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Christian Conaway, 18 of Fillmore, traveled to Goldendale, Washington to compete in the largest gravity race of the year. 225 competitors from 14 countries traveled to the International Gravity Sports Association’s 2011 Maryhill Festival of Speed Event promoted by Volcanic Productions. Christian competed in Street Luge and Classic Luge. He was the second fastest qualifier of all the disciplines this year. He qualified second fastest in Street Luge and also second in Classic Luge. XX racers from X countries competed in Street Luge. X-Game Gold Medalist Bob “The Wizard” Ozman competed as did 2009 Street Luge World Champion Yvon Labarthe. Kyle Castaneda, also of Fillmore, competed in both street and classic luge.

After establishing his qualifying time Christian raced on Saturday night in the Street Luge King of the Hill race. The King of the Hill Race pits the fastest 6 street luge racers against each other, with the winner earning bragging rights as King of the Hill. Christian won the King of the Hill race in 2010 after one racer was charged with dangerous racing which caused the wreck of Germany’s Mattias Lang. Using his fast start ability Christian lead the top six street lugers down the 2.2 mile course for approximately 1.9 miles. He was drafted by Mike McIntyre who passed him prior to Seismic’s Cowsers Corner, a fan favorite vantage point. Christian took an outside line and was passed by 2009 World Street Luge Champion Yvon Labarthe midway through the tough right hand corner. Conaway came in third place in the King of the Hill Event.

After four days of practice and tuning, the main race was held on Sunday, July 3rd. Conaway used his ultra-fast starts to jump out in front and cleanly marched his way up through the heat races to place himself in the Street Luge Finals. Kyle Castaneda was also making his way through the heat races until he was involved in a race collision with fellow racer Justin Tolman. Sadly both Tolman and Fillmore native Castaneda were cleanly in transfer spots to advance prior to the collision. Competing in the Street Luge finals were: Mike “Big Mac” McIntyre from Glendora, Ca, 2009 World Street Luge Champion Yvon Labarthe from Switzerland, Kolby Parks from Canada, Christopher Hicks from New York, Will Condon also from Canada and Fillmore native Christian Conaway. Christian once again took a sizable lead at the top of the hill and led the racers down Maryhill Loops Road. McIntyre once again worked his way through the pack and built up speed as he headed to the bottom of the mountain. He passed Christian at about the same location as in the King of the Hill Race. Christian took an inside line at Seismic’s Cowsers Corner which would ultimately force Labarthe to make a late pass attempt on Christian as they headed to the finish line. Labarthe made an outside pass and just inched by Conaway to take a 3’ lead at the finish line, which earned Christian a 3rd place trophy, prize money, and gear.

In Classic Luge Final Christian scrubbed going through a repeater turn which caused him to lose speed. He finished in 4th place in Classic Luge. Castaneda was the fastest qualifier in Classic Luge after the first day of qualifying.

Christian is sponsored by: Honey Skateboards, TRS, Khiro Bushings, Nitro Bearings, Seismic Wheels and Ronin Trucks.

Street luge is a specialized gravity luge ridden with racers laying on their backs, feet first. Like a skateboard, luge racers use their body to turn at high speeds. Racers brake using their feet as the luge does not have mechanical breaks or steering devices. Depending on the race course, speeds of 60 mph are easily achieved through aerodynamic riding positions, racers ability. Racing is very tight with racers often within inches of each other as they race for position laying on their backs 1” off the road. All racers are required to wear full face helmets, full racing leathers and protective gloves. Street lugers will affix tire rubber to the bottom of their shoes to aid in stopping. It’s not uncommon to burn through ½” of rubber in 5 practice runs which stopping a luge at 60 mph leaving skid marks and blue burnt rubber smoke lingering in the air.

A student at Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio in Fillmore recently earned his Black Belt. Samuel Hernandez tested on June 11, 2011 for his 1st degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate. Samuel has been training for over 4 years at the Karate studio. He is a recent graduate of Fillmore High School and plans to attend Ventura College in the Fall and major in History. He has been a very dedicated student at Perce's Kenpo Karate. "He has incorporated the 6 principles of a black belt in his life which are: modesty, courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverance, and indomitable spirit," said owner/instructor Paul Perce. Samuel is looking forward to teaching more at the karate studio and learning more to achieve his 2nd degree black belt. His family, friends, and the karate studio are very proud of Samuel's accomplishments. Congratulations Sammy.

(l-r) Amanda Villa and Sierra Huerta

In early May, Fillmore Girls Softball hosted a Pitch Hit & Run contest hosted by Aquafina in conjunction with Major League Baseball.

Top winners from each age group were eligible to move on to the PHR Sectional held in San Luis Obispo. On May 14th, girls advancing from Fillmore’s local competition competed against other girls from various So-Cal and Central Coast areas. Fillmore girls receiving awards included: Taylor Brown 2nd Place for the 13/14 year old division, Sierra Huerta 1st Place (11/12 div.), Bailey Huerta 2nd Place (11/12 div.), Amanda Villa 1st Place (9/10 div.).

First place scores from each age group were entered into competition with 12 other So-Cal sectional contests. The top 3 from the combination of all those sectionals advanced to the Team Championship at Dodger Stadium on June 19th, Father’s Day.

Sierra Huerta, after narrowly defeating her sister Bailey, advanced to Dodger Stadium in the 11/12 year old division while Amanda Villa advanced in the 9/10 year old division.

After the competition at Dodger Stadium, Amanda Villa and Sierra Huerta placed first in their respective age divisions. Both girls participated in the pre-game show and saw their pictures flashed on DodgerVision while hearing their names and hometown announced to the crowd.

Wow! Two Fillmore girls out of all those Central Coast and So-Cal competitions representing the Dodgers in the national competition. Team Championships are being held throughout the month of June at the 30 Major League Ball Parks. The national winners will be selected based on numerical scores submitted. The top 3 national scores for each age group will be announced on the MLB Network on “MLB Tonight” June 27th, 6pm EST.

The Fillmore 14U girls left the Thousand Oaks Tournament held this past Memorial Weekend undefeated with only one game great game that ended in a tie.

The girls played great defense and with their outstanding, well rounded, coaching staff they pulled out all the tricks of the game and played hard to take the number one spot! This group of girls has a wonderful blend of chemistry that shows on the field. From their strong bats to our outstanding pitching all weekend long, the Fillmore 14U team gave it their all.

The final game on Monday was a sea-saw game, with Fillmore defeating the Northridge Gold team that they originally tied Sunday afternoon… fans coaches and girls were roaring with excitement as the last play was made and their crown of number one fell into place! To give you an example of some of our heavy hitters here are the top 3 batting averages: Cheyanne .615; Leah .533; Sonya, Serena & Karissa .461.

Fillmore’s 10U All-star team fought had but lost in the finals to Simi Valley in an International Tie-Breaker. The team brought home a respectable 2nd Place Finish. Our 8U team battled their way to the semi-finals where they were defeated. Fillmore is very proud of our program as this year the Western District Committee has placed us in the “B” Division where the competition is very tough! Keep up the hard work girls!

Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio recently competed in a Karate Tournament in Oxnard. It was held on May 14th at St. Johns Lutheran Church. There were over 110 Participates from all over Southern California. Kata Division results were: 4-5 years old White-Orange belt 4th place Ty Weeks. 6 years old White-Orange belt 2nd place Ty Morris, Participation Isaiah Felix. 7 years old White-Orange belt 2nd place Aaron Carranza, Participation Gabriel Tovar. 8-10 years old White-Orange belt Arianna Salas. 8-10 years old White-Purple belt 3rd place Erasmo Salazar. 8-10 years old Jr.; Brown-Black belt Participation Tyler Bode. 8-10 years old Brown-Black belt 4th place Blake Boren. 11-12 years old Brown-Black belt 4th place Iliana Hernandez. 13-17 years old Brown-Black Belt 3rd place Adrian Moreno. 18 and up Brown-Black belt 2nd place Samuel Hernandez.

Sparring Division result: participation Gabriel Tovar and Justice Rodriguez. 9 and under Brown belt 4th place Blake Boren. 10-12 years old Brown-Black belt 1st place Angel Rodriguez. 12-15 years old Orange-Blue belt 3rd place Javier Rodriguez. All the students who competed from Perce's Kenpo Karate did an excellent job. We are proud of your participation and support. For more information on training please contact Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio at 805-524-6870.

This year marked a successful season for the Fillmore Flashes Track and Field team. Early in the season the team set a goal to become Frontier League champions in both the Junior Varsity and Varsity levels for boys and girls. It wasn’t an easy task for the Varsity competition as both Malibu and Santa Paula were both very close after the three regular season Frontier League meets in the 7 team league. On May 5th, 2011 the Flashes left the field victorious in their efforts due to successful teamwork.

In the Girls Varsity division Freshman Kiana Hope lead her team in the distance races, earning fifteen points individually at league finals, the most points earned in the entire League. Kiana was named Most Valuable Runner for the Frontier League. The girls’ team would not have been successful without all of the event groups, including Junior Alejandra Amezcua, who earned points both in the shot put and discus. In the jumps, Junior Ashley Coert earned points in the 100 and 300 Hurdles as well as the high jump and triple jump. In the sprints we were lead by Senior Josefina Fernandez. In addition, the Girls Junior Varsity successful won League which will be instrumental for the future Girls Varsity team.

The Boys Varsity had the toughest competition in the League. The three schools including Malibu, Santa Paula and Fillmore were neck and neck going into the competition, winner take all. They knew it was going to be a battle to bring home the title. In the distance competitions, Sophomore Jose Almaguer moved up from the Frosh-Soph division to Varsity to score points in the 1600m, while Junior Alexander Gonzalez and Sophomore Adrian Mejia battled Santa Paula in the 3200m. In the sprints our boys 4 x 100m qualified for the CIF Prelims. Senior Christian Cornejo scored points in the 100m, 200m and in the 4 x 400m relay where he ran for a teammate. Junior Juan Mariscal scored points in the 400m, 200m as well as the 4 x 400m Relay. In our throws events, Freshmen Ricardo Gutierrez and sophomore Eduardo Gomez lead the Flashes team with points in both Shot Put and Discus.
The Freshman-Sophomore division came out of the Frontier League with an easy win and was deep enough in some event classes to help step up to the Varsity team when needed. The team is definitely proud of their teammates and their success. They are even more proud to bring home a League title to our school and hometown.

Congratulations to the 2011 Fillmore High School Track and Field team.

On Saturday May 7th, Fillmore United Soccer Club Won their second Championship title in the Oxnard PAL Spring soccer league. They defeated Oxnard PAL blue 4 to 2 in the final match that took place at Oxnard College soccer fields. This is the second title for Fillmore United and second perfect undefeated season finishing with a record of 10 wins and one tie. Parents and coaches are extremely proud of these boys for the hard work, discipline, and dedication they gave into every single game. Fillmore United will be participating in the California Coast soccer league, competing against teams from all cities of Ventura and Los Angeles County. We would like to thank team moms Alyssa Calderon and "Lebe" Candelario for their contributions to the team and for doing all the things that coaches were unable or unwilling to do. Best of luck to all the boys. "GO Fillmore United"

Kyle Howarth, son of John and Barbara Howarth of Granite Bay and grandson of Fred and Janet Howarth of Bardsdale, was the male recipient of the CIF Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in the Sac-Joaquin Section of Northern California.

This award, titled the Clark Coover Scholarship, is given to the top male and female athlete from over 300 high schools in the area. It was presented at a ceremony in Lodi, California on April 12th.

Kyle is a senior at Granite Bay High School and will graduate with honors this spring. He has a 4.27 GPA and will study pre-med at UC Davis. He's a three-year letterman in soccer, basketball and volleyball and a four time team captain. A three-time all-league performer in soccer, Kyle has been on four section-title teams-two each in soccer and volleyball.

Kyle is a Link Crew leader, volunteer youth basketball camp coach, lifetime CSF member and has received a National Merit Award. Last fall, he coordinated Youth Soccer Night on campus and more than l,000 fans - many of them youth soccer players attended the event.

On Saturday April 16th Fillmore High School Track competed at the 92nd Annual Russell Cup Track & Field Invitational in Carpinteria. The Flashes competed against some very stiff competition and did a great job.

Fifteen athletes had a total of 20 personal records set that day. Kiana Hope placed 2nd in the 1600 Meters 5:26.43 and placed 1st in the 3200 Meters 11:57.89. Adrian Mejia placed 4th in the 3200 Meters 10.43.44. Girls Division: 300 Meter Hurdles Kayla Sheperd 56.75, 100 Meters Josefina Fernandez 13.55, 100 Meters, Kaytee Magana 14.15, 200 Meters Kaytee Magana 29.54, 400 Meters, Anissa Magdaleno 68.04, 800 Meters, Ana Morino 2.32.04, 3200 Meters, Lucia Diaz 14.15.53, Triple Jump, Josefina Fernandez 31-10 ¾ Boys Division: 110 Meter Hurdles, Justin Beach 21.16, 110 Meter Hurdles, Cris Rojas 20.07, 300 Meter Hurdles Justin Beach 52.93, 200 Meters Daniel Cruz 24.19, 800 Meters Isaac Gomez 2.13.14, 1600 Meters, Jose Almaguer 4.52.34, 1600 Meters, Anthony Rivas 5.03.84, 3200 Meters, Anthony Rivas 10.59.03, Shot Put, Ricardo Gutierrez 36-09 ¼.

Coaches and parents were proud of the way the Flashes competed and bettered their times and distances. Way to go
Flashes!