Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Rams ramble to record at West Valley Relays

By Mike Barnhart

Any high school track and field fans that arrived at the 32nd annual Los Gatos-West Valley Relays after lunch on March 22 missed two of the best performances of the day.

And anyone who walked into the West Valley College stadium at about 10:30 a.m. probably wondered what hotly contested event was finishing up.

As Willow Glen junior Valentino Julien and his Aptos opponent were racing toward the finish line, who would have known they were on the last of 16 laps? It was a 4x1,600-meter relay, to be precise, and the runners were closing out a great race.

Julien, following senior Mohamed Abdalla and juniors Nohe Lema and Nati Wolde, crossed the line at 17:59.43, giving the Rams the fastest time in the state this young season.

Another high-octane performance came late in the morning session. State pole vault leader Nico Weiler of Los Gatos delivered a 17-foot effort to win his specialty, just 2 inches shy of his state-best mark.

There were no state-best marks posted in the afternoon session, but there were plenty of fine performances. Willow Glen's Abdalla won the 800 in 1:58.18, the fourth fastest time in the Central Coast Section. Abdalla, one of the premier distance runners in the section, typically is a triple-winner during dual meets in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's Mt. Hamilton Division. His best times of 4:28.0 in the 1,600 and 9:34.9 in the 3,200 both rank fifth in the CCS.

Other winners included Leigh senior Alex Ellinwood (11.29) in the 100 and Lynbrook senior Eric Suprenant (54.58) in the 400 hurdles. In a wind-aided 110 hurdles race, Suprenant (14.78) finished second to Monterey's Mykel Block (14.66). Leigh junior Vince DiPiero took third in the long jump with a leap of 20-2.5

In girls events, Leland junior Stephanie Barnett won the 1,500 in 4:49.73 and Saratoga senior Nicole Sabes (2:18.35) in the 800.

The girls 800 was a torrid contest, as Sabes needed to notch the CCS's second-best time of the year in order to beat the outstanding efforts of Lynbrook freshman Cindy Huang (2:19.27) and Pioneer junior Toni Sarge (2:19.81).

Barnett also finished second in the 3,000, seven seconds behind Valley Christian's Jennifer Bergman (10:26.09).

Junior Alena Roth of Leigh placed third in the long jump with 15-9.5, three places and 5 inches better than Leland junior Lauren Chin. Archbishop Mitty sophomore Elizabeth Gordon was fourth in the shot put with a heave of 35-8.5.

Roth teamed with seniors Marissa Rode and Melanie Rode and sophomore Jordan Diaz to place third in the sprint medley. Leigh also took third in the 4x1,600 relay as Diaz, Melanie Rode, freshman Michelle Hopper and sophomore Melissa Hopper finished the 16-lapper in 22:36.

K-Bell Classic

Paced by Barnett and super sophomore Katie Nelms, the Leland girls shared the team championship with Mitty at the 24th annual Kiwanis/Bellarmine Classic held March 8 at Los Gatos.

Barnett ran a fantastic distance double. She ran a section-best 11:03.7 to win the 3,200 and placed third in the 1,600 with 5:13.8, sixth best in the section this season. The 1,600 was paced by talented Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo, who ran a state-best 4:44.1.

Nelms, a state meet finalist last year as a freshman in the 400 dash, also was a double winner, zipping over the 100-meter hurdles in 15.08 and dashing ahead of the 400 field in 58.42, the section's second-best mark.

Lynbrook's Huang took second in the 800 with 2:22.86, and Pioneer's Sarge was fourth in 2:23.10. Chin was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 16-0 and Pioneer sophomore Kira Rienecker (15-8) was fifth. Gianna Fernandez of Presentation earned third in the high jump with a 5-2 effort.

Leland senior Kikita Fkiaras (47.88) ran third in the 300 hurdles, and Rienecker was fifth in 49.32.

Top boys performances included third-place finishes by Pioneer senior Marquee Heffner (11.33) in the 100, Suprenant (15.39) in the 110 hurdles and Bellarmine senior Dominique Crowther (40-10) in the triple jump. Heffner also ran fifth in the 200 with 22.96.

Sophomores Nathan Strum of Pioneer and Daniel Winter of Willow Glen and Bellarmine freshman Andre Chapman were outstanding in the frosh-soph division.

Strum won the 800 in 2:01.9, placed second in the 1,600 with 4:41.5 and teamed with Weston Strum, Jason McElravy and Mike Zamora for a second-place finish in the distance medley relay.

Winter was the discus winner with a heave of 127-0, and he took second in the shot put with 43-11.

Chapman scored a sprint double, winning the 100 in 11.5 and the 200 in 23.19, the eighth-best mark in the CCS, and took second in the long jump (18-5.5).

Willow Glen Invitational

Abdalla, Heffner and Nelms all were double winners at the Willow Glen Invitational on March 1. Abdalla won the 800- and 3200-meter races and Heffner took the short sprints, while Nelms ruled the girls' hurdles events.

In the 3,200, Abdalla ran away from a field of 26 runners, claiming the eight-lap race in 9:34.9. He captured the 800 in 2:01.9.

Heffner was the only sprinter faster than 23 seconds in the 200, winning in a wind-aided 22.78, the best clocking in the CCS. Leland's Matt Dickson finished eighth in 23.83. Heffner won the 100 in 11.36, while Willow Glen junior Mike Gibilisco (11.82) placed sixth and Dickson (11.83) took seventh.

Leland senior Nathaniel Polussa took second in the triple jump (41-10), third in the long jump (19-6.5) and fourth in the high jump.

Pioneer junior Samuel Villegas was third in the 400 with 54.03. Senior Richard Mendez of Willow Glen placed third in the discus with a throw of 117-02. Cusick (110-03) was fifth, and Pioneer junior Josh Malvase (107-06) was sixth.

In girls competition, Nelms won the 100 hurdles in 15.95 and the 300 in 45.36, just .05 off of her CCS-leading time. Nelms also was second in the 200-meter dash behind Pinewood's Angela Gradiska, clocking a wind-aided 25.07. Pioneer's Sarge won the 800 in 2:28.07, and Leland's Barnett ran 5:20.8 to win the 1,600.

Frosh-soph Top-8

Leland's Nelms captured three events at the Frosh-Soph CCS Top 8 Classic, March 28 at Los Gatos. She won the 100-meter dash in 12.91, the 100 hurdles in 16.21 and the 300 hurdles in 47.9.

Sophomore Claudia Barnett ran her best time of the season in the 3,200 for the Chargers, earning third place with 11:49.67. Lynbrook's Huang placed fourth, and Leland freshman Emily Childress fifth.

In the high jump, Westmont freshman Cailtlin Caesar cleared 4-10 for a share of second place.

The boys' portion of the invitational event was a qualifying meet for the CCS Top 8 meet on April 18. Westmont's Ryan Mendez was the top qualifier in the discus (120-7) and third in the shot put (43-3).

St. Francis Invitational

Just out from a long basketball season, senior Drew Gordon of Mitty flexed his muscles at the 25th annual St. Francis Track and Field Invitational on March 29. His winning efforts of 56-10 in the shot put and 167-03 in the discus were the best turned in by any CCS weight thrower this season.

Lynbrook hurdler Eric Suprenant also was a double winner, taking the 300 event in a section-best 38.95, after claiming the 110 race in 14.87. Kevin Kapchuk of Del Mar placed sixth in the 110 contest with 16.56.

Del Mar's Tim Stanislao placed fifth in the triple jump with 42-2.5.

In girls competition, Lynbrook's Cindy Huang ran 2:19.9 in the 800, second behind only Mia Lattanzi (2:15.77) of Palo Alto. Earlier, Huang placed fifth in the mile with 5:21.78.

3rd annual Pat's Run

The third annual Pat's Run, a 4.2-mile run/walk that celebrates the life of the late Pat Tillman, will be held on May 3, 8 a.m., beginning and ending at Pat Tillman Stadium on the Leland High School campus.

Tillman was an exceptional student-athlete at Leland at Arizona State University and played for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL before joining the military. He died in the service of his country in Afghanistan.

The family event also features a free 0.42-mile kids run, entertainment, expo, food and carnival activities.

For more information about Pat's Run, visit www.patsrun.com. For more information about the Pat Tillman Foundation, visit www.pattillmanfoundation.org.