Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Abdalla, Corona leads Ram to track crown

By Kevin Sparrer

In sports, there are those who separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Major League Baseball has Barry Bonds, professional basketball had Michael Jordan ... and high school track and field has Mohamed Abdalla.

Abdalla, a junior at Willow Glen, recently competed in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division finals and not only led the Rams to a championship but also won multiple events.

Abdalla took first place in both the 1,600-meter run in 4:25.75 and the 3,200 meters in 9:43.22.

Abdalla's teammate Marcos Corona also had a big day at the division finals. Corona, a senior, won the 800 in 1:58.93 and was right behind Abdalla in the 1,600 in 4:32.85, which was good enough for second place. Corona was third in the 3,200 in 10:01.11 as well.

"Marcos' performances thus far in the season are truly a tribute to his great talent and perseverance," said Willow Glen track and field coach Victor Santamaria of Corona after the Central Coast Section Top 8 meet earlier in the season.

Sophomore Nohe Lema was another member of Willow Glen's track team who was successful at the finals. Lema took second between Abdalla and Corona in the 3,200 in 9:51.34. Lema was also third in the 1,600 in 4:33.08.

Senior Rafael Barriga helped Willow Glen to the championship by taking second place in the 400. Barriga finished the run in 51.57. Barriga also took second place in the 200 in 23.07, only 0.2 seconds behind the winner, Alex Ellinwood of Leigh.

Junior Eyoel Galato took third place for the Rams in the 800 in 2:04.9.

Bounding his way to a second-place finish was freshman Daniel Winter. Winter took second in the triple jump with a leap of 41-0.75.

Junior Jose Gutierrez whirled the discus far enough to earn him a third-place finish. Gutierrez threw the platter 117-4, which was only 2 inches behind the second-place finisher, freshman Ryan Mendez of Westmont.

The individual wins allowed Willow Glen to run away with the Santa Teresa Division title. The Rams ran up 114 points, which was almost 20 points ahead of the next closest school. Westmont came in second with 98 points, while Leigh was a distant third with 69.5.

As for the female Rams, they struggled a little bit, but there were still some individual stars.

Stephanie Serna put the shot past the competition. Her winning throw was measured at 36-0.5.

Melissa Martinez added a third place in the 100 for the Rams. She finished the run in 13.46, only three hundredths of a second behind the second-place finisher from Live Oak.

Top placers in the three division meets--Mt. Hamilton, Santa Teresa and West Valley--were to advance to the BVAL championship finals set for May 10 at Mt. Pleasant. Leading qualifiers out of the league meet will move on to the Central Coast Section semifinals on May 19 at San Jose City College and then to the CCS finals on May 25 again at Gilroy High School.

After that, top-placing individuals will continue on to the state track meet set for June 1 and 2 at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College.

Abdalla finished second to Miguel Zepeda of Watsonville at the state meet last year. Zepeda won the event in 4:23.47, with Abdalla hot on his heels in second at 4:23.61.