Follmar outruns Grelli to win state title
By Dick Sparrer
Alicia Follmar was chasing Melissa Grelli to the finish line in the Central Coast Section Division II cross country finals at Crystal Springs in Belmont a couple of weeks back.

But the situation was reversed when the two met up again over Thanksgiving weekend at Woodward Park in Fresno for the state finals.

Saratoga's Follmar outran the talented Presentation senior to the finish line to win the state title in the division.

Follmar, a junior, covered the 3.1-mile Woodward Park course in 17:40 to finish a mere seven seconds ahead of Grelli (17:47) in the state meet. The efforts of the two CCS rivals left them one-two in their division, well ahead of the rest of the pack. Lindsay Flacks, a senior from Harvard-Westlake in the Southern Section, was third, 16 seconds behind in 18:03.

Jenna Kingman of San Luis Obispo—also in the Southern Section—was fourth in 18:08 with the next CCS runner, Ciara Vieweg of St. Ignatius, fifth in 18:10. Vieweg figures to be Follmar's chief rival in the division in 2004.

The local CCS stars both managed to finish in the top 10 overall in girls competition at state. Follmar ended up seventh in the state pack with Grelli 10th.

Seniors dominated the first five spots in the state field with junior Natasha LaBeaud of Folsom in the San Joaquin Section sixth in 17:38.9. Follmar was the next junior finisher, less than a second back in 17:39.5. They were the only two underclassmen in the top 10.

In Division III boys competition, Saratoga junior Hari Subramaniam finished 89th in 17:08.

Freshman MayC Huang of Lynbrook showed promise of great things to come in her high school years with outstanding performance at the state meet. Huang ran 19:17 at Woodward Park to finish 49th in the girls Division II race.

CCS tennis tourney

There was no team in the CCS better than the girls tennis team at Monta Vista this fall. And, as it turns out, there were no individuals any better either.

Allie Lipton and Jennifer Lu proved that last week when they played their way into the CCS singles finals. The two Matadors met for the section championship on Nov. 25 at the Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos, and Lipton came out on top to cap a perfect week.

Lipton breezed through the CCS field, winning four consecutive matches in straight sets to take the title. She beat Lu 6-3, 6-4 to wrap up the crown.

Jovana Pavisic of Prospect made the tournament, but lost in the opening round of singles play. Pavisic lost her opener 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Kristen Lee of Robert Louis Stevenson.