Michael Sanchez is the FHSXC captain. He has been a highly dedicated and determined runner for four years. This past Thursday he wins the TCAA Varsity Boys race. We are proud of his accomplishment and look forward to seeing him in the championship season. Way to race Mikey! Photo courtesy Coach Kim Tafoya.

Fillmore Cross Country hosted TCAA Meet 2 on Thursday, October 12th at Elkins Golf Course. This race is run on grass and pavement with two major climbs. Eleven boy teams and twelve girl teams competed in this highly competitive league meet.

Nick Villela was Fillmore’s top finisher in the first race of the day. He led the JV boys by placing 3rd in a time of 17:26.12, he was followed by Rey Andres Laureano 5th in 17:29.70, Fabian Del Villar 6th in 17:32.15, Davis Flores 10th 17:44.37, Jesus Martinez 15th in 18:22.49, Juan Carlos Laureano 17th in 18:43.46, Alex Manzo 18th in 18:49.20, Matthew Munoz 21st in 19:01.99, Antonio Villalobos 23rd in 19:16.37, Jorge Acevedo 26th in 19:37.85, Eric Hernandez 27th in 19:43.41, Joseph Magdaleno 28th in 19:46.68, Mario Hurtado 30th in 19:50.48, Alexander Recancoj r32nd in 19:50.88, Andrew Otineru 38th in 20:00.39, David Bustos 45th in 20:15.78, Luis Leon 50th in 20:38.11, Gustavo Valdez 51st in 20:42.16, Erick Gutierrez 55th in 21:06.9, Jesus Cadena 58th in 21:13.36, Daniel Cruz 73rd in 22:10.52, and Samuel Kafka 81st in 22:32.95 . This race came down to the wire with Fillmore and Foothill Technology tying with a score of 39 points apiece. Foothill Technology was declared the winning team due to their 6th runner non scoring finishing in front of Fillmore’s 6th runner. Eric Hernandez improved on last year’s time on this course by about 2 minutes 32 seconds.

The Varsity girls race was won by Claudia Lane, top runner in the Nation, from Malibu. Her time of 16:20.81 would have placed her 4th in the Varsity boys race. Carissa Rodriguez led the Flashes finishing 2nd in a time of 18:39.19. She was followed by Diana Perez 7th in 19:19.15, Vanessa Avila 9th in 19:30.85, Giselle Perez 13th in 20:23.01, Nicole Gonzalez 21st in 21:05.55, Anahi Pascual 23rd in 21:18.72, and Cecilia Cisneros 31st in 21:50.84. In the team competition, the girls finished in second. Gisele Perez had the biggest performance improvement for the girls bettering last year’s time by about 5 minutes 5 seconds.

The Varsity boys race was won by Fillmore’s Michael Sanchez who cruised the course in a fine 16:06.62. Michael’s time catapulted him to the top of the best Fillmore Senior times on this course by almost a minute. He was followed by Everardo Garcia Magana who finished in 5th in 16:29.69, Jonathan Ordaz 11th in 16:52.41, Sergio Perez 14th 16:59.31, Jesse De La Cruz 24th in 17:42.41, and Juan Ramirez 36th in 18:19.22. In the team battle, Fillmore finished second to Foothill Technology by a mere 7 points.

In the final race of the day, Jacqueline Chavez led the Fillmore JV girls finishing in 7th in 21:23.44. She was followed by Allison Recancoj 10th in 22:29.41, Jacqueline Ruiz 11th in 22:44.29, Ebony Venegas 12th in 22:45.03, Emma Orozco 13th in 22:48.3, Lorena Izarraras 14th in 23:05.08, Michelle Reyes 17th in 23:49.93, Yakeline Magana 26th in 24:41.24, Isabela De La Cruz 35th in 25:40.54, Liliana Felix 39th in 25:52,69, Aliyah Heredia 43rd in 26:40.65, Marisol Ramos 51st in 27:27.73, and Emma Ortiz 53rd in 27:56.81. The JV girls finished second in the team competition.

The Flashes will next compete at the Ventura County Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 27th at Lake Casitas in Ojai.

Fillmore’s girls tennis player as she warms up before the match against Santa Paula.
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A note from coach Bowman
As of today, the Fillmore high school girls tennis team has rounded up their season. We played our final matches against St. Bonaventure, Nordoff, and Santa Paula high schools. Thank you to all of our opponent’s coaches. They were all great, hospitable hosts as all of our matches were “away.” Of course a big thanks to Fillmore high school for supporting the team especially Principal Tom Ito and Athletic Director Kim Tafoya. Hopefully Fillmore high school will have enough courts in the future to have home matches as parents love to watch their teenagers play a sport. Tennis courts would benefit the team as well as an additional sport for students in P.E. classes at the high school. As the season progressed this year, I saw more confidence in Fillmore’s players as they began to have trust in their backhands, and were serving powerful serves. Instilling confidence in the team members, as you know, is important to me as a coach. Learning to play this technical game of tennis has been no easy task for the team. It is a challenge to learn, and will help them to face other difficulties in the future. Maybe down the road, one of the girls will say, “I’m up for the challenge of medical school...after all, I learned how to play tennis!” Specifically this year, serving the ball “in the court,” was a priority as they practiced this part of the game on a daily basis. Once the serve is in, the game begins. Also, learning the tactical game of tennis was trickled in as the basic strokes were the first priority. A tactical skill is standing in the correct position on the court. Learning to stay out of “no man’s land,” is a challenge as it is tempting to stand in the center of the court when one is learning the game. An example of the wrong position might be a few feet in front of the baseline; tennis balls will most likely land at your feet with no time to return the ball. Especially for a beginner, standing further behind the baseline may give ample time to take a backswing to hit the tennis ball. Timing is everything. Standing too far away from the net in a volleying position may also be a bad position on the court. A volley may be more of a success if the player is standing closer to the net, as most volleys are hit from a high to low angle position. Getting back to the players, returning from last year, players Briana Lopez and Karime Renteria excelled in all of the strokes of the game and were a pleasure to watch on the tennis court. The new girls Jessica Lopez, Maria Gonzalez, Amairani Aragon, Ashley Tamayo, and Marisa Herrera picked up the game quickly, were competitive, and became better players by the day. Thank you to all of the parents, especially for raising such a great group of girls. The girls were kind and respectful all around.

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Submitted By Coach Tony Hernandez.

On Sunday October 15, 2017, Roger Campbell, a lifelong resident of Fillmore, California died peacefully at the age of 67 with his son and daughter by his side. He was born to George and Lawanda Campbell on August 22, 1950 in Santa Paula, California.

Roger served his beloved community of Fillmore and the County of Ventura through the office of City Council from 1984 to 2000, including being a two-term Mayor, Assistant Fire Chief, member of various boards and committees at the county and state level, and as a Political Consultant. He loved his lifelong home town and always sought the good of Fillmore and its residents. His accomplishments and years of service will last for generations to come. He has touched the lives of many and the loss will be felt by colleagues, friends and family.

Roger greatly loved and cared for his family, who will deeply miss him. He is survived by loving parents Chief George Campbell and Lawanda Campbell; brother Richard Campbell and wife Kathy Yakal; sister Carol and husband Chief Pat Askren; first wife Kathy Campbell; daughter Laurie and husband Jon Best and their children Emma, Elena and Daniel; son Mike and wife Jenny Campbell and their children Miriam, Hannah, George and William; his nephews Patrick Askren, Jimmy Faris, and niece Chrissy Fratzel.

A memorial to honor his life and service will be held Saturday, October 21st at 10:30 am in front of Fillmore City Hall. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Autism Speaks.

Submitted by Coach David Mac Donald

On Monday, October 16th the Fillmore Flashes Girls Golf team competed in their individual league championships. Ali Ruiz finished 16th in the league championship 9 hole round out of 35 golfers with a score of 52; Alyssa Ibarra finished 19th; Destiny Menjuga finished 20th; Sammi Ibarra finished 21st. The team overall season record was 8-6 and finished 4th in the Tri-Valley league.

This past week, Fillmore's Cross Country split squads traveled and competed in the Ventura County Twilight Meet at Lake Casitas in Ojai and the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Ventura County Twilight group competed on Wednesday and the second group competed on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Fillmore athletes competed on a short course of 1.85 miles or a 3 mile race in their respective gender race. The first race was the boys 1.85 mile run. Fillmore did not field a complete team in this race. Juan Ramirez led the Flashes by placing 38th in 11:01.8, followed by Juan Carlos Laureano 51st in 11:20.4, Jesus Cadena 158th in 13:00.9, and Samuel Kafka 201st in 13:30.8.

In the girls 1.85 mile the team was led by Jackie Chavez who finished in 21st place in 13:11.2. She was followed by newcomer Ebony Venegas 40th in 13:46.1, Allison Recancoj 57th in 14:23.1, Marisol Ramos 187th in 17:02.8 and Emma Ortiz 207th in 17:48.5. Jackie Chavez was the lone medal winner and the girls finished in 9th place as a scoring team.

Joseph Magdelano led the boys over the 3 mile course finishing in 108th place in 20:09.4, he was followed by Erik Hernandez 123rd in 20:27.1, Andrew Otineru 128th in 20:31.4, David Bustos 160th in 21:06.1, Luis Leon 180th in 21:51.4, Erick Gutierrez 184th in 21:53.2, Gustavo Valdez 188th in 22:01.6, and Daniel Cruz 208th in 22:45.4. In the team competition, the Flashes placed 13th.

In the final 3 mile race Arielle Estrada led the Lady Flashes to a 9th place team finish. She finished in 42nd place in a time of 23:31.2, and was followed by Emma Orozco 47th in 23:54.1, Jacqueline Ruiz 56th in 24:15.6, Lorena Izarraras 57th in 24:16.2, Michelle Reyes 66th in 24:42.6, Liliana Felix 113th in 27:28.9, and Eva Vieyra 130th in 29:30.5.

At the Clovis Invitational, Fillmore fielded 3 teams. The races were run over a mostly dirt 5000 meter course, with several major hills.

The Varsity girls had the early race and were led by front running Carissa Rodriguez who improved her time placing 10th in a time of 19:02.3. She was followed by Diana Perez 24th in 19:25.7, Vanessa Avila 36th in 19:53.5, Giselle Perez 72nd in 20:45.3, Anahi Pascual 78th in 20:53.2, Nicole Gonzalez 92nd in 21:14.7, and Cecilia Cisneros 145th in 22:47.3. Both Carissa and Diana were medal winners. In the team competition the team placed a creditable 5th. Two hundred and seven girls competed in this race.

The second race for Fillmore featured the Varsity boys. There were 217 competitors in this race. The Flashes were led by Michael Sanchez who worked his way up to 21st passing 10 competitors in the last mile and finishing in a course best time of 16:35.4. He was followed by Everardo Magana Garcia 44th in 17:00.7, Johnathan Ordaz 67th in 17:25.7, Sergio Perez 78th in 17:33.8, Juan Ramirez 128th in 18:24.4, and Antonio Villalobos 185th in 19:52.5. Michael Sanchez was the lone medal winner in this race. The boys placed 10th in the team competition.

The final race of the day for the Flashes saw a strong group of 132 Frosh-Soph athletes toe the line in the Boys Division 3-4 race. Quick improving Freshman, Jesse De La Cruz ran to a fine 9th place finish in this very competitive race. He posted a time of 17:46.8 and was Fillmore’s top finisher on the day. He was followed by Fabian Del Villar 23rd in 18:16.3, Davis Flores 44th in 18:51.3, Juan Carlos Laureano 52nd in 19:10.7, Jesse Martinez 55th in 19:13.3, Matthew Munoz 64th in 19:40, and Rey Laureano 70th in 19:51.3. Jesse De La Cruz and Fabian were medal winners, and the team finished in 5th.

The Flashes will next compete at the second of three TCAA meets to determine league standings and which Varsity teams will represent our league at the Division 4, SS CIF Prelim Meet. This meet will be held on Wednesday, October 12th at Elkins Golf Course in Fillmore with the first race commencing at 4 P.M.

California United’s Marlene Gonzales taking a shot at the goal during the game this past weekend.
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Submitted by Coach Tony Hernandez

U-11 Girls - California United took on Barcelona for the first time ever and kept its winning streak alive with a 6-2 win.

The first half got off to a slow start as the teams figured each other out and ended in a 1-1 tie, but California United broke out fast in the second half and kept the pressure on the rest of the game. Marlene Gonzales had another big game with 4 goals as Jadon Rodriguez and Tori Pina each had 1 goal apiece. Current record, 5-0-0. U-13 Girls - Also taking on the Barcelona club, this California United group was able to keep its own unbeaten streak intact with a 3-1 victory. The goal scoring was pretty spread out in this game as Isabella Regalado, Emely Garcia and Daisy Jimenez each had one goal. Current record, 4-0-1.

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A note from Coach Bowman
Last week we played against Villanova Preparatory school in Ojai, California. The final score was Fillmore 3, Villanova 10. I was hoping for a cloudy day as the “weatherman” had promised. It was hot like Fillmore. I encouraged the girls to hydrate before and after they played a set of tennis. On that day, the players who were accustomed to playing singles, were playing doubles and vice-versa. Do the players get nervous when all of the sudden they have no partner as in doubles? Probably. In singles, they learn to rely on themselves to face their opponent; to be independent. They have been practicing and training for months for these events. Playing doubles matches is also good as learning to communicate will make a better team in the long run. By the way, I have been told by an observer that the players on Fillmore High school tennis team look “fit,”as other teams slow down in the end and look tired. Good work girls!

Submitted by Coach Tanya Gonzales

Thursday September 28th FHS Girls Volleyball hosted Bishop Diego High School. Final scores Frosh 25-11, 25-14, JV 25-23 and 25-17, Varsity lost in 4, 25-23, 18-25, 17-25, and 18-25. Standout players were; Dezeray Zavala with 16 digs and 5 kills, Tori Gonzales had 22 assists, 3 aces, 7 kills and Kasey Crawford had 1 ace, 13 digs, and 7 kills.

Tuesday October 3rd the girls took on Carpinteria, Frosh won 19-25, 26-24, and 15-7 Despite inconsistent serving we had Ashley Yepez keep the serves in and we managed to pull off some great plays. JV won 25-19, 24-26, and 18-16 We had a number of great plays and pulled together as a team to gain the win. April Lizarraga had some strong hits and Alexis Sanchez did great with serving, once again.

Varsity lost 22-25, 27-29, and 13-25. It was a hard fought battle at the start. Dezeray Zavala kept the other team on their toes with excellent serving (6 aces out of 25 total serves) she also had 12 digs and 2 kills, Kasey Crawford had 14 digs and 4 kills and kept a number of hits in play, and Tori Villegas had 9 serves in, 6 kills, and 3 assists.

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A note from Coach Bowman.

As I am entering my second year of coaching tennis I would like to share some of the questions about the game that “come up” during the season. “Coach, can my opponent reach over the net with the tennis racket after they strike the ball? Is a player allowed to stand so close to the net?” Here is the rule as far as I know; Imagine a player (a doubles player in this image) standing very close to the net. A ball is hit to this player (the player standing close to the net) and a volley stroke is returned. When this player finishes her volley stroke, the stroke of the racket is completed over the net (because she was initially standing very close to the net) on the opposite side of the tennis court. Is this legal? Yes, it is legal as long as the volleyer did not strike the net when the stroke was completed. In addition, if the volleyer strikes the ball before it enters her side of the court, it is illegal. In other words, a tennis ball must reach the other side of the net before it is struck by the opponent. This makes sense. Lastly, if a player strikes the net at any time during play, the point belongs to the opposing player or team.

More and more frequently during these competitions, the players are asking more and more questions as they compete against other teams. They are becoming confident as they stop the game to “find the coach” as conflicts or questions arise during a set of tennis. My favorite question of the year is, “Coach, can they sing during a set of tennis?” No! That is distracting and or an impolite strategy on the court. Words that can be spoken to your partner are for example, “yours,” mine,” and “get back.” Other necessary communicative words are acceptable. When an opponent or team is intentionally distracting by singing an opera song, then it is time to call “time out” and “find the coach.” There will be more stories stranger than this during the season, l.o.l.

Changing the topic from rules of the game to our actual competition taking place, we competed against Santa Clara on September 28, and lost 7-11. Do not be disillusioned by this score, for the girls tennis team is pretty remarkable. Speaking of remarkableness, Maria Gonzalez, a new player for this year, took up the challenge of playing singles during this competition. She played a total of three sets, one set against the number one, two, and three player. She was competitive and she was out there to win! Maria came very close to beating the number one player for Santa Clara as the score 4-6, could have gone either way. I was thrilled as a coach to see her determination. Next time Maria! During this match against Santa Clara, the team had some great wins along with hard to swallow losses. This means, to me as a coach, that they are getting more and more confident out there on the court with the drive to play their personal best. We will compete this week against Laguna Blanca, and Villanova. All for now.

Submitted by Coach Tony Hernandez

U-11 Girls. The California United team came out looking confident and disciplined this last week versus Morelia which paid off with a 3-0 win. It was a great team effort with goals by Marlene Gonzales, Athena Sanchez and Kari Terrazas while Ashley Hernandez had an assist. As we’ve come to expect from this defense there were no goals scored as Gaby Martinez and Mikayla McKenzie shared time at goalkeeper. Current record 4-0-0.

U-12 Boys. This was a hard fought game the whole way through with California United edging out VC Galaxy in a 1-0 victory. The defense faced a tough challenge throughout the entire game, but they stepped up and held on to the shut out with some great goalie work along the way. The lone goal, and game winner, was scored by Oscar Fuentes for California United. Current Record 4-0-0.

U-13 Girls. Lots of scoring going on in this shoot out against The Pumas that ended in a 4-4 tie. The top California United scorer for the day was Valeria Jaimes with 2 goals while Isabella Regalado and Emily Garcia each had 1. Isabella also added 2 assists while Emily and Daisy Murillo had 1 assist each.