La Mirada High School

Week one: marina Five-way meet and Laguna hills invitational
The Cross Country season began with the running Matadores racing at two invitationals they had never been to. Central Park in Huntington Beach and Laguna Hills High School were the settings for the first competitions of the 2006 season. Both events offered the Matadores an opportunity to test themselves against faster teams on more difficult courses. While the results were less than spectacular, the boys and the girls now know what they need to do to prepare for the difficult schedule that lies ahead.

At the Huntington Beach event, sponsored by Marina High School, the Lady Mats found themselves running without Karina, Sarah, Jenna, and Clarissa--their numbers 2, 5, 6 and 7 runners from 2005. Undeterred, the girls learned a valuable lesson in losing their first preseason meet since 2002: there's a big difference between preseason training and live racing.

With a lineup that included Stephanie Felix, newcomers Melissa Byrd, Lauren McIntyre, Tatiana Cortes and last year's JV duo of Andrea Smith and Erica Campos, the girls lost a hard-fought battle. Although they finished 1st and 3rd respectively, both Stephanie and Melissa were unsatisfied with their performances and vowed to "redeem themselves." Freshman, Lauren McIntyre was the 3rd Matadore to complete the 3+ mile course, finishing with a time of 21:45. Andrea, Tatiana and Erica rounded out the scoring in 10th, 12th & 13th places.

In the boy's race, only Andrew Bueno was able to break into the top 15, finishing in 12th place. Andrew Garza and Michael Palmer ran most of the race side by side and were 22nd and 23rd overall in the five team race. Dennis Ly, Mark Gillaspy, and Matt Campbell rounded out the scoring for the Matadores. Lauren McIntyre and Vincent Ha were named La Mirada "athletes of the meet."

Laguna Hills Invitational

At the team meeting following the Marina race, the captains challenged their teammates to improve their focus for the next event: The Laguna Hills Invite. In the first races of the day, freshmen Vicent Ha and Lauren McIntyre set the tone for their teammates by earning new PRs. Lauren took home a medal with her 13th place finish.

In the sophomore races that followed, Andrew Garza and Michael Palmer led the way for the Matadores while Miguel Franco and Mateo Cordova established new PRs. On the girl's side, both Melissa Byrd and Tatiana Cortes earned new PRs. Byrd finished 6th in her heat and moved ahead of Amanda Stephens and into the third spot on the list of elite sophomore's at La Mirada High School. Cortes' time earned her a new varsity uniform!

The junior boys and girls were the only levels that fielded a complete team for the Matadores. For the boys, Dennis Ly and Matt Campbell led the way, with Campbell's performance earning a varsity uniform. Mark Gillaspy, Aaron Cordova, and Albert Ledesma rounded out the scoring. Once again the Lady Mats were forced to race without teammate, Karina Gonzalez. Gonzalez is undergoing extensive rehab in an attempt to recover the 2005 form that saw her earn a PR of 19:00 and the 3rd spot on the list of elite Lady Mats. She expects to be 100% by the league cluster meets. Early in the girl's race Stephanie Felix found herself 100 meters behind the leader. She slowly worked her way to the front and opened a gap that placed her 41 seconds ahead of the pack. Felix's time of 17:55 earned her the honor of Division I fastest girl of the day and the fastest time up to that point in the Invite. Joining Stephanie were teammates Sarah Jeon, Clarissa Negrete, Erica Campos, and Krystal Gomez. Only Erica raced in the Marina race while the others were nursing injuries and illnesses. Clarissa's performance earned her a varsity uniform.

As the sun emerged and the temperature rose, the seniors prepared for their races. Andrew Bueno and Greg Luna represented the Matadores with their finest races of the season. Bueno broke into the top 15 with a 13th place finish and a medal. As seasoned four-year veterans, Andrea Smith and Jenna Pasillas were prepared. Jenna, also nursing an injury and being treated with extensive therapy, tested herself for the first time this season. The results were encouraging. Starting slowly, Jenna opened with a 6:40 mile and worked her way into the top 20 with a time of 21:08. Andrea opened cautiously, but still strong enough to pass the 1st mile in 6:56. Unfortunately, she completed the course just short of her goal for the day. Both Andrea and Jenna earned medals.

Overall, there were many positive results. Matthew Campbell and Krystal Gomez were named La Mirada "athletes of the meet," there are new PRs all around, and both the boys and girls sport a new varsity team. The boys varsity is made up of Andrew Bueno, Andrew Garza, Dennis Ly, Michael Palmer and Matthew Campell. The girls who have earned a varsity spot are Stephanie Felix, Melissa Byrd, Sarah Jeon, Jenna Pasillas, Clarissa Negrete, Lauren McIntyre, and Tatiana Cortes.