Alex Ramon of Leland raced to a top 15 finish in the Central Coast Section Division II cross country championships held last weekend on the 2.95­mile course at Crystal Springs in Belmont.

Ramon, a senior, stopped the watch at 16:39 to finish 12th overall in the rugged CCS meet. His finish was good enough to qualify him for the upcoming state finals, set for Nov. 29 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Seniors Ken Elkabany (29th in 17:15) and Richie Gharapetian (31st in 17:16) also finished strong to help Leland claim seventh place in the team standings.

Senior Chris Alexander (66th in 18:01) and sophomore Takahiro Shiraiwa (89th in 18:45) rounded out the top five for the Chargers.

Freshman Dean Crosbie also competed well for Leland in the CCS meet.

The Leland girls were 13th in the CCS Division II standings. Sophomore Katie Buckley was 63rd in 22:31 with soph Stephanie Hall 69th in 22:56. Freshmen Monica Song and Cassie Garcia also ran well for the Chargers.

The Pioneer boys, meanwhile, finished 13th in CCS Division III behind a solid run by Steven Delay. The junior finished 31st in 17:23 for the Mustangs.

Senior Sean Lopes was 59th in 18:13.

Punt, Pass & Kick

Will Sparks, a Saratoga resident, was among the winners in recent NFL/Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick competition hosted in October at San Jose's PAL Stadium by San José Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services.

Sparks was first in the boys 10­11 age group with 219.2 points. John Williams of Los Gatos was second in the division (218.5 points) with Lawrence Moreno of Campbell (200.9) third.

Rose Garden resident Mitchell Ravizza was first in the boys 8­9 age group (208.2 points) with Adam Whitley of San Jose second (141.6) and Shane Morrow of San Jose (126.3) third.

In the boys 14­15 age division, Jordan Vargas of San Jose was first with 352.1 points. Jeffrey Roberts of Saratoga (350.9) was second with Alejandro Viramontes of San Jose (294.1) third.

Aaron Vargas of San Jose took the boys 12­13 division (253.8) with Jeffery Smith of Gilroy second (240.7).

In girls competition, Kahealani Morrow of San Jose was first in the 12­13 age group (180.11) with Willow Glen's Analise Delano second (174.4); Marissa Quock of Sunnyvale was first in the 10­11 division (142.8); and Alexandra Diaz of San Jose won the 8­9 age class (73.0) with Kanoelani Morrow of San Jose second (46.8).

Strikkers softball

The Strikkers will hold girls fastpitch softball tryouts at Oak Grove High School, 285 Blossom Hill Road in San Jose—12 and under, Dec. 7 and 14; 14 and under, Nov. 23 and Dec. 6; 16 and under, Nov. 23 and Dec. 7; and 18 and under, Dec. 6 and 7.

For tryout times or more information, visit www.strikkers.org or call Ernie Garcia at 408.281.7855.

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