La Mirada High School

Week 3: Weisenburger Invite: Rookies Lead the Way! (Results)
La Mirada's rookies and Frosh-Soph boys and girls earned big PRs as they led their respective teams to third place finishes at the 2nd Annual Gorden Weisenburger Invitational. Leading off the day were the Frosh-Soph Lady Mats. Charlene Gantan, Maria Chavarria, and Liana Chavarria were the first 3 scorers for their team and all earned medals for finishing in the top 20 over the hilly 3-mile course. Victoria Vo and Czarina De Jesus rounded out the scoring and, like Charlene, Maria and Liana, all earned their season PR. Josephine Compton, Justine Ceballos, and Vanessa Conchas made up the remainder of the team. After the scores were tallied, the girls learned they had earned 3rd place for the day. Maria, who ran despite a slightly turned ankle, was named the young Lady Mats "Athlete of the Meet."

Just as the sun started to warm up the course, it was the Frosh-Soph boys turn to race. Until Friday evening, three of the young Matadores were penciled in to run in the varsity race. A last minute need to determine final spots for next week's league race, forced a line-up change that found them in the earlier race competing for varsity spots. When the race was over, Clint Bales, Joseph Jeon, and Frankie Nogales all had breakthrough performances on the difficult course, all earned medals, and all established new PRs. In fact at the end of the day, team Bales, Jeon, and Nogales ended up being the #3, #4, and #5 runners for the Matadores. For his effort, Bales was named the Matadores "Athlete of the Meet." The team's third place finish marks the first time since 2002 that a boy's Frosh-Soph team from La Mirada placed in the top 3 at an invitational!

What a difference a season makes. On the third week of the 2007 season, Celinda Manzo trudged through the mud of Pepperdine on her way to a time of 24:20. Running with her that day were Aja Labasan, Paulina Tapia, Olivia Crigler, and Bianca Ceballos; Serena Kirton participated in only one race in 2007. This year all six girls were on the starting line in the varsity race at the Weisenburger Invite. For Aja, Paulina, Olivia, Bianca, and Serena, the Weisenburger Invite was their FIRST varsity race! As if that weren't enough, Junior Lauren McIntyre, who rounded out the team, was starting her first race of the 2008 campaign. Veterans, and numbers 2 and 4 runners, Melissa Byrd and Ashley Casanover were not in uniform. It was no wonder that the girls were filled with anxiety before their race. When the gun sounded, Lauren took off and led for the first half mile. She was quickly joined up front by Celinda who managed to stay in the lead throughout most of the race and complete the tortuous course with a first place medal and new course record. In a surprise development, Paulina was the #2 scorer for the Lady Mats, followed by Lauren, Aja, and Olivia. Bianca and Serena completed the race a few seconds behind Crigler. Paulina was named the Lady Mats "Athlete of the Meet." All-in-all, besides providing a great learning experience for a young team, their 2nd place finish proved to the Lady Mats that they are capable of being one of La Mirada's best teams ever!

By the time the varsity boys made it to the starting line, the sun was out in full force and the asphalt course was HOT! With Andrew Herrick, Richard Marquez, and Mateo Cordova nursing themselves back to full strength, only Andrew Garza, Regan Garcia, and Michael Palmer were in uniform for the race. Running from behind most of the race, Garza was able to move up to the 15th spot and earn a medal for his effort. Garcia, who chose to run in the varsity rather than Frosh-Soph race, was close behind. Palmer, who ran despite a foot injury, gutted out the course and rounded out the scoring for the boys. The Matadores will now prepare for Thursday's Suburban League Cluster Meet which will be held at La Mirada Regional Park.

Cerritos & La Mirada Varsity Girls and Boys at Weisenburger Invitational