Girls cross-country dominates Grizzlies

Fallbrook High School’s girls cross-country team concluded its home meets for 2011 with a 22-33 win October 6 against Mission Hills.

The Warriors took the top three positions in the race along with the sixth and tenth positions. “They went in with a team plan, a strategy, and they executed it to perfection,” said Fallbrook head coach Troy Hamlin.

Fallbrook and Mission Hills had both competed in the Mount Carmel/Movin’ Shoes Cross-Country Invite meet September 17, and Mission Hills senior Amanda Darouie had a faster time than any of the Fallbrook girls. Fallbrook’s strategy in the dual meet was to have the Warriors’ top three runners put pressure on Darouie. “We knew that the worst that could happen was that she would win and we’d go 2-3-4,” Hamlin said.

Ciera Villegas, Rosanne Lopez, and Nicole Bell relegated Darouie to fourth place. “They just stayed on her and then by the mile mark they had established about a seven-second lead on her,” Hamlin said.

Villegas had a time of 16:58 on the 2.7-mile course, Lopez took 16:59, and Bell completed the course in 17:00. “They basically ran together,” Hamlin said.

Darouie’s time was 17:09 while Mission Hills junior Hayley Richardson placed fifth at 17:10.

(Darouie had a time of 16:49 on the Mount Carmel/Movin’ Shoes Cross-Country Invite meet’s 2.75-mile course. Bell finished in 17:19, Villegas took 17:28, and Lopez completed the course in 17:31.)

Shara Leehey’s time of 17:25 gave the Warriors the sixth-place individual finish. “Shara’s job was to shadow their #2, #3, and she did a great job in that role,” Hamlin said.

Three Mission Hills runners took the seventh through ninth finishing positions while Alexis Lopez had a time of 18:39 to give Fallbrook the tenth-place position.

“It was a nice win for them,” Hamlin said. “It was just very, very well done.”

The win gave Fallbrook a 2-0 record in Avocado East League meets. The Warriors defeated San Pasqual by a 24-31 score on September 30. “We ran much better against Mission Hills than we did against San Pasqual,” Hamlin said. “They ran to their potential, which as a coach you’re always looking for.”

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