Congratulations to our Gremlin and Bantam teams for winning the Jim Thornton Tournament championship this past Saturday at John Burroughs High School. The Gremlins came from behind late in the 4th quarter to win the championship. Sam Bennett Sr and his staff have done a great job in coaching our 6 and 7 years this year by winning 7 games!!! Our Bantam team dominated the Moorpark team from start to finish. Key plays by Christian Hernandez and Jo Jo Moore led the way for our bantam team of 10 and 11 year olds. Cameron Bennett and staff did a great job this year. In just 3 years the Bears have captured 3 tournament championships and the Midget team reached the quarterfinals this year in the Superbowl bracket.

Two Fillmore Bears teams have been chosen to play in the Rosebowl on Sunday November 20th. The day after the UCLA and USC game is played on Saturday the Bears senior team will play at 12:30 and the Bears Midget team will play at 1:30. The Bears are excited to send two teams to the Rosebowl and have an opportunity that very few will ever have to play in the “Grand Daddy of them all” The Rosebowl in Pasadena California. Admission is free and just like your typical college and pro games tailgating will be available. We hope to send our senior team every year, especially with high school coaches watching in person will give them an opportunity to showcase their talents.

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October 25, 2016 was the last match of the season for the Fillmore Flashes varsity tennis team held at the beautiful campus of Laguna Blanca in Santa Barbara. Fillmore’s number one player, Michaela Boniti held her own winning two out of her three round robin matches scoring the two points for Fillmore with set scores of 0-6, 6-3, and 7-6. Michaela won numerous matches throughout the season scoring continuous points for the Fillmore team.

Fillmore’s number two player Lizzie Castaneda was on the sidelines during this last match, due to an “off the court” injury. The final score was Fillmore 2, Laguna Blanca 16.

Rounding up this season, I am delighted to have taken on the task of coaching the tennis team. Introducing this new sport for a majority of the team was a great pleasure. I know that competing against other schools on the tennis court empowered their self esteem and confidence which is what we all want for our girls in Fillmore.

I witnessed smiles after good shots, and proud reactions as they won against seasoned players.

Next season will sneak up on us for sure as I am hoping new and more players with great attitudes, will come out of the woodwork. I know the city of Santa Paula offers tennis clinics to the public, so if there are new girls interested in being on the team next year, I am highly encouraging them to get out there on the tennis court to learn or improve their tennis game.

Thanks again to my team for a fun season. Til’ next year.

Coast soccer league ended this past weekend and Oxnard Wave ended it with a great note, a 6-0 victory vs Thousand Oaks. Aaliyah Lopez, Anahi Andrade, Areanna Covarrubias, Alexis Mejia, Val Hernandez and Esther Ruvalcava each scored a goal. Girls had a great season competing with very talented teams now on to some High School Soccer... Good Luck Girls - Coach Andrade.

On Friday, November 3rd, the Fillmore Cross Country teams competed at the Tri-County Athletic Association League Finals. This meet was held at Lake Casitas in Ojai on a relatively hilly course with temperatures in the high 80’s. Fillmore teams were competing in a third TCAA meet to determine final league standings and Varsity league representatives. The top 5 teams in the Varsity races would earn the privilege to the represent TCAA in Division 4 Southern Section Prelim meet on November 11th.

The first race of the day, featured the boys JV team. This race was led John Chavez who finished 13th in 18:39.76, followed by Juan Ramirez 14th in 18:43.26, Jesus Castro 17th in 19:00.63, Christian Andrade 20th in 19:12.34, Mario Hurtado 22nd in 19:15.08, Jorge Acevedo 24th in 19:35.16, Gustavo Valdez 48th in 21:09.29, Danny Cruz 57th in 21:37.38, Erik Hernandez 63rd in 21:50.91, Anthony Villalobos 68th in 21:59.95, Andrew Hernandez 75th in 22:19.58, Luis Leon 80th in 22:46.02, Andrew Otineru 83rd in 23:25.95, and Pete Alvarado 85th in 23:34.17. This team finished second overall in the team competition and second in league.

The girls Varsity team followed and finished in 3rd place. They were led by their top runner Carissa Rodriguez who finished in 5th place in 19:39.27, followed by Vanessa Avila 15th in 21:10.31, Andrea Marruffo 18th in 21:37.02, Diana Perez 21st in 21:51.02, Anahi Pascual 24th in 22:05.62, Lauren Magdaleno 35th in 23:05.31, and Jacqueline Chavez 38th in 23:22.73. They finished 2nd in league as a team and will now advance to CIF competition.

The boys Varsity team finished in second place in this meet and also took second place honors in the overall league standings. They will also advance to CIF postseason competition. The team was led by senior Johnny Martinez who finished 8th in 17:20.46, Adrian Orozco 9th in 17:21.32, Michael Sanchez 12th in 17:32.63, Jonathan Ordaz 15th in 17:39.07, Everardo Garcia Magana 16th in 17:39.09, Sergio Perez 18th in 17:43.25, and Nick Villela 25th in 18:34.29.

In the girls JV race Nicole Gonzalez led the Flashes to a second place team finish. Nicole finished in 13th place in 22:49.07, she was followed by Veronica Hernandez 15th in 23:04.68, Maria Ruvalcaba 16th in 23:08.68, Emma Orozco 17th in 23:09.01, Arielle Estrada 20th in 23:28.09, Areanna Covarrubia in 23:54.96, Anahi Andrade 28th in 24:29.55, Luz Ruiz 33rd in 24:37.23, Allison Recancoj 35th in 24:52.52, Giselle Perez 39th in 25:07.02, Michelle Reyes 40th in 25:12.9, Yakeline Magana 48th in 26:15.74, Cynthia Hurtado 55th in 27:38.20 and Eva Vierya 68th in 32:34.79. In League competition, the JV girls finished in second place as a team.

Both the boys and girls Varsity teams will move on to compete in Division 4 CIF Southern Section Prelims in Riverside on November 11th. The boys will run at 10:40 followed by the girls.

Perce's Kenpo Karate had its 20th annual karate tournament at Fillmore Middle School on October 8. They had over 160 students participate from Ventura County to Los Angeles. It was the largest tournament the local karate school has had in twenty years. These are the results from the tournament: 8 to 10 years old forms white thru orange belt 4th place Logan Weeks, Participation Emilia Aguayo. 10 to 12 years old Yellow thru orange belt 3rd place Anna Walls, Participation Griffin Walls. 6 to 8 years old forms green belt 3rd place Gary Boon, 4th place Sofia Ibarra, Participation Joaquin Ibarra. 9 years old green belts forms 4th place Gabriel Padilla. 10 to 11 years old forms green belt participation Anika Ibarra. 8 to 10 Jr. brown belt forms participation Brody Addison. 10 to 12 years old forms 3rd place Zachary Addison, participation Austin Gunter. Teens division forms orange thru blue belt 4th place Vincent Rojas. Teens green thru Jr black/brown belt participation Chris Anderson, Samantha Gunter. Showmanship 2nd place Anthony Murray. Jr weapons division participation Zachary Addison. Teen and adults weapons division 1st place Anthony Murray, 2nd place Andy Topete, participation Lauryn Walker. Jr self defense 1st place Brody Addison, 2nd place Gabby Perce. Teen/adult self defense 4th place Samantha Gunter, Participation Austin Gunter, Lauryn Walker.

Sparring Divison result: White thru orange belt 8-9 year olds 1st place Ricardo Quilo. 8-9 years old Jr 3rd brown belt 2nd place Miguel Martinez, 3rd place Brody Addison, participation Emma Boon, Gary Boon, Gabriel Padilla. teens green belt 2nd place Ashley McKnight, 3rd place Nicolas Boon, participation Alexandra Boon. teens Jr black thru green 3rd place Chris Anderson, 4th place Zachary Addison, participation Ruben Desoto. adults sparring 3rd place Angel Rodriguez, participation Eric Ellsworth. For more information please call 524-6870.

On Friday, October 21st, Fillmore's Cross Country teams travel to Walnut, California to compete in the Nation's largest cross- country meet, the Mt. San Antonio College Cross Country Invitational. Not only is this a very competitive Meet, it is also a very challenging course with three major hills all run on a very hot day.

Fillmore freshman girls started us off on the right foot by capturing 1st place in the team competition. They were led by Vanessa Avila who place 6th in 12:31, she was followed by Anahi Pascual 17th in 13:25, Valerie Hernandez 29th in 13:43, Nicole Gonzalez 31st in 13:59, Areanna Covarrubias 39th in 14:16 and Giselle Perez 95th in 15:56. This race was run over a shortened course.

The lone representative in the Freshman boys’ race was Pete Alvarado. Pete competed over a two mile course shorten due to health concerns due to extreme heat. He finished in 146th place in 14:57.

The second race Sophomore girls sent a complete team to the starting line. Once again, these athletes competed on the two mile course. Andrea Marruffo led all runners finishing in 5th place in 12:11.5, she was followed by Diana Perez 10th in 12:49.7, Emma Orozco 20th in 13:31.5, Cecilia Cisneros 26th in 13:50.1, and Cynthia Hurtado 85th in 15:57.6. This team also placed third in the team competition.

The next race, Sophomore boys was led by Jorge Acevedo who finished in 16th place in 11:05.9, he was followed by Antonio Villalobos 36th in 11:43.4, Daniel Cruz 81st in 12:32.5, Andrew Hernandez 87th in 12:37.4, and Luis Leon 120th in 13:16.9. This race was also run on the two mile course. This team finished 11th in the team competition.

In the Girls Junior Varsity race Fillmore sent five competitors to the start on the two mile course. Leading the team to a third place finish was Jacqueline Chavez who finished in 5th place and posted a time of 12:25.6, she was followed by Lauren Magdaleno 9th in 13:04.3, Maria Ruvalcaba 25th in 13:48, Allison Recancoj 56th in 14:44.2, and Michelle Reyes 69th in 15:04.2.

The Junior Varsity boys race featured a full squad with 7 competitors toeing the line and finishing in fourth place in the team competition. Top runner for the Flashes on the two mile course was Cristian Andrade who finished in 11th place in a time of 10:43.8, followed by Juan Ramirez 17th in 11:00.9, John Chavez 31st in 11:18.4, Gustavo Valdez 44th in 11:33.8, Jesus Castro 52nd in 11:42.1, Mario Hurtado 66th in 11:51.9, and Erik Hernandez 139th in 12:46.

The highlight of the day was Fillmore’s entry into the Varsity Boys Sweepstakes race. Only your top ranked teams are given entry into this race and must submit proof in writing that you have earned their placement into this featured race. The Flashes finished in 13th place as a team and competed over the full three mile distance. Senior Johnnie Martinez led the squad finishing in 50th place in 17:20.4, followed by Adrian Orozco 55th in 17:30.1, Sergio Perez 57th in 17:34.2, Everardo G. Magana 65th in 17:41.3, Michael Sanchez 74th in 19:02.3, Jonathan Ordaz 80th in 18:26, and Nick Villela 87th in 18:23.9.

The Flashes next travel to Ojai where they will compete in the Ventura County Cross Country Championships. Races are held on the Lake Casitas course starting at 1:30.

Fillmore Flashes at Villanova for a water polo match.

October 12th was our last day of our season. The Fillmore High School Inaugural Boys water polo team successfully completed 3 High School matches. The games were played against Carpentaria, Villanova and Nordoff. Our 18 young men represented Fillmore Athletics with heart, dedication and pride. I watched these young men progress as athletes and grow together as a team.

A memoir written by our team Captain Luke Myers "It was a very close game, but they got us. Even if this is our second and LAST game for the season, it's been the most fun I've had in a team sport. Fillmore's VERY FIRST boys water polo team. We made history... We never had a dull moment or negative vibes. Ms Burns has showed us the utmost love and support despite every single obstacle that has slowed us down. We've overcome and have paved the way for future seasons of improvement and excitement. Thank you to this amazing brotherhood of respectable and loving guys, and even for everyone that couldn't make it in their schedule as we progressed. Every single person who has contributed to this team in any way is amazing and FHS will never be the same now. Oh... And today's score is 1-30, but our point counts as a lot."

Our team will be playing in a Open Entry Southern California Boys Water Polo Tournament in Chino Valley on Friday October 14th and 15th 2016. GOOD LUCK FILLMORE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS WATER POLO TEAM.

Thank you for this opportunity, it has been an amazing experience.
Coach TeLana Burns

Team:
Marcus Anthony
Luke Myers
Edgar Jesus Gonzalez Martinez
Israel Brooks
Alex Rojas
Fernando Landeros
Gavin Rivera
Jose Ruiz
Juan Perez
William Tran-Wyche
Adrian Meraz
Cristian E. -Minjares
Francisco Jimenez
Michael Santa Rosa
David Dunham
Samuel Guzman
Francisco Franny Ruiz

Karime Renteria serves to the opposing team.
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St. Bonaventure high school varsity was the Fillmore Flashes opponent on the thirteenth of October, 2016. The Fillmore Flashes traveled to the tennis courts of Ventura College to play their second to last match of the season. Playing with a slight wind coming off the coast, our girls did their best and played hard. "Lizzie" Castaneda, Fillmore's number two singles player fought through endless rallies giving the St. Bonaventure girls a "run for their money." Castaneda, along with our number one player Michaela Boniti, both defeated St. Bonaventure's Mel Monlleo 6-2, and 6-4, Castaneda's win being the later score. The number one doubles team for Fillmore, Haley Martinez and Ivette Huerta, defeated St. Bonaventure's number three doubles team with a proud score of 6-1. Yes, Martinez and Huerta were smiling and happy to score a point for the team leaving the final score Fillmore 3, St. Bonaventure 15. I can't express enough times during this season how proud I am of the tennis team this year. Good job to team members Michaela, Elizabeth, Mariah, Haley, Ivette, Karime, Julissa, Adanari, and Breana! It is nice to announce the opposing teams consistently express well wishes to our team as we are "back in the swing of things" in Fillmore. Tennis pal, Sara Hansen reminded me many years ago about the importance of women being involved in sports, as women were not allowed to participate at one time. I agree! Thanks Sara. We have one final match against Laguna Blanca on October 25, at 3 p.m. at Laguna Blanca. Go Team!

Fillmore Flashes Volleyball played Santa Clara Tuesday Oct. 18th, Frosh won 25-9, 25-20 JV won 25-12, 25-23, Varsity lost 23-25, 26-28, and 11-25.Varsity Highlights: Lindsey brown 12 digs, 2 aces, 3 kills Kasey Crawford 5 kills, 2 aces, Gisselle DeLaPaz 4 kills, Aviana Ramirez 1 ace, 12 assists, 2 blocks. Flashes will take on Bishop Diego Thursday Oct. 20th matches start at 4pm.

For the second year in a row, Fillmore hosted the second of three TCAA Cross Country League meets. This meets determine league standings and Varsity Division 4 SS CIF Prelims TCAA League representatives.

The Meet was well attended and held on Fillmore’s beautiful Elkins Golf Course. Thirteen teams competed for team standings in four divisions, JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls, and Varsity Boys.

The Boys JV race was the first race of the day. Foothill Technology captured 5 of the top 7 spots and won the team competition with Fillmore placing second. Juan Ramirez led Fillmore runners placing 4th in 18:15.10, Cristian Andrade followed in 7th in 18:40.97, Gustavo Valdez 11th in 19:22, John Chavez 12th in 19:34.91, Mario Hurtado 13th in 19:38.47, Jesus Castro 14th in 19:40.27, Jorge Acevedo 15th in 19:45.6, Antonio Villalobos 36th in 21:16.62, Andrew Hernandez 44th in 21:33.98, Daniel Cruz 45th in 21:34.81, Eric Hernandez 53rd in 22:15.86, Luis Leon 55th in 22:34.59, Samuel Kafka 64th in 23:18.23, and Pete Alvarado 84th in 26:30.02.

The second race of the day featured the top runner in the State, Malibu’s Claudia Lane. Claudia dominated this talented field by posting a time of 16:58.6 on this challenging 3 mile course. She gaped the second place finisher in her race by a little more than three minutes and five seconds. Her time would have placed her 10th in the boys’ Varsity race. Fillmore's top finisher was Carissa Rodriguez 7th in 19:55.08, she was followed by Diana Perez 10th in 20:32.25, Andrea Marruffo 14th in 20:47.7, Vanessa Avila 15th in 20:48.78, Anahi Pascual 33rd in 21:52.52, Jacqueline Chavez 43rd in 22:27.83, and Lauren Magdaleno 46th in 22:33.39.

The next race, boys Varsity was also dominated by Foothill Technology taking six of the top seven places. Thacher captured the second place team award followed by Fillmore in third. Top runner for Fillmore was Adrian Orozco 10th in 17:03.45, followed by Juan Martinez 11th in 17:13.24, Jonathan Ordaz 28th in 17:46.57, Sergio Perez 30th in 17:50.88, Everardo G. Magana 32nd in 17:57.92, Michael Sanchez 35th in 18:11.33, and Nick Villela 46th in 18:48.31.

The Girls JV race was the final race of the day. The race was dominated by Foothill Technology capturing the first 6 places. Top runner for Fillmore was Nicole Gonzalez who finished in 7th place in 22:33.4, she was followed by Valerie Hernandez 9th in 22:45.75, Cecilia Cisneros 10th in 22:49.62, Maria Ruvalcaba 11th in 23:14 06, Emma Orozco 12th in 23:14.81, Areanna Covarrubias 14th in 23:23.72, Luz Ruiz 28th in 24:44.51, Allison Recancoj 32nd in 24:57.20, Michelle Reyes 34th in 25:08.92, Giselle Perez 35th in 25:38.35, and Cynthia Hurtado 40th in 27:02.5.

The Flashes will next compete on Friday at the nation's largest high school meet, the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.