Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Willow Glen's Abdalla is a state champion

By Kevin Sparrer

Mohamed Abdalla has a new name. At Willow Glen High School this week they're calling him, Champion!

Abdalla, a junior, made a little history last weekend when he ran his way to the state Division III championship at the cross country finals held at Woodward Park in Fresno.

But he wasn't alone. Senior running mate Marcos Corona was only 14 seconds behind Abdalla, finishing fourth in the state meet. Their one-four finish made them the most effective one-two combo in the entire state. Though as a school Willow Glen was only able to finish ninth, Abdalla and Corona together dominated every other school in the state. Only one other school had two runners finish in the top 10 in a division, and not one had two runners finish among the top five.

Abdalla raced over the 3.1-mile Woodward Park course in 15:26 with Corona close behind in 15:40.

"Abdalla has been a model of dedication to cross country," said Willow Glen head coach Victor Santamaria. "He never missed a practice and really wants to know how to get better. He asks a lot of questions and does whatever it takes."

"He's an extremely dedicated athlete who set a goal for himself to win state after finishing eighth last year," added the coach. "He was able to accomplish his goal and he really deserves that honor in every respect of the title."

The coach was equally as proud of Corona.

"He's a super talented athlete who has had to face a lot of challenges that have kept him off the field," said Santamaria. "Due to an injury, he missed his entire junior season and really didn't come back at 100 percent until late September and missed the summer training.

"He's super competitive and was able to better his 10th-place finish from last year with minimal training this season. He just never fails to perform at a high level in the big meets."

As for the rest of the Rams, senior Samson Galato was the next Ram to finish, running 16:52 for 74th. Sophomore Nati E. Wolde was 86th in 17:00 with soph Abdul Kamara 127th in 17:24.

Also running for Willow Glen was freshman Cristian Vargas, 149th in 17:45, and junior Eyuel Galato, 156th in 17:54.

"We didn't have a really set varsity team until the CCS finals," said Santamaria. "This is a very young team and I'm very pleased with the finish. These boys came together as well as they could. They are a really unique group of runners who have a lot of heart and consider this their family."

Both Abdalla and Corona will continue their journey through the cross country headlines to the Footlocker Western Region championships on Dec. 2.

"Abdalla's next goal is to participate at the national level," said the coach. "It's a real goal for him, but there are so many phenomenal runners and only the top eight go on.

"Abdalla and Corona have built a program here. They helped train a lot of the younger runners and have become the models for the underclassmen. The younger guys all look at those two in awe."