Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Abdalla, Corona finish one-two in Division II at CCS finals

By Kevin Sparrer

The Willow Glen "Dynamic Duo" has struck again.

Mohamed Abdalla and Marcos Corona led Willow Glen to a second-place team finish at the Central Coast Section Division III cross country finals on the 3.0-mile course at Toro Park in Salinas on Nov. 11. Abdalla was first and Corona second in the division, and the two finished second and third overall in the CCS field. The Rams were also able to finish fourth overall in the run.

St. Ignatius won the title with a low 56 points and Willow Glen was a close second at 62, earning a berth in the state meet for the third straight year.

"It was an outstanding effort for the boys team, which has only three returning varsity runners and three underclassmen," said Rams coach Victor Santamaria, whose team will compete in the state meet on Nov. 25 at Woodward Park in Fresno. "The challenge for most of the season was establishing the varsity team, and so they are barely starting to gel together right now. They definitely had their best overall team performance all season."

Abdalla ran 15:21 with Corona just behind in 15:35. Behind Corona came Samson Galato (12th in the division and 40th overall in 16:31), Eyuel Galato (18th, 67th overall in 16:52) and Natie Wolde (28th, 94th overall in 17:04). Abdul Kamara and Cristian Vargas also ran for Willow Glen.

The lady Rams were not as fortunate as their male counterparts, finishing seventh in Division III and 16th overall. Kari Server led the charge for Willow Glen, finishing 13th in 19:54 and was 49th overall. Behind Server was Nancy Velazquez (15th, 55th overall in 19:57), Michelle Moran (22nd, 77th overall in 20:14), Jaclyn Anderson (34th, 130th overall in 20:57) and Hayley Tharp (52nd, 199th overall in 21:35). Kristina Rivera and Sandra Sosa also ran for the Rams.

The girls of Presentation faced a strong Division II field this year and finished ninth, 28th overall. Tracy Vargo was the front runner for Presentation, finishing 12th in the division and 30th overall in 19:17. Rebekah Phillips came next at 44th in 21:05, Rachel Phillips 46th in 21:08, Nicole Zanardi 56th in 21:26 and Jordan Fillmore 64th in 21:41. Also running for Presentation were Rachel Meissner and Anissa Liu.