CROSS COUNTRY, TRACK NOTEBOOK NOW SHE'S READY TO RUN FELIX LOOKS FORWARD TO COMPETING.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Allyson Felix cannot wait to get back into the starting blocks. The Santa Clarita resident had a whirlwind season in her first year of organized track, which culminated with strong showings in national age-group meets this summer.

After five months of training and racing, Felix, 14, is looking forward to the indoor season in January.

``I am still ready,'' Felix said. ``I kind of miss running.''

Felix was not sure what to expect when she went out for the L.A. Baptist High track team as a freshman in March. She made big improvements during the season, clocking 23.90 seconds in the 200 for the state's fastest mark by a freshman.

She was the lone freshman to advance to the state 200 final, placing seventh. She also won the Southern Section Division IV 100 and 200 titles to lead L.A. Baptist to a runner-up team finish.

She held her own against national-level competition in USA Track and Field meets this summer while running with the West Valley Eagles track club.

She was eighth in the 200 in the Junior Nationals in Denton, Texas in late June in the age 19-and-under competition, which included athletes who had completed their freshman year of college.

``There was not a lot of pressure to do anything,'' Felix said. ``The competition was a lot harder than anything I faced. I hoped to do well. All I wanted to do was to make it to the final.''

In July, Felix was second in the intermediate girls 200 (age 15-16) in the Youth Athletics championships in Decatur, Ill. She also teamed with Cleveland High's Michelle Stinette, Birmingham's Vincetta Mendola and Marlborough's Cameron Washington on the West Valley Eagles' victorious 400 and 1,600 relays.

Felix culminated her season at the Junior Olympics in Buffalo with fourth-place finishes in the 100 and 200, including a wind-aided 11.97 in the 100 heats.

``There were lots of practices and lots of fun,'' Felix said. ``I have lots of stuff to work on. Now, I know what to expect.''

--Big brother: Allyson's brother, Wes, who will be a senior at Valencia in the fall, ran on the West Valley Eagles' 400 relay in the Junior Olympics with Taft's Chris Morgan and Fred Williams and Long Beach Poly's Bennie Robinson. The team finished fourth in the Young Men's division (age 17-18).

--Ratings game: The Oak Park boys are the preseason favorites for the Southern Section Division IV cross country title after a runner-up finish in 1999. The Eagles, featuring seniors Mark Nevers and Ben Saxey and junior Chase Ferrell, are first in the section rankings.

Four of the six Marmonte League girls' teams are ranked. Thousand Oaks and Royal are fifth and ninth, respectively, in Division I; Westlake is ninth in Division II; and Newbury Park is sixth in Division III.

Canyon could sweep the Foothill League boys' and girls' titles for the second consecutive year. The Cowboy boys are third in Division II, and the girls are ranked 10th.

Desert Christian boys (fourth) and girls (third) are ranked in Division V.

--Friendly foes: Golden League rivals Quartz Hill and Lancaster will have a joint training camp in Mammoth next week. Lancaster coach Dawn Dziuban and Quartz Hill coach Mike Davis attended Michigan State together and have remained friends.

Davis can't make the trip to Mammoth, but Dziuban offered to supervise the Quartz Hill runners during the week-long camp.

--Koppel Memorial Races: The fifth-annual Justin Koppel Memorial cross country race will be held Aug. 26 at Agoura High.

Koppel, co-captain of the 1991 Agoura cross country team, was killed in an automobile accident while attending the University of Pennsylvania.

The races will be contested on paths constructed by volunteers in 1995 with donations in Koppel's name and used during Agoura home meets.

The 3-mile race begins at 8 a.m., 2-mile at 8:45. A kids 1-mile fun run is at 9:15.

Entry is $7 for the open races and $5 for the fun run. Proceeds benefit the Agoura cross country programs.

Medals will be given to the first four finishers in each division with awards to the top 10 in the high school frosh-soph and junior-senior divisions. All finishers in the 1-mile fun run receive medals.

Actress Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady in the ``The Brady Bunch,'' will be the race starter and award presenter.

Information: [phone].