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Mulkey wins frosh-soph Vaquero Stampede race, Garcia second in junior-senior race

Fallbrook High School sophomore Amanda Mulkey won the Division I girls frosh-soph race at the Vaquero Stampede cross-country invitational September 6 in Lakeside.

Mulkey finished the 1.65-mile race at Lindo Lake Park with a time of 9:46 after posting a one-mile time of 5:59. “She broke the field within the first half-mile. Just ran away from everybody,” said Fallbrook coach Troy Hamlin.

“Amanda sent a message to the county today,” Hamlin said. “She’s for real.”

Mulkey was a middle distance runner on the track and field team as a freshman. She treated the 2007 cross-country season as training for track and field, participating in some junior varsity races.

“I think she now believes in herself that she can be an effective cross-country runner,” Hamlin said. “She’s got all the tools that it takes, and now she’s got the background.”

Mulkey participated in last year’s Vaquero Stampede and posted a time of 10:15.

The Division I girls junior-senior race saw Fallbrook senior Noelle Garcia place second behind Vista’s Michelle Cruz. Garcia ran the course in 9:36. “She ran a great race here today,” Hamlin said.

Garcia was battling for fourth at the one-mile point before establishing the lead in that pack and then overtaking two other runners. “I was very happy with the way she ran,” Hamlin said.

Fallbrook senior Olivia Tidd finished 16th in the junior-senior race after crossing the one-mile point in 28th place. “It was a very nice finish,” Hamlin said. “I was very happy to see her bounce back, start the season with a tremendous effort like that.”

Tidd finished with a time of 10:29 after taking 6:29 to run the first mile. She did not compete in the 2007 race since her hardship transfer had not yet been approved and she did not start the 2007 season eligible to compete in CIF sports.

The Vaquero Stampede presents medals to the top 25 finishers in each race, and Fallbrook claimed four of those medals. The fourth medal went to Tamzen Sommer, a sophomore who is in her first season as a cross-country runner.

Sommer had a time of 10:53 in her cross-country debut to finish 23rd in the frosh-soph race. “She hung tight and did an outstanding job today,” Hamlin said.

“I’m proud of all of the girls in their first cross-country race,” Hamlin said. “Those first few races are very tiring for most athletes.”

Fallbrook took 20 girls to the Vaquero Stampede, fielding 14 runners in the frosh-soph race and six in the junior-senior competition. All of those runners finished the race and beat at least one other runner. “They accomplished a lot,” Hamlin said.

Since both races were the same distance, Hamlin could compare the times. Sommer had the Warriors’ fourth-fastest time. Julie Cramer, who ran in the frosh-soph race, had the fifth fastest time at 10:58. Cramer’s time was more than a minute faster than the 12:11 she posted in the 2007 Vaquero Stampede.

Junior Chelsea Carpenter also improved her time by more than a minute. She ran the 2007 race in 13:10 while finishing this year’s race in 12:04. Carpenter placed tenth among the Warrior runners in both races.

Courtney Bode, who was the 11th-fastest Warrior, improved her time from 12:59 in 2007 to 12:08 in 2008.

The sixth-fastest Fallbrook time was the 11:16 of senior Carrie Jercinovich. Freshman Mercedes Cortes began her high school career with a time of 11:22.

Senior Angeline Puranen also made her cross-country debut and finished the race in 11:42, while sophomore Erin Coen completed the distance in 12:02.

The Vaquero Stampede included 13 girls teams from Division I. Hamlin noted that Fallbrook’s goal was for the newcomers to learn how to run a race and to learn from their experience.

“We had a real good day down there. It was a good start to the season,” Hamlin said.

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