FHS Cross Country’s Jorge Acevedo competing at the Lake Casitas Course in Ojai. Photo courtesy Kim Tafoya.
Enlarge Photo

FHS teammates Isabella De La Cruz and Yakeline Magaña as they compete at the third league mini-meet to qualify for CIF Section Division 4 Prelims. Photo courtesy Kim Tafoya.
Enlarge Photo

Cecilia Cisneros. Photo courtesy Kim Tafoya.
Enlarge Photo

Submitted by Epi Torres

On Thursday, November 2nd, Fillmore Cross Country Teams competed at the third league mini meet to determine league standings, and which Varsity teams earned their way to compete at CIF Southern Section Division 4 Prelims. The Meet was held on the challenging Lake Casitas Course in Ojai. Eleven boys teams competed and ten girls team were represented.

In the boys junior varsity race Fillmore finished in second place. They were led by Juan Ramirez in 8th place, posting a time of 17:32.13, followed by Rey Andres Laureano 10th in 17:45.05, Jesse De La Cruz 11th in 17:45.7, Davis Flores 17th in 18:01.43, Jesus Castro 18th in 18:06.87, Jesse Martinez 19th in 18:07.51, Matthew Munoz 26th in 18:33.95, Juan Carlos Laureano 29th in 18:39.69, David Bustos 37th in 19:18.25, Mario Hurtado 42nd in 19:24.53, Alexander Recancoj 43rd in 19:28.96, Jorge Acevedo 48th in 19:42.91, Eric Hernandez 51st in19:45.29, Antonio Villalobos 55th in 19:53.42, Alexander Manzo 59th in 20:02.91, Joseph Magdaleno 62nd in 20:15.82, Luis Leon 64th in 20:17.82, Gustavo Valdez 71st in 20:52.71, Daniel Cruz 79th in 21:18.91, and Andres Gonzalez 110th in 25:26.47.

In the boys varsity race Michael Sanchez led his team to a third place finish and a CIF team qualification capturing a 10th place finish in 16:39.29 , he was followed by Everardo Garcia Magana 13th in 16:50.08, Sergio Perez 20th in 17:15.37, Fabian Del Villar 24th in 17:46.83, Jonathan Ordaz 31st in 18:04.05, and Nick Villela 33rd in 18:05.38.

In the girls junior varsity race Allison Recancoj led the girls to a second place team finish by crossing the finish line in 9th in a time of 22:11.84, followed by Ebony Venegas 10th in 22:31.89, Jacqueline Ruiz 14th in 22:53.18, Jacqueline Chavez 15th in 22:53.76, Lorena Izarraras 16th in 22:53.99, Emma Orozco 18th in 23:10.47, Michelle Reyes 24th in 23:48.73, Isabela De La Cruz 25th in 23:49.47, Yakeline Magana 33rd in 24:59.96, Liliana Felix 40th in 25:22.91, Aliyah Heredia 26:20.07, Marisol Ramos 56th in 28:22.72, Emma Ortiz 59th in 29:35.37, and Eva Vieyra 60th in 29:42.48.

In the Varsity girls race Carissa Rodriguez finished in 6th place in 19:19.16, she was followed by Diana Perez 8th in 19:43.4, Vanessa Avila 14th in 20:27.21, Giselle Perez 26th in 21:34.59, Nicole Gonzalez 27th in 21:43.3, Anahi Pascual 28th in 21:43.46, and Cecilia Cisneros 31st in 22:02.12. Carissa was the top individual finisher for the Fillmore teams and the girls varsity captured a qualifying spot into CIF Southern Section Division 4 Prelims as well.

The Boys Varsity and Girls Varsity Cross Country will travel to Riverside, California to compete in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Prelims on Saturday, November 11th. The races will commence at approximately 7:45 AM.

Fillmore Flashes Junior Emma Orozco as she competes in the Ventura County Cross Country Championships.
Enlarge Photo

On Friday, 10/27, Fillmore Cross Country teams competed at the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. This meet was held in Ojai on the arduous Lake Casitas Course. There were two distances run, one a short course of 1.9 miles, and a longer 3 mile course.

Running the long course were the JV boys who finished in 10th place in the team competition. They were led by Juan Ramirez 51st in 19;32.5, followed by Antonio Villalobos 55th in 19:40.1, Alex Recancoj 65th in 20:00.6, Mario Hurtado 79th in 20:21.9, Joseph Magdaleno 109th in 21:00.8, Gustavo Valdez 146th in 22:08.6, Daniel Cruz 178th in 23:10.8, Luis Leon 187th in 23:50.8, and Jesus Cadena 202nd in 24:46.1.

The top finishing team for the Flashes was the freshman boy. They were led by the top individual finisher for the Fillmore teams, Fabian Del Villar who finished in 5th place in 10:53.4 and led the team to a third place overall team finish. He was supported by Rey Andres Laureano 16th in 11:15.7, Matthew Munoz 28th in 11:29, Dave Bustos 45th in 11:59.9, and Erick Gutierrez 87th in 12:t8.2.

The sophomore boys did not race a full team in the short race. They were led by Jesus Martinez 19th in 10:57.5, followed by Davis Flores 24th in 11:03.9, Juan Carlos Laureano 35th in 11:21.1, and Andrew Otineru 81st in 12:30,9.

The varsity boys also ran a team of four over the long course . They were led by Everardo Garcia Magana who finished in 40th place in 17:04.6, followed by Michael Sanchez 42nd in 17:07, Sergio Perez 70th in 17:45.1, and Jonathan Ordaz 89th in 18:10.4,

The junior varsity girls finish in 7th place in the team competition. This was the top team finish for the Fillmore girl teams. They were led over the short course by Cecilia Cisneros 16th place in 13:45.6, followed by Allison Recancoj 24th in 13:57.8, Emma Orozco 30th in 14:05.4, Yakeline Magana 73rd in 15:11.3, and Marisol Ramos 191st in 17:4t.3.
The Frosh/Soph girls team finished 10th in the team competition. They were led by Nicole Gonzalez who finished in 16th place in a time of 12:58.3 on the short course. She was followed by Giselle Perez 20th in 13:15.1, Lorena Izarraras 64th in 14:39.2, Isabela De la Cruz 77th in 15:16.5, Liliana Felix 88th in 15:26.3, and Aliyah Heredia 111th in 16:04.3.

The Varsity girls did not run a full squad over the long course. Their three competitors were led by Carissa Rodriguez who posted the fastest time and the highest finish over the long course finishing 9th in 19:00.5. She was followed by Diana Perez 21st in 19:42.8 and Vanessa Avila 54th in 21:23.2.

The Flashes will next compete on 10/5 on this same course. This will be the 3rd TCAA meet this season. This meet will determine 4 Division league champions and the boy and girl Varsity teams that will represent TCAA at the Division 4, Southern Section Prelims Meet on November 10th in Riverside.

Michael Sanchez is the FHSXC captain. He has been a highly dedicated and determined runner for four years. This past Thursday he wins the TCAA Varsity Boys race. We are proud of his accomplishment and look forward to seeing him in the championship season. Way to race Mikey! Photo courtesy Coach Kim Tafoya.

Fillmore Cross Country hosted TCAA Meet 2 on Thursday, October 12th at Elkins Golf Course. This race is run on grass and pavement with two major climbs. Eleven boy teams and twelve girl teams competed in this highly competitive league meet.

Nick Villela was Fillmore’s top finisher in the first race of the day. He led the JV boys by placing 3rd in a time of 17:26.12, he was followed by Rey Andres Laureano 5th in 17:29.70, Fabian Del Villar 6th in 17:32.15, Davis Flores 10th 17:44.37, Jesus Martinez 15th in 18:22.49, Juan Carlos Laureano 17th in 18:43.46, Alex Manzo 18th in 18:49.20, Matthew Munoz 21st in 19:01.99, Antonio Villalobos 23rd in 19:16.37, Jorge Acevedo 26th in 19:37.85, Eric Hernandez 27th in 19:43.41, Joseph Magdaleno 28th in 19:46.68, Mario Hurtado 30th in 19:50.48, Alexander Recancoj r32nd in 19:50.88, Andrew Otineru 38th in 20:00.39, David Bustos 45th in 20:15.78, Luis Leon 50th in 20:38.11, Gustavo Valdez 51st in 20:42.16, Erick Gutierrez 55th in 21:06.9, Jesus Cadena 58th in 21:13.36, Daniel Cruz 73rd in 22:10.52, and Samuel Kafka 81st in 22:32.95 . This race came down to the wire with Fillmore and Foothill Technology tying with a score of 39 points apiece. Foothill Technology was declared the winning team due to their 6th runner non scoring finishing in front of Fillmore’s 6th runner. Eric Hernandez improved on last year’s time on this course by about 2 minutes 32 seconds.

The Varsity girls race was won by Claudia Lane, top runner in the Nation, from Malibu. Her time of 16:20.81 would have placed her 4th in the Varsity boys race. Carissa Rodriguez led the Flashes finishing 2nd in a time of 18:39.19. She was followed by Diana Perez 7th in 19:19.15, Vanessa Avila 9th in 19:30.85, Giselle Perez 13th in 20:23.01, Nicole Gonzalez 21st in 21:05.55, Anahi Pascual 23rd in 21:18.72, and Cecilia Cisneros 31st in 21:50.84. In the team competition, the girls finished in second. Gisele Perez had the biggest performance improvement for the girls bettering last year’s time by about 5 minutes 5 seconds.

The Varsity boys race was won by Fillmore’s Michael Sanchez who cruised the course in a fine 16:06.62. Michael’s time catapulted him to the top of the best Fillmore Senior times on this course by almost a minute. He was followed by Everardo Garcia Magana who finished in 5th in 16:29.69, Jonathan Ordaz 11th in 16:52.41, Sergio Perez 14th 16:59.31, Jesse De La Cruz 24th in 17:42.41, and Juan Ramirez 36th in 18:19.22. In the team battle, Fillmore finished second to Foothill Technology by a mere 7 points.

In the final race of the day, Jacqueline Chavez led the Fillmore JV girls finishing in 7th in 21:23.44. She was followed by Allison Recancoj 10th in 22:29.41, Jacqueline Ruiz 11th in 22:44.29, Ebony Venegas 12th in 22:45.03, Emma Orozco 13th in 22:48.3, Lorena Izarraras 14th in 23:05.08, Michelle Reyes 17th in 23:49.93, Yakeline Magana 26th in 24:41.24, Isabela De La Cruz 35th in 25:40.54, Liliana Felix 39th in 25:52,69, Aliyah Heredia 43rd in 26:40.65, Marisol Ramos 51st in 27:27.73, and Emma Ortiz 53rd in 27:56.81. The JV girls finished second in the team competition.

The Flashes will next compete at the Ventura County Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 27th at Lake Casitas in Ojai.

Fillmore’s girls tennis player as she warms up before the match against Santa Paula.
Enlarge Photo

A note from coach Bowman
As of today, the Fillmore high school girls tennis team has rounded up their season. We played our final matches against St. Bonaventure, Nordoff, and Santa Paula high schools. Thank you to all of our opponent’s coaches. They were all great, hospitable hosts as all of our matches were “away.” Of course a big thanks to Fillmore high school for supporting the team especially Principal Tom Ito and Athletic Director Kim Tafoya. Hopefully Fillmore high school will have enough courts in the future to have home matches as parents love to watch their teenagers play a sport. Tennis courts would benefit the team as well as an additional sport for students in P.E. classes at the high school. As the season progressed this year, I saw more confidence in Fillmore’s players as they began to have trust in their backhands, and were serving powerful serves. Instilling confidence in the team members, as you know, is important to me as a coach. Learning to play this technical game of tennis has been no easy task for the team. It is a challenge to learn, and will help them to face other difficulties in the future. Maybe down the road, one of the girls will say, “I’m up for the challenge of medical school...after all, I learned how to play tennis!” Specifically this year, serving the ball “in the court,” was a priority as they practiced this part of the game on a daily basis. Once the serve is in, the game begins. Also, learning the tactical game of tennis was trickled in as the basic strokes were the first priority. A tactical skill is standing in the correct position on the court. Learning to stay out of “no man’s land,” is a challenge as it is tempting to stand in the center of the court when one is learning the game. An example of the wrong position might be a few feet in front of the baseline; tennis balls will most likely land at your feet with no time to return the ball. Especially for a beginner, standing further behind the baseline may give ample time to take a backswing to hit the tennis ball. Timing is everything. Standing too far away from the net in a volleying position may also be a bad position on the court. A volley may be more of a success if the player is standing closer to the net, as most volleys are hit from a high to low angle position. Getting back to the players, returning from last year, players Briana Lopez and Karime Renteria excelled in all of the strokes of the game and were a pleasure to watch on the tennis court. The new girls Jessica Lopez, Maria Gonzalez, Amairani Aragon, Ashley Tamayo, and Marisa Herrera picked up the game quickly, were competitive, and became better players by the day. Thank you to all of the parents, especially for raising such a great group of girls. The girls were kind and respectful all around.

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Submitted By Coach Tony Hernandez.

On Sunday October 15, 2017, Roger Campbell, a lifelong resident of Fillmore, California died peacefully at the age of 67 with his son and daughter by his side. He was born to George and Lawanda Campbell on August 22, 1950 in Santa Paula, California.

Roger served his beloved community of Fillmore and the County of Ventura through the office of City Council from 1984 to 2000, including being a two-term Mayor, Assistant Fire Chief, member of various boards and committees at the county and state level, and as a Political Consultant. He loved his lifelong home town and always sought the good of Fillmore and its residents. His accomplishments and years of service will last for generations to come. He has touched the lives of many and the loss will be felt by colleagues, friends and family.

Roger greatly loved and cared for his family, who will deeply miss him. He is survived by loving parents Chief George Campbell and Lawanda Campbell; brother Richard Campbell and wife Kathy Yakal; sister Carol and husband Chief Pat Askren; first wife Kathy Campbell; daughter Laurie and husband Jon Best and their children Emma, Elena and Daniel; son Mike and wife Jenny Campbell and their children Miriam, Hannah, George and William; his nephews Patrick Askren, Jimmy Faris, and niece Chrissy Fratzel.

A memorial to honor his life and service will be held Saturday, October 21st at 10:30 am in front of Fillmore City Hall. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Autism Speaks.

Submitted by Coach David Mac Donald

On Monday, October 16th the Fillmore Flashes Girls Golf team competed in their individual league championships. Ali Ruiz finished 16th in the league championship 9 hole round out of 35 golfers with a score of 52; Alyssa Ibarra finished 19th; Destiny Menjuga finished 20th; Sammi Ibarra finished 21st. The team overall season record was 8-6 and finished 4th in the Tri-Valley league.