Nicole Gonzalez races into a third place finish at the Citrus Coast League Finals.
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On Wednesday, the Fillmore Cross Country teams competed on the challenging Lake Casitas Cross Country Course for the honor of being crowned League Champions. The Varsity teams were also competing to earn a birth onto the CIF Prelim Meet on November 10th in Riverside as Citrus Coast Representatives. Four divisions were contested starting with the Boys Junior Varsity, followed by the Girls Varsity, the Boys Varsity, and the Girls Junior Varsity.

The Junior Varsity team set the tone for the day by running to a perfect score of 15 points and winning the League Team Championship. They captured the first five places, a perfect score, and were paced by Alex Recancoj who led from wire to wire and captured the individual title of League Champion in a time of 18:02.8. He was followed by Juan Carlos Laureano 2nd in 18:04.1, Matthew Munoz 3rd in 18:04.2, Camilo Torres 4th in 18:15.5, Jesus Cadena 5th in 18:28.4, Jorge Acevedo 9th in 19:23.6, Andrew Otineru 16th in 19:58.7, Andres Gonzalez 20th in 20:20.4, Daniel Cruz 29th in 21:18.4, Luis Leon 30th in 21:20.8, James Flores 34th in 21:33.4, Eneyin Ortega 46th in 22:36, Anthony Estrella 56th in 24:44.9, and Anthony Gonzalez 57th in 24:48.6.

The Varsity Girls also captured the League Team Championship by placing 5 girls in the top 8. They were led by Carissa Rodriguez who was the Individual League Champion and was also awarded MVP for the season of the Citrus Coast League. Her time was 19:25.3. She was followed by Nicole Gonzalez who ran her best race against Coastal League competition this season and placed 3rd in 20:24.7. Also placing well was Diana Perez 4th in 20:26.8, Andrea Marruffo 7th in 21:15.8, Vanessa Avila 8th in 21:18.6 and Cecilia Cisneros 27th in 24:10.3. This is the first League Championship for a Fillmore Varsity Girls Cross Country team since 1991, a span of 27 years.

The Boys Varsity Athletes had perhaps the toughest race of the day battling two excellent teams, Santa Paula High School and Hueneme High School. Both of these teams had defeated Fillmore in prior competition. The winners of this race would earn the title of Coastal League Champions, and it proved to be a tight race that was decided by a mere 4 points. Fillmore eked out the victory by running a tight group of scorers who were separated by only 28.6 seconds. They were led by senior Nick Villela who finished in 4th place in a time of 16:51. He was followed by Fabian Del Villar 7th in 17:00.5, Rey Laureano 9th in 17:11.3, Jesse Martinez 10th in 17:12.6, Erick Gutierrez 12th in 17:19.6, Alex Manzo 23rd in 18:07.6 and David Flores 30th in 18:42.2. The League Title was a first for the boys varsity team who last won the TriValley League title in 2002.

The Final Race of the day also featured some fine front running by the Junior Varsity Girls. Isabela De La Cruz finished in the runner up position posting a time of 23:41.8, Angelica Herrera finished in 7th in 24:35.6, followed by Emma Orozco 8th in 24:47.8, Jasmine Vega 23rd in 26:38.7, Ebony Venegas 26th in 26:49, Emma Ortiz 34th in 27:51.9, Isabel De La Cruz 45th in 30:08.7, and Daisy Guerrero 54th in 33:02.3. In the team standings Fillmore Junior Varsity Girls finished in third place.

This concludes the regular season for the lower division Cross Country teams who had an excellent run this year with the Junior Varsity Boys capturing first place and the Junior Varsity Girls finishing in third place. Both Varsity Boys and Girls teams advanced to the Division 4 Southern Section CIF Prelims Meet on the Riverside Golf Course on November 10th. Here they will try to finish among the top teams and qualify to run in the Division 4 Southern Section CIF Finals on November 17th. Spectator gates will open at 6:45 A.M. with the first race for the Flashes, the Boys Varsity at 9:45 A.M. followed by Girls Varsity at 10:33 A.M.

Following are SoCal Fillmore Bears game results for Saturday, October 20th: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins (away game) vs. North Oxnard Warriors, 636-6, Bears, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee (away game) vs. South Valley Raiders, 27-12, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams (away game) vs. Santa Barbara Sharks, 30-0, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors (away game) vs. Burbank Vikings, 12-0, Vikings. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors (away game) vs. South Valley Raiders, 42-6, Raiders.
This Saturday’s games will October 27th: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins vs. Ventura Packers 8am at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee vs. Moorpark Musketeers 10:15am at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams vs. Calabasas Wolfpack 12:30pm at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors have a bye week. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors have a bye week.

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A note from Tennis Coach Lolita Wyche-Bowman:
We have now come to the end of the Fillmore high school girl’s tennis season. We have a season record of 0 wins and 18 losses. Yes, the Fillmore team is a humble team; matches are played against experienced tennis players. Even so, past experience of their opponents does not inhibit their ability to play their best on the courts; and that is something to be proud of. The girls have trained for the season running sprints and completing tennis drills such as down the line shots and overhead smashes. If you see them on the tennis courts, just ask them how many aces they have under their belts! Acing an opponent alone is a skill; and boy does it feel good when this happens...right girls!” Like I say every year to my team, “If you can learn how to play tennis, you can do just about anything down the road.” The tennis team is full of great students and it seems they play tennis for the challenge; acquiring good grades and becoming a good tennis player requires work and dedication. On another note, on October 18, Fillmore played against Hueneme high school; Jessica Flores and Melissa Higuera scoring two points for Fillmore. It was Fillmore versus Santa Paula on October 16 with a final core of Fillmore 5, Santa Paula 13. Doubles team Maria Gonzalez and Amairani Aragon scored two points; Jessica Flores scored one point, doubles team Briana Lopez and Karime Renteria scored one point, and doubles team Stephanie Garcia and Valerie Esparza scored one point for Fillmore. Thank you to the parents for supporting their daughters this year during the tennis season. Last, if you know a high school girl who is up for a challenge to learn a highly skilled sport, tell her to stop by the tennis courts to inquire about being on the team next season. Tell her she will learn how to hit overhead smashes, crosscourt forehands and aces! A special thanks to Michelle and Melissa’s mother for being supportive of the team this entire season! In special memory to my father, Charles Wyche former Fillmore high school tennis coach.

Following are the Fillmore Raiders game results for Saturday, October 13th: Raiders Mighty Mites Black (away game) vs. SC Grizzlies, 18-12, Raiders. Raiders Mighty Mites Silver (away game) vs. Mid-Valley, 20-0, Raiders. Raiders Bantams vs. Camarillo, 19-0, Camarillo. Raiders Sophomores vs. Santa Paula, 28-0, Santa Paula. Raiders Juniors vs. Crown Valley, 33-8, Raiders. Raiders Seniors vs. LA Ducks, 42-20, Ducks.

This week’s games will be October 20th: Raiders Might Mites Black vs. Ventura 9am at Ventura High School. Raiders Mighty Mites Silver vs. Oxnard 8am at Fillmore High School. Raiders Bantams vs. SF Rush 10am at Fillmore High School. Raiders Sophomores vs. Santa Paula 10am at Santa Paula High School. Raiders Juniors vs. Camarillo 12pm at Fillmore High School. Raiders Seniors vs. Santa Barbara 2pm at Fillmore High School.

On Saturday, Fillmore Cross Country Athletes competed on the Lake Casitas 3 Mile Cross Country course over a challenging terrain that tested all runners’ ability to run well over a hilly course. The meet brought together many of the top teams competing for bragging rights and the title of Ventura County Cross Country Champions. The Flashes competed in all the races, fielded 5 complete teams and two races with only 4 individuals.

Four Fillmore Athletes competed in the first race of the day, the Frosh Boys. Leading the way was Camilo Torres in his first race of the season after suffering through a lower leg injury. Camilo finished in a creditable 6th place overall and first in the Small School Division in a time of 18:09.9. James Flores followed in 35th, posting a time of 19:58, Eneyin Ortega 80th in 22:47, and Alotl Aparicio 99th in 22:57.

The Frosh Sophomore Girls followed and in the team competition finished in 15th place. Fillmore’s top runner was Isabella De La Cruz who finished in 44th in a time of 22:33.3. She was followed by Angelica Herrera 67th in 23:56.2, Jasmine Vega 90th in 27:02.1, Emma Ortiz 95th in 27:21.9 and Isabel De La Cruz 100th in 28:03.6.

The Varsity Girls fielded a complete team and captured the team championship in this race. They were led by Carissa Rodriguez who finished in 6th place running a personal best on this course of 18:48.3. She was followed by Diana Perez 16th in 19:32, Nicole Gonzalez 21st in 19:57.1, Vanessa Avila 26th in 20:12.8, and Andrea Marruffo 50th in 21:08.4. All of the girls on this team earned individual medal, team t-shirts, and a team plaque.

The Varsity Boys also ran well and finished in 7th place in the team competition. Nick Villela led Fillmore runners finishing in 24th place in a time of 16:22.5. Rey Laureano followed in 36th in 16:38.9, Fabian Del Villar 38th in 16:40.9, Erick Gutierrez 58th in 17:03, Jesus Martinez 60th in 17:07.7, Davis Flores 71st in 17:28.1, and Alex Manzo 80th in 17:46.5. The top 5 Fillmore athletes were awarded individual medals in this race.

The Sophomore Boy ran 4 individuals. They were led by Matthew Munoz who finished in 9th place and posted an excellent time of 17:53.2. Jesse De La Cruz returned to competition after rehabbing a hamstring injury and finished in 22nd in 18:21.4. He was followed by Andres Gonzalez 80th in 21:23.8, and Anthony Estrella (Time and place not available). The first two athletes in this race earned individual championship medals.

The JV Girls were led by Emma Orozco who captured 48th place in 24:27.4 and teammate Maribel Mejia followed in 125th place in a time of 28:21.3.

The JV Boy ran to a 6th place team finish. The top runner for this group was Jesus Cadena who finished in 18th place in a time of 17:51.2. He was followed by Juan Carlos Laureano 27th in 18:14.3, Alexander Recancoj 34th in 18:29.4, Andrew Otineru 41st in 18:42.2, Jorge Acevedo 54th in 19:21, Luis Leon 83rd in 20:45.5, Daniel Cruz 88th in 20:56.4, and Anthony Gonzalez 123rd in 23:49.2. The top 3 Fillmore runners were individual medal winners.

The team wills next travel to the much heralded Mt. SAC Invitational, the largest meet in the nation. They will compete on Friday the 19th against some of the best teams in the nation on a very challenging course.

Submitted by Coach Sean Miller.
Even though the game was cut short due to lightning, the Fillmore Flashes football team got their second league win, 21-0 vs. Santa Clara High School, to improve their overall record to 5-3. Junior safety Paget Ekelund had an interception returned for a touchdown on defense and 2 catches on offense. Junior defensive lineman John Roberts forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to give the Flashes the ball on the Santa Clara 30 yard line. Senior quarterback Jake Saviers threw for just over 100 yards on 9 of 14 passing and 1 touchdown to junior receiver Josh Lagunas. Next week the Flashes will host long time rival Santa Paula on October 19th at 7:30pm.

Following are SoCal Fillmore Bears game results for Saturday, October 6th: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins (away game) vs. South Valley Raiders 20-16, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee (away game) vs. Ventura Packers White, 6-0, Packers. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams (away game) vs. South Valley Raiders, 43-14, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors (away game) vs. Camarillo Roadrunners, No score reported. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors (away game) vs. Agoura Chargers 20-7, Chargers.
This Saturday’s games will October 13th: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins have a bye week. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee have a bye week. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams have a bye week. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors have a bye week. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors have a bye week.