Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Abdalla wins third league x-country title

By Kevin Sparrer

One championship could be considered a fluke, two might even be written off as luck, but winning three is nothing short of greatness.

Willow Glen's Mohamed Abdalla proved his greatness by capturing the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division cross country title for the third time in the last three years when he ran past the field on Oct. 29 at the league finals.

But that's only the beginning. Abdalla is the defending Central Coast Section champion and state champ and has high hopes for the remainder of his post season. That race will begin at 10 a.m. on Nov. 10 when Abdalla and the Rams return to Crystal Springs in Belmont for the CCS finals.

Abdalla led the Rams to the Mt. Hamilton Division team title, completing the 2.95-mile course in 14:58 to top the field. Abdalla also made himself known earlier in the season, taking second in the prestigious Stanford Invitational and shattering the Montgomery Hill course record by 34 seconds. He missed the record at Toro Park by only one second.

Abdalla is part of a dynasty for the Willow Glen boys cross country program that has spanned half a decade. Willow Glen has now claimed its fifth league title in as many years.

The Rams dominated the run, scoring 25 points, while Silver Creek, the next closest team, scored 107.

Behind Abdalla in the BVAL finals was his junior running mate Nohe Lema (third, 15:30). Lema established himself this year in his first full season of cross country running, winning the Lowell Invitational and running the second fastest time ever at Montgomery Hill.

Juniors Valentino Julien (fourth, 16:01), Nati Wolde (seventh, 16:22) and John Ladd (ninth, 16:25) finished out the scoring for the Rams at the league meet. Senior Danny Owens (22nd, 17:26) also ran well for the Rams.

The win marked the fourth straight undefeated season for Willow Glen.

The girls varsity cross country team also had some success at the Mt. Hamilton Division finals, finishing third as a team with senior Hayley Tharp (seventh, 20:15) leading the Rams. Sophomore Kristina Rivera (19th, 21:22) was next with senior Jaclyn Anderson (22nd, 21:28), senior Kari Server (28th, 21:48) and sophomore Kenneth De La Cruz (31st, 21:55) all following close behind.

Rounding out the list of finishers for the Lady Rams were seniors Michelle Moran and Chelsea Moran.

Finishing third in the BVAL finals gave Willow Glen's girls their seventh straight appearance in the CCS finals. The Rams will compete on Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m.

Like the varsity boys, the frosh-soph boys completed their season undefeated, winning their second straight Mt. Hamilton Division title by scoring 24 points. The frosh-soph has continued its dominance in the division, having not lost a league meet in the last seven years and winning six division titles in those seven years.

This year Willow Glen was led by sophomore Cristian Vargas (first, 17:19), sophomore Simon Herrera (second, 17:26) and freshman Donald Plazola (fourth, 17:54). Freshmen Wilson Lyon (seventh, 18:01) and Taylor Haight (10th, 18:17) completed the dominance by yet another Willow Glen cross country team.

Freshmen Tony Nguyen (15th, 18:29) and Martin Lomeli (29th, 19:25) completed the roster for the Rams.

Willow Glens' boys junior varsity team also has created a dynasty, capturing its third straight division crown with 43 points. Junior Yonathan Seleshi (first, 17:47) led the attack as the league champion with seniors Joshua Saavedra (second, 18:11) and Justin Garcia (fifth, 18:23) right behind. Ryan Santomauro (17th, 19:14) and Pasha Rice (24th, 19:34) completed the scoring while Kenny Li, Rene Pardo, Daniel McDermont, Daniel Thorburn, Eduardo Flores and Erik Torral rounded out the team.

The junior varsity girls struggled a little bit with only one returning experienced runner in senior Vianni Garcia, but were still able to finish fifth overall. The lady Rams were led by sophomore Chanel Galven (fifth, 22:48), who will join the ranks of the varsity team for the CCS finals. Illiana Lizarraga (24th, 24:54), Biranna Aguirre (27th, 25:21), Garcia (36th, 28:01) and Taylor Cruz (39th, 29:31) completed the scoring for Willow Glen. Karina Licea also ran for the Rams.