Ulloa timed 16:00 but finished fourth in the junior race. Terrel Reyes of Lakewood won in 15:09.
Underestimated dept.: Westlake cross-country runner Jeannie Rothman set a modest preseason goal for herself: crack the 18-minute barrier on a three-mile course.
In the Woodbridge Invitational on Saturday, Rothman, a senior, made 18 minutes look like her warmup pace as she shattered her own expectations, running 17:23 to finish second to Agoura's Deena Drossin (17:04).
Cross-country shuffle: Casey Jones, who coached Quartz Hill to a third-place finish in the Golden League last year, hopes the addition of two transfers will help the Rebels contend with two-time defending champion Canyon for the league title.
Joe Bedortha, a sophomore from league-rival Palmdale, finished seventh in the league finals last year as a freshman and timed 15:56 for three miles in the summer. Senior Clark Goodrich, from Camarillo, was the No. 8 runner for the 1989 state Division I champion Scorpions.
"They're going to fit right into our scoring five," said Jones, noting that the Rebels' Sept. 29 meeting with Canyon, Palmdale and Saugus at College of the Canyons could determine the league title.
Reviving the spirit: Paraclete, which won only two football games last season and was 0-5 in Desert-Inyo (Large) League play, has outscored its opponents in two games, 52-0.
"(The program) just needed somebody to come in and bring it together," said first-year Coach Jim Nottoli, an All-Southern Section wide receiver at Paraclete in 1981 who was hired a month before the season began.
"It has sort of lost the school spirit over the past years. We're trying to get the student body back and involved. Last week was probably the biggest student turnout we've had at a home game since when I was player."
Still struggling: Antelope Valley won the Southern Section Coastal Conference championship in 1988 and had made nine consecutive playoff appearances in the 1980s until last year.
But the Antelopes have won only three of their past 12 games, including an 0-2 start this season. "The bottom fell out athletic-wise when our (1988) senior class graduated," Coach Brent Newcomb said. "We're counting on some younger players. Our whole defense is underclassmen."
The loss of three starters to injuries also has hurt the Antelopes. Lineman Dan Dinsmore and sophomore fullback Ryan Braddick are sidelined with knee injuries and junior quarterback Mike Fossati has a separated shoulder.
A tough preseason schedule makes Newcomb's job even tougher. In the next three weeks the Antelopes will face Division I powers Redlands and Loyola and Division II power El Toro. All three are ranked in the top 10 in their respective divisions.
Dedication: Westlake's defensive unit has dedicated the season to Dave Weisman, a starting linebacker in 1989 who is sitting out this season because of a back injury sustained in an automobile accident over the summer.
"He had worked so hard (last season), we felt we owed it to him," linebacker Vince Bruno said.
Westlake players have scribbled Weisman's number (51) on pads, and receiver Erik Holcomb wears Weisman's practice jersey during workouts.
"I'm honored," Weisman said. "It's hard to accept not being able to play. I did my best and it's hard to take."
Mike Glaze and staff writers Steve Elling, Kirby Lee, Paige A. Leech and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.
