BVAL DOES NOT QUALIFY ANYONE FOR CIF STATE XC
For the first time in league's 21 year history, no one qualifies for Fresno's Woodward Park
November 23, 2009

The 2009 prep cross country season for the SF Bay Area was completed this last weekend at Hayward H.S., and for most, it ended there. However, except for some stellar teams and individuals from nieghboring leagues that will be moving onto next week’s CIF State Championships held down at Fresno’s Woodward Park, no BVAL runner made it on to the show. There were a few local teams once again crowned NCS Champions; College Park – both boys and girls, their third time winning together since 2003, and 12th NCS title since 1999 between the two. Monte Vista Girls won the D-I title, their third since 2000, and the San Ramon Boys also won the D-I race (4th in school history). Other teams qualifying on were some of the “regulars”; Campolindo (VB-D-III), Las Lomas (VB-D-III), and Miramonte (VB-D-III), Carondelet (VG-DII), Campolindo (BG-D-III), and Acalanes (VG-D-III),

And for the first time in it’s 21 year history, the BVAL, which now consists of a league watered down into six teams, Antioch, Deer Valley, Freedom, Heritage, Liberty & Pittsburg, will not be sending any teams nor any boy or girl individual to the premier XC event, the CIF State Champs held in the southern central valley. In 2008, super standout harrier Wyatt Landrum (Liberty 2009), who took 8th at the JC State Meet on the very same day as this year’s NCS Championship, ran a 20:33 for 4.0 miles at Woodward Park. Landrum was the lone representative for BVAL in Fresno last year running a record 14:47 (#2 Hayward All-Time) for the NCS crown. The current six team format was altered in 2006 for the 2008 season due to changing demographics and team travel times from city to city and league to league. So, 2008 was the first year of the current BVAL, it's fifth installment since 1988. Antioch and Pittsburg are the only original two from BVAL I-IV.

For individuals, the only one that came close to qualifying for state at NCS this year was the varsity boy’s BVAL champion Nathaniel Wilson of Deer Valley. Wilson ran an impressive sub-16:00 timing on the 3.0 mile, relatively flat course, in 15:59, missing a qualifying berth by one spot. Kyle Williams of DLS edged out the senior from DV by four seconds for the final advancing spot for Fresno in the D-I boys race. Wilson's sub-16 ranks him in the Top 20 All-Time list for BVAL runners on this course.

The next fastest time was #2 BVAL finisher, Junior Eric Morford of Heritage. Morford ran a respectable time of 16:27 in the D-II race, good for 16th place, missing state by only five slots. Morford will be the only top five returning BVAL harrier for the 2010 BVAL campaign, but will have his work cut out for him, no doubt, if he expects to crack that illustrious top 12 at NCS to have a chance in qualifying for the state meet.

On the girls’ side, some former BVAL teams qualified onto CIF, including NCS Champions College Park and 3rd place Carondelet, however, there were no girls from the current BVAL who came close. BVAL Champion Marcie Torres of Pittsburg however was out kicked in the final grass stretch by BVAL runner up Carmen Martinez of Freedom, both running sub 20 minute runs at 19:27 (22nd) and 19:28 (23rd) respectively. Third place BVAL finisher was Stephanie Seiman of Deer Valley in the same D-I race. The 2008 BVAL champ appears to have had a rocky year, but still fairly ran strong 2009 XC, runnign a Hayward time of 19:48, but this was almost a full minute off her 18:55 from just a year ago as a freshman on this very same course.

For Antioch XC runners, the only one to improve on the boys side for this flat and fast course was third year veteran Jared Cornelius. The Junior not only ran 34 seconds better that his previous year’s time and was the only VB to PR, but he was the Panther’s top cat to finish 77th at the Hayward HS course. Perhaps Jared's lone 8k race back in June set the tone for his final race of the season. Rounding out the Panther crew was Dane Crabtree (11) 17:57, first year XC runner Saul Serrano (12) 18:03, Chris Slatten (12) 18:09, Bryan Dwyer (12) 19:07, Josh Alsaker (11) 20:03, and rookie sensation Anthony Andrade (10) in 20:50.

For the Lady Panther Harriers it was Senior Amanda Dwyer leading the Antioch pack with a 33 second PR timing of 20:59. This was an outstanding time for her and a true display of her focus and drive. Amanda Dwyer, only running XC for her second year ever, ran the race of her life to finish out her short XC career at AHS at the top of her "race". Amanda's time ranks her 17th on Antioch's All-Time List for this course out of 65. Sophomore Sandralee Freeman PR’ed by almost a minute by running 22:18 this year compared to her 23:17 in 2008. Also on the PR train was another Senior, Natalie Hurtado. Hurtado placed 5th for the team and PR’ed by strong 34 seconds from just a year ago. Rounding out the other Lady Panthers were four year veteran Veronica Regalado (12) 21:14 for the number two spot for the Panthers, and Senior Alicia Zapata in 24:04 for the sixth and final scoring spot.

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BVAL XC SEASON GOES DOWN WITH A TWIST
DV, Heritage and Antioch battle, While Pitt girls go undefeated for first time ever
October 28, 2009

The regular season ended with individuals from DV and Heritage battleing it out for the top spot out at Contra Loma against Antioch XC in late October. Eric Morford (11) of Heritage and Nate Baker (12) of DV were running side by side in the early part of the course, but it was Morford who had the edge on this last BVAL regular season tri-meet out at Loma.

Deer Valley was looking to go undefeated throughout, which they did for 2009 in team comps, but apparently some of the top DV boys had more on their mind when they were going up against the new kid on the block from Heritage, Junior Eric Morford, for indivdual honors. Morford had hands down won the BVAL Center Meet by over a minute, even though the league itself is still not counting this meet as a scoring meet, some teams have had the bad practice of not running thier runners at their fullest, or at all for that matter, when in turn they should run for fairness and the integrity of the sport.

Start of the 2009 BVAL varsity girls race out at Contra Loma on November 5. Marcie Torres was
crowned BVAL Champion, Pittsburg's first girl individual league champion in school history. The
Deer Valley girls won the overall league championship, while the Pittsburg Girls went 5-0 on the
regular season, beating East County perennials Antioch and DV (DV was incomplete on dual
meet day) another first for Pittsburg X-country

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COACH MIKE AMOROSA & STAFF RETIRE
Coaches Mike & Amanda Amorosa, Brian Wilson say goodbye after 15 seasons
June 17, 2009

After 15 seasons of helping coach one of the most successful sports at Antioch High, Head Coach Mike Amorosa and his staff Amanda Amorosa and Brian WIlson call it quits. Mike Amorosa, who started coaching as a full-time assistant in 1989, then rejoined the Panther group in 1995, and eventually took over the program a year later, brought in two NCS titles and several team and individual league champions through his prep coaching career, decided it was time to focus on his family & other career interests. Furthermore, Amanda and Mike recently having added two new little ones to their own XC team equation made coaching that more difficult, but very hard to give up at the same time.

Coach Amanda had been a part of the winning action at AHS XC since the beginning with Coach Mike, as was Brian Wilson. Like the Amorosa's, Wilson was also headed into another direction with his life regarding his career interest. Amanda and Brian helped Coach Mike bring in AHS' first NCS title in 27+ years to AHSXC in 1998 with the boys NCS D-I title. Amanda then assisted with the dream team of the 1999 girls squad, which not only won the BVAL and NCS title that year, a first for AHS, but helped place the team 3rd at the CIF State Finals in Fresno. There are many more accounts of success at AHSXC during this era, as there should be more to come in the future.

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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 677 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 race would later prove to Jared that summer training and racing does indeed pay off.

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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SPRING BVAL TRACK 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 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 surely 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 Photography.
The VG team went 5-0 on the season for 2008, quite the remarkable feat, considering the team only
had seven girls. This was the first girls undefeated season since 2000

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