Junior Michael Camilo Torres had the fastest time at 16:38.36.

FHS Senior Fabian Del Villar posted the second-best time of the day at 17:32.30.

FHS Junior Alianna Tapia had the fastest time of the day for the girls with a mark of 21:35.42.

On Saturday, February 20th, the Fillmore High School Cross Country teams toed the line as one of four teams competing for the first time since November of 2020. The teams competed over a 3-mile course in and around the Nordhoff High School campus. Other teams competing throughout the day in the first Citrus Coast League meet were Santa Paula, Nordhoff, and Hueneme. Carpinteria and Malibu were unable to compete since they did not fall under the umbrella of Ventura County Schools.

To minimize any possibility of COVID transmission, and ensure a safe race, the teams followed practices and procedures agreed to prior to race day. Each team had a separate arrival time and a separate race start time. Each team lined up at the starting line 3 across or less and started 15 seconds apart. Each athlete competed or ran against only their team members. Teams were required to leave the site before the next team arrived. Each team could field a cohort of 14 runners in each race division. A leader board posted online allowed teams to measure themselves against the other 3 teams.

Camilo Torres and Fabian Del Villar and Matt Munoz were the first three Fillmore runners off the line with Camilo posting the fastest time of the day for all competitors, with an early season mark of 16:38.36. Fabi posted the second-best time on the day of 17:32.30, and Matt Munoz posted a time of 20:12.62. They were followed off the line at approximately 15 second intervals by Alianna Tapia and Erick Gutierrez. Alianna followed her teammate’s lead by also posting the fastest time of the day for all girls with a mark of 21:35.42. Erick ran a time of 18:26.96. They were followed by freshman Diego Ramirez 21:26.47 and first-time competitor Kobe Lizarraga in 24:37.03. The final two off the line were Andrea Laureano in 28:37.96 and Daisy Guerrero in 32.12.76.

Even though this was not a head-to-head team competition, the boys team had the best team placement among all teams that competed, while the girls did not score, since they did not field the minimum number of 5 team competitors.

The Fillmore coaching staff was excited to have our athletes compete in this modified cross country meet and proud of our athlete’s performances.

It took a lot of work, coordination, and compromise to make the 3-meet season a reality for a much deserving group of athletes. All precautions were taken to assure safety for all those involved. We want to thank all those involved (too many to list). We hope that this first step will be the first of many for our athletes, community, and staff to return to a safe and planned daily routine.

Next Saturday, Fillmore High School will host the second meet of the series of three at our school farm. The meet will start at 9 a.m. Our Fillmore event will be closed to the public and spectators at this time. We appreciate the support and look forward to having friends and family cheer us on soon.

Epi Torres is FHS Cross Country Coach