FOR MOORPARK, NO PLACE LIKE HOME; MUSKETEERS EXCEL ON NEW TRACK.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

How valuable is having a home-field advantage? Moorpark High School track and field coach Dale Smith said his school's new facility has been the difference between being mediocre and being a good team.

It took Smith and the school 14 years to complete the project, but nobody is complaining about the results. In their first year competing on an on-campus track, the Musketeers boys' team won their first Frontier League championship and the girls' team took second.

``It's made a heck of a lot of difference,'' Smith said of the school's state-of-the-art, all-weather track. ``You try (to) win when you have no equipment or a consistent place to work out and it's hard.''

Moorpark puts its facilities on display today at the Frontier League track and field finals. Field events start at 3:30 p.m.

``We went from having no facility to having probably the best in (Ventura) County,'' co-coach Rob Dearborn said. ``It's been instrumental to our success.''

Smith has been the track coach at Moorpark for 14 years. He's now the co-coach with Dearborn and Tom King.

In years past, the Musketeers were forced to compete on the road and practice at different sites during the week. There was pride among the athletes, according to Smith, but consistently performing in front of fans at other schools took its toll.

``Now their classmates can watch them compete,'' Smith said. ``It makes a big difference.''

Moorpark's new track is the perfect complement to a group of talented athletes. The quality and numbers of athletes increased significantly when Dearborn, King and assistants Ron Wilford, Robert Lopez and Anna Karchem came aboard. They've all coached other sports at the school and were able to convince some of their athletes to join the track team.

The Moorpark boys' team is well-balanced in the sprint, long distance and field events.

``It makes it a lot easier because we don't have to rely on one group to carry the load,'' Dearborn said. ``The talent is pretty much spread out through the whole team.''

In the sprints, 100 meters, 200 and 400 relay, Erris Green, Jeremiah Shoop, Ray Van Kummer and Niki Patel have all qualified for the 100 final tonight. Their 400 and 1,600-relay teams rank No. 1 in the league.

``When you've got speed like these guys, it can be pretty fun,'' Smith said.

The top three finishers in each event advance to the Southern Section preliminaries next Friday in Long Beach.

Moorpark expects about 25 varsity athletes to move on to the Southern Section meet.

Among the other top boys athletes are Blake Bryant (400), Tim Adrian (discus) and Jose Amezcua (1,600).

The girls 400-relay team is ranked first in the Frontier League and second in the 1,600 relay. The teams are composed of Genevieve Henderson, Lindsey Pita, Julie Nilsen and Lenea Gutierrez. Shot putter Beth Skhal, who set a school record with a throw of 36 feet, 2 inches, is expected to advance to the Southern Section meet.