SUMMER RACES WELL REPRESENTED ALREADY IN 2009
XC stars of 2009, past runners, coaches take on DIPSEA Race, Summer Solstice Race
June 14, 2009

Six current Panther Striders braved the trails of Mt Tam and Muir Woods - more specificaly the famous Dipsea Trail that starts with 671 stairs (below) in Mill Valley. Check how they did on the 2009 Dipsea Race and how they made out by making the Antioch all-Time list for Panther Striders. For more precise results of the 2009 race, check the DIPSEA website. The following week, there was the Summer Solctice 5k & 8k Race up in Sacramento, and Jared Cornelius was the lone brave soul to head up north and race in the 8k. He did quite well and placed third in his age group with a time of 33:28 for the five mile trek.

This is where all the action starts on this famous race. The 99th running of this race was just run and a
half a dozen Panther Striders braved the 7.51mile trek including Chris Slatten, Saul Serrano, Bryan Dwyer, Amanda Dwyer, Sandra Freeman, and Natalie Hurtado. They all made the all-time list for Antioch!

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2009 BVAL FINALS GET UNDERWAY AT HERITAGE
BVAL Finals get fresh start with the Frosh-Soph kicking things off, varsity shine too
May 12, 2009

Some of the younger athletes on the AHS Track & Field team got to shine and advance to the final round on Saturday. In addition, some athletes were crowned champion in during the first installmant of three during finals week too as the all the field portion of the comps were finals on Tuesday. Jessica Costello (2011) and Pati Langi (2012) placed 1-2 respectively in both the shot and disc with PR's. Freshman-Phenom Josh Osegero had a big day qualifying on in the 200 (24.05) and 400 (54.18), both leading times in those events and he took third in the Long-Jump (19-2). In the running events, Super-Soph Jared Cornelius ran a 5:08 in the 1600m, placing him third overall going into the finals, well in the criteria to make it into the "medal round" in finals on Saturday in that event. Jared will be in contention for the top spots in this race. All F/S competitors did not break 5:00, but there is no doubt that there will be a few breaking that five minute bar. For more pictures, results, and news on AHS Track & Field, click this link for the BVAL FINALS info page.

An Antioch Panther Strider runner going into final lap of the trials back in early May in the 1600m.

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PANTHER TRACK TAKES FINAL SHOTS FOR 2009
Track team, distance group take final pictures heading into BVAL Finals
May 8, 2009

Almost everyone showed up to the 2009 Antioch Track & Field team pictures out on the south-west lawns at Antioch High. The distance group was indeed smaller than usual this year, but that hasn't stopped them this year with making a lot of ground, having fun, and keeping it real for their small group. The distance group, along with the rest of the team will be heading into BVAL trials and finals next Tuesday (Frosh-soph trials), Thursday (Varsity trials) and Saturday, May 16. At finals, competition will be completed by 2:30pm and any Panthers in any of the top six qualifying marks that day get to move onto the NCS Tri-Valley sub-section meet held out at Granada H.S. the following week.

There, on May 23, athletes will be competing for a few spots to move onto the coveted NCS-MOC (Meet of Champions) finals held at UC Berkeley's beautiful track & field stadium. This is the last stepping stone before the CIF State Finals down in Clovis' Buchanan H.S., where the Panthers were able to get a feel of what it was like to compete on the actual state final's track, which was the team's first invite of the 2009 season.

Panther Track & Field has a lot of hopefuls to make it onto Tri-Valley, including all four relay teams, several sprinters in almost every event from the 100-400, several jumpers, including Evan Grimes ('10)- who made MOC last year in the TJ as a sophomore, and several throwers including Tatjana Pitts ('10), returning SP star Prescilla Zerbini ('09), and Senior Paul Reynolds (PR-44-9). There is no doubt that Antioch T&F will be well represented in NCS for 2009. Good luck Panthers!

The 2009 distance crew from the AHS Track & Field Team took time to pose for one final
shot before they prep for the final week of regular season practice.

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PAST PANTHER RUNNERS STILL HITTING THE "PAY-DIRT"
Many runners still hitting the trails and roads after AHS XC
May 4, 2009

Some familiar faces are hitting the track and trails still - even post-AHS. Most recently is SBCC scholar-athlete Amber Siddiqi who is running down in the beautiful area of Santa Barbara for the city college there. Amber was part of a fabulous run for AHS girls XC from 2004-2005, helping the girls to a remarkable 19-3 record in those three years in the BVAL. She has recently run the 1500m and 5000m - finally breaking the 20 minute barrier just last month.

Past AHS Cross Country standout and now Santa Barbara City College
Scholar Athlete of the year, Amber Siddiqi (AHS '06), seen here making a move here in the 5000m.
Amber recently was awarded Scholar Athlete of the Year for SBCC and recently ran a PR 19:53 in the 5k

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DISTANCE RUNNERS HEADING INTO TRACK FINALS 2009
Track season for Striders coming quickly to the end, but more PR's still in sight!
April 30, 2009

Some of the current Panther Striders have been riding high, so to speak, with all the PR action following some of the dual meets in recent weeks. Amanda Dwyer (JR) PR's by over a minute in the 3200 to run a 13:13, a superb job no less. A new comer to the Strider's crew is Saul Serrano (JR), who ran a 5:07 in the mile against PIttsburg on April 29. Some other seasonal track PR's for 2009 include Natalie Hurtado(JR) 14:50 for the 3200 and Freshman Sandra Freeman 2:52, 6:25, & 14:29 for the 800, 1600 and 3200 respectively. The BVAL Finals are fast approaching - so there will no doubt, be some major PR action come next week out at Heritage HS for the trials and finals.

Boys mile at the PIttsburg Dual Meet on April 29, 2009.

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STRIDERS GET INTO FAMED DIPSEA RACE
Six Panthers from the 2009 distance squad get into famed trail race in Marin County!
April 15, 2009

There will be participation at the 2009 Dipsea in Marin County this year, with six Striders attending the famed and oldest trail race in America! Along with Coach Mike Amorosa, Saul Serrano, Chris Slatten, Bryan Dwyer, Amanda Dwyer, Natalie Hurtado, and Sandra Freeman have been cleared to run in this famous trek over Mt Tam. The race starts in Mill Valley and follows the Dipsea Trail up and over Mt Tam and through Muir Woods, and ending up at Stinson Beach. See the names of the entrants for the 2009 race here. For a complete set of records from the Panthers over the years at the Dipsea race, check on the AHS Dipsea Records page.

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A FEW REFLECTION SHOTS FROM 2008 XC TEAM PICTURE
Panther Striders hike to get '08 team pictures finally done just prior to BVAL Finals.
November 6, 2008

2008 XC team up above Contra Loma. Coach Amanda Amorosa and Coach Brian Wilson were
unable to be present due to the date change and scheduling conflict caused by Yary. The VG team
went 5-0 on the season for 2008, quite the remarkable feat, considering the team only had seven girls.

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THE GUESTBOOK IS BACK, BUT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION .

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