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THE MEDAL OF VALOR AWARD
Begun in 2001, this award is a highly esteemed honor. The standard set for being awarded the Medal of Valor is high. It is an award that will be bestowed upon athletes for race-day efforts. “For extraordinary exploits in racing; displaying a high level of strength and honor; an individual effort that had a direct and immediate impact on a significant team outcome or result.” valor: to be stong; strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter challenge with firmness: personal bravery. Listed below are the recipients of the award, in reverse chronological order.
Saturday, December 15
Danielle Fillmore - October 20, 2007
Meet: Mt.SAC Individual Sweeps Race
Level: Varsity
The team finished third overall, the highest finish ever by the team at Mt.SAC. (Last year in the same race, we were eigth overall). The race got off predictably quick, and Danielle found her place in the middle of the King scorers, sitting in fifth for the team by the Switchbacks. But from the top of those infamous hills, she made a huge move, surging to third for King, dragging with her both Casey Candelaria and Rebecca Asplund who were running extremely well also. The key scorers for a team are so often the 3-5 grouping, and Danielle’s pace setting for that set was key to the highest team place at Mt.SAC ever.
Saturday, December 15
Daniel Balcazar - October 10, 2007
Meet: La Sierra Dual
Level: Junior Varsity
The rivalry between the Eagles and the Wolves has been a good one over the years, and the 2007 meetings added to it the legend. The La Sierra boys have had King's number almost every year and at both levels, JV and Varsity. But this year’s JV race proved things a bit differently. Behind the great front running of Jason Schupp, the team locked horns with La Sierra, but by mid way, it was either team’s race. At 1.5 miles, Daniel Balcazar was literally in the middle of the entire field -- not the scorers, the entire field! But as the race hit the large hill just before 3200 meters Daniel made a huge, sustained move to go from not scoring to ultimately finishing second overall, inspiring the other King scorers to run at a higher level as well. With that move, King was able to pull out a 5 point victory.
Thursday, December 13
Kelsi Tippets, Carissa Bowman, Larissa Davis, Rebecca Asplund, Brandi Rosenau - Nov 11, 2006
 |  | | photo collage by Sean Lee | |
Meet: CIF Prelims
Level: Varsity
In the CIF Prelims of 2006, there were perhaps few observors who would have thought King a threat for the top four and a berth in the CIF Finals. Slated on paper to sixth (some said seventh even) the girls didn't let that distract them from their mission: qualify! They got out well behind the lead of Carissa Bowman who assumed her normal position at the front of the race. 9th grader Kelsi Tippets ran THE race of her season behind her (the two would end up finishing within a second of each other, scoring a skinny five points between them) and a pack of Larissa Davis, Rebecca Asplund, Danielle Fillmore and Brandi Rosenau ran close together to the top of the Switchbacks where it looked like the team was indeed running fifth.
By the time the group ascended Poopout hill however, there seemed to be no "pooping out" but rather a redoubled effort to catch up and finish well. Indeed, the last half saw the group turn it on, passing and straining to pass with each step and by the finish line they had run a host of individual PR's on their way to setting a new team time school record at 97:17; eclipsing the record run back in 2004 of 97:40. Brandi Rosenau moved into the top five to help the score. With favored Dana Hills and a strong Upland squad finishing behind the Lady Wolves and failing to qualify, it was an upset "victory" for the young team and put King into the CIF Finals for the fifth straight season.
Alec Fillmore - October 8, 2005
Meet: Clovis Invitational
Level: Varsity
Grade: 11th
The Clovis Invitational has become a mid-season benchmark meet, an event that draws over 100 California and Nevada teams, many of them the best in their State. The 27th running of the meet was no different. Entered in the "Large Schools Varsity" heat, the race was on in typical go-out-fast-and-hold-on strategy of large, competitive races. Alec Fillmore, who had been running King's 7th man for most of the preceding races, employed his own strategy in the early-going: Be conservative and then move up. It worked perfectly for the high-mileage, hardworking Junior. At 1000 meters, Alec was in his 7-spot, but by the 3200 meter mark had surged to King's sixth man. In the final mile, he continued to launch his way forward, passing both opponents and teammates, crossing the line in a life-time PR and scoring as the team's all-important 5th man. That bold move, spread out over 6 minutes of racing was part of a great team effort that brought home the victory (King's first-ever in a large invitational) over Hart High by a mere 7 points.
Bridget Gonzalez - September 24, 2005
Meet: Fall Classic, Huntington Beach
Level: Junior Varsity
Grade: 12th
Cross country is a team sport. Naysayers and the ignorant will claim it isn't, but the sport is, at it's base, a team endeavor. At the least, a cross country team is five runners. No less. You got four, you got no team. At the 2005 running of the Fall Classic in Huntington Beach, the King JV girls had four. The natural place to go looking for a fifth runner would be the varsity squad, but being "bumped" an hour before race time isn't anyone's idea of fun. But with her trademark positive outlook, Bridget took on the job, and did it with fervor, poise and a positive attitude. Instead of sulking, or going through the motions, the sound of the gun was an invitation to get at it and do the race well. Leading almost from the start, she added to her lead with each mile, never relinquishing her spot and winning the race in a time of 19:37. Her inspired racing pulled her teammates along, and together the five of them combined to win the race.
Matt Cummins, Nick Ehret and Jeremy Baugus, John Ashley, Adam Schwarz, Kevin Marquardt, Ivan Guevara, - October 7, 2004
Meet: La Sierra Dual, at La Sierra
Level: Varsity
It has been four seasons since a boys varsity team from King had won a league meet. The inaugural race for King in the Ivy League posed another challenge in the form of a talented and well-coached La Sierra squad. The Wolves were the Underdogs. After a harried start in which the Eagles took a quick 1-2-3 lead, the seven from King stretched out behind, forming a long blue hyphen between LS's 3rd and 4th runners. After 1.5 miles and ascending the largest incline on the course, they made their move simultaneously to the collapse of La Sierra's third man - and their last hopes for the win. Coming down the long descent, the seven were well entrenched behind the leading two runners, creating a row of runnners rarely seen. Matt Cummins, Nick Ehret and Jeremy Baugus, the 5th 6th and 7th runners were ahead of La Sierra's third man. It was a passionate, gutsy performance by the entire team and notched the first win for the program since 2000.
Sunday, September 28
Megan Fairley, Kristina Moore, Morgan Sjogren,
Carly Sjogren and Monika Valenzuela - September 27, 2003
Place: Stanford University Invitational Race Level: Varsity Grades: 12th, 11th, 11th, 10th, 11th, 9th. It was an amazing race. The Stanford Invitational, one of the largest an most competitive mid-season races on the West Coast was the setting. A large field of 35 teams gathered at the start, and upon the gun, sprinted out to the first turn some 400 meters away. The King squad was instantly consumed in the crowd, unable to match the early pace of the field. By 800 meters, there were, by one coach's count, 90 runners in front of our first girl. But the poor beginning did not deter these ladies from an astounding effort. Without communicating with each other, the group instinctively began to work their way through the throng, with each quarter mile gaining ground on the leaders. The group splintered slightly into two, with Kristina Moore, Megan Fairley and Morgan Sjogren within 10 steps of each other, with Carly Sjogren, Monika Valenzuela and eventual non-scoring Erin Fitzgerald lurking just off the first three. Individually, collectively they gained ... and gained. At times it was in passing one runner, at other times these girls went by bunches. When it was all done, they had brought themselves to a sixth place finish, beating two previously State Ranked teams. The five squads in front of them included a team from Nevada, one from Washington, a state-ranked team and two Nationally ranked teams. It was a performance of a lifetime.
David Lee - September 25, 2002
Place: Ramona High School - League Meet Level: Varsity Grade: 12th David Lee's season of '02 has been a pleasant surprise for many folks, maybe most to him. With a powerful flock of Falcons in the race, a team that has simply dominated King and the rest of the Sunkist League over the last two seasons, David decided that they weren't going to intimidate him. Rolling through the mile in the lead pack at just a few ticks over 5:00, the race heated up in the middle mile as David chipped away at the Rubidoux lead and stuck himself in their top four and the race's top five. Entering the field with about 1000 meters to go, David hung on to stadium where he, a runner from Norte Vista and Rubidoux's fourth-man went side-by-side to the finish. David crossed the line in 6th place (lifetime best of 16:05) helping King to a 2nd place finish in the race and challenging the previously held notion that Rubidoux was untouchable.
Megan Fairley - September 25, 2002
Place: Ramona High School - League Meet Level: Varsity Grade: 11th Megan's great race came in the midst of a great comeback. Slowed in 2001 due to a host of physical ailments, 2002 has seen the complete opposite -- strength, speed, determination. All three characteristics of her current season came into perfect unison in the first league meet of the season. Running strong in the lead group for 2.5 miles, Megan made a definitive move with about 1000 meters left, leaving two of the stronger Sunkist League runners in recent years just hoping to hang on. As she approached the stadium track, Megan's turnover was still rapid and strong, and she crossed the line in first place with a new school record of 19:05 -- over 2 1/2 minutes faster than her time on the same course a year earlier. Her victory, coupled with the way she attained it, sealed the victory for King and helped to show the league that her team was aiming at a league title!
Jon MacLaughlin - September 25, 2002
Place: Ramona High School -- League Meet Level: Varsity Grade: 12th The Sunkist League met at Ramona High School for an all-league contest between the six schools. With defending Division Two State Champions in the race, many spectators had the assumption that the Falcons would do what they always do ... win easily and dominate completely. Only once in two years had King even surpassed their seventh runner! But this day, Jon MacLaughlin had different plans. Racing all-out, he broke the "spell" Rubidoux had cast and raced hard, lurking just off the leaders throughout. As a pack of six entered the stadium with 300 meters to go, it was anyone's race. Side-by-side with Rubidoux's third man, Jon screamed into the finish line for a thrilling lean to take third overall. His efforts not only helped King to take second in the race, but brought him a new school record of 16:03.
Erin Fitzgerald - October 31, 2001
Place: League Finals, Rubidoux's home course Level: Varsity Grade: 9th The week prior to the Sunkist League Finals, King and Norte Vista had dualed to a 26-30 King loss. Everyone knew the Finals would be close. Indeed it was. As the racers took off, both teams merged into a similar order to the one they positioned themselves in seven days earlier. Norte Vista's strong 2-4 runners were placing a wedge between King's 2 and 3 runners. As each mile passed, the score remained close, both teams were bent on the hills, struggling under the weight of an all-out effort. With 800 to go, a casual observor would have had a hard time picking the winner. When the dust had settled on the course, it was announced what some suspected: the close race had ended in a tie! The next question ... where were the sixth place runners? Erin Fitzgerald's name came first, in fact, her name came before Norte Vista's fifth and final scorer. Erin's effort, one of the finest she produced all season, made the difference in the score. 39 to 39, and King wins! And what a win it was, as the tiebreaking race by Erin Fitzgerald would be a deciding factor in producing King Girls' Cross Country's first-ever League Championship.
Lindsay Vitort - September 22, 2001
Place: Huntington Beach Invitational, Central Park East, Huntington Beach Race Level: Junior Varsity Grade: 9th Lindsay Vitort was running in only the third race of her career. Such yearling races are usually reserved for indoctrination and education. The first months of a racer's life are for schooling more than competing. In the JV race at the 2nd Annual Huntington Beach Invite, Lindsay decided to show she was ready for the next grade. As the race took off, Lindsey fell into an "expected" position ... in the middle of the pack, somewhat out of the fray of the scoring group. But as the race wore on, it was becoming clear to the spectators that King and Santa Margarita were locked in a close battle for the win. As her four scoring teammates moved into their positions and held firm, Lindsay, from back in the crowd, began to emerge with determination. With a mile to go, she was passing. With 800 meters to go, she took on the last remaining hill in the course with abandonment, and in the process passed four runners. All told, in the last 2000 meters, she had passed 10 opponents, helping her team to seal the victory.
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