La Mirada High School

On a Flat Day For Many, Four Shine Through!

While many of the Matadores ran on heavy legs at this year's Central Park Invitational, there were a few exceptions to the trend. The first runner determined to not let the overall flatness of her team get to her was Freshman Destinie Martin. Racing in the Division I Varsity race, Destinie (20:38) finished as her team's #1 runner. In the process she earned a new PR and missed the La Mirada freshman record, set in 1986, by a mere one second! The next Matador to show that it would take more then tired legs to stop her was Sophomore Brianna Jaramillo. Running in the J.V. race, Briana displayed a fire and determination in her eyes that would bring her to a new PR while racing to a time of 26:32. Next it was the boys' turn to see if they could turn up the fire a notch. Unfortunately, the flat legs that seemed to plague the girls infected the boys as well. Leave it to a freshman and one very determined sophomore to break out of this trend. Ryan Holash would race to an early lead and ultimately place 3^rd overall in his race. Ryan's time of 18:12 was a new PR and was fast enough to earn him the 6^th man role for the day. His hard racing and determination also earned him a varsity spot for the next race. Rounding out the day, with the fire that seemed to elude so many Matadores on this day, was Sophomore Jim Palmer. Palmer ran a very strong race and held his ground throughout the challenging 3-mile course. His efforts and hard work would be rewarded when he crossed the finish line in a PR time of 21:51 . . . 3:41 faster then he had run on this course just a year earlier! For the entire team's results, check 2002 Results.

We congratulate the efforts of these four individuals who, on a lackluster day, shined through as the bright spots!