Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Whirling Ram: Willow Glen's Michele McCollum, tossing the Rams to a win over Prospect earlier in the year, flipped a 4-hitter in an 8-1 win over Del Mar last week.
Abdalla is among the best at Top 8 meet
McCollum tosses Rams to win over Del Mar
By Dick Sparrer
The best track and field athletes in the Central Coast Section converged on the all-weather oval at Los Gatos High School last Friday night for the CCS Top 8 meet, and Willow Glen's Mohamed Abdalla figured among the best of the best.
Abdalla raced to a second-place finish in the 3,200-meter run and he added a fifth in the 1,600 to finish among the top athletes in competition in the section.
Abdalla was just a little over two seconds off the winning pace in the 3,200. The Willow Glen star finished in 9:32.66, barely behind first-place finisher Ivan Alfaro of North Monterey County, who ran 9:29.59.
Abdalla was fifth in the 1,600 in 4:28.04. Ryan Hunt of Aptos won that event in 4:21.39.
Bellarmine weightman Stephen Powell had a big night at the Top 8 meet, winning the shot put and finishing seventh in the discus. Powell heaved the shot 57-2 for a first-place finish, with Andres Vargas of St. Francis a distant second at 54-9.5.
Andrew Estko of the Bells was sixth in the discus at 143-6 with Powell seventh at 140-11.
Joseph Mirabeau of the Bells raced to a second in the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.80 with teammate Napolean Greene third in 15.17 and Thomas Phillips sixth in 15.48. Phillips was sixth in the 300 hurdles in 41.10 with Greene seventh in 41.23.
Andy Offorjebe of Bellarmine was third in the 100 in 11:35 with teammate Jalal Beauchman seventh in the 200 in 23.05.
In girls competition, Presentation's Irina Padua soared to a third in the long jump at 15-9.5 with teammate Anna Stetkevich sixth at 15-1. Padua was also eighth in the 100 in 12.82.
McCollum leads Rams
Michele McCollum tossed a 4-hitter to lead the Willow Glen girls softball team to an 8-1 win over Del Mar in action last week in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
The Rams and Dons were locked in a scoreless tie through five innings before each club scored a run in the sixth. The squads matched zeroes in the seventh, but Willow Glen unloaded for seven runs in the top of the eighth to break the game open. McCollum put down the Dons without a run in the last of the eighth to clinch the win.
Lillian Smith blasted three doubles to spark the 15-hit attack for Willow Glen in the game.
The Rams, 5-7 for the year and 2-4 in the division, will try to maintain their winning ways when they play four league games this week. Willow Glen was to host Prospect on Tuesday and will entertain Del Mar on April 26 before hitting the road to visit Independence on April 27 and Piedmont Hills on April 29. The weekday games begin at 3:30 p.m. and the Saturday game is set for a 10 a.m. start.
Rams drop a pair
The Willow Glen baseball team dropped two games last week, falling 11-0 to Santa Teresa in league play and 7-4 to Los Altos in a non-league game.
The Saints blanked the Rams and allowed just five hits in the Mt. Hamilton Division win. Sophomore Anthony Gotelli doubled in the game for Willow Glen. The Rams slipped to 5-9 in division play with the loss.
Willow Glen dropped to 7-10 for the year with the loss to Los Altos on Saturday. Senior outfielder Jason Gibilisco had two hits to lead a seven-hit Willow Glen effort in the 7-4 loss.
The Rams will try to get back on the winning track this week, visiting Leigh on April 26 and hosting Oak Grove on April 28. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.
