Flashes Camilo Torres placed 2nd at the Ventura County Cross Country Championship this past Friday, October 29th. Photos courtesy Coach Kim Tafoya.
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Fillmore’s Alianna Tapia placed 16th.
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On Friday morning, the Fillmore cross country teams joined 15 other county teams and competed on the Lake Casitas Course in Ojai at the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. Along with county honors, this is another opportunity for the Fillmore teams to compete on the same course that will host the Citrus Coast League Final on Thursday. There were 7 races with large and small school divisions racing together.

Fillmore had three athletes in the boy’s freshman race. Eduardo Vigil was the top finisher in 6th place. Eduardo continues to improve and ran another personal best on this rugged course in 18:47.3. He was followed by Chris Perez 12th in 19:20, and James Torres 40th in 24:19. All three athletes were medal winners in this race.

The freshman/sophomore girls followed. They were led by Alexandra Martinez who finished in 19th place in 23:37.6. She was followed by Diana Santa Rosa 23rd in 23:58.2, Alexa Martinez 55th in 28:24.6, Aryanne Munoz 58th in 30:20.8, Alexandrea Gonzalez 30:27.8, and Abigail Magana 60th in 30:44.4. All the Fillmore athletes were awarded medals in this race.

The Varsity girl’s race followed and Fillmore’s top runner, Alianna Tapia finished in 16th in 20:12.5. She was followed by Niza Laureano 26th in 20:36.7, Nataly Vigil 46th in 21:43.2, Andrea Laureano 60th in 22:49.3, Monique Hurtado 65th in 23:02.1, Angelica Herrera 24:04.4, and Athena Sanchez 80th in 25:01.9.

The highly competitive varsity boys followed. Camilo Torres ran to win for the entire race, yet finished a close second in 15:47.8. Camilo was followed by Nicholas Hurtado 59th in 18:13.9, Kobe Lizarraga 60th in 18:14.1, Angel Laureano 63rd in 18:23.1, Diego Ramirez 65th in 18:31.4, Joshua Estrada 66th in 18:34.7, and Angel Garcia 75th in 18:55.3. The top 6 athletes in this group were medal winners.

In the girls JV race Lilliana Montejano led three Fillmore competitors finishing in 21st place in 24:32.5. She was followed by Daisy Guerrero 39th in 26:42.5, and Jasmine Vega 59th in 31:13.7. All three athletes were medal winners.

The lone competitor in the boys JV division was Luis Castaneda. Luis medaled and finished 44th in 21:23.3.

For our next meet, we will return to this course on Thursday. The results of this meet, along with two prior meets will determine which varsity teams will represent the league in CIF post league competition. It will also determine league champions at all 4 levels. Starting time for this event is 2 pm.

Eduardo Vigil
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Monique Hurtado
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Luke Hernandez
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Nataly Vigil
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On Friday, Fillmore Cross Country teams competed over the fabled Mt. San Antonio College Course. This was the first time since the course was shut down for renovation in 2019, that high school teams have competed on this course. The course is 2.97 miles long with 3 major climbs and very fast competition. It is also an opportunity to run on the CIF Prelims and Finals course prior to the post season qualifier for the State Meet.

The first race for the Flashes was the Boys Junior Varsity D3, D4 and D5 Red Race. Luis Castaneda led the boy, finishing 24th place in 20:35. He was followed by Luke Hernandez 55th in 23:54.

The second race for the Flashes was the Girls Freshman D3, D4 and D5 Yellow Race. Three Fillmore athletes were led by Diana Santa Rosa who place 25th in 24:22 in a field of 70. She was followed by Luz Castaneda Navarro 65th in 28:46, and Alexa Martinez 67th in 28:58.

The Boys Freshman D3, D4 and D5 Blue Race followed with a field of 152 competitors. Leading the Flashes was freshman Eduardo Vigil. Eduardo ran among the top 15 runners and held that position for most of the race, working up to 9th place and finishing in 19:05. This was a personal best and Eduardo who was a medal winner. Eduardo was the lone Fillmore athlete in this race, and Fillmore’s top individual boy finisher.

In the Girls Sophomore D3, D4 and D5 Green Race, Alexandra Martinez captured 14th place in 24:22. She was Fillmore’s lone representative, and was a medal recipient.

The Girls Varsity D3, D4 and D5 Yellow Race followed. Alianna Tapia led this team, and was the top Fillmore girl finisher on the day. Alianna captured 4th place and toured the course in 200:00.1. She was followed by freshman Niza Laureano, who ran an excellent race to finish in 6th place in 20:27. First year runner, Athena Sanchez also ran well, finishing in 23rd place in 21:57. All three girls were medal winners. Nataly Vigil finished in 31st place in 22:19; she was followed by Monique Hurtado 47th in 23:19.

The Final race of the evening was the Boys D3, D4 and D5 Individual Sweepstakes Race. Top runner and fastest time on the day for the Flashes was Michael Camilo Torres. Camilo finished in 11th place posting a time of 15:34. He was the lone Fillmore medal winner in this race. He was followed by Josh Estrada 74th in 17:43, Kobe Lizarraga 80th in 17:53, Angel Laureano 94th in 18:12, Diego Ramirez 100th in 18:51, and Angel Garcia 102nd in 19:20. In the team competition, Fillmore finished in 15th.

The Flashes will compete October 29th at the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. This meet is held at Lake Casitas in Ojai. The meet is set to begin at 8:30 a.m.

Sophomore Angel Laureano.
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Sophomore Alexandra Martinez.
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Varsity Boys (l-r) Nick Hurtado, Kobe-Lizarraga.
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Clovis Invitational Medals (l-r) Seniors Aianna Tapia 10th Place, Michael Camilo Torres 2nd Place.
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On Wednesday, October 6th, the Flashes Cross Country teams traveled to Lake Casitas to compete at the Twilight Invitational. This meet offered a 1.9-mile course and a 3 mile course. It is a challenge at both distances since it is run on a hillside, and there are no grade level divisions. Regardless of grade level, everyone is clumped into one race.

The first race was the boys 1.9. Leading the group was Junior Nicholas Hurtado who finished in 17th in 11:38. He was closely followed by Kobe Lizarraga 18th in 11:38.2, Angel Laureano 19th in 11:38.5, Angel Garcia 26th in 11:58.5, Diego Ramirez 27th in 12:01.4, Samuel Ramirez 78th in 16:15.3, and Nathan Garcia 89th in 30:07.7. In the team competition, Fillmore finished in third place.

The girls 1.9 followed but did not field a scoring team. Leading this group was Niza Laureano who finished in 8th in 13:02.9. This was the top individual finish for the team on the day. She was followed by Jasmine Vega 64th in 17:56.2, Aryanne Munoz 70th in 18:38.1, and Abigail Magana 76th in 19:30.1.

The next group to toe the line was the boys 3 mile. Leading this contingent was a freshman Eduardo Vigil, who placed 107th in 20:01.1. He was followed by Chris Perez 118th in 20:31.8, James Flores 153rd in 21:48.4, Luke Hernandez 200th in 25:30.5, James Torres 203rd in 25:45.5, and Juan Castro 211th in 27:32.1. In the team competition, this group finished in 15th place.

The final race of the day was the girls’ 3 mile. Leading the charge here was Alexandra Martinez 53rd in 23:59.4. She was followed by Liliana Montejano 67th in 24:53.7, Diana Santa Rosa 68th in 24:54.2, Daisy Guerrero 72nd in 25:05.8, Alexa Martinez 93rd in 29:45.5, and Alexandrea Gonzalez 94th in 30:32.5. In the team competition, the girls finished in 9th place.

On Saturday, a second group of Harriers traveled to Fresno’s Woodward Park and competed in the Clovis Invitational. This race is run on the same course used for the California State Finals. It was an early morning with a departure time of 3:30 a.m. and arrival time of about 6:45 a.m.

The first to line up at 7:40 a.m. were the girls, who toed the start line along with 25 other teams. Alianna Tapia continued to run well and was first for the Flashes, running a personal best of 19:37.5 over the 5-kilometer course and winning an individual medal. She was followed by Nataly Vigil who finished in 75th in 21:46.5, Andrea Laureano 90th in 22:10.6, Monique Hurtado 102nd in 22:56.9, and Angelica Herrera 125th in 24:01.4. In the team competition, the girls placed 9th.

The boy’s race started at 8:25. Camilo Torres, Fillmore's number one runner, found himself in a highly contested race, where he finished in second. His time of 15:44.4 was a personal best over the 5-kilometer course. He was followed by Josh Estrada 76th in 18:16.9, Kobe Lizarraga 78th in 18:18.9, Nick Hurtado 79th in 18:18.2, Angel Laureano 87th in 18.38.5, Angel Garcia 117th in 19:20.2, and Diego Ramirez 121st in 19:26. In the team competition, Fillmore finished in 10th place out of 24 teams.

The Flashes will next compete on October 14th in the second of three league meets. The second Citrus Coast League Meet is hosted by Santa Paula and will be run at Mountain View Golf Course in Santa Paula. The first race will begin at 3:30PM. Hope to see you there.

FHS Varsity Senior Camilo Torres who led the boy’s team finishing in first place with a time of 15:26.70.

On Friday, September 24th, the Cross-Country teams traveled to Oxnard to compete in the Raider Invitational. The course is located in College Park and is described as a spectator friendly flat course over professional soccer grass, dirt, and asphalt.

The frosh-soph girls started the day, they were led by Diana Santa Rosa 21st in 23:39.59. Diana was a medal winner in this race. She was followed by Luz Castaneda 36th in 25:35.35, Alexa Martinez 54th in 27:31.27, Alexandrea Gonzalez 60th in 27:54.69, Aryanne Munoz 65th in 28:38.77, Natalia Herrera 71st in 29:19.05, and Abigail Martinez 87th in 33:24.42. In the team competition the girls finished in 8th place.

The frosh-soph boys followed. They were led by Kobe Lizarraga 4th in 17:49.55. He was followed by Josh Estrada 6th in 17:57.42, Angel Garcia 9th in 18:36.96, Angel Laureano 17th in 19:04.09, Chris Perez 29th in 19:53.92, Eduardo Vigil 31st in 19:55.92, James Torres 84th in 25:16.12, Juan Castro 87th in 35:35.92, and Sammy Ramirez 90th in 27:08.48. The top five Fillmore runners were awarded medals in this race. In the team competition, the frosh-soph boys finished in second place.

Leading the girls' Varsity team was senior Alianna Tapia. Alianna finished in second place in a season best time of 18:48.36. She was followed by a much-improved Niza Laureano who finished in 8th in 19:57.06. Next was Nataly Vigil 24th in 21:15.73, Andrea Laureano 36th in 21:45.06, Lorena Perez 50th in 22:17.03, Angelica Herrera 51st In 20:20.64, Alexandra Martinez 62nd in 22:57.8, Lili Montejano 63rd in 22:59.95, and Sophia Rodriguez 71st in 23:20.40. The top 3 girls in this race were awarded medals for their effort. In the team competition, the girls finished in second, 14 points behind the first-place team.

The boys’ varsity was again led by a front running Camilo Torres. Camilo shot out to a lead he maintained throughout the race finishing in 1st with a time of 15:26.70. Camilo was followed by a rapidly improving Nick Hurtado, who finished in 46th place in a time of 17:53.26. Camilo ran the fastest time of the day and was also a medal recipient. Camilo and Nick were the only Fillmore runners entered in the varsity division.

Two athletes competed in the Junior varsity girls’ division. Daisy Guerrero ran her fastest time of the year finishing in 14th place in a time of 24:41.27. She was a medal winner. Teammate Jasmine Vega finished in 54th in 30:13.12.

In the final race of the day, junior varsity boys, Fillmore sent two athletes to the line. Top runner in this race was James Flores who finished in 23rd in 19:41.01. James was a medal winner and was followed by Luke Hernandez 62nd in 24:04.14.

The Flashes Cross Country teams will next travel to Lake Casitas in Ojai on Wednesday, October 6th, and run in the Twilight Invitational. This meet is scheduled to begin at 4:15 pm. Competitors will race over a 1.9-mile course or a 3-mile course.

Niza Laureano Was 4th overall.
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Andrea Laureano Was 10th overall.
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Lorena Perez in her season opener was 32nd in the race.
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On Saturday September 11th, the Cross-Country teams traveled to one of the hottest places in the county, Ojai. There they competed on a hilly 1.9-mile course. The course is situated in the mountains along Lake Casitas and the race is hosted by Nordhoff High School. This course is very challenging and as I’ve already mentioned, and very hot.

The girls were the first to race for the Flashes. The 10:00 AM start assured a difficult time due to this being our first time this year competing on a hilly and a hot course. The Fillmore girls were up to the challenge and ran very well, finishing in second place as a team. They were led by newcomer Athena Sanchez who finished in 3rd place overall in a time of 12:52.88. She was followed by teammate Niza Laureano who finished in 4th place in 12:55.63, Andrea Laureano 10th in 13:39.63, Angelica Herrera 21st in 14:17.29, Alexandra Martinez 29th in 14:47.81, Lorena Perez 32nd in 14:53.91, Sophia Rodriguez 35th in 15:03.11, Diana Santa Rosa 49th in 15:39.03, Luz Castaneda 51st in 15:41.19, Alexa Martinez 81st in 17:26.58, Daisy Guerrero 90th in 17:35.87, and Aryanne Munoz 108th in 19:54.65. In the team competition, Fillmore girls finished in second place. The top nine Fillmore runners were medal winners in this race.

The Varsity Boys followed, and they were led by Josh Estrada who finished in 13th place in 11:22.96, he was followed by Nicholas Hurtado 18th in 11:40.71, Angel Laureano 21st in 11:51.13, Angel Garcia 24th in 11:57.99, Eduardo Vigil 27th in 12:03.87, James Torres 78th in 14:13.11, and Luke Hernandez 97th in 16:14.55. In the team competition, the Fillmore boys finished in 4th. The first 5 boys in this race were medal winners.

Our next meet will be on Thursday, September 16th at the School Farm in Fillmore. This is the first of 3 league meets run a couple weeks apart. They will determine league champions in 4 divisions and CIF representation in the two varsity divisions in the Citrus Coast League. The meet will commence at 3:30 PM. Hope we see you there.

Captain Michael Camilo Torres leads the Fillmore Flashes in a very fast 1457. This was Camilo’s season opener on the fast Cool Breeze Brookside Golf course at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
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Above is Fillmore Senior Alianna Tapia who ran a personal best to finish very well in 15th place, posting a time of 19:08. Photo credit Michael Torres.
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On Friday, September 3rd, a select group of athletes from the Fillmore Cross Country Team competed in the Cool Breeze Invitational in Pasadena. Freshman Niza Laureano (above) who was the second finisher in 81st place with a time of 20:58.6. Photo credit Michael Torres.
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On Friday, September 3rd a select group of athletes from the Fillmore Cross Country teams traveled to Pasadena to compete in the highly competitive Cool Breeze Invitational. This meet features 112 teams and 3,734 athletes. The competition is run on the Brookside Country Club Golf Course, adjacent to the Rose Bowl, west side. The 5 K course is flat and fast and runs during the heat of the day into the cool evening hours of sunset.

The first race of the day, the Varsity Girls Divisions 3, 4, and 5 toed the starting line at 7:34 PM. The race featured 231 competitors. The top finisher for the Flashes was senior Alianna Tapia. Alianna ran a personal best to finish very well in 15th place, posting a time of 19:08. Niza Laureano, a freshman was Fillmore’s second finisher in 81st place in 20:58.6. She was followed by Andrea Laureano 111th in 22:00.8, Nataly Vigil 126th in 22:26.1, Monique Hurtado 138th in 22:45.9, Angelica Herrera 139th in 22:47.9, Alexandra Martinez 154th in 23:18.4, Liliana Montesano 162nd in 23:32.1, Diana Santa Rosa 198th in 24:54.7, and Alexa Martinez 219th in 28:34.3. In team scoring, the girls finished in 19th place out of 28 complete teams.

Next to line up was the Varsity Boys in a competitive race of 264 athletes. This race provided a lot of excitement for the Fillmore fans, athletes, and coaching staff. Fillmore was led by senior Michael Camilo Torres who went to the front and led most of the race before finishing in second place. His time was an excellent early season mark of 14:57.3. Let me put this in perspective for you, Camilo finished in 7th place overall when combining all Divisions 1 through 4, this was a total of 1,684 athletes. Yes, that is a thousand, five hundred plus. Wow! In second place, second year runner Josh Estrada finished in 96th place in 17:38.14, followed by Kobe Lizarraga 112th in 17:55.5, Nicholas Hurtado 144th in 18:26.5, Angel Garcia 161st in 18:45.9, and Angel Laureano 212th in 20:01.9.

The Flashes will next compete at Lake Casitas in the Ojai Invitational on Saturday, September 11th at 8:55 AM.