| December
18th,
2007
Happy Holidays to Everyone!!
The
West Valley Cross Country team would like to thank
everyone for their support this season. Wishing
you all the best during the holidays.
See
you on the Track!
*
* *
November
18th,
2007
Cross Country Harriers Compete at State Meet
Men Place 21st out
of 24 Teams
The
Vikings competed at the California Community College
State Championships on Saturday morning and fared
well among some of the best athletes in the state.
San Bernadino Valley's men defended their team title,
while the women of Glendale beat rival Orange Coast
for the win. West Valley's men took 21st out of
the 24 complete teams and our women were incomplete.
Sophomore
Josh Hernandez led our men again
this week. The 3-time All-Conference recipient and
2-time All-NorCal honoree stopped the clock at 21:54
for 65th place. Just over a minute later freshman
Eduardo Lopez would pass at 23:08
for 141st. He was soon followed by his remaining
scoring teammates, soph Ian Lujan
(23:20, 151st) and freshmen Damien Capizzi
(23:26, 155th) and Alex Oliver
(23:34, 159th). Rounding out our troops were Andrew
Taylor (24:18, 179th) and Jonathan
Spinner (24:57, 189th).
Frosh
Nicole Haggerty spearheaded our
ladies as she covered the 3.1 mile course in 20:48,
good enough for 79th overall. The recent All-Conf
recipient was the 5th woman from the Coast Conf
and the 15th woman from NorCal. Sophomore Brianna
Hagen (148th) ran well with her 22:33 clocking,
just in front of frosh Maria Sosa (22:38,
152nd).
*
* *
November
8th,
2007
West Valley to Host Winter Track & Field Clinic
All Coaches and
Athletes Welcome
West
Valley College will be hosting and informative clinic
for coaches and athletes on January 12th. Please
join us and listen to some of the top Track and
Field Coaches in the State of California present
new ideas, techniques, and information on various
track and field events. Some of our presenters include
Millard Hampton, Bob Slover, and Anita Bolton.
Registration
is only $30 per person. For more information, please
contact Coach Al Hernandez at (510) 651-3162 or
runalrun@yahoo.com.
- View the Clinic
Schedule (pdf)
-
*
* *
November
3rd,
2007
Vikings Finish 7th at NorCal Championships
Hernandez Earns
All-NorCal Honors
Folsom
- The 2007 edition of the Northern California Championships
took place this morning with host college American
River College winning the men's and women's team
titles. West Valley's men finished 7th out of the
14 complete teams and stamped their ticket to the
State Championships. The ladies would finish 12th
out of the 17 teams and unfortunately just miss
qualifying as a team. Hartnell's Enrique Lopez won
the men's 4mile race in a time of 20:38. San Mateo's
Caitlin Roake easily won the women's 3mile race
as she stopped the clock at 18:22.
Sophomore
Josh Hernandez earned his first
XC All-NorCal honors with his 9th place showing.
His time of 21:13 was the top for our men once again
this week. Freshmen Eduardo Lopez
(35th, 22:19) and Damien Capizzi
(46th, 22:49) had strong showings as they both cracked
in the top 50. Sophs Ian Lujan
(53rd, 23:01) and Andrew Taylor
(69th, 23:34) rounded out our scoring. Freshmen
Alex Oliver (82nd, 24:10) and Jonathan
Spinner (92nd, 24:49) completed our team
on this day.
The
ladies showed true heart in their efforts on this
day, but unfortunately came up a bit short and missed
the final team qualifying spot by two places. Frosh
Nicole Haggerty led the charge
as she finished 27th with a time of 20:53. Teammate
Maria Sosa soon followed and stopped
the clock at 21:47 in 46th place. Sophs Brianna
Hagen (50th, 21:56) and Paulina
Guerrero (62nd, 22:29) both ran huge personal
bests. Freshman Sandra Sosa still
managed to run a course best despite possibly tearing
her plantar fascia. Knowing she was our final scorer,
the former Willow Glen Ram held on for the team
and finished 83rd with a time of 24:08. Jackie
Tennant also ran to a personal best of
28:00 which was good enough for 101st. Our ladies
did not qualify as a team, but Haggerty, M. Sosa,
and Hagen will all advance individually.
- Complete
Results -
The
Vikings will now prepare for the CA State Championships
in 2 weeks. Fresno City will host it again this
year at Woodward Park.
*
* *
October
25th,
2007
West Valley Qualifies for NorCal
Hernandez is Top
Viking
 Salinas
- The West Valley Cross Country teams competed at
the Coast Conference Championships which were held
at Toro Park in Salinas. With temps in the mid-90's,
host school Hartnell College won the men's race
for the 5th straight year with a mere 38 points.
Las Positas took 2nd with 50 points, while your
Vikings finished 3rd with 88 points. College of
San Mateo's women won the title with 44 points,
while your Lady Vikings finished 5th with 91 points.
Enrique
Lopez of Hartnell successfully defended his title
from '06 as he covered the 4mile course in 21:16.
Sophomore and 3-time All-Conf recipient Josh
Hernandez (at left)
led our Vikings with a 3rd place finish in a time
of 22:01. Freshman Eduardo Lopez
would earn his first All-Conf honor as he finished
12th with a 22:52 clocking. Former Los Altos harrier
Alex Oliver was our 3rd finisher
on this day (22nd, 23:51). Soph Ian Lujan
would soon follow (25th, 24:20) with freshman Damien
Capizzi (30th, 24:47) rounding out our
scoring 5. Frosh Jonathan Spinner
(32nd, 24:59) and captain Andrew Taylor
(33rd, 25:04) were right on his heels. Our final
Vikings were Brian Forte (44th,
25:48), Phillip White (47th, 26:23),
and Justin Kirksey (64th, 30:56).
The
West Valley ladies battled the heat in addition
to their illnesses and injuries yesterday. A struggle
for our girls as we were the final qualifying team
to NorCal. CSM's Caitlin Roake ran to a victory
as she stopped the clock at 19:10, almost 2 minutes
ahead of her nearest competitor. Frosh Maria
Sosa would be our first Lady Vike across
the line in 11th place (23:09) with teammate Nicole
Haggerty right behind her in 12th (23:17).
Both ladies would earn their first All-Conf honor.
Sophomores Paulina Guerrero (19th,
24:12) and Brianna Hagen (22nd,
24:49) were next to finish with Sandra Sosa
(31st, 27:18) completing our scoring. Frosh Jackie
Tennant (37th, 29:14) was our final finisher
on this day.
- Complete Results
-
Both
Viking squads have qualified for the Northern California
Championships which will take place Saturday Nov
3rd in Folsom. From those championships, the top
10 teams for both men and women will advance to
the State Championships.
*
* *
October
5th,
2007
Lady Vikings Win Toro Park Invite
Lopez Leads Men
to 2nd Place
Salinas
- The West Valley harriers ran well at this year's
Toro Park Invitational. The Lady Vikes would earn
their first team win of the season while the men
finished a close 2nd to the defending NorCal Champs
of Hartnell.
In
their first race as a complete team, West Valley
saw 5 of their women in the top 14. Frosh Nicole
Haggerty once again led her women over
the 3mile layout with her 5th place finish (21:17).
Hot on her heels was teammate Maria Sosa.
The transfer from Cal Poly Pomona would finish with
a time of 21:52 in 7th place. Joining us in their
first race this season were sophomores Brianna
Hagen and Paulina Guerrero.
Hagen, who is our top female hurdler in the Spring,
recorded a very solid 23:27 to take 12th. Right
beside her was Guerrero with a 23:28 clocking. Rounding
out our scoring five was true freshman Sandra
Sosa with her 14th place showing (23:47).
Frosh and first time XC racer, Jackie Tennant
recorded a nice 28:16 in her first outing. The ladies
beat out conference rivals De Anza, Hartnell, and
Las Positas for the team title on this day.
Freshman
Eduardo Lopez led the charge for
our Vikings on this day with a very impressive 2nd
place finish. The former Piedmont Hills standout
had a huge breakthrough and stopped the clock at
21:38. He was soon followed by teammates Angel
Gonzalez (22:01, 4th) and Josh
Hernandez (22:06, 5th). Freshman Damien
Capizzi took the final medal with his 14th
place finish (22:48). Soph Ian Lujan
closed our scoring finishing 17th with a time of
23:21. Freshman Alex Oliver was
next to cross the line at 23:24. Also finishing
for the Vikings on this day were Andrew
Taylor (24:28, 25th), Jonathan
Spinner (24:26, 30th), Justin Kirksey
(28:06, 50th), and Justin McGann
(28:12, 51st).
- Complete
Results -
*
* *
September
29th,
2007
Gonzalez Competes at Stanford Invite
Stanford
- Frosh Angel Gonzalez represented
West Valley College at this year's Stanford Invite.
The all day meet highlighted many of the nations
best high school and university athletes over a
variety of different distances. Our Viking competed
in the very loaded 8k (5mile) race among many former
Foot Locker Finalists and All-Americans.
In
his first effort over the 8k distance, Gonzalez
toured the course in a time of 27:45. A bit of a
struggle for the young Vike on this day as he finished
253rd and was the 10th community college athlete
in the race. A great learning experience for this
eager harrier as he eyes some post-season success.
-Complete
Results -
*
* *
September
27th,
2007
Vikings Race Well at Lou Vasquez Invite
Hernandez and Haggerty
Finish 10th 
San
Francisco - The West Valley harriers got another
glimse of their fitness and where they stack up
in NorCal today at the Lou Vasquez Invitational.
Even with a handful of athletes missing from the
line-up, the Vikings were able to pull off some
great individual performances. The men would finish
7th out of the 16 complete teams, while the women
were incomplete again this week.
Our
men would have a very nice team effort on this day.
Soph Josh Hernandez (at
right) led our men over the 4mile course
with a time of 21:00. The 2-time All-Conf recipient
finished 10th on this day. Not too far behind were
freshmen Eddie Lopez (21:37, 22nd)
and Damien Capizzi (22:00, 35th).
A great race by team captain Andrew Taylor
with his first sub-23 clocking on any 4mile course
(22:51, 67th). Returning All-Conf runner, Ian
Lujan would be our 5th man on this day
as he stopped the clock with his 23:21 (83rd). Our
other finishers were Phillip White
(24:05, 103rd), Jonathan Spinner
(24:57, 121st), Brian Forte (25:09,
127th), and Justin Kirksey (27:51,
150th).
Frosh
Nicole Haggerty PR'ed again this
week over the 5000m course as she charged up front
to a time of 20:04. A solid 10th place finish would
also find her as the 6th woman from NorCal and 2nd
from our Conference. Our pair from Willow Glen continue
to fight off injuries brought on from their summer
training, but showed signs that fitness is coming
together. Frosh Maria Sosa finished
51st with a 22:30, while sister Sandra Sosa
took 76th with her 23:40.
This
Saturday, our frosh Angel Gonzalez
will battle with the big dogs at the Stanford Invitational
on the 8k (5mile) course. His race is at 4pm on
Stanford's Golf Course. After that, our young Vikings
will travel to Salinas for the Toro Park Invite
on Friday Oct 5th. We should have all of our roster
together on the line for this Conf Preview.
*
* *
September
18th,
2007
Alumni Day on Saturday!!!!!
Watermelon Run at
11am ~ Alumni Dinner at 6pm at SJ Hilton
Our
1st Annual West Valley Cross Country/Track &
Field Alumni & Friends Dinner will be held Saturday,
Sept 22nd starting at 6pm.
To
start us off in our inaugural event, we will be
honoring the Men's XC team from 1987. West Valley's
Men captured the CA State XC Title twenty years
ago. To this day, WVC is still the only team from
Northern California to win the title outright!
This
year's event will start at 6pm at the San Jose Hilton.
The cost is $50 per person at the door. There will
also be a raffle taking place during the event to
help raise money for the XC and Track program.
We
will also have our traditional Alumni Watermelon
5k Run earlier that day. The "race" begins
at 11am at West Valley College. Even if you aren't
going to run, come out and cheer on your old teammates
and meet the 2007 teams.
If
you would like more information about the event,
please contact Coach Lisa Renteria at 408.741.2457
or by email at Lisa_Renteria@wvm.edu
*
* *
September
16th,
2007
West Valley Competes at Fresno Invite
Gonzalez Finishes
2nd Overall
 Fresno
- The West Valley Cross Country teams competed at
the Fresno Invite on Saturday. The competition was
hosted by Fresno City College and took place at
the very well-known Woodward Park. Our men would
finish 16th overall out of 25 complete teams and
6th for Northern Californian teams. Our women would
again run incomplete this week.
Frosh
Nicole Haggerty led the charge
for out ladies again this week on the 5k course.
A very solid time of 20:36 was good enough for 32nd
overall and a new personal best over the 5k distance.
The '06 Santa Teresa grad was the 4th finisher from
NorCal. She would soon be followed by fellow frosh
and recent returning transfer from Cal Poly Pomona,
Maria Sosa. The former Willow Glen
Ram ('06) continues to improve as she gets healthy
and would finish the day at 22:21 (80th). Sister,
and recent WG grad, Sandra Sosa
would also improve on last weeks time with her 24:32
(120th) showing today. Our final finisher on this
day was frosh Natalia Crema with
a personal best of her own (33:56, 180th).
Our
men bode well over the 4mile distance with frosh
Angel Gonzalez leading the way.
He took 2nd place with a time of 20:38. Josh
Hernandez and Eduardo Lopez would
be our next two finishers at 88th and 93rd (22:45
and 22:49, respectively). Rounding out our scoring
5 were Damien Capizzi (23:01, 112th)
and Alex Oliver (24:07, 176th),
with soph Ian Lujan right behind
(24:16, 179th).
See
where they all stack up on our All-Time
List on the Woodward Park course. Next up for
the Vikings is the annual West Valley Alumni 5k
Watermelon Run on Saturday, Sept 22nd at 11am at
West Valley College.
*
* *
September
8th,
2007
Vikings Open Season at Beaver Invite
Gonzalez Gets Commanding
Win 
Folsom
- After months of Summer training, the community
colleges from the North met up at this year's Beaver
Invitational. American River College hosted their
5th annual running of this event and the meet acted
as a NorCal preview since this will be the site
of the 2007 NorCal Championships. West Valley College
ran well despite not having all athletes in attendance.
The men took 3rd and the women were incomplete,
but looked promising.
Frosh
Angel Gonzalez
(at right) stole the show with his win
to open up the season. His time of 20:45 was 25
seconds better than his nearest opponent. Only 34sec
behind Gonzalez was our sophomore Josh Hernandez
(21:19) in 3rd place overall. Another pair of Vikings
would soon come through. Freshmen Eduardo
Lopez (23:00, 27th) and Damien
Capizzi (23:22, 36th) completed their first
4mile race with success. Soph Andrew Taylor
moved up well during the race and finished 64th
with a time of 24:34. On his heels was freshman
Alex Oliver (24:37, 66th). Rounding
out our team were sophs Ian Lujan
(25:06, 77th) and Phillip White
(29:25, 114th).
The
ladies only had 4 toe the line on this day, with
frosh Nicole Haggerty leading the
charge. Haggerty's time of 20:42 for the 3mile distance
was good enough for an 8th place finish. Maria
Sosa crossed the line next for our Lady
Vikes with a time of 22:24 (21st). Her sister Sandra
Sosa (24:54, 43rd) was next and soon Natalia
Crema (34:20, 66th) would finish. Once
everyone is cleared and healthy, we will continuously
bring in two solid squads to the races.
- Complete
Results -
Next
Saturday our Vikings travel down to Fresno for an
informal State Preview at Woodward Park.
*
* *
August
28th,
2007
Attention Alumni - SAVE THE DATE!!!!!
First Annual Alumni
Dinner is scheduled for Sept. 22nd
Our
1st Annual West Valley Cross Country/Track &
Field Alumni & Friends Dinner will be held Saturday,
Sept 22nd.
~ RSVP Flyer ~ (click
for the pdf flyer)
To
start us off in our inaugural event, we will be
honoring the Men's XC team from 1987. West Valley's
Men captured the CA State XC Title twenty years
ago. To this day, WVC is still the only team from
Northern California to win the title outright!
This
year's event will start at 6pm at the San Jose Hilton.
Some rooms are reserved for anyone coming in from
out of town. Make your reservations today and be
sure to send in the RSVP and money before Sept.
12th. Cost is $40 per person if received by Sept
12th, or $50 at the door.
We
will also have our traditional Alumni Watermelon
5k Run earlier that day. The "race" begins
at 11am at West Valley College. Even if you aren't
going to run, come out and cheer on your old teammates
and meet the 2007 teams.
If
you would like more information about the event,
please contact Coach Lisa Renteria at 408.741.2457
or by email at Lisa_Renteria@wvm.edu
*
* *
August
8th,
2007
Attention Alumni - SAVE THE DATE!!!!!
First Annual Alumni
Dinner is scheduled for Sept. 22nd
Our
1st Annual West Valley Cross Country/Track &
Field Alumni & Friends Dinner will be held Saturday,
Sept 22nd.
~ Save
the Date Flyer ~ (click for the
pdf flyer)
More
details to follow, but if you would like more information
about the event, please contact Coach Lisa Renteria
at 408.741.2457 or by email at Lisa_Renteria@westvalley.edu
*
* *
August
1st,
2007
Get Fired Up For Cross Country
The
2007 West Valley Cross Country team is assembling
and preparing for another successful run this coming
Fall. Until then, take a few minutes and discover
the history and tradition of the West Valley College
distance program.
See
how fast the Vikings have run at various courses
over the years by going to the All-Time
Lists.
Learn
how many championships the team has won, including
the only State Title by a team in Northern California,
which the Vikings won in 1987. - Team
History -
Find
out how to help the tradition grow by supporting
the "Wolfpack Family"
today.
And
finally check out what challenges lie ahead for
this year's team on the 2007
season schedule.
If
you are interested in learning more about our program
and joining the team in the Fall, please don't hesitate
to contact Coach
Lisa today at 408.741.2457 and/or Lisa_Renteria@westvalley.edu
No
experience necessary. Come join the fun!
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