Agoura runners blaze a trail at Griffith Park

Held in the challenging hills surrounding the Greek Theater in Griffith Park, the Bell-Jeff Invi- tational provided the Agoura High boys' and girls' cross-country teams with the opportunity to show their strength.

Chris Baird ran to an impres- sive fourth-place finish with a time of 15 minutes, 20 seconds in the boys' varsity race, which fielded 146 contestants.

His sister, Erin Baird, placed third in the girls' varsity compe- tition with a time of 18:31.

In addition, AHS varsity run- ner Matt Schroeder posted a time of 16:32, Brandon Severson fin- ished in 16:50, team captain Jake Higgins ran 17:31, Adam Brosh turned in a 17:37, Greg Stanger logged a 17:44 and Jonathan Reuter ended with an 18:32.

For the Agoura girls' team, Kristen Hessick ran 19:48, Katie Klezek 19:58, Dorothy Copeland 22:09, Jennifer Archuleta, 22:19, Emily Hahn, 22:22 and Phoebe Simon, 22:42.

The junior varsity sophomore and freshman races also proved exciting with many runners post- ing personal records, continuing their improvements and preparing the team as they face their first league meet today at Newbury Park. Boys' JV runner Perry Casey jumped into varsity contention with a performance of 17:46.

Two of the Chargers' finest performances were turned in by sophomores Sean Slavin, who ran the team's fourth-fastest time with 17:11, and Cameron Tho- mas, who ran the team's fifth- fastest race with a 17:20. Both are now in contention for the AHS varsity squad.

Bryan Quintanilla led the freshmen boys with a personal record of 18:15.