Submitted by Evelio Arriaga

The Fillmore Condors concluded their 2018 cross country season by participating in the USA Track and Field National Cross-Country Junior Olympic Championships on Saturday, December 8th. Fillmore Condors Cross Country is a non-profit organization under Heritage Valley Blazers Inc. Thirteen athletes ranging from ages 7-12 traveled to Reno, Nevada where they encountered various challenging factors in this competition. The first challenge was the cold temperatures ranging in the low 20s to the mid-30s. There was snow that had turned into solid ice in some sections of the trail and this also made it difficult to maintain a good steady pace for the athletes. The last dare that this beautiful trail tested our athletes with, was the altitude of about 4500 feet above sea level. It was difficult to come up with the best strategy on how to properly run the race because our runners do not train for these conditions. Despite all the demands placed, they enjoyed competing at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.

USATF is the highest level of competition with athletes from all over the U.S. Top eight athletes in each division from Valley Youth Conference joined forces to create an all-star team, The Valley United Striders. The Fillmore Condors which included, Abel Arana, Emily Arriaga, Leah Barragan, Paola Estrada, Carolina Garcia, Niza Laureano, Ayden Marquez, Lindsey Ramirez, Diego Rodriguez, Kailey Theobald, Kistern Theobald, Kristen Theobald, and Lucy Zuniga, who is a first-time cross-country runner and our youngest to advance, were joined by other top runners.

The first race of the day began with the 7 and 8-year-old girls competing in the 2000-meter race. Condors runners were, Emily Arriaga, Kirsten Theobald, Kristen Theobald and Lucy Zuniga. The top runner for this Striders team was Emily Arriaga with a time of 9:27.4 finishing 28th overall, less than 3 seconds away from earning the All-American individual award. Right behind was teammate Kristen Theobald in 35th, Lucy Zuniga 55th, and Kirsten Theobald in 70th. This group of girls were able to earn 1st place and become the back to back Jr Olympic champions.

The second group to run were the 7 and 8-year-old boys. Abel Arana from the Fillmore Condors was part of this group. He finished the 2000 meters race in 9:11.6 earning him the 56th place, helping his team win 1st place in the team competition to become the Jr Olympic champions.

Following, was the 9 and 10-year-old girls, which include Condor runners Paola Estrada, Leah Barragan, and Kayley Theobald. The highest finisher in this 3000-meter race for this team was achieved by Paola Estrada, finishing at 21st and earning the individual recognition as All-American award, which is only given to the top 25 finishers of each race. The next Condor was Kailey Theobald finishing strong at 112th, and Leah Barragan finishing at 118th. It was a very close team race and they missed the podium by one spot finishing as a team in fourth place.

In the 9 and 10-year-old boys race, Ayden Marquez competed hard and finished the 3000-meter race in 92nd place with a time of 13:09.3 helping his team earn a 2nd place overall finish in the competition.

The 11 and 12-year-old girls 3000-meter race was made up of three of our outstanding Fillmore Condors; Niza Laureano who finished 57th with a time of 12:40.6, Lindsey Ramirez placed 108th, and Carolina Garcia finishing in 184th place.

Fillmore Condor, Diego Rodriguez ran the 11 and 12-year-old boys 3000-meter race. Diego was able to finish his race in 11:41.9 earning 33rd place, 7 seconds shy of earning the All-American individual recognition. Diego was the top runner for his team finishing in 5th place.

The Condors are coached by Temo Laureano, Phillip Ramirez, Isrrael Estrada, Evelio Arriaga, Rafael Laureano and Victor Rodriguez. “We are extremely proud of our athletes. They physically and mentally endure so much during the season. We began training in the July summer heat, to the December cold dark evenings with headlamps. They raced with resilience, heart and grit in a harsh and competitive environment.” Condors President Erika Arana, would like to thank the following Fillmore community for always sponsoring our athletes: El Pescador, Baskin Robbins, Bank of the Sierra, Lions Club, Rotary Club and Heritage Valley Blazers Inc. GO CONDORS!