La Mirada High School

59TH ANNUAL Mt. SAC CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL
La Mirada runners race on the challenging Mt. SAC course after an intense week of training
(Meet Preview on Dyestatcal.com)

JV Boys: Race #40
A 7:15 a.m. JV boys race at the 59th Annual Mt. SAC Invite required the Matadore runners to board the bus and leave the school at 5:30 a.m. It was still dark when the JV team began their warm-up; but even at that hour, the boys were lucky. Soon the sun would emerge and raise the temperature to uncomfortable levels for the later races. It turned out that the JV team enjoyed the coolest race of the day.

Jason Kim took the lead this week and cruised to a course PR in a time of 19:53. He was followed by Greg Luna (20:14) and Adrian Robles (21:14). Aaron Cordova (21:47) and Albert Ledesma (22:07) rounded out the scoring for the team. Considering that other than Jason, this was the first time the JV team had raced at the hilly 2.91 mile course, the boys performed well.

Albert "Chip" Ledesma competed in his third race of the season. His gutsy performance earned him the La Mirada team "Athlete of the Meet" award.

JV Girls: Race #44
In recent years the week leading up to the Mt. SAC Invitational has provided the veteran Lady Mats with a tough week of training followed by a "work out" on the Mt. SAC course. The difference this season was in the number of girls who sat out the Saturday race. Running short handed, the JV girls ran with only three girls; not enough to score as a team. Leading the way this year was Erica Campos, whose time of 22:44 earned her a course PR. Andrea Smith (22:55), who ran a controlled race, was right behind. Erica and Andrea worked the course together for the first two miles as they steadily moved their way from the back to the middle of the pack. Cedes Vo (26:55), racing the famed Mt. SAC course for the first time, also earned a PR.

Varsity Boys: Race #47
A successful week of training increased the varsity boys confidence. Each one of them hoped to earn a new course PR and head into League Finals prepared to improve their position in league. An early starting time assured great race conditions. As it turned out, the sun emerged just as the boy's race finished.

A huge field with over 25 teams on the narrow starting line created crowded conditions and a fast pace. The boys found themselves in the bottom half of the pack and struggled throughout the race to catch up. Working hard, Andrew Bueno (17:02) led the Matadores from start to finish but improved his course PR by only four seconds. Behind Andrew, but not by much, were Andrew Garza (17:30), Dennis Ly (17:40) Michael Palmer (17:58), and Mark Gillsapy (18:30), who also earned PRs on the course. A gap of only 1:28 between the first and fifth runners helped the Matadores cause, but a team time of only 88:40 left them far behind the first place Apple Valley team who had a team time of 81:36. Overall, the top five Matadores improved their PRs and left the race confident they can get even faster. The boys will regroup this week as the team prepares for league finals.

Varsity Girls: Race #57 (Video Link) FELIX: Fastest Division II Runner of the Day!
GIRLS FASTEST TIMES OF DAY TWO
Marie Lawrence (Reno, NV) 16:50
Lauren Saylor (Buchanan) 17:10
Jordan Hasay (Mission Prep) 17:12
Ellie Keene (Rancho Buena Vista) 17:25
Stephanie Felix (La Mirada) 17:27
(Long Beach Press Telegram Link: Felix Sets Record)
(Whittier Daily News Link: Felix, Adamyk Lead Locals)

In 2005, the varsity girls sat out the Mt. SAC Invitational. This year they've been anticipating the race all season. Knowing that the grueling 2.91 mile course is the site of the CIF-SS sectional races, the Lady Mats made it their goal to train and race on hills all season in preparation for the November 11th and 18th competition. The Mt. SAC Invitational provided them the perfect opportunity to run a practice race on the course. Because teammates Jenna Pasillas, Lauren McIntyre, and Sarah Jeon rested, the girls knew not to expect a spectacular team time. Besides, there were more important goals for the day. Each girl was given specific instructions for the race. Most were told to run a controlled pace and focus on keeping a steady pace up and down the hills. Moreover, individual time was not as important as race strategy and overall improvement in place during the race. A controlled race and a strong finish was the plan.

Stephanie Felix followed the plan to perfection. Starting the race in 15th place, Stephanie slowly picked up her pace and found herself in 12th place at the end of 800 meters; just before the mile she was in 9th place and 5th place coming off the switchbacks and entering the runway. Continuing her strategy, Stephanie moved into 4th place just after mile two, and finally into third place, where she finished, as she crested Reservoir Hill. Her time of 17:27 bettered her 2005 time by 30 seconds and earned her a new school record for the course. It also placed her first amongst all CIF Division II female athletes.

Melissa Byrd also followed the plan to perfection. Even though she had never seen the course prior to the race, her pacing and passing skills opened the eyes of her competitors and placed her 12th amongst competitors from the Division II schools. Her 19:07 showing puts her in a position to make a big impact at the CIF-SS sectionals next month. Karina Gonzalez has been haunted by the Mt. SAC course since her freshman year. Not content with her times on the hills, Karina's goal has been to lower her course PR to under 20 minutes. She took the first baby steps towards her goal by running a controlled race that earned her a course PR and newfound confidence.

Due to the fact that the Lady Mats were running with only five runners, Clarissa Negrete and Tatiana Cortes were forced to step up. They worked side-by-side for the first half of the race and rounded out the scoring for the team. While Clare struggled to overcome her fear of calf pain, Tatiana forced herself to overcome her fears as she completed her first varsity competition of her young career. Both girls gained valuable race experience for their efforts.

Freshman and Sophomore Girls: Races #62 and 69
Racing for the first time on the Mt. SAC course, Freshman Daisey Terriquez and Sophomores, Caitlin Winn, Bianca Ceballos, and Valerie Wong earned the respect of their teammates for their impressive performances. Caitlin, named the La Mirada girl's "Athlete of the Meet" took a page out of Stephanie and Melissa's race book as she moved impressively from far back in the 29th spot all the way up to a 15th place finish. Only Caitlin and Stephanie earned medals at the invitational.

Freshman and Sophomore Boys: Races #58 and #66
Vincent Ha paced the freshman team that consisted of Andrew Harrick and Angel Hernandez, who ran his first race of the season. In the Sophomore race, Mateo Cordova and Miguel Franco represented the Matadores.