Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Abdalla leads Rams to a solid effort at rugged Stanford meet

By Kevin Sparrer

Mohamed Abdalla seems to be picking up in 2007 where he left off in 2006 for the Willow Glen boys cross country team--winning.

Abdalla led the Rams to a first-place finish among the Central Coast Section teams in the Stanford Invitational held on Sept. 29 in Palo Alto. The Rams covered the 3.1-mile course in a combined time of 81:58, over a full minute faster than Los Gatos, which finished second.

Abdalla was the top finisher among CCS runners, finishing in 15:22. Finishing close behind Abdalla was junior running partner Nohe Lema, who was fifth in 15:50. Juniors Valentino Julien (28th, 16:37), Nati Wolde (33rd, 16:42) and John Ladd (84th, 17:27) rounded out the top five for the Rams. Also running for Willow Glen was senior Danny Owens (117th, 17:54).

The Willow Glen girls finished 17th among the CCS teams in the race with a sophomore leading the attack. Kristina Rivera (76th, 21:26) was the first female from Willow Glen to finish. Shortly after Rivera came senior Hayley Tharp (80th, 21:29), followed by senior Kari Server (100th, 21:48), senior Jackie Anderson (102nd, 21:53) and sophomore Ken De La Cruz (114th, 22:08). Senior Chelsea Moran (135th, 22:32) also ran for the Rams.

The boys junior varsity team had some success, finishing third in Division III. Junior Yonathan Seleshi (12th, 10:21) was the first Ram to finish. Behind him was sophomore Cristian Vargas (16th, 10:30), followed by sophomore Simon Herrera (22nd, 10:38), freshman Donald Plazola (23rd, 10:38) and senior Josh Saavedra (25th, 10:40). Freshman Wilson Lyon and senior Justin Garcia also ran for the Rams.

The girls junior varsity squad struggled was 33rd Division III. Sophomores Chanel Galven (72nd, 13:58) and Karla Moreno (81st, 14:10) led the Rams in the race. Senior Maria Loya (103rd, 14:38) was third for Willow Glen with sophomore Linda Dinh (116th, 15:12) fourth and senior Vianni Garcia (131st, 16:10) fifth. Sophomore Brianna Aguirre and freshman Brenda Flores also ran for Willow Glen.

Volleyball split

Willow Glen's girls volleyball team split in its last two matches in Santa Teresa Division play. They defeated Prospect 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 25-14 with Cara Schroeder leading the Rams in kills with 13 on Sept. 28, but they lost to Sobrato 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 on Sept. 26.

The split leaves Willow Glen 6-11 overall and 2-2 in league.

Willow Glen was to travel to Independence on Oct. 2 and will host Piedmont Hills on Oct. 4 with a 6 p.m. start time.

Haight scores three

The Willow Glen field hockey team downed Cupertino 2-1 on Sept. 28 with Odette Overton scoring on a pass from Taylor Lundquist. Ashley Haight also scored an unassisted goal for Willow Glen in the win.

Willow Glen had defeated Prospect 2-0 on Sept. 26. Haight scored both goals in the game unassisted, with one in the first half and one in the second.

The wins advance the Rams to 3-1 in the Santa Teresa Division. The Rams were to host Westmont on Oct. 3 and will travel to Live Oak on Oct. 5, 3:30 p.m.

Brandt scores four

Sam Brandt tossed in four goals and Charlie Kane added one, but the Willow Glen boys water polo team dropped a 12-5 decision to Leland on Sept. 26.

The Willow Glen junior varsity team had a little more luck, defeating Leland 7-4. Michael Holback, Brent Ghan, Marcus Enzweiler, Luke Walton and Michael London all scored goals in the win.

Rams move to 6-0

The Willow Glen girls tennis team defeated Pioneer 6-1 on Sept. 25. Adalia Lopez won 6-3, 6-4 No. 1 singles, and Carla Avila and Isabelle Tran downed their opponents 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.

The win brings Willow Glen to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the West Valley Division.

Coaches needed

Willow Glen High School is looking for coaches for varsity wrestling and badminton for the coming school year. Anyone interested should contact athletic director Peggy Booth at 408.535.6330 or fax a résumé to 408.535.2353.