Vikings Compete at State Meet
Five sophomores and one freshman score 22 points at Championships
5/17/04
Bakersfield - West Valley took down six athletes to the California Community College State Track & Field Championships at Bakersfield College.  The two day event started Friday with the multi events and the 10k's at night with the remainder of events on Saturday.  Only four athletes qualified from both the North and the South making every event a field of eight.  The athletes were greeted with temps in the low 90's for both days of competition. 

Freshman, Nik Kay was the highest Viking finisher this week as he placed 3rd in the Men's Discus with a toss of 177-3.  The Los Gatos HS grad was also the top finisher from the North in this event.

Sophomore, Lenin Zapata would have a great race in the 5000m and finish 4th overall.  Zapata, who was also the Coast Conference and NorCal Champ in this event, finished with a new best of 15:09 and was the top NorCal finisher. 

Sophomores, Michael Buttery and Mike Loftus would finish 5th and 7th, respectively in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase.

Daniel Mollo finished 6th in the open 400m with a time of 48.86.

Another sophomore standout, Dan Rimmer would finish 7th in the Men's Decathlon.

These six men would finish 14th out of 48 schools with their 22 points earned.

- Complete State Meet Results -

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West Valley Has Big Day at NorCal Finals
Three wins and five more top 5 finishes help Vikings earn 4th place in Men's division
5/8/04
Modesto - West Valley athletes had a huge day at Modesto Junior College for the Northern California Championships. Only a handful of Vikings qualified for today's events and many of them proved why. In a day where only the top 4 finishers in each event qualify on to next weeks State Championships, the Vikes new it was time to shine.

The day started off with a 2 - 3 finish by Michael Buttery (9:50.3) and Mike Loftus (9:53.7) in the 3000m Steeplechase (at left). The Sophomores were State meet qualifiers in the event last year and hope to both capture top 5 finishes next week.

Nik Kay continued to show everyone his talents as he won the men's discus with his toss of 177' 3". Kay is ranked 3rd in the discus going into next weeks State Finals.

Collecting a win for himself was last week's 3rd place finisher in the 10k, Lenin Zapata. The sophomore won a great battle in the 5000m with a time of 15:23 over ARC's Jose Pepe Ramirez (15:26) and the 10k winner from Butte, Dale Kitt (15:42).

Also qualifying for the State meet was Daniel Mollo (at right) as he finished 4th in the 400m with a 48.81. The sophomore again would anchor our 4 x 400m relay team to a 7th place finish. Other members of the team were Mohammed Zahriya (50.7 split), Dan Rimmer (51.6), and Jesse Tarango(51.1).

Justin Chaudoin and Shelby Burrus competed in the 1500m finals, but their 5th and 8th place finishes weren't quite enough to earn their ticket to the State meet. Burrus later finished 6th in the 800m.
- Complete Results -

Next week, six athletes and four coaches will travel south to Bakersfield College to take part in the California State Community College Championships. Competition begins Friday with day 1 of the Decathlon and the 10,000 meter races. The remainder of events will be on Saturday.

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Zapata Finishes 3rd in NorCal 10,000 meter Final
5/1/04
Sacramento - American River College hosted this year's Northern California (NorCal) Trials competition. The 90 degree tempuratures greeted the athletes as the day began with the 10k races. Only a few West Valley athletes were in attendance as today was mainly preliminary races to qualify for next weeks NorCal Finals in Modesto. - Results -

The day started with the finals of the 10,000 meter races at 9am. Sophomore, Lenin Zapata finished 3rd with a new best time of 32:30. Butte College's, Dale Kitt won with a 32:06. The top 4 finishers in this race are now qualified for the State Championships in two weeks. Zapata (seen at right) will also be in the 5000 meter race next week. He is currently ranked first in the event.

Other highlights of the meet included Daniel Mollo's 2nd place finish in his heat and 3rd fastest qualifying time of 48.27. The sophomore would later anchor the Men's 4 x 400 relay team to a new best of 3:20.64 with his 47.1 split. The relay team consists of Mohammed Zahriya, Dan Rimmer, Jesse Tarango, and Daniel Mollo. They finished 5th in the event and will go on to next week's NorCal finals.

Freshman, Shelby Burrus would also move on to next weeks NorCal Finals in the Women's 800m. Her time of 2:26.9 would place her 3rd in her heat and 7th overall (Top 9 advance). She will compete in both the 1500m and 800m on Saturday.

The NorCal Finals will be held in conjunction with the Modesto Relays at Modesto Junior College. Our first event begins at 11:30 with the Men's 3000m Steeplechase and the last event will be at 3:15 (Men's 4 x 400 relay). From this meet, only 4 athletes in each event will qualify on to the California Community College State Championships held at Bakersfield College. For more information about NorCal Finals/Modesto Relays, go to www.ModestoRelays.org.

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Great Article in the SJ Mercury About Nik Kay and WVC
4/29/04
After a stellar season thus far, and a school record win in the discus at the Coast Conference Championships, Nik Kay has his sights set on NorCal's and the State Championships. Dennis Knight, writer at the San Jose Mercury News, does a great write up on Nik Kay and his transition to competition at the collegiate level in this weeks Mercury.
(more...)

Kay and some teammates will travel to Sacramento for the Trials of the Northern California Championships this Saturday. For a complete list of heat sheets for the NorCal Championships click here.

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West Valley Has Fantastic Day at Conference Championships
7 First Place Honors Collected and a School Record Broken (again!)
4/24/04
Salinas, CA - The West Valley track and field squad produced several impressive performances at this year's Coast Conference Championships at Hartnell College. Taking home seven wins and numerous top 3 finishes, the Vikings placed 3rd in the Men's division and 5th in the Women's.

The day was highlighted by Shelby Burrus' double win in the 1500m and 800m. Burrus (seen at right) lowered her times in both events with new bests of 5:05 and 2:26, respectively. Both times now place her in the top 10 in Northern California.

The day started off with a 1-2-3 finish in the Men's 3000m Steeplechase. Michael Buttery, Mike Loftus and Taff Dirks took top honors in the event and set the tone for the rest of the day.

Nik Kay (below) also stole the show as he surpassed his previous school record in the discus by 4 feet with his 177-10 throw for the win. He also set a best in the shot put with a 51-5.5 which earned him a second place finish.

Shannon Hanly took home a pair of wins herself with a 16.20 and 4' 10" in the 100m hurdles and high jump, respectively. She ended the day with a 3rd place finish in the 400m hurdles.

Other standout performances included Daniel Mollo's 2nd place effort in the 400m. His 48.24 was only 3 hundredths of a second of his PR set on Thursday at the trials. Mohammed Zahriya finished 4th in the 100m and 5th in the 200m. In the 1500m, Justin Chaudoin had a breakthrough performance as he placed 2nd with 4:06. Lenin Zapata easily won the 5k with a 15:33, and this was after his 4:08 3rd place finish in the 1500m. Dan Rimmer finished 5th in the 110 HH with a new best of 16.12.

Both relays also improved their season bests down to 42.89 and 3:21.82. They finished 4th in the 4 x 1 and a come from behind 2nd place in the 4 x 400m. - Complete Results -

Next up for the Vikings is the Northern California Championships Trials to be held at American River College in Sacramento. Only those athletes that have met the NorCal provisional have a chance at qualifying for this meet. A complete list of NorCal accepted entries will be posted later this week.

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Vikings Compete at Diablo Valley Invite
4/18/04

Pleasant Hill - West Valley took a few athletes to Diablo Valley College for this year's Twilight meet. The meet offered many athletes the opportunity to better marks and try new events before this week's Coast Conference Championships. A few athletes also took the weekend off in order to rest up for the Championships.

Most of the Vikings that competed walked away with better times and marks. Among them was middle distance runner, Justin Chaudoin (at left). Taff Dirks also improved his 1500m with his 4th place finish. Daniel Mollo hit the NorCal automatic qualifying mark in the 400m with his 48.28. A great improvement for Mollo who would later come back to better his 200m time to 22.66. - Complete Results -

This week the Vikings travel to Hartnell College in Salinas for the Coast Conference Championships. Many have their sights set on a Conference Title. For a list of top times in the conference please visit www.directathletics.com .

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Dan Rimmer NorCal Champion in Decathlon
4/14/04
Fresno - Fresno City College hosted this year's NorCal Heptathlon/Decathlon Championships. Two days of multiple events (7 for Women/10 for Men). The Heptathlon and Decathlon are a true test of a complete all-around athlete.

West Valley's Dan Rimmer led the competition after the first five events yesterday in the NorCal Decathlon Finals.

Today, after the Javelin he dropped down to third. But in the final event of the day and the competition (1500m), Rimmer used his Cross Country training from the Fall to earn him enough points with his 4:43 performance to secure the title of the 2004 NorCal Decathlon Champion!!

Dan Rimmer's Results:

DAY 1: 100m - 11.60, Long Jump - 19' 7.5, Shot Put - 33'2.5, High Jump - 6' 0.75, 400m - 52.30

DAY 2: 110HH - 16.24, Discus - 85' 0, Pole Vault - 9' 2.25, Javelin - 118' 8, 1500m - 4:43.54

TOTAL = 5633 (# 9 on WVC All-Time List) - Full Results from each event -

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Vikings Capture Six Wins at Bert Bonanno Classic
4/10/04
San Jose - West Valley athletes won 6 events while recording personal bests at San Jose City's Bert Bonanno Classic. The warm temps greeted the athletes at what was formerly known as the Bruce Jenner Classic. Throughout the day, the Vikings had many impressive marks that would move them up on the NorCal rankings.

On the women's side, Shannon Hanly (at left) had four top 3 performances including a win in the 100m hurdles (16.48). Hanly placed second in the high jump (4-6) and 100m (13.60) and then went on to get third in the 400m hurdles (1:11). Shelby Burrus would also run to another best in the 1500m. Her 5:10 was good enough for a 4th place finish. Natalia Crema (SP/29'11.75") and Hue Pham (TJ/26'3.25") both improved their marks as they placed 3rd.

The men also had a great showing as a number of them improved their bests. Freshman, Taff Dirks won the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 10:14. In the 400m, sophomore Daniel Mollo ran a very impressive 48.34 for the win. Mollo was also a part of both relay teams that placed first. The final win of the day came from Nik Kay's toss in the discus of 169-0.

Other standout performances included Mohammed Zahriya's 2nd place in the 100m. His blistering time of 10.84 places him 10th on West Valley's all-time list. Another solid performance came from Lenin Zapata's 1500m. This sophomore battled with Santa Rosa's Matt Blanchard from the gun, but narrowly got edged out at the line. His 4:05.73 now ranks him 7th in the North. -Complete Results -

The Conference Championships are only two weeks away. This Tuesday and Wednesday, Dan Rimmer will go down to Fresno for the NorCal Decathlon Finals. On Friday, a few athletes will have a final attempt to get a mark before Conference at the Diablo Valley Twilight Meet on Friday.

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Vikings Collect More PR's at Johnny Mathis
4/4/04
San Francisco - West Valley athletes took advantage of great competition and near perfect weather as they brought home another handful of personal bests from the 23rd Annual Johnny Mathis Invite.

Viking decathlete, Dan Rimmer (at right), improved his long jump best by 5 inches with his 4th place finish (20-5.75). This former Lynbrook high school star would later improve his time in the 110m high hurdles (16.24) with another 4th place finish. Rimmer is also a member of both relay teams.

Nik Kay, who now has a winning streak of 9 meets in a row, would bring home top honors once again with his win in the discus (173-2). Sprinter, Mohammed Zahriya would finish 5th overall in the 100m (10.95), just off his best of 10.94. Michael Buttery lowered his time in the steeplechase to 9:44 with his 2nd place effort. Daniel Mollo dipped under 49sec again, this time with a 4th place finish in the 400m (48.93). In one of the final events of the meet, distance standout Lenin Zapata would open many eyes as he blazed to a 40sec PR in the 5000m. Zapata's time of 15:13 would be good for a 10th place finish in a very tough field. Lenin's 15:13 now leads the NorCal list for the 5k.

Shelby Burrus also walked away with a new PR in the women's 1500m event. Her new best time of 5:14 ranks her 2nd in the conference. Mary Portwood also brought home a new best in the 200m with her time of 29.67. - Complete Results -

Next up for West Valley is the Bert Bonanno Classic at San Jose City College on Saturday April 10th. This meet will feature many northern california community college teams.

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Mini-Meet Produces Great Marks
3/27/04
San Jose, CA - In a last minute decision last week, San Jose City College coaches volunteered to put on a meet for area JC's at their venue as an alternative to the Fresno Relays. The meet turned out to be a success with many top notch performances.

In the distance events, Lenin Zapata led our 8 men to seasonal and personal bests. Zapata stopped the clock with a new PR of 4:08.73 to finish 4th. Taff Dirks got a pair of personal bests with times of 4:13.04 and 2:05.23 in the 1500 and 800m.

In the sprints, Jesse Tarango's 400m performance stood out this week as he won his heat with a huge PR of 50.77. Mohammed Zahriya continued to lower his times as he won the 200m (22.09) and placed 2nd in the 100m (10.94). Dan Rimmer also improved his 100m time down to 11.45. - Complete Results -

Nik Kay was our sole athlete to compete at the prestigous Stanford Invitational. His marks placed him in the "B" sections on Friday. He struggled in the shot put, but won his section in the discus with a toss of 172-0. That throw placed him 7th overall in the event (including "A" sections). - Stanford Results -

Next up for the Vikings is the Johnny Mathis Invite at San Francisco State. The meet will feature many 4-year Colleges and open athletes.

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Season-Best Performances Highlight Home Meet
3/20/04
Saratoga, CA - Many Vikings took advantage of competing on their home track as a number of them walked away with both personal and season bests. Last Thursday, West Valley hosted an invitational which was open to local JC's and unattached athletes.

The men's 4 x 100 relay team dropped their time, once again, with their second place finish (43.01). They would later come back and win the 4 x 400m relay with another season best of 3:23.75. In the individual events, Mohammed Zahriya (seen at right) was the star of the day with his two PR's. Zahriya, a recent graduate of Leigh HS and a WV football player in the fall, ran the 100 (11.02) and 200 (22.21) as well as both relays. Zahriya's 200 time cracked onto the WVC all-time Top 10 list at #10.

Also racking up best times in the middle distance events were Michael Buttery (4:12/2:03), Taff Dirks (4:16/2:07), Daniel Mollo (2:05), and Jesse Tarango (2:06). Jerry Dwelle (11.65/23.35) and Ron Discaya (12.93/26.87) improved their sprint times in the 100 and 200. Nik Kay continued his winning ways with his toss of 172-10 for the win in the discus.

On the women's side, Shannon Hanly competed in her first race of the season. She got thrid in the 100m hurdles (16.56) and placed fourth in the 100m (13.86). Shelby Burrus (66.02) and Mary Portwood (69.65) ran the open 400m. - Complete Results -

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West Valley Athletes Shine at Bakersfield Relays
3/14/04
Bakersfield, CA. - Eight athletes came home with seasonal and personal records and three walked away with medals. At a meet where 32 schools and 1900+ athletes were in attendance, West Valley only brought a mere 12, but many stood out in their respected events.

The meet began Friday evening with a few distance events. Lenin Zapata circled the track 25 times to cover the full 10,000m race under the lights. Zapata finished 5th overall in a tough field with a time of 32:36.8. The sophomore was narrowly edged out by fellow NorCal runner Rudy Cepeda of COS . Saturday morning started off with the 3000m Steeplechase. Michael Buttery and Mike Loftus would both medal as they finished 2nd and 3rd in this race. Great mid-season times of 9:50 (Buttery – PR) and 10:00 (Loftus – season best) would rank them in the top 5 on the NorCal list. Daniel Mollo finished 8th in the 400m with a 49.43. He came back in the 200m to run 22.90. Mollo also ran a leg on both relay teams with a 4 x 400m anchor split of 48.2. Another standout performance came from our freshman, Mohammed Zahriya. A member of both relays, Zahriya also ran the 100m and 200m, lowering his time in the 200m to 22.58. The highlight of the meet came from outside the stadium in the discus ring. Nik Kay broke one of our oldest school records with his toss of 173-5 to win the event. Kay's throw surpassed the record by over three feet and beat out the nearest competitor by over 20 feet. Kay would finish off the day with a 2nd place finish in the Shot Put.

On the women's side, our two ladies would also put up solid PR's. Shelby Burrus doubled in the 1500 and 800m and won her heats in each. Her times dropped significantly in both races as she ran a 5:19 and 2:28. Recording another personal best was our sprinter/jumper, Mary Portwood. Portwood (seen at right) improved on her long jump by almost a foot with her jump of 14' 7".

All the great performances of the weekend made the 4 hour trip worth it. This year's State Championships will be held at the same Bakersfield venue, so the meet offered a great opportunity for many State hopefuls to view the facility. - Complete Results -

Next up for the Vikings is our home Invitational on Thursday the 18th. Six Junior Colleges and many open athletes will be in attendance. On Friday and Saturday, West Valley will host the 28th Annual West Valley Relays. At last year's meet, 68 High Schools attended and many records were broken. This year looks to be much of the same.

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3/7/04
Sacramento, CA. - The Beaver Relays is always an exciting opportunity for teams to put together their individual talents into relay form. The meet offers a variety of different relay races which makes for exciting action all through the day. Most schools from Northern California were in attendance which also allows for a preview of what the competition holds.

In one of the only individual running events of the day, Shelby Burrus (at left) completed her first 5k on the track, stopping the clock at 20:58.57, placing her 5th. The men's Distance Medley (1200-400-800-1600) race was the biggest race of the day with many of the NorCal teams on the line. Our men would narrowly miss winning the event even with Lenin Zapata's closing mile of 4:25. The other runners of that relay were Taff Dirks (3:20), Daniel Mollo (48.5), and Michael Buttery (2:04). Their second place effort would be our best finish in the relays on this day. Other relays that WVC participated in were the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, and 4x1600. Our men's 4 x 200 placed 6th (Rimmer, Zahriya, Dwelle, Mollo) with a time of 1:31.21 and the 4 x 400 placed 7th with a 3:28.95.

In the field events, Nik Kujaczynski kept his winning streak alive as he won the men's Shot Put. Natalia Crema would again improve on her marks in the Shot and Javelin with her throws of 26' 11" and 82' 2", respectively. - Complete Results -

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2/27/04
San Francisco, CA. - Some good performances and top marks where set by many West Valley athletes at Friday's meet. Competition included College of San Mateo, Santa Rosa JC, Marin College, Laney College and the sprint powerhouse and home team, CCSF. 

In the 3000m Steeplechase, Michael Buttery (at right) captured the win with his solid 10:07.66 effort.  Buttery would later place 6th in the 800m (2:07.48). Despite falling in the water with 600m to go, Taff Dirks still managed to place second with a good early season time of 10:25.51 in the steeple.  Lenin Zapata would have another good day as he led our team in both the 1500 and 800m races stopping the clock at 4:11.86 and 2:07.13, respectively.  Freshman, Mohammed Zahriya tied his PR in the 200m with his time of 22.64 placing him 3rd. 

In the field events, Nik Kay again showed why he is the NorCal leader in the Shot Put with his toss of 51' 2.25" to win.  Natalia Crema placed 2nd in the Shot Put with her throw of 26' 2.75".  Crema also placed 3rd in the Javelin and 4th in the Discus.  -Complete Results -

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2/20/04
Salinas, Ca. - The West Valley Track & Field team headed down south to Hartnell College for a 5-way meet. The hurricance winds had let up and the rain came in sprinkles as the athletes began the day in Salinas.

Lenin Zapata (shown at left) showed his endurance dominance as he won the men's 5k race after coming off a 3rd place finish in the 1500.

Other highlights of the meet included Nik Kay's double win in both the Shot Put and the Discus. Both throws have placed him with the best marks in the NorCal. Another great double performance came from Freshman Mohammed Zahriya as he won the 200m and placed 2nd in the 100 meter dash. Zahriya later anchored our 4 x 400m with a split of 50.1. Daniel Mollo also stunned the crowd with his sub-49 second performance in the open 400m and split a low-49 in the relay.

On the women's side, Shelby Burrus captured another second place finish as she PR'ed in the 1500. She came back in the 800m to place 4th. Sprinter, Mary Portwood, won the 200m and placed 2nd in the 100m. Portwood began the day with a 3rd place finish in the Long Jump as well. A new addition to the team was Natalia Crema, formerly from Prospect HS. Crema placed 3rd in the women's Discus and also threw the Shot and Jav. - Complete Results -

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2/14/04
Cupertino, Ca. - In place of the traditional "Conference Relays," De Anza College hosted a Conference Preview Meet. All the teams in the Coast Conference competed in an early season matchup. The athletes were greeted with hurricane like winds and occasional bursts of rain. But like any true competitors, all those competing gritted their teeth and gave forth their best efforts.

A few Vikings were able to bear the elements a bit better than others as we had some top performances of the day. Nik Kujacznski (seen at right) won the discus with a toss of 154' 7" and placed 3rd in the shot put without a warm up.

Another event winner of the day was Lenin Zapata in the Men's 5000m. Zapata's late race surge sealed the win with a time of 16:28 in the windy conditions. He was followed by teammate, Franco Violich. Another second place finisher was Shelby Burrus in the Women's 800m. For complete results of this meet and others, please visit Direct Athletics.

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2/7/04
San Jose, Ca. - San Jose City College hosted this year's 5-way scrimmage against Marin, Santa Rosa, De Anza and West Valley. The scrimmage was the first time for many to get back on the track.

Some of the top performances included Daniel Mollo's (seen at left) open 400m and starting leg of the 4 x 400m. Mollo won the open 400 with a time of 49.36 and came back with a 49.6 relay split.

Other top performances included Lenin Zapata's 2nd place finish in the 5k with his time of 16:02.53. Jens Kujacznski (aka. "Nik Kay") won the discus with ease with a toss of 145' 5". Justin Chaudoin led our middle distance crew as he completed the 15/8 double with times of 2:05.67 and 4:21.

A good first outing for us and a great way to start off the season. Look for better things to come as the season goes on. -Complete results-