Spotlight on Arcadia High School junior Phillip Rocha, the Runner of the Year. He wonCIF Southern Section and CIF State Division I titles in cross country.
Arcadia High School cross country runner Phillip Rocha receives most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Runner of the Year. He is the fastest runner in the country.
Arcadia High School runner Ammar Moussa ran the day's fastest time (15:15) at the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 race at Mt. San Antonio College. Arcadia High School runner Catrina McAlister placed second in Division 1 girls.
Arcadia High School boys cross country team win their second consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship and third Division I title in 4 years, last Saturday at Fresno's Woodward Park.
Arcadia High School senior Sergio Gonzalez won the CIF State Division I championship race with the second fastest time of 15:05. His team, the Apaches, finished second, behind Trabuco Hills.
Profile on Arcadia High School senior Ammar Moussa, a runner that has won CIF-Southern Section and CIF State Division I championships. Moussa may be the best distance runner in Apaches history and Coach Jim O'Brien says Moussa is the best he has coached in his 15 years at Arcadia High School.
Arcadia High School coach James O'Brien, who has led the cross country team to two CIF State and three CIF-Southern Section championships, has been fired. He was told the reason was, "We want to go in a different direction." He will remain a teacher at Arcadia High School.
A letter from Arcadia High School Principal Brent Forsee to CIF lists recruiting and practice rule violations allegedly committed by fired Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien. Forsee sent the undated letter to the Southern Section offices of the California Interscholastic Federation sometime after firing James O'Brien on June 17.
Local Arcadia High School cross country runners Ammar Moussa and Catrina McAlister, will continue their athletic and academic endeavors at the University of Colorado. The choice to run at the same college was mere coincidence.
Arcadia High School Apaches cross country athletes dominated at the 8th annual Apaches Invitational at Arcadia County Park. Catrina McAlister won the three-mile race in 16:25, that was 10 seconds faster than her previous best. Ammar Moussa tied his own course record and the Apaches boys took the first five positions in winning the invitational.
Arcadia Unified School District school board refuses to reinstate James O'Brien as the cross country coach. The school board expressed appreciation for all the individuals who shared their perspectives on the Arcadia High School cross country program at the Board of Education meetings. Mr. O'Brien continues to be employed as a teacher at Arcadia High School. Coaching assignments are made on a year-to-year basis.
Letter to CIF-SS detailed fired Arcadia High School coach James O'Brien's alleged rule violations. The violations include "hundreds of instances" of the coach recruiting middle school students, punishments for athletes who did not participate in illegal Sunday practices and an attempt to place illegal flags on a course to gain a competitive advantage. The undated letter, sent by Arcadia High School Principal Brent Forsee to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section sometime in late June or July, was publicly released for the first time under a Public Records Act request filed with the school district by this newspaper.
Support grows to reinstate the suddenly fired Arcadia High School boys' cross country coach James O'Brien. He has led the Apaches cross country team to two state and two national titles in the last three years. More than 200 supporters attended the district board of education meeting.
Arcadia High School Apaches boys cross country team runs an impressive race at 63rd Annual Mt. SAC Invitational. The Arcadia High School team consists of Ammar Moussa, Allen Leung, Ryan Vargas, Francis Lee, William Tsai and Esmond Wei. Their run times are given.
Arcadia High School sophomore Veronica Yamane is the Star-News Runner of the Year. Senior Alejandra Quintero is named to the first team of the 2011All-Area Cross Country girls team. Glindyll Mancia, an Arcadia junior is on the second team.
Fired Arcadia High School cross country coach James O'Brien questions reason for dismissal. The Arcadia Unified School District's Board of Education upholds its decision to not reappoint Mr. O'Brien as head coach for the 2013-2014 year. He will continue to teach at Arcadia High School.