La Mirada High School

Unlike the weather down the mountain, the conditions in Big Bear were ideal; moreover, the athletes were focused. Veteran runners called it "the most intense summer camp ever," while rookies exclaimed, "I've never experienced anything this difficult in my entire life!" After seven nights and eight days of rigorous training in the mountains around Big Bear Lake, the Cross Country teams returned to La Mirada more focused and better prepared for the 2007 season. Over the course of the week the girls ran an average of 55+ miles while the boys ran 65+ miles. Leading the way for the girls were Stephanie Felix and Clarissa Negrete with 75 miles and for the boys, Michael Palmer with 81 miles and Andrew Garza with 76 miles.

Running the many scenic trails around the valley turned out to be the core of the training for the week. Holcomb Valley, "Stairway to Heaven", 2N10, the Woodland Trail, and the "Shack Loop" set the stage for the La Mirada harriers. But the most memorable "run" turned out to be the 4-mile uphill trek to the top of Gray's Peak.

As usual, the culmination of the week was the 10 to 13-miler along route 2N10 that Andrew Garza and Dennis Ly finished in under 1 hour 30 minutes. Mark Gillaspy, and Michael Palmer were next in for the boys at 1:39. Seniors Matt Campbell and Enrique Nava also competed grueling 13-mile course. On the girls side, Stephanie bettered her time from previous years and was just under the 1:35 benchmark with a time of 1:34:58. Seniors Sarah Jeon, Clarissa Negrete, and Lillian Mignella all completed the run in under 1:55 for the girls, and Serena and Valerie were held to 10 miles.

Activities for the week included the 4th Annual Lip-Sync contest, a movie day, "True Colors," bowling, kayaking, the SCAT test, ping-pong, basketball, volleyball, numerous trips to the arcade and a surprise trip to town for dinner. There were many other unforgettable moments that will not be mentioned here.