Announcement
Suburban League Cluster Meet #2
Lady Mats Show Improvement; Boys Disappointed by Performance
Unlike previous years, Suburban League Cluster Meet #2 was held at Cerritos Regional Park this season. The flat, 3.07 mile race over sidewalks, grass, and through the hot riverbed, has been a source of frustration for those who try to PR on the deceptively slow course. In the girl's JV race, La Mirada was able to place 3 athletes in the top 10 as Amber Hickman, Charlene Ganton, and Bianca Ceballos improved their showing compared to the first cluster meet. After scores were tallied, the JV girls found out they were able to maintain their hold on 2nd place.
Bolstered by their fine showing at the previous week's Clovis Invitational, the Lady Mats newfound confidence allowed them to run a more controlled race than they did at the first cluster meet. With all of them healthy for the first time this season, Melissa Byrd, Celinda Manzo, and Lauren McIntyre methodically worked their way to the front of the pack and comfortably led the chase pack by the end of the first mile with a score of 19 - 39. As the race entered the sizzling riverbed, McIntyre fell back into 4th place and the gap between La Mirada and their closest competitor had closed to 20 - 35. In the end, Melissa was able to out-kick her teammate and come in first place for the first time ever at a league meet. In addition to Melissa, Celinda, and Lauren, there were six Lady Mats amongst the top nine finishers. Paulina Tapia, Ashley Casanover, and Aja Labasan finished 6th, 8th, and 9th respectively as the girls were able to close the race in first place with a final score of 21 - 36. Olivia Crigler rounded out the varsity team. The race keeps intact La Mirada's streak of 90 consecutive league meets with a first place finish. Under Suburban League rules, the girls still need to come in first at league finals in order to clinch their 8th consecutive league title.
The boys went into the 2nd cluster meet knowing they had some ground to make up if they expected to make a difference in a close league. Unfortunately, due to recent respiratory difficulty, freshman Clint Bales sat out the varsity race in favor of the JV race. And, while his gutsy performance boosted the JV team, his loss was felt by his varsity teammates. Despite an impressive performance by rookie Joseph Jeon, the boys were unable to close the gap between their 4th and 5th runners, and were narrowly defeated by Norwalk High School, 27 - 30. Only the senior team of Andrew Garza and Michael Palmer were able to break into the top 10 at the race. Regan Garcia, barely able to move at the beginning of the week, bravely did his best, but was able to move up to only the 12th spot. Frankie Nogales, Richard Marquez, and Mateo Cordova rounded out the varsity team. The JV boys team enters Suburban League finals in 4th place and the varsity team finds themselves with a firm lock on 3rd place. League Finals takes place on Thursday, November 6th at La Mirada Regional Park.
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