There's a lot of blood, sweat and guts between dreams and success.
It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves

We will be meeting at the Corona High Weight Room from 9 am - 10:30 am on the following dates:

Monday - Thursday, December 21-24
Saturday, December 26 = Meet @ Skyline Road
Monday - Thursday, December 28-31
Saturday, January 2 = Meet @ Skyline Road

We will meet on Monday and Tuesday, January 4th and 5th at 9 am at the Corona High Track.   We're not letting budget cuts (hence the days off) get in the way of developing our fitness!

Banquet Concludes Great Season 

The Track & Field banquet concluded an awesome 2009 season on a high note.  With more athletes in the program then in over 15 years, we're looking forward to the new stadium and Track & Field facility in 2010.  Below are the awards we handed out!   If you still want a copy of the slideshow, contact Coach Gardner in F-7.  They are $5 and we can easily make copies for you.   On that note - team pictures from Yary Photography ARE IN as on Monday morning, June 6th!   Go to Coach Gardner to receive them! 

BOYS
Most Valuable Athlete - Chase Williams
Most Valuable Athlete - Ryan Gann
Most Valuable Distance - Michael Gauger
Most Valuable Hurdler - Markus Smith
Most Valuable Sprinter - Jordon James
Most Valuable Jumper - Tyriell Stanford
Most Improved Athlete - Ricardo Felix
Coaches Award - Patrick Mynes
Coaches Award - Fernando Cerda

GIRLS
Most Valuable Athlete - Nikki Blokzyl
Most Valuable Athlete - Fatima Vergara
Most Valuable Distance - Haley Brzycki
Most Valuable Hurdler - Rachel Ruiz
Most Valuable Sprinter - Amber Lambert
Most Valuable Jumper - Lauryn Bretches
Most Improved Athlete - Lauren Cochran
Coaches Award - Ashley Evans
Coaches Award - Malaysia Alexander

Thanks to Mrs. Pantele for taking on and organizing the decorations for the banquet!  We want to pay special thanks to ourgoing Booster Club President, Mr. Mynes! 

Thanks to all of the athletes and parents - we look forward to seeing next year!

Parent and friend of Corona High Track & Field, Mr. Tom Cochran has been taking pictures at the meets all season long.  To view these pictures, please feel free to go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/corona_high_school/  

In order to view the pictures, you must create a Flickr sign-in and you will need to email Tom Cochran at tcochran@cbre.com.   You will become part of Tom's "friends list"   You can have copies of all pictures as Tom is not charging anybody for them.  Tom will also use these pictures for our End-of-the-Year slide show.

On behalf of the athletes, parents and coaching staff - THANK YOU TOM!!!

Humbling Season Comes to an End 

With Corona High's season coming to an end more premature than what we're accustomed to, we saw some great efforts.  But, competing in THE toughest division in the United States can humble you as some of our best efforts still left us short of qualifying anybody onto next week's CIF Finals! 

Our two prized sophomores, Fatima Vergara and Michael Gauger are alternates for next week's CIF Finals.  But, it's doubtful that two athletes will drop the Girls Discus and/or the Boys 3200 meters.  Fatima's last throw was a stellar 116'11" inch effort which is just short of the old school record, so a very strong showing.  Gauger gave it a ride, taking a risk by being aggressive on the 2nd and 3rd laps against an incredible field.  He was unable to hold on and settled for 11th overall. (2nd best sophomore in Division I). 

We also saw the 4th best effort in school history by junior Fernando Cerda!  His roared to a 1:57.63 effort which actually would have made it onto CIF Finals the past three seasons!  This year it was 16th!  Division I continues to get tougher and tougher! 

Ryan Gann ended his career as our school's best Discus thrower with his 160'3" school record effort last month!  Chase Williams, despite a sciatic nerve that has bothered him the past two weeks, ran great.  He ends his career as the 5th fastest 1600m in school history!

Many athletes in the Big VIII League that excelled and looked awesome did not fare so well at the Division I Prelims.  Again, a very humbling experience... 

Corona Competes Well at the Incredible Big VIII League Finals

When we first heard about CIF reconfiguring the various leagues and Corona was placed into the new Big VIII League, we knew that the competition would increase.  No longer the days of the old Mountain View League, the Big VIII proved to be even stronger than what any of the coaches thought!  Pound for pound, it ended up recording the best results of any league throughout  the Inland Empire!  But, in the end, Corona High is sending 13 athletes onto this weekend's Division I CIF Prelims at Trabuco Hills High.

Leading the way for Corona was our throwers!  Senior Ryan Gann won the league title in the discus.  Gann is currently ranked #3 in Riverside County and traveling onward for a 3rd straight year to CIF competition.  Meanwhile, he is on the bubble on moving onto the CIF Finals.  Also coming home with a league title but in surprising fashion, sophomore Fatima Vergara took home the championship in shot put!   She has displayed incredible improvement in that event and went out to over 36 feet which is the 4th best effort in school history!  She had never thrown the shot over 35 feet before.   Corona High brought home a 3rd league title with an incredible effort by freshman Nikki Blokzyl in the 800 meters!  With a commanding performance where she challenged everybody to stay with her from the gun, Nikki posted the 3rd fastest time in school history and a 3 second pr!  Corona High has claimed a league title in that event in six of the past seven seasons!

We witnessed some incredible performances that would just about earned league titles in the past in our old league.  Sophomore Michael Gauger ran an awesome race in posted a 7 second pr, but had to settle for 2nd place in the 3200 meters when Roosevelt's Julian Lopez was able to outlean him.   Michael is right up there and will shoot to move onto the CIF Finals this weekend while his time was better than the old MVL record.  Senior Chase Williams, despite the heat and wind, broke 4:24 for a runner-up spot as well in the 1600 meters!  His time would have also broke last year's MVL record.  His effort is the 5th fastest in school history while he also #5 in Riverside County.  The aforementioned Fatima Vergara was disappointed in taking 2nd place in Discus, but moves on for the 2nd year in a row in that event.   

Taking individual 3rd place patches were outstanding efforts!  Junior Jordon James qualified in just about a close a race as we've ever witnessed!  With his torso being the first over, he finished in a smoking time of 10.981 with ML King's duo taking 10.984 and 10.991....  Junior Fernando Cerda just missed his personal best as he broke 1:59 to advance for the 2nd year in a row in the 800 meters!  He'll be looking to break 1:58 this weekend.   Freshman Haley Bryzcki continues to mature into a solid 3200 athlete while recording another pr (11:51) in route to her 3rd place finish.  She will be looking to break 11:40 this upcoming weekend.  Senior Malaysia Alexander closes out a fine career that includes three individual league titles along with three league team titles with her 3rd place finish in the 800 meters. 

Our girls 4x400 relay ran the fastest time for Corona High in over 10 seasons but had to settle for a 3rd place.  Nonetheless, their time  moves on and they will look to go even faster this weekend!  Seniors Malaysia Alexander and Lauren Welker, along with junior Nicole Oliver and freshman Nikki Blokzyl all earned patches.  Our boys 4x400 really stepped it up and challenged ML King the entire race.  They settled for a 3rd place as well, but almost broke 3:29 with a team of seniors Chase Williams and Eddie Perez along with juniors Tom Fitch and Fernando Cerda.   

We also saw an incredible effort from junior Markus Smith (15.35) for 4th in the 110 Hurdles.  Junior Kallan Style went in as an alternate and came away with a great 4th place effort as well (41.59).   Senior Ricardo Felix tied for 3rd place but his 2nd throw was not that of the Norco kid, so he had to settle for 4th place. 

Our boys ended the season on a high note with a strong 83-53 victory over Santiago.  This solidifies their spot at 3rd place in the Big VIII League.  Santiago finishes the season in 4th place.   Our boys finished in the top ten as a team in Riverside County this season. 

Meanwhile, the girls lost a tough one by only two points, 67-69!  Last year, Santiago's girls got us 63-64.  So, tough ones these last two years.   But, Corona's girls also finish 3rd place in league while even with the win, Santiago's girls finish in 6th place.  Corona tied Riverside Poly with a 4-3 league record but Corona won the head-to-head match and finishes ahead of them. 

We saw several nice performances all around.

The Big VIII League Prelims take place on Tuesday, May 5th at Martin Luther King High School.  Those that finish in the top nine will advance onto Thursday's Finals @ Citrus Hill High School!    Scroll down below to click onto the sites for directions. 

The JV League Finals will take place on Thursday, May 7th.

Team Pictures - Monday, May 11th

Team Banquet - Friday, May 22nd

Corona Gives Roosevelt a Scare

Going in as serious underdogs to one of the best squads in Riverside County, our boys had the goal of pulling a huge upset and putting themselves in a position to at least tie for a league title.  In the end, Roosevelt's fire power in the sprints and the distances was too much as we fell just shortm 63-73!  Contesting pole vault for the first time since 2002, senior Tim Brownlow pulled a 2nd place and put the meet in reach.  With three events remaining, we were only down 58-55.  Our throwers had another awesome day, sweeping the throws 18-0.  They were led by double victories by senior Ryan Gann.  Gann broke his OWN school record in the discus, propelling the disc 160 feet 3.5 inches!  Senior Chase Williams put in a fine day with 2nd place finishes against the tough Roosevelt boys in the 1600 and 800.  We also saw three 42+ foot efforts when our triple jumpers swept that event.   We went in there to make them earn it and walked away knowing that we pushed the league champions as much as we could! 

On the girls' side, we were very proud of 78-58 victory.  In the jumps, distances and throws - we outscored their girls 70-2!  Senior Lauryn Bretches also did great with her three victories in the high, long and triple jumps!   Sophomore Fatima Vergara won both throws, highlighted by her 116'3" effort in the discus.  Freshman Nikki Blokzyl cruised to victories in the 800 and 1600.   Junior Rachel Ruiz continues to get back into great shape with his runner-up places in both hurdles as well. 

All in all, a great and well contested day for Corona!  With victories over Santiago next Thursday - both teams will finish in 3rd place for the Big VIII League.  A little humbling perhaps, but with this new and improved league, impressive nonetheless. 

Gann Sets School Record
Since just missing the school record last season, it has been a goal of Ryan Gann's to outdo what Coach Ryan Tucker actually set as the standard back in 2001!  Well, Mr. Gann - you now carry the torch.  Gann went 160'1" in finishing 2nd place at the Inland Empire Championships.  This while also coming off a new personal best in going over 47 feet in the shot put. 

Another highlightwas sophomore Michael Gauger's double win in the 1600 and 3200 meters while DJ Evans earned two medals in the high and triple jumps. 

We had a number of nice personal bests recorded throughout the day as well.  We'll look to provide

In one of the toughest days in Corona High Track & Field history, we went against a true, dominant program in Martin Luther King.   With their girls being ranked #4 in Riverside County and their boys also being ranked high at #5, we simply could not match them in speed and overall depth. 

Our girls walked away behind 106-30, as we predicted such as this.  ML King's girls will win the league title.  The good news is that our girls can come back with victories these next two weeks and finish 3rd in a very tough league!  Senior Lauryn Bretches had a great day by posting two new personal bests in going 4'8" (high jump) and 32'2" (triple jump).  Freshman Nikki Blokzyl continues to run strong earning varsity points in the 800 and 1600. 

On the boys' side, it was simply not meant to be.  With two key injuries to top distance kids along with some events not going our way, the meet got out of hand as we faded in a 98-38 score.  Our throwers did very well with senior Ricardo Felix continuing his fine season.  His huge personal best of 137'6" in the discus was a highlight while he also went our beyond 47 feet in the shot put! 

All in all, our girls still have a shot at 3rd place in league while our boys will really have their hands full against Roosevelt High this upcoming Wednesday.  Roosevelt is now one of the best squads in the Southern Section, let along, our league.  The girls meet will also be very close and may come down to the last event. 

To get into the Arcadia Invitational, you must be VERY talented.  That talent opens up a lot of doors towards success, but at the same time, it also pits you up against others with equal talent.  This was definately the case at the 2009 Arcadia Invitational.  Our squads, as a whole, did not live up to their own expectations and standards - but in the end, still walked away with some of the top marks in school history. 

The highlight of the meet was sophomore Michael Gauger's 15:15.84 strong finish in the 5000 meters.  With measured patience, Michael cruised by half of the field over the last three laps to run almost 13 seconds faster than he did a month ago over the same distance.  This was also after a new sophomore school record of 4:27.82 (mile) which converts to a 4:26.2 in the 1600 meters. 

Our Girls 4 x 800 Relay did not click on all cylinders, but still managed the 3rd fastest mark in school history.   These girls came back later to run very well in recording one of the fastest marks in school history for the 4 x Mile.  Not running our two fastest obviously went against us but it allowed two others the added experience.

Our Boys 4 x Mile was not what we were hoping for as all four boys were a little off from their personal bests.   Deciding to rest Alan Cuevas hurt our overall time, but with the goal of breaking last year's school record in our sights, we still recording the 3rd fastest mark in school history.  In the Distance Medley Relay, we also recorded one of the fastest times in school history with a 10:46. 

Panthers Split Against JW North
Traveling over to one of the most storied tracks in Southern California, Corona went over to Riverside to take on the Huskies of JW North High.   With more CIF and State Titles than any other Track & Field program in the Inland Empire, what we witnessed was more shadows of their gloried past than present...

Our boys walked away with a 99-25 victory as we swept the throws, all three jumps, both hurdle races along with victories in both relays.  Sophomore  DJ Evans soared over 5'10" in the high jump for a new personal best.  As a whole, most of our marks were not what we're capable of.  With this win, our boys remain undefeated in the Big VIII League and will travel over to take on Martin Luther King High in two weeks!  ML King lost to Roosevelt earlier in the season but are favored against us.  They are VERY strong in the jumps and solid in every facet...

Even if JW North's girls did not resemble the three state championship squads of the early 2000's, they still had too much speed for us.  That same speed transferred over to victories in the hurdles, jumps and both relays.  In the end, JW North walked away with an 83-49 victory.  This was our first loss for the season and first loss by over 5 points (in a dual meet) since 2004!  So, we have had a nice run here the past five years!  Despite the score, we saw some great efforts! THE highlight of the day was a NEW SCHOOL RECORD set by sophomore Fatima Vergara.  She got the discus out to 120 feet, 2 inches!   The old school record was from 2004 in Rene Davis.  Great job Fatima!  We also some improvement in the 400 hurdles and welcomed back the return of Nicole Oliver.  Freshman Nikki Blokzyl also won the 1600 and 3200 meters in great efforts. 

Corona High's distance runners traveled up to the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College track to run against some of the best kids in the state this past Saturday.  The Azusa Pacific Distance Meet of Championships is a unique opportunity where athletes are pitted up against others with similiar talent.  The top eight to ten in each race receive a medal as each kid is challenged from the gun to the finish line.  The end results - lots of pr's (personal records) and tons of great, great results.  Coach Gardner was extremely impressed by the times but even more impressed by how smart everybody raced out there.  Never in the lead after the two laps, but always right there challenging for the win on the last lap.... 

Several athletes were able to put their name into our Corona Hall of Fame with their efforts.  Senior Chase Williams recorded two huge pr's with a 1:58.10 and 4:25.53 marks in the 800 and 1600.   This is one of the most impressive doubles in school history.  Meanwhile, sophomore Michael Gauger recorded a huge pr in the 1600 with a 4:28.13.  He was disappointed in his 9:37.74 3rd place finish in the 3200, but that still puts him amongst one of the best efforts in school history.   Junior Fernando Cerda also had a great day with 1:58.83 / 4:30.24 (both prs) efforts in the same races with Williams.  Alan Cuevas also ran the 6th fastest time in school history with his gutty 9:30.24 in the 3200.   Senior Patrick Mynes also entered our Top 10 3200m list with his 9:41.97 time, which was a 17 second pr!  This is the 2nd year in a row we have had three boys break 9:45!  We also set a new school record by having 14 boys now break 5:00 minutes in the 1600 this season.  Two years, we only had four boys break 4:50 and this season, already - we have had eleven with several others right on the edge. 

Senior Malaysia Alexander set the tone for the day on the girls' side.  She set a new pr in the 800 meters by going 2:20.29, which is #3 in school history!  Freshman Nikki Blokzyl continues to be THE surprise of this season as she followed up with a 2:23.40 (#7 in school history) and than came back to go under 5:26 in the 1600m, which is a 17 second pr!   We also saw new personal bests recorded by senior Reyna Gutierrez (5:37), sophomores Alexxis Martin (5:42) and Lauren Cochran (5:43) and freshman Nathalie Aguilar (5:48) .  This is the first time in school history we have had seven girls go under 5:45 in the same season!   So far, we now have have tied our school record with 12 girls going 6:00 or below in the 1600m as we're going with Aubrey LeAnce's handtimed 6:00 yesterday in a wonderful victory for her!  We also have another 2-3 girls that have the talent to break that 6:00 minute barrier!

We also invited sophomore Michael Brown and junior Tom Fitch up to compete in the 400 meters.  Both of these individuals also posted personal bests...

Great job to all that ran here.     

Corona Panthers Remain Undefeated

Moving over to tough Big VIII League this year, Corona is now the only school where the boys and the girls are both undefeated.  The girls scored 13 of the last 14 points to run away with a 77-59 victory.  Over the past five years, Corona's girls have only lost one dual meet in league action.   On the boys side, we scored the last 14 points to move away with a nice 80-56 victory. 

The highlight of the day was senior Ryan Gann going 155'2" in the discus.  This is less than two feet from the school record!  Junior Jordon James continues to be on a roll with victories in the 100 and 200 after anchoring the boys 4x100 to a victory as well.  Junior Fernado Cerda also cruised to victories in the 800 and 1600 meters.  On the girls' side, senior Ashley Evans cruised to victories in the 3200 and 800 meters!   Our girls' throwers scored 18-0 to sweep both events, while sophomore Fatima Vergara was the highlight with another 34+ foot effort in the shot put.  We'll provide more highlights as we review the final results.

We have our work cut out for us as we travel over to take on the Huskies of JW North High.  JW North's girls are 2-1 with only a loss to league favorite, ML King.  Their boys are 1-2 after losing ML King and Santiago.  Either way, we will need to keep improving as we take on our toughest opponents after Spring Break!   

Big VIII League Standings
Boys
Roosevelt = 3-0
Corona = 3-0
Santiago = 2-1
ML King = 2-1
Riverside Poly = 1-2
JW North = 1-2
Centennial = 0-3
Norco = 0-3

Girls
ML King = 3-0
Corona = 3-0
JW North = 2-1
Riverside Poly = 2-1
Santiago = 1-2
Roosevelt = 1-2
Centennial = 0-3
Norco = 0-3

After tying for the 1st place team trophy in 2008 with Santiago, Corona's boys came into the Norco Relays ready to earn another trophy!  In a back and forth match between Corona, Santiago and Roosevelt - Roosevelt tapped into their Distance Medley Relay and 4x400 Relay squads to leapfrog us and capture first place.  Corona took a close 2nd place by only 2.5 points, while finishing a point ahead of Santiago.  All three programs have turned themselves into some of the best in Riverside County.  But, if anything - it did confirm that Corona's boys CAN compete with these two great teams while our distance boys had one of their toughest days in recent memory...   Meanwhile, we earned 1st place medals in Shot Put, Discus, and the Triple Jump. 

Our girls had some great highlights but faded to 6th place as we had some tough times in the sprint relays.  We did earn 1st place medals in the 4x800 and Distance Medley Relay while taking a very close 2nd place in the 4x1600 Relay.  Seniors Malaysia Alexander and Ashley Evans turned in some great efforts. 

We'll update more as soon as possible. 

We'll update soon with more information as soon as possible...

Boys = 106-26
***Junior Jordon James wins the 100,200, LJ and anchors the 4x100
***Boys almost sweep all events with 77-5 scoring on the track!  
***Points spread around as many varsity athletes did not compete in their events....

Girls = 74-53
***Sophomore Fatima Vergara's huge 34'8" shot put effort
***Girls go 35-1 in 400, 800, 1600 and 3200!

What an amazing day. The morning started very cold. The kids kept the water fights down in the morning. As the day moved on the District wide Math Fair event brought in a lot of drive ups and congestion in the parking lot.  As the second crew came in the sun joined them, but we still had to send towels to the laundry to be dried. That was a new adventure. In the one hour we held both crews working together, we washed over 70 cars. For the day, we washed 226 cars in 5 hours, or averaged 46 cars per hour. The recycling went smoothly and we took 2 large truck loads to the center. The TEAM earned $6497 for the day. Great job Athletes. This is a Track and Field record and 2^nd in school history of car washes. Special Thanks to the many parents who showed up and worked. With everyone’s hard work, the day was a success. We even had a surprise helper.

John Mynes, Booster Club President

Corona Sweeps Centennial in First Big VIII League Meet

For the boys' varsity team, our boys walked away with a convincing 67-42 victory.  The score is an odd one in that we found out Wednesday morning that we would not be able to contest the Long and Triple Jumps along with Pole Vault due to construction at their facility. (A normal meet adds up to 136 points combined.)  Meanwhile, the highlight of the day was Ryan Gann.  Gann is one of the top returning discus throwers in Division I and proved it by going 152'3" which is now the #2 mark in Riverside County for 2009.  Gann led a throwing group that outscored Centennial 17-1 (junior Andre Evans won the shot put along with a great 144 foot effort in the discus) in the two throwing events.  A host of awesome efforts came from the distance corp!  So, so many personal records (pr's) were set including freshman Julian Hernandez' 4:39 effort in the 1600 meters!  This puts him as one of the top freshmen in California for that distance!  Moving on, the meet began with a bang as junior Jordan James held off a fast charging Centennial anchor for the victory in the 400 relay.  James went on to record some VERY impressive times by taking 2nd in the 100 and 200 as well.    Junior Markus Smith also impressed with two 2nd place efforts in both hurdles races.  Sophomore Michael Brown also performed very well with a 2nd place effort in the 400 only to come back for a 3rd place effort in the 300 Hurdles, despite being eaten by the last hurdle.  Senior Eddie Perez continues to amaze with his victory in the 400 (along with winning legs on both relays) while junior Fernando Cerda ran to a very controlled victory in the 800 meters.  Nice stat for the day - 70% of our points were earned by underclassmen.  We are a relatively young boys' squad!  

Top Points:
Andre Evans - 8
Ryan Gann - 8
Jordan James - 7.75
Eddie Perez - 7.5
Fernando Cerda - 6.25
Markus Smith - 6

Speaking of youth - our girls team final score was surprising as we projected a much closer meet.  In the end - the girls ran away with a 71-37 victory!  Not having the jumps really went into our favor while our distance group scored a 22-5 victory in the three distance races.  We had only projected 14-16 points there.  We also swept Centennial 8-0 in the high jump which was a huge surprise!  The highlight of the day was senior Ashley Evans.  Evans is already one of the greatest distance runners in Riverside County history but has endured some injuries the past few years.  Despite horrible shin splints that prevented her from training all week - she won two events and jumped back into the 1600 relay (filling in for an injured Nicole Oliver) to assist in that victory!   Another huge highlight were the double victories put out by sophomore Fatima Vergara.  Vergara threw the discus out to 111'4.5" which is her 2nd best effort ever!  It also is only six feet from a school record!   Our girls' throwers outscored Centennial 15-3, despite missing Sofia Rivera who is our top shot putter and 2nd best discus thrower.  Senior Malaysia Alexander really stepped in to run the 400 and 200 (1st in the 400 and 3rd in the 200) despite coming off her impressive victory at last weekend's invite in the 800 meters!  A complete team player!  We also have to acknowledge junior Rachel Ruiz.  Ruiz has been hampered by lower back pain but still gave it a go to record a new pr (personal record) in the 100 Hurdles and a nice 2nd place effort in the 300 Hurdles.  Sophomore Monique Price also won the high jump as well as nice efforts in the 100 and 200.  Finally, freshman Haley Brzycki won the 3200 (12:13), running with the poise and confidence of a veteran.  She also followed behind Evans for 2nd place in the 1600.   

Top Points:
Ashley Evans - 11.25
Fatima Vergara - 10
Haley Brzycki - 8
Rachel Ruiz - 8
Malaysia Alexander - 7.25

Under perfect weather conditions, Corona High Track & Field kicked off the season at Vista Murrieta's "Saddle Up" Invitational.  For so many of our athletes, this was their first time ever competing in a Track & Field meet.  We're not going to sugarcoat folks - it was a frustrating day on several levels, but overall - we walked away with some pleasant surprises, some great efforts and a lot more experience than we had going into the meet.  Many of our athletes will now be even more prepared for this Wednesday's Big VIII match-up against Centennial High. 

Results are at http://www.dyestatcal.com/?pg=dyestatcal-2009-Track--Results-March-Week-2-07-Saddle-Up-Inv&PHPSESSID=6f85e1a52b6c0f28e82397c77cd97329   They are not 100% accurate as we have already noticed two of our varsity boys that earned medals are not included. 

**Senior Malaysia Alexander earned our only 1st place medal for the day in her 2:25 800m effort!
**Sophomore DJ Evans earned 3rd and 5th place medals in the f/s triple and high jumps
**Junior Fernando Cerda had an awesome day - 4:30 and 2:03 doubles to earn medals in both varsity events
**Senior Chase Williams took 3rd place in a tough 800 meter race
**Junior Jordon James took 5th place against a very impressive 100m field (11.36 into the wind)
**Freshman Nikki Blokzyl dazzled with her huge win in her heat of the 400 and came back with a great effort in the 800|
**Junior Andre Evans took 5th place in the Discus after waiting for hours...
**Senior Tyrielle Stanford earned a 5th place in the varsity triple jump
**Freshman Haley Bryzcki ran very well in the 1600m for a f/s 5th place medal
**Sophomore Michael Brown threw down a huge personal best in the 400 meters and put together some nice efforts in the 300 Hurdles and 1600 Relay.  He, along with Jackson Powell and Tommy Mitsueda were the only ones that stayed the entire meet!  Studs! 

At another invitational, we sent five varsity distance athletes to go compete against college competition at the CS Fullerton Ben Brown Invitational.

Sophomore Michael Gauger rolled to an impressive 15:28 effort!  Michael went under 14:50 for the last 3 miles of his race, which is simply incredible for a sophomore!  Meanwhile, Patrick Mynes also ran well with a 15:46.  Alan Cuevas was right behind him at 15:47, but incredibly enough - Alan raced the 1600m in 4:32 that same morning at the Vista Murrieta Invite.  Franklin Sloat and Ashley Evans had some tough races but considering how Sloat also ran the 1600m that morning and Evans has been fighting severe shin splints (and a tough Thursday workout) - they did awesome!

Even the heaviest of rains and thunder storms did not scare away the Panthers from Corona High at the 2009 version of the Parlauf Relays.  Caught in a huge winter rainstorm, our squads competed well at this unique event.

Each team puts five athletes together to complete 8 x 200 each.  Athlete #1 gives the baton to athlete #2 and so on until each athlete has completed all of their repetitions of 200 meter repeats.   Last year, our boys set a new meet record in winning this event.  This year, we had some tough competition from a strong Redondo Union High crew.  While this event pits distance kids against sprinters, the sprint crew usually leads through the first several legs.  But, in the end the endurance and strength of the distance kids prevails in the long run. 

Our boys' 'A' team of seniors Chase Williams and Patrick Mynes, juniors Fernando Cerda and Tom Fitch along with sophomore Michael Gauger moved away from Redondo on the 5th leg and held a 40-50 meter lead the rest of the race.  Their time of 19:17 did not break last year's record, but conditions were more favorable last year and these boys came into this pretty sore from a tough week of training.  Our 'B' team with seniors Franklin Sloat and, Kyle Watts, junior Lorenzo Marquez and freshmen Garrett Williams and Julian Hernandez raced to a strong 7th place finish in the A race.  They would have been right there fighting for the win in the "B" race as Corona's "C" team DID win that other race.  Coming from behind in dramatic fashion, the highlight of the day may have been the team of junior Angel Pineda, and sophomores Michael Brown, Michael Sveinson, Jonathan Erickson and Antonio Garcia moved all the way from 8th place (after two legs) to the victory!  Erickson, coming off a being sick the week before, brought home the baton outlasting Redondo's B and C squads.  Great job!

Our girls'  "A" group had to endure the miserable conditions as the rain just happen to stop AFTER their race.  They came home with an impressive 6th place finish as seniors Malaysia Alexander, Ashley Evans, Reyna Gutierrez, and Lauren Welker raced with junior Nicole Oliver.   Racing against some of the strongest sprint squads in the state was a pretty intimidating task, but our girls moved up throughout the race.  Fo rthe first time, we brought over a Girls "'B" squad - junior Corinna Gutierrez, sophomores Amanda Grooters, Lauren Cochran, Christina Ledesma along with freshman Megan Cordova ran awesome with a 4th place finish.

The 8 x200 essentially serves a tough, tough workout where you are sprinting an all-out 200 with very little rest.  Thank you to the athletes that sacrificed their Saturdays to "workout" and for representing Corona High Track & Field in a positive way!

Arcos Places at the California State Meet

In a storybook season, Raul Arcos finished 2nd place at the California State Meet in the 1600 meters.  Better yet, he broke his own school record in the process and can claim that he was 2nd to the fastest kid in California history, in German Fernandez.  Fernandez made it very clear after 500 meters that he was on a path to greatness as he broke the old state meet record by over two seconds in a stunning 4:00.27!  Lost in the mix unfortunately was Raul!  He ran a smart, gutty and more aggressive race and clocked a 4:09.65!  Four weeks ago, he seasonal pr was 4:18.13 which caps off one of the best progressions and peaks in recent memory.  This is also the 3rd fastest time in Riverside County History!  He in now ranked #6 in the nation for the outdoors 1600 meters. 

Just when you thought his season was complete, on Saturday, June 7th, Raul set ANOTHER school record for the 800 meters as he roared to a 1:53.33 at an all-comers meet in Los Angeles.  This is a new school record by over two seconds and the #9 effort in Riverside County History!   The story continues onward....

On June 21st, Raul traveled out to North Carolina to compete in the Nike Outdoor Nationals!  Racing against the best in the United States, he definately held his own and took 4th place.  His time of 4:08.94 is for the MILE and translates into a 4:07.49 (#2 in county history) for the 1600 meters!  YES - another school record and over two seconds faster than his time from the state meet!  A nice move with 700 to go paid dividends as he used the top three to move himself to a new pr!  Raul is the 6th fastest Californian in the 2000's for the 1600 (Mile).  In the Nike Outdoors race, he is in the all red uniform and beat three others that had run a better time going into the race.  What a dream season for undoubtedly, the best distance athlete in Corona High history as is officially an All-American!

Nike Outdoor Nationals Mile: http://www.dyestat.com/?pg=videosarchives&vid=FDAE4E2B8A3F6909

Finally, Raul was named as the Riverside County of the Year by the Press Enterprise!  This is the 2nd time in five seasons (Kenny Moon in 2004) that a Corona High athlete has been awarded this honor!  http://www.hsgametime.com/inlandsoutherncalifornia/pages/schools/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_hs_track_athletes_of_the_year_26.310a352.html

2008 School Records with Raul
800 Meters (#8 in California)  #9 in County History
1600 Meters (#2 in California) #2 in County History
5000 Meters (#1 in California) #1 in County History
Distance Medley Relay (#20 in California)  #8 in County History
4 x 800 Relay (#14 in California) #10 in County History
4 x Mile Relay (#13 in California) #2 in County History
Sprint Medley Relay (#23 in California)

...and onto the State Meet

Folks, our intent is NOT to make this a Raul Arcos website, but the young man continues to represent Corona High in every positive way imaginable.  He's even representing Corona High Track & Field on the NATIONAL stage!  But, his 4:10.46 puts him in elite company as he is now #2 in all of California and #8 in the all of the United States!

Raul comfortable raced to the victory in the Southern Section Masters Meet on Friday evening under cold skies and a rain soaked track.  If anything, Raul continued to rain down on other athletes' dreams as, in the same, smart strategy he's employed all season long, he floated in 8th place the first two laps.  He emerged to come to 5th place with a lap remaining and moved to the lead with 100 meters remaining.  "I could have gone faster and have more in me" Raul admitted as, keep in mind, this was only a qualifying meet for next weekend's California State Meet.  But, out of over 450 schools - he's #1.  Only Kenny Moon's 400 meter victory in 2004 comes to mind as another Corona athlete to win this prestigious round of competition.

Adding to the excitement, Raul also set the new school record by over three second and Dr. Larry Conard (who had held the school record the past 40+ seasons) was there to congratulate Raul and proudly passed the torch onward!  His mark is the #5 time in Riverside County history as well.  Furthermore, the teammates there to support Raul were simply incredible! 

Raul races next Friday afternoon at the California State Prelims.  He will be in Heat #2 and will race against a good number of studs that have broken 4:15 this spring, including Mac Fleet of University City High.  Fleet finished 2nd in the state last year as a sophomore and will ready for Raul!  He has to be in the top three for his race on Friday to automatically advance. 

As mentioned, Raul is #2 in the state and will look to take on Riverbank's German Fernandez, who is ranked #1 in the United States for the 1600 and 3200.  If Raul advances to the final, he can be seen live on TV next Saturday on Fox Sports West. at 4:00 pm. 

A great article about Raul's accomplishments and some background on Dr. Conard, written by Jerry Soifer, can be found at  http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_News_Local_C_cmile28.4367fff.html

Raul Roars to the CIF Title

Returning back to the CIF Finals in the 1600 meters, RAUL ARCOS IS THE 2008 DIVISION I CIF CHAMPION!  With El Toro's Toby Villalva coming up with a huge surge with 250 meters to go, it looked as if 2nd place would be Raul's destiny.  But, with an INCREDIBLE last 60 meters, he outleaned Villalva at the finish line for, perhaps, the best finish of the day!   Even in the video below, you do not see Raul until the very end of the race!  When asked how much of the race he led, Coach Gardner said, "the last step and the most important step!".  Raul said that he simply wanted it once he saw the finish line.  His 4:14.62 was the fastest time of all sections, just ahead of Villalva's 4:14.66.  Only three boys broke 4:17 under Saturday's sweltering heat which felt more like 100+ degrees by the time he raced.   

Winning the CIF Title was the goal since the December when Raul decided to bypass soccer and concentrate solely on this moment.  Taking a risk and actually racing in December and January required a lot of patience and fortitude from Raul and it came to fruition at Mt. SAC on Saturday!  This is Corona Track & Field first CIF Title since 2004 when Kenny Moon won the 400 meters.  But, Raul still has THREE more races remaining.  Raul's next stop will be the Southern Section Masters Meet as he now goes into as the #1 seed.  Three other athletes had run faster than 4:14 this season but obviously could not produce at the right time as all three did not qualify for next Friday's meet.  The plan is for Raul to go after the school record of 4:13.1, move on to the state meet where he will race at Friday's night state prelims and give it everything he has at the Saturday state meet final.   All remaining races will be at Cerritos College.

You can find some awesome pictures at http://www.hsgametime.com/inlandsoutherncalifornia/multimedia/slideshow/2008/20080518_ciftrack/

The video is alright.  You will have to go through the other three divisional races to get to the Division I race.  http://www.dyestatcal.com//?pg=dyestatcal2008Track-Road-To-State-Sections-Southern-Section-Finals-Results-B-1600s

This is a MUST READ for ALL athletes!  You'll feel spoiled by your athletic abilities and gain a new perspective on how determined Ben Comen truly is!