CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK: LEBLANC REFOCUSING ENERGY : SOFTBALL IS SWAPPED FOR CROSS COUNTRY.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News There was a time when Karen LeBlanc could not imagine life without softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' . Now, the Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. High senior can't imagine spending another day with the sport she played year-round since age 5. ``I was burned out,'' LeBlanc said. ``I didn't have the passion for the sport to go hard in practice. If you want to do good, you have to have that burning desire.'' This year, LeBlanc has channeled that energy into cross country to help Simi Valley emerge as a contender for its first league title in school history. As a freshman and sophomore, LeBlanc was an integral part of the Pioneers' softball team that qualified for the Southern Section Division I playoffs both seasons. As a sophomore, LeBlanc earned All-Marmonte League second-team honors as an outfielder. That summer, she played on Rampage's age 16-and-under team, which advanced to the Amateur Softball Association nationals. In 1993, she was a member of a Simi Valley all-stars team, which finished third in the Pacific Northwest Valley 12-and-under tournament in Longview, Wash. LeBlanc, however, left those accolades behind last spring when she decided to go out for the track team instead of softball. ``She was getting tired of softball,'' said Tiffany Tiffany, Tiffanie (UK) a semi-longhaired version of the Burmese cat. It has a fine, silky coat in many colors. Franklin, a Simi Valley senior who has played softball with LeBlanc since age 10. ``I could tell she wasn't happy. When she wants to do something, she has this desire to give it her all. Her desire wasn't there.'' It didn't take LeBlanc long to find her talent for running, winning the junior varsity junior varsity n. Abbr. JV A high-school or college team that competes in interschool sports on the level below varsity. Noun 1. 800-meter league title in her first year of track. By the end of the season, LeBlanc, a student in Simi Valley coach Roger Evans' 11th-grade English honors class, was the Pioneers' top 800-meter runner, varsity or junior varsity. ``She was just another student in my class, a very quiet one at that. But she was a real find,'' Evans said. ``It took her a while to learn how to race and get into track condition. You never know who is going to be that diamond in the rough.'' This fall, LeBlanc and Simi Valley have been the surprise of the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. . The Pioneers, paced by the senior trio of LeBlanc, Amanda Anderson Amanda Anderson is the head of the English department at Johns Hopkins University. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University and taught at the University of Illinois before coming to Hopkins in 1999. and Ashley Luna, posted a victory over Marmonte League rival Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. to win the Division I race of the Bell-Jeff Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. Sept. 26. Two days later, they defeated Thousand Oaks, winner of five of the last six Marmonte League titles and ranked fifth in the state, in a dual meet. The victories marked the first time Simi Valley had beaten Thousand Oaks since 1993. Simi Valley culminated the week by capturing the team title at the Channel Islands Invitational last Friday. ``She is awesome,'' Luna said of LeBlanc. ``She is a natural. Every race is a new experience for her and she keeps getting better.'' LeBlanc plans to continue running in college next year at Concordia University in Irvine. However, she concedes she is still adjusting to the rigors of cross country, particularly the early-morning workouts. ``You have to sacrifice a lot to go to bed early to get up every morning at 7,'' LeBlanc said. ``Cross country is mentally and physically demanding. It's way different than softball. There are days when you don't feel like going out running but you have to be disciplined if you want to be a champion.'' LeBlanc said the friendships she has made on the cross country team have been well worth the sacrifices. This summer, the team went to a weeklong week·long adj. Continuing through the week: a weeklong conference. Adj. 1. weeklong - lasting through a week; "her weeklong vacation" seven-day training camp at Santa Catalina Island San·ta Cat·a·li·na Island or Catalina Island An island off southern California in the southern Santa Barbara Islands. Discovered in 1542, it has been a noted resort center since the 1920s. . The squad also gets together for pasta While the only basic difference between these names is the shape of the pasta, each pasta is typically matched with a particular sauce based on cooking time, consistency, ability to hold sauce, ease of eating, etc. dinners before races as well as for bowling every weekend. ``It was really a shock not to play softball, because it had been so much a part of my life but the thing I miss most was all the friends that I made,'' LeBlanc said. ``I've grown real close with the cross country team training with them all summer. I don't think I could have done it without all their encouragement and support.'' DOUBLE TROUBLE Simi Valley senior Karen LeBlanc has excelled in both softball and running. Here's how: Helped Simi Valley reach Southern Section Division I playoffs as freshman and sophomore All-Marmonte League second-team in softball as sophomore Won Marmonte League junior varsity 800-meter title as junior in first year of running Helped Simi Valley to victories in the Bell-Jeff and Channel Islands invitationals in cross country this fall CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO ``Burned out'' on the sport she was reared on, Simi Valley High's Karen LeBlanc ditched softball in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. See also: favor the rigors of cross country. Tina Gerson/Daily News BOX: DOUBLE TROUBLE (See text) |
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