30 Girls XC Teams to Watch: Willow Glen (CC)

It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it may look a little different this time around - our longtime data analyst Jeff George has moved on, leaving this energizing project to the MileSplit team in CA. Our collective goal is to briefly highlight 30 boys and 30 girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall. We will spotlight one team per gender per day over a 30-day period. Similar to past countdowns, we will provide a cross-sampling of teams from all 10 sections without regard to statewide or even division ranking (those will come later, as will articles previewing each section, and returning athletes to watch). As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email CA state editor Jeffrey Parenti (jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv) and we'll make the corrections.

Willow Glen (CC/Division III)

As noted in a previous article, CCS will have a new look in 2022 as many teams find themselves in new divisions and with renewed hope of potential podium finishes at the State Meet. One such team is the Willow Glen girls. For many years, Willow Glen resided in Division 2 as one of the smallest teams in that division in the state. Now they will get to compete in Division III against schools of similar size.

Over the past few decades, Willow Glen has fielded many competitive cross country teams under the guidance of one of the most outstanding coaches in the section, Victor Santamaria. In 2021, the Willow Glen girls finished in second place in Divison 2 behind a strong St. Francis girls' team. Willow Glen featured three freshmen in its top five which makes them one of the strongest returning teams this season with the potential for huge improvements from their young squad.

During the spring track season, freshmen Lola Herning, Isabella Riggs, and Taylor Chesarek recorded personal bests in the 3200m at 11:04.20, 11:06.59, and 11:33.27 respectively. That gives the team quite a trio and will make them one of the top teams in the section and perhaps in the state.

2021 Returning Times for 5000 Meters

Scoring is against all teams in CA with returning girls.

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Albert Caruana is a Bay Area-based coach and a regular contributor to MileSplit.

Photo courtesy of Willow Glen Athletics.