Pictured above is Flashes Junior Emily Soltero competing at the Jaguar Invitational this past Friday. Photo credit Anthony Chavez.

Flashes Cross Country Team competed in the Jaguar Invitational in Oxnard. Above are teammates Aaron Cordero, Damian Castaneda and Omar Heredia during the meet on Friday, September 6th. Photo credit Anthony Chavez.

By Epi Torres

On Friday, September 6, 2024, the Flashes Cross Country teams traveled to Oxnard to compete in the inaugural Jaguar Invitational hosted by Del Sol High School.

The frosh/soph boys were first to toe the line for the initial event of the day. They competed over a 2-mile circuit around the new campus. This race had 148 competitors. Three novice runners for the Flashes were entered in this race. For the second week in a row Erick Traver led the underclass men with a 38th place finish in 13:28.2. He was followed by Nikolias Cerda 81st in 15:14.1, and newcomer Jeffrey Enamorado 84th in 16:03.2.

The Fillmore Girls Varsity fielded a complete team of 6 athletes for the first time this season. Diana Santa Rosa led the Fillmore contingent across the finish line with her 18th place finish in 22:07.4. Diane was the lone medal winner for the Flashes on the day. She was followed by Miley Tello 28th in 23:20.0, Janessa Corona 31st in 23:38., Marbella Arroyo Tapia 38th in 24:58.1, Melanie Flores 39th in 25:17.9, and Jacqueline Olivares 41st in 25:32.4. in the team competition, Fillmore finished in 7th place.

The varsity boys followed, but did not field a full team--top finisher was senior Omar Heredia. Omar finished in 24th place in a time of 17:34.2. He was followed by Damian Castaneda 67th in 20:33.3, Aaron Cordero 73rd in 22:50.5, and Jordan Hernandez 74th in 23:30.9.

The Junior Varsity Girls ran a scoring team of 5 athletes. Emily Soltero led this squad with a 23rd place finish in 26:20.4. She was closely followed by Michelle Setty 24th in26:21.4, Jannet Vega 30th in 27:07.3, Valerie Rodriguez 46th in 32:35.8, and Megan Robles 49th in 33:21.5. In the team competition, this group of girls finished in 4th.

The final race of the day, Boys Junior Varsity featured three Fillmore competitors. Leading this group was first time competitor Vincent Alonzo. Vincent finished 61st in 22:41.1. He was followed by Alexander Diaz 72nd in 23:43.4, and Gabriel Lagunas 74th in 23:57.6.

The Fillmore Cross Country teams will next travel to Ventura and compete in the first of 3 Citrus Coast League meets. This meet will be run at Arroyo Verde Park on Thursday, September 12, and races will commence at 3:30 p.m.