Warriors Season Comes End at Footlocker West Regional

The cross country season came to a close after a solid showing at the Footlocker West Regional this past Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. The 5k course follows the same course as the Mt. Sac Invitational but adds on from the 2.93 mile course by finishing on the track for the additional .18 miles.  Both Morgan Lira and Emily Blaha competed in the seeded division which featured the best runners in the 13 western states.

2010 was a breakthrough season for many of the Warriors. Leading the way was Morgan Lira who won the Early Bird Invitational, Clovis Invitational and the WCAL Championship. She becomes only the second runner in School history to win a WCAL Championship, the other being 2009 graduate Jennifer Bergman, now a top runner at the University of Arizona. Lira was named the Mercury News athlete of the week in September after her win at the Early Bird Invitational and after outstanding performances at the Clovis and Mt. Sac Invitational she solidified her ranking as one of the best runners in the section. After the WCAL win she qualified for the State Championship by finishing 4th at the CCS Championship and went on to finish 33rd in the State.


Lira has had steady improvement over the past three years and this year stood out as one of her best. “I really can’t pick a favorite race; I had a great experience this year,” Lira said. “I’m going to miss the seniors next year but I’m excited about the team coming back next year too! I’m looking forward to having Izzy back full strength and going Beast Mode this track season in the spring.”

Emily Blaha who will be running for the Naval Academy next year finished the season as the #2 runner for the Warriors and had a breakthrough season of her own. She set personal bests at the CCS Championship at Toro Park and at the State Championship at Woodward Park. She currently is the 4th fastest in team history on the State course and 5th fastest all-time at Toro Park.

“It was great experience running down at Footlocker against some of the best runners in the West,” Blaha said of her race. “I had some good races this season and I only wish the whole team could have continued on. I’m so excited to see how awesome the team is going to run next year.”

For now the girls are looking forward to some much deserved down time before ramping up for the upcoming track season. “I think the girl’s team is going to bring the heat on the track this spring,” Blaha said looking forward.

 Girls Seeded Results: CLICK HERE