La Mirada High School

Last weekend the Matadores varsity squads traveled to UC Irvine to watch alumni Stephanie Felix and Jared Bird race for their respective teams. As inspirational as it was to see former teammates performing at an advanced level, it was also an emotional reunion for the Lady Mats, who struggled all summer to step out of the shadow cast by their former teammate.

It appears that neither opposing teams nor interested spectators are giving the girls a chance to leave the "Felix years" behind. At the Bosco Tech Invite, for example, as soon as they donned their uniforms to warm-up, teams were heard saying, "Look, it's a team of mini Stephanies!" Even Jared Bird chimed in with a message to the girls: "Losing Stephanie is big." And, when captains Melissa Byrd and Lauren McIntyre were interviewed by a reporter from the Whittier Daily News, one of the first questions asked was, "What's it going to be like for the team to compete without your star runner?" Melissa and Lauren, fielding the questions in stride, replied, "We know it's going to be hard living up to the last three seasons, but the fact is, we're stronger, faster, and better this year." It didn't take long to make their point.

While there were no "1st Place" medals handed out to individuals or the team, the girls were able to walk away from the Invitational with a strong showing and a 3rd Place Award in the Large School Division, just behind Arcadia High School and just ahead of Serrano HS. Gutsy performances in the hottest and last race of the day by the sophomore trio -- Celinda Manzo, Aja Labasan, and Ashley Casanover -- and strong leadership from their upper class teammates -- Melissa Byrd, Bianca Ceballos, Olivia Crigler, and Paulina Tapia allowed the girls to maintain their streak of successes at recent invitationals. Bianca was named the Lady Mats "Athlete of the Meet" for her performance.

Third Place Honors for the Lady Mats

On the boy's side, while there were some disappointments, there were many more reasons to look forward to a bright future. Led by senior, Andrew Garza, who earned a 30 second PR, the boys team time was almost a minute faster than last year's -- on a more difficult course! A huge lift to the team was provided by the reappearance of Andrew Herrick, Richard Marquez, and Mateo Cordova, the numbers 4, 5, and 6 runners. While Herrick and Marquez earned their varsity colors at the meet, Cordova established himself as a contender for a top 5 spot. Coming off a severe injury that prevented him from running much over the summer, Mateo's strong performance earned him the Matadores "Athlete of the Meet" designation. And, while rookies Clint Bales and Paul Rael nearly broke into the Top 10 list of Freshmen runners in their first race, sophomore, Regan Garcia, placed himself in the #3 spot amongst 10th graders, just ahead of Jared Bird.

A large group of first time harriers made this the largest group from La Mirada to run in an opening day race in the past 10 years! We wish them well and know they will continue the fine Matadores tradition of success.