Pictured (l-r) Christian Rodriguez, Ruben Cruz, Anthony Frias, Hugo Valdovinos, Adrian Mejia, Sammy Martinez, and Alexander Frias.
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The Fillmore High School Cross Country Team’s quote of the year came out on their 2010 t-shirts a little over two weeks ago. The quote for the year states, “Cross Country is a mental sport and we’re all insane.” Currently on the team there are 55 dedicated runners that are visibly working out in the 100 degree weather and in the pouring rain. In fact you may have seen them running in the park, on the roads throughout Fillmore and sometimes at the High School Track. It has been an amazing journey to get where we have come, beginning the season with many dedicated runners that put in 10 weeks of preseason training. I would like to introduce all individuals to our community. This week we will feature our Varsity runners. The Varsity Girls are currently in 4th place for the Tri-Valley league. The team consists of Kiana Hope, who is currently ranked 4th in the league, this week she placed 12th at the Clovis Invitational in Fresno, California. Second is sophomore, Laura Garnica an amazing runner who also ran very well at Clovis Invitational, she ran over two minutes faster than last year’s time at this course. Number three on the Lady Flashes Cross Country team is Lucia Diaz, formerly a JV runner last year has made huge gains in practice and in the meets, her personal best was ran at the Blue Lagoon Invitational at UCSB. Our fourth runner is Iruma Trujillo, a senior, was out with a fracture most of the summer, has been working out hard in practice to regain her potential, her personal best was at the Blue Lagoon Invitational. A new runner to us this year, Maria Villalobos, scouted in the track season, recently had her best race at the Clovis Invitational. Rounding out the 7 varsity girls for Fillmore High School Cross Country, Anissa Magdaleno, a junior, returning to us from the Varsity 2009 season ran a personal best at the Blue Lagoon Invitational and Amber Wilmot, a sophomore, ran her best at the Seaside Invitational in Ventura. Both girls are up and coming runners and we believe will peak in their upcoming races.

Our Varsity Boys are made up of a tight group of runners that are primarily sophomores. The Fillmore High School Varsity Cross Country boys include, Hugo Valdovinos, sophomore, a recruit out of track, a soccer player made distant runner. Hugo is a natural athlete with a great work ethic. He recently placed 22nd at the Clovis Invitational and has a personal best in his first 3-mile race, 16:36. Our second and third runners, Anthony Rivas and Alexander Frias have been working together as a team and have consistently and constantly been successful in their races. Anthony, a sophomore is a first time cross country runner; he ran his personal best at the Clovis Invitational. Alexander Frias, sophomore, has made huge gains as an individual from last year to the present. His last year best was in the low 20’s, today he is running in the low 17’s on a 3-mile course. To date he has been one of our most improved runner’s between seasons. Again another sophomore, Adrian Mejia, has a huge amount of potential; he is also running a low 17 minutes for 3-miles. Our final 5-7 runners have been interchangeable throughout the season. Our boys’ team has been blessed with depth; we currently have 6 runners that can contribute to these spots in any given race, in no particular order, Ruben Cruz (senior), Jovani Oregon (sophomore), Alexander Gonzalez (junior), Sammy Martinez (sophomore), Christian Rodriguez (junior) and Jose Almeguer (sophomore). Currently our boys’ standings in the Tri-Valley League are 4th place. These boys are aspiring to become a CIF team both in our current season and in the future. We would like to extend our appreciation to the community for their support and invite the Fillmore community to join us on Thursday October 14th at our Fillmore High School Farm where we will host the 2nd of 3 Tri-Valley League Meets with the first race beginning at 3:30. See you at the races!

Fillmore Youth Football and Cheer would like to announce the winners from our raffle held this past weekend. Duffle Bag w/Raiders items (cap, visor, apron and 2 t-shirts): Stefanie King, Maria Cobin and Hector Cares $100 donation from John Holladay & Re max: Becky Hollis Elkins Golf Course foursome: Andy Arellano $250 debit card: Mary Garcia, Alissa Garcia, Alvaro Valdez and Patty Puga. $500 debit card: Christina Rodriguez and Georgina Arry. 46" Sony HD flat screen TV: Ashley Ponce Thank you to everyone who supported our organization by purchasing from our players and cheerleaders.

Fillmore Little League is looking for volunteers and board members for the upcoming season. We will be voting in various open positions in our board on 10/13/10 at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held at Faith Community/Promise de Jesus church located at the south west corner of 1st and Central, downstairs in the social hall.

Ticket are on-sale for the 100th Game between Santa Paula High School and Fillmore High School, scheduled for Friday, November 12th. Tickets can be purchased during school hours from SPHS or FHS. Ticket prices are $7.00 for Adults, $4 for Students and Children and $3 for Senior Citizens. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime celebrated event.

Independent Wrestling Alliance, November 6. League Sign-ups at 5p.m., 6 p.m. Fan Fest, 7 p.m. Bell Time.
The Fatal Four Way Main event – Kaos VS. Famous B. Vs. Rico Dynamite Vs. Ray Rosas, plus four other fantastic matches: David Lugo, Stickboy, DJ from 1520 KVTA, Gary The Krusher Fillmore Little League Fundraiser Key, and Joe “Madness” Golson. The event will be held at Fillmore Middle School 543 A St. Tickets are VIP Seating $15, General $10, and Bleachers $7. Early Little League Registration: $80 with purchase of event ticket (No multiple
child ticket discount)

Paul Perce of Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio
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Local owner Paul Perce of Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio gets promoted to 7th degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate. Paul was promoted on August 7, 2010 by 9th degree black belt Jesus Flores of the Flores Brothers Kenpo Karate Studio in Oxnard. Paul has owned Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio for over 14 years and has been training in American Kenpo Karate for over 26 years. He also teaches kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Kali at his karate studio.

Paul will be having his Annual Invitational Karate Tournament October 2, 2010 at Fillmore's Middle School Gym in Fillmore. Martial Art Studios from Ventura County will participate at this local event. For more information contact Perce's Kenpo Karate (805)524-6870.

The Fillmore boys and girls cross country teams competed Friday September 11th at their annual first test of the season the 21st Annual Kiwanis Seaside Cross Country Invitational. This meet was held at San Buena Ventura State beach and was well attended by many of the top teams in the state, thus allowing the Fillmore Harriers to test their summer training and see how well it had prepared them for the early season meets.

This meet is one of the few meets during the season that is run on relatively flat bike trails along the beach, it allows athletes to compete against others in the same grade level regardless of ability and school size. Ventura and its cool, scenic ocean offered a beautiful sunny day on a Friday afternoon with no hint of a breeze in the air, perfect for running.

The first set of races featured the girls’ teams with competition beginning at the freshman level and concluding with the girls’ senior level. In the freshman race Kiana Hope set the tone for the day by leading all Fillmore competitors with a 4th place finish in this race. Kiana looked easy throughout the race as she glided through the 3 mile course posting an excellent early season time of 19:24. This was the best finish for all Fillmore girls’ athletes on this day. Her teammate Vanessa Perez also finished well in a time of 28:03.

In the sophomore race, second year competitor Laura Garnica led a large group of harriers by placing 36th in a time of 21:13. She was followed by a group of 7 other competitors including Lucila Diaz who finished in 60th place in a time of 21:47. Newcomer Amber Wilmot looked easy as she worked her way through the pack and finished in 80th place in a time of 22:23. Others in this race were Dalila Ortiz who finished 24:44, Jazmine Sandoval in 25:51, Amanda Vassaur in 25:55, and Isabel Cardenas in 27:06.

The junior race CONTINUED »

(l-r) Zoe Becher and Sophie Collins were presented the Coach’s Award.
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The Heritage Valley Aquatics Swim Team members from Santa Paula and Fillmore were awarded August 26th for their efforts and dedication from the past season.

Coaches Cindy Blatt, Sheryl Barnd and Aimee McKeown presented the following: Coach’s Award 2010 : Sophie Collins and Zoe Becher , Most Improved: Paige McKeown, Teresa Letteney, High Point Boys 10 yrs and under Roman Becher,
High Point Girls 10 yrs and under Taylor Wreesman, High Point Boys 11 yrs and up, Kyle Popp, High Point Girls 11 yrs and up, Helen Van Hecke.

Points were awarded for the practice attendance, meet participation, points per event and placement in the swimming events. Overall high pointer scorer with 361 points was Kyle Popp.

Participation certificates were also handed out to all HVA team members who participated in a swim meet in the last seven months. Monthly attendance awards were handed out to all swimmers who achieved 100% attendance. Overall attendance award went to Audrey Goodrich.

Heritage Valley Aquatics is a year around competition swim club welcoming swimmers ages 6 and up. For more information please contact Cindy Blatt at 805-906-4114; or Sheryl Barnd at 805-830-3636.