan Phan also qualified for state with a solid effort at the CCS Division III meet. The sophomore will be in the state field Saturday after running 16:18 to finish eighth in CCS.
"I'm extremely proud of Ngoan for this special honor of being able to compete at such a prestigious meet among the very best runners in the entire state," said Willow Glen coach Victor Santamaria.
Panthers are CCS champs
A year after finishing second in the CCS Division III playoffs, the Presentation girls volleyball team has won it all.
The Panthers aced Los Altos 15-2, 15-11, 15-4 late last Saturday afternoon at West Valley Community College in Saratoga to win the CCS title and clinch a home match for the first round of the Northern California playoffs that begin this week.
The Panthers swept through the CCS Division III tournament, winning 12 of 14 games in their four matches.
Presentation opened the playoffs with an easy 15-3, 17-15, 15-6 win over Capuchino, then went four games to beat St. Ignatius 11-15, 15-2, 15-3, 15-11. The Panthers took Palo Alto in four games in the semifinals, winning 13-15, 15-7, 15-1, 15-5, before sweeping Los Altos in the title match.
Four-year starter Sarah Nadler led the Panthers to the win over Paly in the semis. The senior outside hitter buried 14 kills to drive the locals to the victory. Junior right side outside hitter Paris Raissinia supported with 12 kills in the Presentation win.
Middle blocker Adriana LeBaron, a three-year varsity starter for the Panthers, was the key to victory in the finals. The 6-foot-tall senior knocked down 11 kills and added five blocks to star on the front line for Pres.
Veterans Nadler and Taylor Rayfield, another senior outside hitter who's a four-year starter for the Panthers, led the squad to the wins over Capuchino and SI in the early rounds of the CCS tourney.
Presentation was seeded No. 1 in the CCS Division III tournament despite a second-place finish in the Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. Mitty, the league champ, won the CCS Division I championship.
Rounding out the CCS championship Presentation team are Lauren Petro, Juliana Fernandez, Dawn Stanley, Katie Turley-Molony, Jackie Newman, Shannon Engle, Rochelle Ayala, Theresa Vinal, Natalie Conte, Nicole Bowland and Francesca Farinacci. The team is coached by Stephen Santonastaso, and his assistants are Chris Crader and Kelle Sloan.
The Panthers will take an impressive 24-7 season record into the NorCal match this week on their home floor (day and opponent not yet determined at presstime).
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
