Lira Runs "Bestia Modo " at Clovis Invite

Most runners will tell you there is no such thing as a perfect race, but things couldn't have unfolded any better for Morgan Lira Saturday at the Clovis Invitational.  "It was crazy," Lira said about her win.  "I was leading at the mile and just thought to myself, 'I better hurry up.'"

Hurry up she did.  She ran away from the field winning the Medium school race in a personal best time of 18:45, which is currently the second fastest time in school history.  The race featured 167 schools from throughout California including top ranked teams from the CCS.

"Just after the mile mark Lira was with the lead pack and you could tell she was getting stronger while the pack was struggling.  She broke the race open and within the next half mile had opened up a 40 meter lead," Said Coach Small.  "Morgan had a good day today.  She took control of the race from the start and extended her lead throughout the race.  It is very hard to lead wire to wire like that.  She ran tough."

Lira's victory was not the only highlight of the day for the Warriors.  Senior Emily Blaha had a breakthrough performance finishing 12th in a time of 19:40.  Her time was just seconds off her personal best time run in the 2008 State meet and currently ranks her in the top 10 individuals in CCS (D3).  Also having a superb day was Sarah Blaha who finished third for the Warriors in a personal best time of 22:30.  She has been a huge contributor to this year's squad finishing as the #3 runner in her first two races of the season.

Just seconds behind was Kellianne Connolly.  Coming off of a tough 5k at the WCAL meet on Wendsday where she pushed herself to the limit she took the race out hard crossing the mile in 6:24.  Running her second 5k in 3 days it took a toll and she faded the later miles to finish in 22:35.  She went for it in the early stages and the WCAL race caught up with her in the later part of the race.  It's a courageous way to run.

In fact the next three runners were all coming off of the WCAL meet as well.  Karen Mac (23:48) was the #5 runner and final scoring member for the varsity team.  Jessica Xu (23:54), and Shannon Luu (24:32) rounded out the team.

For the boys, Ryan Ensor continued to find his groove.  After a spectacular run at Golden Gate Park on Wednesday he followed up his run with an 18:41 showing for the hill 5k course.



Full Results:

Girls Results

Boys Results