La Mirada High School

2003 Summer Training Camp a Success!

Imagine spending seven nights and eight days in Big Bear running with a high school cross country team.  Now, imagine that training camp with no drama, lots of laughter, serious team work, bonding and rigorous training.  It was such an amazing experience that the senior captains called this year’s camp “the most positive experience we’ve ever had at camp.”  Congratulations to the veterans and the first year runners who survived the intense workouts.  Everybody returned home a bit more tired and a lot more prepared for the upcoming season.

Over the course of the week, the varsity girls ran an average of 60 miles while the boys ran 75+ miles.  Leading the way for the girls were Amanda Stephens, Megan Burbidge and Ana Poblet who each compiled over 60 miles.  On the boy’s team, Nathaniel Moore and Jared Bird ran close to 80 miles each.

Running the many scenic trails around the valley turned out to be the core of the training for the week.  Holcomb Valley, Castle Rock, 2N10, “Stairway to Heaven,” Gray’s Peak, and the “Shack Loop” were revisited again this year and conquered by all.  This season, the girls shocked the boys in the annual Big Bear Challenge when the first four female runners finished the 3-mile race in under 21 minutes!  The highlight of the week was running with Craig Hall and the Big Bear team up “the wall” at Snow Summit.  Every athlete who completed that challenge will remember it as the most difficult workout they’ve ever done in cross country.

The final challenge of the week was the 13-miler along route 2N10 that Nathaniel finished in 1 hour 28 minutes and Jared finished in under 1 hour 34 minutes.  Amanda, Ana, and Megan completed the 13-mile run for the girls.

Activities for the week included a movie day, bowling, water slides, go-carts, fishing, ping-pong, basketball and trips to the arcade to play pool and watch Freddy excel at “Dance-Dance-Revolution.”  The many unforgettable moments included: an entire hour of non-stop laughter, dancing in the car, team meetings under the lights, “True Colors,” the full moon Ana saw, Hazzel and Karla’s dances, hours of chess, a rain-soaked team, all-you-can-eat pizza, no ice cream at McD’s, and much, much more.

Thanks to Andy and Bill Bird, Tom Palmer, Cathi Wilson, Laura Casas, Nicole Reynolds and Carlos Poblet for transporting, taking care of and feeding 30 hungry athletes and coaches.

Boys
The loss of the boys coach and five senior runners threatened to make the 2003 season a dismal one. Still, the remaining Matadores are training dutifully to defy the odds. With the class of 2005 leading the way, the boys insist they are ready to make a charge to the top of the Suburban League. With an additional one or two runners, their dreams could become reality! Look for Nathaniel Moore (Jr), Jared Bird (Jr), Freddy Ramirez (Jr) and Ryan Holash (So) to make great strides this year.

Girls
The 2002 Lady Matadores won back-to-back Suburban League titles. Returning varsity athletes Amanda Stephens (Sr), Ana Poblet (Jr) and Destinie Martin (So) are focused on the job ahead. Megan Burbidge and newcomer Erica Sandoval are quickly moving up the ladder to the varsity level. Their goal is to “3-Peat” in Suburban League and secure a long sought after CIF-SS Finals berth. Last season’s J.V. team swept League finals for the fourth consecutive year. Newcomers Jenna Pasillas, Adele Mata, Armandina Garcia, Karla Sanchez and Kyla Hon expect to do it again! Look for a young Matador team to be successful this season.

Summer Training Camp Begins August 10^{th
Be prepared for extreme training in the mountains around Big Bear Lake!}

There is one quality which you must possess to succeed, and that is clarity of purpose. This is the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to achieve it.

This year’s summer running camp will once again be at Camp Tanda in Big Bear.  We leave La Mirada on Sunday, August 10^th at 12 noon and return the following Sunday.  Morning and evening runs, lots of hills and miles of trails will be the highlight of this years camp.

Day 1: Sunday — August 10^th

Day 2: Monday — August 11^th

Day 4: Wednesday — August 13^th

Day 6: Friday — August 15^th

Huntington Beach HS
All-Comers Meet
August 7, 2003

Boys

Good News:

• Top 2 ahead of last year’s pace

• PR for Michael!

• Great effort from Marc & Jim with pain

Areas of Improvement: Mid-pack runners need to pick-up the pace!  Success in Cross Country requires 5 to 7 runners.
 

Girls

Good news:  

• Top 4 finishers were faster than last year’s time by 5 minutes!  

• Only a 53 second gap between first and fourth finisher with a decent preseason pace (considering it was run on TIRED legs).  

• PR’s for Erica and Vaniah.  

• Strong efforts from Destinie, Ana, and Kelly after their recent vacations.  

• Army and Karla’s first 3-mile race!  

Areas of Improvement:  5^th, 6^th, and 7^th runners need to pick-up the pace!