Woodward Park

Erik Boal Kirk Nishiyama saw the writing on the wall, and he didn't like the direction his Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy cross-country team was headed approaching the midway point of the 2003 season. Nishiyama knew his squad had the potential to qualify for the CIF-State Cross-Country Championships for the first time since 1995, but he felt his athletes weren't pushing themselves to their full potential, and, as a result, were setting themselves up for a disappointing outcome at the Division IV final.

GLENDALE — Taking a break from their respective league battles during the week, the boys' and girls' cross-country teams from Crescenta Valley High and the Flintridge Prep boys' cross-country team took a road trip this weekend. But all three had business on their minds, namely competing in the 2010 Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday. In addition to getting some good experience against some of the top teams in the state, all three programs left the course with some performances to be encouraged by. The Falcons varsity girls took on a loaded field in the Championship Varsity Girls race and placed a very respectable fifth with a team time of 1 hour 36 minutes 41 seconds and a score of 165 points.

It might be a little over dramatic to say Anthony Monroy had something to prove during his senior cross-country season at Burroughs High this past fall. In his final season, Monroy was trying to put a disappointing end to his junior track and field campaign behind him. In the spring, he was hampered by a foot injury that impeded his chance of advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division I competition in the boys' 3,200 meters after qualifying for the Masters Meet in the same event in 2010 as a sophomore.

Mizrael Mendez isn't overly excited with the fast start to his cross-country career at the collegiate level. That's not his style. When Mendez gets to the starting line to race for the Glendale Community College men's team, there's no strategy planned out before taking to the four-mile courses. He's not overly excited, he's not visualizing and he's trying to block out all distractions once the starting gun goes off. Thus far it's worked out well, as he's been accumulating first-place individual performances for a Glendale college team eyeing another Western State Conference championship in October and an appearance at the California Community College Cross-Country Championship at Woodward Park in Fresno in November.

GLENDALE— It's now or never for three area high school cross-country teams. After a season full of grueling inclines, steep declines and exhausting races, the grand finale is upon us. The Crescenta Valley High girls' and the Flintridge Prep girls' and boys' teams will run one final time, as they participate in the CIF-State Finals today at Woodward Park in Fresno. "I think we are going to be ready to run well," said Falcons Coach Mark Evans, whose team comes into finals as the sixth-ranked team in the state.

Battling various illnesses hasn't kept Karen Rosas from flashing her winning form late in the 2011 Glendale Community College cross-country season. The Vaqueros are hoping that trend doesn't stop, as Rosas may once again be under the weather when she competes in the California Community College Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno at 10 a.m. today after returning earlier in the week from a recruiting trip to frigid Colorado with flu-like symptoms. "It's kind of crazy because for the last three races, which have been the most important races of the season, I haven't felt completely OK, health-wise," said Rosas, who battled a similar illness to win the Western State Conference crown on Oct. 25 before overcoming food poisoning to claim the Southern California individual championship in 17 minutes 54.6 seconds on Nov. 11. "That's the only thing I'm concerned about, but I am positive with the team and we all want to go out there and give the best.

GLENDALE — Aspirations for state titles and podium placement are at the forefront today, as Crescenta Valley High senior standout Zack Torres and four area cross-country teams take off at Fresno’s Woodward Park hoping to emerge as the best of the best at the CIF-State Cross Country Championships. Crescenta Valley High’s girls’ team, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and both Flintridge Prep squads will partake with all of their outlooks varying across three different divisions, but Torres and the Division I boys’ field will begin the day at 8:30 a.m. on the 3.1-mile course.

GLENDALE — For a program steeped in cross-country tradition, the goal in every race for the Flintridge Prep boys is winning. Coming off 15 straight Prep League titles and state titles in 2002 and 2004, the Rebels came into Saturday's CIF State Finals at Woodward Park in Fresno with winning on their mind. In the final race of the year, the Rebels came up just short of that goal, finishing in a respectable third-place in Division V with a team time of 1 hour 25 minutes 54 seconds and 116 points.

GLENDALE — Entering the latest installment of the women's portion of the California Community College Cross Country Championship, it figured to be a toss up between Glendale Community College and San Diego Southwestern battling for state supremacy. The Vaqueros came into Saturday's race at Woodward Park in Fresno as the defending state champion. Southwestern entered with momentum having won the Southern California Championships on its home course Nov. 6. Glendale college saw its bid to win a second state championship in a row and third in four seasons come up short, as Southwestern won with 36 points and Glendale placed second with 74. "We did well and second place isn't bad," said Glendale college Coach Eddie Lopez, who led the Vaqueros' women's team to a state title in 2007 and a second-place finish in 2008.

GLENDALE — Their goal was never anything less than the ultimate prize and many figured them as the favorites to win it all before the season even began. But the members of the Glendale Community College women’s cross-country team took nothing for granted and, on Saturday, made good on their vast potential, capturing the 2009 California Community College Cross Country Championship at Woodward Park in Fresno. “I feel awesome,” said Nina Moore, who won the race in 17 minutes 48 seconds to claim her own state title.