SIMI VALLEY : Athletes Christen Running Course

Simi Valley High School cross-country athletes christened their new running course at Corriganville Park with a meet on Wednesday.

Team members say the course is shadier than where they have been running in recent years, and it even smells better than most.

“There is a lot of shade, and the cooler you stay, the better you feel. Last year, there were people who were collapsing,” said 17-year-old Dorian Valdez, captain of the varsity boys’ team. He said the course also smells nice. “Some of the courses smell bad, like horses. This smells like trees and flowers.”

Runners cover the 1.5-mile track twice to make it a three-mile course. The course, which includes gradual inclines, uses the roads and trails that were part of the old Corriganville film lot. On Wednesday, the Simi Valley High School cross-country teams held their first meet at the new course, challenging Newbury Park High School and Westlake High School.

Newbury Park proved to be the “very slim” winner over Simi Valley, and Westlake was “far behind,” said Harvey Webb boys’ cross-country coach.

The athletes needed a location closer to their school in east Simi Valley, he said.

Runners had practiced and competed in Challenger Park for the past several years. Before that, athletes ran on open land that later became the Indian Hills subdivision.

“This is the first real home course for us,” Webb said.

Webb said he and girls’ cross-country coach Roger Evans approached the Rancho Simi Open Space Conservation Agency for permission to establish a course on the land, which will someday be opened to the public as a park. The agency consented, and on Tuesday night, the Simi Valley school board approved the course.

School district maintenance workers on Wednesday morning flattened out some of the rough spots to get the course ready for the meet.

“This is more like a cross-country course should be,” said Elizabeth DiLalla, 17, captain of the varsity girls’ team.

Simi Valley is scheduled to host another meet at Corriganville Park at 3 p.m. Oct. 24.