On Friday, October 21st, Fillmore's Cross Country teams travel to Walnut, California to compete in the Nation's largest cross- country meet, the Mt. San Antonio College Cross Country Invitational. Not only is this a very competitive Meet, it is also a very challenging course with three major hills all run on a very hot day.

Fillmore freshman girls started us off on the right foot by capturing 1st place in the team competition. They were led by Vanessa Avila who place 6th in 12:31, she was followed by Anahi Pascual 17th in 13:25, Valerie Hernandez 29th in 13:43, Nicole Gonzalez 31st in 13:59, Areanna Covarrubias 39th in 14:16 and Giselle Perez 95th in 15:56. This race was run over a shortened course.

The lone representative in the Freshman boys’ race was Pete Alvarado. Pete competed over a two mile course shorten due to health concerns due to extreme heat. He finished in 146th place in 14:57.

The second race Sophomore girls sent a complete team to the starting line. Once again, these athletes competed on the two mile course. Andrea Marruffo led all runners finishing in 5th place in 12:11.5, she was followed by Diana Perez 10th in 12:49.7, Emma Orozco 20th in 13:31.5, Cecilia Cisneros 26th in 13:50.1, and Cynthia Hurtado 85th in 15:57.6. This team also placed third in the team competition.

The next race, Sophomore boys was led by Jorge Acevedo who finished in 16th place in 11:05.9, he was followed by Antonio Villalobos 36th in 11:43.4, Daniel Cruz 81st in 12:32.5, Andrew Hernandez 87th in 12:37.4, and Luis Leon 120th in 13:16.9. This race was also run on the two mile course. This team finished 11th in the team competition.

In the Girls Junior Varsity race Fillmore sent five competitors to the start on the two mile course. Leading the team to a third place finish was Jacqueline Chavez who finished in 5th place and posted a time of 12:25.6, she was followed by Lauren Magdaleno 9th in 13:04.3, Maria Ruvalcaba 25th in 13:48, Allison Recancoj 56th in 14:44.2, and Michelle Reyes 69th in 15:04.2.

The Junior Varsity boys race featured a full squad with 7 competitors toeing the line and finishing in fourth place in the team competition. Top runner for the Flashes on the two mile course was Cristian Andrade who finished in 11th place in a time of 10:43.8, followed by Juan Ramirez 17th in 11:00.9, John Chavez 31st in 11:18.4, Gustavo Valdez 44th in 11:33.8, Jesus Castro 52nd in 11:42.1, Mario Hurtado 66th in 11:51.9, and Erik Hernandez 139th in 12:46.

The highlight of the day was Fillmore’s entry into the Varsity Boys Sweepstakes race. Only your top ranked teams are given entry into this race and must submit proof in writing that you have earned their placement into this featured race. The Flashes finished in 13th place as a team and competed over the full three mile distance. Senior Johnnie Martinez led the squad finishing in 50th place in 17:20.4, followed by Adrian Orozco 55th in 17:30.1, Sergio Perez 57th in 17:34.2, Everardo G. Magana 65th in 17:41.3, Michael Sanchez 74th in 19:02.3, Jonathan Ordaz 80th in 18:26, and Nick Villela 87th in 18:23.9.

The Flashes next travel to Ojai where they will compete in the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. Races are held on the Lake Casitas course starting at 1:30.