Willow Glen, California Since 1992
Sports
(Photograph by Jeff Kearns) Grelli nails seventh at state meet Local Stars: Presentation sophomore Melissa Grelli, leading the pack at the CCS finals, finished seventh in the 3,200 meters at the state meet. Willow Glen freshman Cristina Diaz (second from left) hangs with the pack despite an injury. Presentation soph, WG freshman each have solid years (By Dick Sparrer) Melissa Grelli didn't place at the state track and field finals last weekend. But the Presentation sophomore came as close as she could without running away with a state medal. Grelli finished seventh in the 3,200-meter run in 10:53.08, winding up just out of the top six at the state meet at Cerritos College in Southern California. It was an impressive end to a sensational sophomore season for the Presentation running star. Grelli had finished second in the 3,200 at the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals a week earlier at San Jose City College to win her state berth. Grelli ran 10:36.68 on the San Jose oval. A week before that, Presentation's standout sophomore was a winner in the CCS trials held at San Jose City. She ran 10:54.03 to win the race and win her way into the finals. Earlier in the year, Grelli had won the individual title at Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) cross country finals, covering the 2.95 miles at the Crystal Springs course in Belmont in 17:56. But Grelli isn't the only young area athlete who experienced great success in both track and cross country this year. Willow Glen freshman Cristina Diaz capped a great season with a solid showing at the CCS finals. Diaz, who was ninth in 19:36 at the BVAL cross country finals in the fall, ran a solid 12th at the CCS finals, running 11:35.42. She had finished 10th in the trials in 11:16.96. "Cristina had a very rough time at the finals," said Willow Glen coach Victor Santamaria of his star freshman. "She began the race as planned, which was to go out right behind the leaders. The front pack went out at a very fast 68-69 second first lap, and came through 800 meters around 2:37. "This was the fastest start for Cristina, but she got out of some early traffic and positioned herself right behind this front pack. After the third lap, however, it was clear that something was wrong, as she began to fade back." Santamaria could tell by the look on Diaz's face that she was having some trouble. "It turned out that her calf was severely cramping up on her after three laps, and it never improved, and this simply destroyed her chances of running her best race," said the coach. "As badly as she was struggling out there, I was so very proud of how tough she remained, and how determined she was to stay in that race despite the pain she felt. "Even after the mile mark, when she was already hurting pretty badly, she tried to make one last move to catch back up with the leaders, but her calf simply didn't allow it." Diaz still managed to finish the race, but her time was well behind the state qualifiers. "Although she was unable to improve upon her 11:16 personal best mark, which she was certainly ready to do," said Santamaria, "she did gain CCS finals racing experience, which is like gold for a freshman." |
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