ANOTHER TITLE FOR FLESHMAN

No races were run.

No course records were set.

But senior Lauren Fleshman of Canyon High posted yet another victory last Friday.

She was selected as the school’s homecoming queen.

Fleshman, runner-up in the 1997 state Division I and West region cross-country championships, said she was in “total disbelief” when she was chosen queen.

She figured there was no way she’d win.

“That was totally shocking,” Fleshman said. “In the previous 10 years, a cheerleader had won. And in the past six years, the winner had been the junior queen the year before. I wasn’t either of those so I had convinced myself that it wasn’t going to happen.”

When it did, Fleshman was nearly moved to tears as she stood alongside her father, Frank, who escorted her during the homecoming ceremonies.

“I was just shaking a lot,” Fleshman said. “And my Dad just said, ‘Oh my God.’ ”

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That old cross-country adage that says you’re only as good as your No. 5 runner has certainly held true for the Thousand Oaks girls’ team.

When the Lancers have struggled--by their standards--in meets such as the Bell-Jeff and Stanford invitationals, the gap between their first and fifth runner has been more than three minutes.

But that figure has ranged between 1:31 and 2:13 when they’ve run well in meets such as the Woodbridge and Clovis invitationals.

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The Top 10

Rankings of cross-country teams from the region

BOYS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 Saugus (Foothill) 2 2 Nordhoff (Frontier) 3 3 Notre Dame (Mission) 4 4 Buena (Channel) 5 7 Camarillo (Pacific View) 6 5 Ventura (Channel) 7 6 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 8 8 Canyon (Foothill) 9 9 Lancaster (Golden) 10 10 Agoura (Marmonte)

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GIRLS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 2 3 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 3 2 Simi Valley (Marmonte) 4 4 Canyon (Foothill) 5 5 Birmingham (West Valley) 6 6 Louisville (Mission) 7 10 Quartz Hill (Golden) 8 8 Nordhoff (Frontier) 9 9 Newbury Park (Marmonte) 10 NR Royal (Marmonte)

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