La Mirada High School

Four Lady Mats and Andrew Garza were named to the Whittier Daily News "Dream Team" for the 2008 Cross Country Season. Celinda Manzo, Suburban League Champion, and Melissa Byrd were named to the First team, while Lauren McIntyre and Paulina Tapia were named to the Second team. Garza also was named to the Second team. Andrew led the boys to a second place finish in league and holds the #3 spot on La Mirada's elite list. This marks the first year a member of the boy's team has been recognized with this honor.

Manzo (18:12 PR), Byrd (18:23 PR), and McIntyre (18:43 PR) are numbers 2, 3, and 4 on La Mirada's Elite list and led this year's team to their first ever team trip to the CIF-SS Division II Championship race. Tapia (19:07 PR), who was a JV runner in 2007, showed marked improvement and was key to keeping the Lady Mats undefeated streak alive in the first Suburban League Cluster meet of the season. Byrd remains only the second harrier from La Mirada to qualify for the Division II Sectional Finals more than once. This is the 3rd consecutive year Byrd has been named to the area list and the second for McIntyre. Additionally, Manzo, Byrd, and McIntyre were named to the Long Beach Press Telegram's All-area team.

Special Team Awards
Most Enthusiastic:  Kristin Lechuga
Determined:  Dennis Ly, Ashley Casanover, & Bianca Ceballos
Hardest Workers:  Olivia Crigler, Carly Clase, & Miguel Franco
Great Attitude:  Paulina Tapia & Jorge Medrano
Attendance:  Andrew Garza & Clarissa Negrete
Resilience: Charlene Ganton
Most Miles:  Stephanie Felix & Mark Gillaspy
Best Under Pressure:  Aja Labasan, Mabel Velasquez, Frank Nogales

Rookie of the Year: The "Rookie of the Year" is selected by coaches and athletes.  It is traditionally awarded to the freshman or new runner whose effort and ability enabled them to excel above and beyond what is routinely expected of a Rookie.  This year's group of new runners includes many athletes who worked hard and are deserving of the award.  The stand outs, and the runners who received votes, are Ashley Casanover, Aja Labasan, Celinda Manzo, Paulina Tapia, Carly Clase on the girls team.  On the boys team, the vote for the boy's "Rookie of the Year" was close . . . Richard Marquez, Frankie Nogales, Regan Garcia, and Brett Berger. 

This year's Rookies of the Year are . . .

Boys: Regan Garcia, Richard Marquez
Girls: Celinda Manzo, Ashley Casanover

Most Improved: Selected by athletes and coaches, the "Most Improved Runner" award is presented to the 2nd or 3rd year runner whose work ethic throughout the season at practices and races resulted in significant improvements in times and multiple PRs.  This year a large number of runners improved and received votes. In voting for this award, the team was asked to consider those athletes who attended pre-season practices, including camp, and those who ran well under pressure.  Those candidates include, for the girls:  Lauren McIntyre, Tatiana Cortes, Bianca Ceballos, Valerie Wong, and Clarissa Negrete; and for the boys: Andrew Garza, Andrew Herrick, Enrique Nava, Michael Palmer, and Mark Gillaspy

This year's Most Improved athletes are . . .

Most Inspirational:  Selected only by the athletes, the "Most Inspirational Runner" award is given to the athlete who, in addition to a strong commitment to the team, displays and possesses an ability to motivate and inspire their teammates by their attitude and effort.  These are the athletes who help to keep the team focused and keep the environment around the team positive and upbeat.  The athletes who received votes are: Stephanie Felix, Lauren McIntyre, Monica Ramirez, Vanessa Conchas, Paulina Tapia, and Caitlin Winn on the girls team, and Enrique Nava, Dennis Ly, Mark Gillaspy, Andrew Garza, Frankie Nogales and Michael Palmer on the boy's team.

The winners are . . . .
Boys: Enrique Nava
Girls: Monica Ramirez, Vanessa Conchas
 

Excellence Awards: These special awards are presented by the coaches to the athletes who gave their best effort at all times during the preseason and regular season.  These are the athletes who have great attitudes, rarely complain and are known to their coaches for their hard work and perseverance.  They are the types of athletes that somehow get overlooked until they surprise everybody by their distinguished performances!  Most of these athletes were selected as "Runners of the Week" at some point during the season.
Mark Gillaspy
Mateo Cordova
Brett Berger
Miguel Franco
Frank Nogales
Clarissa Negrete
Dennis Ly
Tatiana Cortes
Paulina Tapia
Carly Clase
Andrea Landeros
Melissa Diaz

Update: CIF-SS Rankings released 11/18/08 -- With their performances over the past few weeks, the Lady Mats have jumped at least 5 spots to enter the rankings in 10th place. This marks the first time a girl's cross country team from La Mirada has ever been ranked!
GIRLS DIVISION II
1. Saugus, Santa Clarita
2. Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach
3. Canyon, Anaheim
4. Sultana, Hesperia
5. Redondo Union, Redondo Beach
6. Newport Harbor, Newport Beach
7. Ayala, Chino Hills
8. Newbury Park
9. Canyon, Canyon Country
10. La Mirada

CIF-SS FInals: YES They did!

(Team Results) (Press Telegram Link) (Whittier Daily News Link)
Every season since 1986, the Lady Mats dutifully traveled to Mt. SAC for the CIF-SS Prelims race only to come home empty handed. The waiting is over. This season, on their 23rd consecutive trip, they earned the right to move on and will compete in the CIF-SS Division II Finals race next Saturday. Led by senior Melissa Byrd and sophomore Celinda Manzo, the girls managed to come in just ahead of a couple of top ranked division II teams en route to a 2nd place finish.

Going into the race, the girls knew they needed a top 5 finish in their heat to qualify for the sectional finals. They also knew that all they needed was to duplicate their October performance at the Mt SAC Invite and they would be in good position to advance. They were healthy. They were confident. There were no injuries. The only obstacle that remained was the dry heat, a fast race, and that nagging "streak" of past failures. The girls were determined to put an end to 22 years of disappointment for Matadores fans and coaches. They demonstrated their grit even at the start of the race.

Unlike previous seasons when the team was out of contention by the switchbacks, this year's team aggressively pushed the pace from the time the gun sounded. For the duration of the first mile, Byrd, who qualified for CIF-SS finals as a sophomore, and Manzo, clung closely to the front pack and were followed by Lauren McIntyre, who was positioned in the top 20. By the time the race reached the runway before poop-out, the gap between McIntyre and Ashley Casanover had closed slightly and the girls found themselves in 6th place with just over 100 points. There was hope, but the pack was coming up on the most difficult portion of the 2.91 mile course.

With less than a mile remaining in the race, despite Byrd and Manzo running side-by-side over most of the rugged course, McIntyre had dropped back to 21st, Casanover to 31st, and Paulina Tapia was struggling in 41st place. Even with Aja Labasan and Amber Hickman, the 6th and 7th runners, just behind Tapia, a 6th place finish and a quiet journey home looked more and more like a reality.

When a challenge presents itself, people often shrink from the pressure and drift off into oblivion. This team is different. From top to bottom, all season, the Lady Mats have demonstrated an iconoclastic ability to come through under pressure. Glimpses of this toughness were seen at virtually every race by one competitor or another. Today, as if motivated by a strong inner voice that shouted out a collective, "NO!", the team responded. In the last 800 meters of the race, Byrd and Manzo managed to hold on to 5th and 8th place respectively, McIntyre advanced into the 17th spot, Casanover made a huge surge that moved her past 10 competitors and into the 21st spot, and Tapia moved into 39th place. With their surge, the girls realized they had positioned themselves for the best. Now came the wait. By virtue of a 5th and 8th place finish, they knew that Byrd and Manzo had qualified as individuals; they knew their point total was less than 95 points. Would it be enough?

When the results were released and triple-checked, the announcement was made: The collective surge had moved the girls ahead of four other teams into 2nd place, one point in front of the 3rd place team. They had done it! Amid hugs and screams of happiness, each member of the team realized they had done something no other La Mirada team could lay claim to; for today, their team was the quintessential team in school history. With the waiting over, the Lady Mats look forward to seeking a State berth at next Saturday's CIF-SS Division II Finals.

Garza & Palmer Pace Matadores at CIF-Prelims
Team Captains, Michael Palmer and Andrew Garza, bid farewell to their fine prep careers by leading the boy's team as the numbers 1 and 2 finishers at the CIF-SS Division II Prelim race last Saturday. Palmer, a 4-year varsity veteran, and Garza, in his 3rd year with the team, have competed in a combined 7 CIF championship races. Michael, who earned a varsity spot as a freshman, leaves the La Mirada Cross Country team as one of the top 10 harriers in school history. Garza, who set a La Mirada school record for the benchmark Mt. SAC course at last month's invitational, holds the number 3 spot on La Mirada's elite list. This season, under the leadership of Palmer and Garza, the Matadores finished 2nd in Suburban League competition while establishing themselves as the fastest boys team in school history.

Also competing for the Matadores in the CIF race were: juniors Andrew Herrick (2nd year) and Richard Marquez (2nd year), sophomores Regan Garcia (2nd year) and Frankie Nogales (1st year), and freshman Clint Bales.