Leo Arabia played an outstanding midfield for the Raiders in their 2-0 victory over Oxnard College and their valiant 1-2 loss to state power Mission College.
The 5'9" midfielder attended Lancaster HS, and chose Moorpark College "because of its great soccer program." He is a 3.0 student and wants to attend a Cal State University and major in Business Management after MC.

Leo's favorite MC instructor is "Ron Wallingford (Astronomy) because he makes the lectures fun and interesting." He loves to spend time with his family (Parents: Silvia and Eduardo Arabia, Brothers: Chris and Steven) and friends.

Elicia Hildreth has provided the Raider steady play throughout the year at her Libero position. That is until she recorded 37 digs in the crucial WSC victory over Santa Barbra City College. She also had 4 aces.
Elicia wants to continue her volleyball career at a 4-year university, "hopefully at a Division 1." She is even considering playing for the Raiders Women's Basketball team this winter. She played both at Newbury Park HS.

She came to Moorpark College because "Coach Burkhart is a great coach and he wanted me to play." Her favorite MC instructor is Jill McCall (Speech) because "she's down to earth, speaks her mind and I love the way she dresses."

Her parents, Rosalinda and Dave Vint, are always at the games to cheer Elicia on.

Ryan Reese was a defensive stopper in the big win over Ventura College, allowing Moorpark to outscore VC for the 18th time in the last 21 years! He had 7 tackles (2 for a loss), one recovered fumble and a hurry.

Ryan is a 6-0 Defensive End from Royal HS. He has a 3.5 GPA and wants to continue his football career at California Lutheran University (or CSUN) and major in Business Economics. He came to MC because of the great football program and its reputation for sending players to 4-year schools. Ryan favorite MC Instructor is Rex Edwards (Macroeconomics) because "he makes the learning fun."

He wrestled in high school, placing 3rd in CIF Individuals and winning the CIF Dual Meet Championship. Ryan's parents, Ed and Patty, also have Courtney, 17.

Cassandra Vargas, goal keeper, made several nice leaping and diving saves in the VC game.

Cassandra plans to transfer to USC and major in Business with an emphasis in marketing and public relations. She eventually wants to become a publicist in the entertainment industry. Cassandra chose Moorpark College because of the high transfer rate. Her favorite MC instructor is Ceil Copsey (History) because "she makes her lectures interesting with random comments."

Cassandra sings the national anthem before all Raider home games. Her interesting fact is that she is "obsessed with good teeth and smile." Her parents are Grace and Angelo. She has a 21-year old brother named Mario.

 Richard Martinez, a 5'8" linebacker, may look small, but he came up huge in the Raiders' sixth straight win. He had 13 tackles (8 unassisted) and 1 sack in the 28-0 win over West LA College.
Martinez, a Ventura HS grad, is anxiously awaiting this week's game against Ventura College . He explains that while at Ventura HS, he played varsity as a freshman, and, therefore, played 4 years of home game at Larabee Stadium.
Richie wants to "play at the next level, and get a degree." He then will pursue a career as a police officer or teacher/coach. He came to Moorpark College because of Coach Bittner and the great football tradition (beating VC 17 of the last 20 times probably didn't hurt his decision.) His favorite MC instructor is Dan Viera, Psychology, because "he's hilarious and a great teacher."

Martinez's parents: Cynthia and Mando Hernandez, and Ed and Caroline Martinez. He has three brothers: Joe, 28, Mark, 26, and Armando, 20. Richie worked selling massage chairs at Osim before entering MC. His weirdest quirk is that he eats all his fries before taking a bite from his hamburger.

Veronica Mendoza, sophomore from Royal HS, finished 5^th in the highly competitive Mt. San Antonio College Meet last Friday with a time just over 19 minutes.

Veronica plans on attending UCLA after leaving Moorpark College and obtain a BS in Nursing. Her favorite MC instructor is Mary Rees (Biology and Microbiology) because "she makes things clear," said Veronica. "She helps me a lot." Veronica chose Moorpark College because of the Cross Country and Nursing programs. She likes to dance, and is outgoing. She is one of three children of Robertina Sanchez and Francisco Mendoza: Samantha, 17 years old, and Frankie, 13 years old.

Jose Garcia, a sophomore from Adolfo Camarillo HS, coming in second place in the WSC preview at Citrus College with a 4-mile time of 21:10. His performance spurred the Raiders to the first place finish in the twelve-team race.

Jose wishes to continue his education "at whatever university will give me the most money." He chose MC because of its academic reputation and because MC Assistant Coach Eleazar Hernandez "is a legend at Camarillo HS." His favorite MC instructor is Miller.


Jose, a 3.1 GPA student, interestingly was voted least likely to succeed when he was in seventh grade. He is doing his best to prove them wrong. Jose is one of the six children of parents, Jose Luis Garcia and Maria Del Rosario Garcia.

Ashley Schlimgen, sophomore from Adolfo Camarillo HS, has been a key player for the Raider volleyball team. She has many times led in Kills, and did in the match at Bakersfield College. Ashley, co-captain, is 4^th in the WSC in Kill Percentage, 11^th in total Kills, 14^th in Solo Blocks and 13^th in Block assists. She plays opposite hitter.
Ashley aspires to transfer to CSUN and Major in Child Development. Her career goal is to help kids with disabilities. She is a 3.0 student, as well as working 20 hours a week. Ashley choose MC to follow in her brothers footsteps (Justin, former MC Football Player), and to prove her HS coach wrong, who predicted "that Ashley would not be able to make the MC team." Her favorite MC instructor is Kathleen Van Artwerp because "she is an excellent teacher. She gets the whole class involved," said Ashley. "She makes the class like a community."
Besides Ashley, her parents, Mickie and David, have two other sons, Justin, 24 and Steven, 26. She also has two nephews and two nieces.

Charlie Assad, sophomore center midfielder, was a major reason the Raiders won two important games early in conference play. In the huge 2-1 win over Oxnard College, Charlie assisted on one of the goals. He then scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over Santa Barbara City College, which kept Moorpark's second place spot in the WSC.

Soccer has been a lifelong passion for Charlie and his family. He attended his first college soccer game at two days old. His brother, Nick, is a freshman on the Raider team. Parents are Lynn and Marwan.

Charlie chose to attend Moorpark College out of El Camino HS as a step to accomplishing his goal of playing Division 1 soccer. His favorite MC instructor is Dr. Michael Rosenthal. "He is strangely unique and very interesting to listen to," said Charlie. "He will say and do anything to help his students learn."

Mary Towliat, a 5'3" forward midfielder, scored two goals and assisted on two others in a 4-3 win over Santa Barbara City College. Her offensive production has been key to the Raiders 7-1-2 start. She is eighth in the WSC in scoring with 14 points on 5 goals and 4 assists.

She is a freshman from Thousand Oaks HS and selected MC because "its close and it's a great school." Mary hopes to transfer to a Cal State or UC and continue her soccer career. Her favorite instructor at MC is a tie between Orby Ingersoll and Rolland Petrello.

Mary loves soccer and animals, and her teammates call her "The Comedian." Mary is the baby of Phyllis and Mohammad Towliat. She has two brothers, Cyrus, 23, and Darius, 22

Conrad Meadows, wide receiver from Moorpark HS had seven catches for 167 yards and 2 TDs in the huge win over College of the Canyons. His 87-yard touchdown reception tied a 22-year old record for longest TD reception at Moorpark College. He also had 74 return yards, giving him a total of 241 yards. Conrad has been a big reason for MC's 4-0 record. On the season, he is the WSC's #1 all-purpose performer with 606 yards (281 reception yards and 325 receiving yards. Conrad is a greyshirt freshman from Moorpark HS. He hopes to earn a Div 1 scholarship and study Sports Medicine. He is a 3.29 student. Conrad's favorite MC instructor is Hal Jandorf (Astronomy Lab) because he keeps the class enjoyable with random jokes and comments. Conrad largely came to Moorpark College because of his position coach, Barry Tolli. In his spare time, Conrad enjoys "dominating his friends on the video game, Madden 2007." Parents Robert and Glenna have three boys, all of whom play football. 22-year old, James is a teammate at MC, and younger brother, Garret plays at Moorpark HS.

Nicole Ruggieri, a sophomore goalkeeper, has not given up a goal in two weeks. In fact, she was surrendered only 2 goals in 195 minutes in the goal. Nicole is a sophomore from Thousand Oaks HS, via San Diego State. So, she actually is a freshman for eligibility purposes. She came to Moorpark College because she wanted to play soccer again. Nicole played for MC coach Eric Privat in youth soccer for several years.Nicole, also known as "The Wall," for her goal keeping prowess, is largely responsible for MC's 6-1-1 start. In those eight games, four have been shutouts, and in two, only a single goal has been allowed.
She plans on attending UCLA or USC and major in pre-med. Ultimately, she plans to become a plastic surgeon. Nicole maintains a 3.5 GPA. Her favorite MC instructor is Dan Brown because he makes History fun.
Nicole has four brothers, and is the only daughter of Rob and Donna.

Tony Washington, a 6-0 wide receiver from Simi Valley HS, ran all over LA Valley's new turf field evading one tackler after another. He was unstoppable with eighth catches covering 224 yards and two TDs. That performance pushed him to the number 4 receiving spot in the WSC with 16 catches and 301 yards in three games, for an 18.8 yard average and three TDs.

Washington's educational goal is to continue his football career at a four-year university and complete his degree. He came to Moorpark College because of his familiarity with MC's outstanding academic reputation. His mother, Dora Washington, was the Director of Financial Aid for MC for several years. Keeping it in the family, his Tony's Aunt Terry Hernandez, is the present Director of Financial Aid. Dora now serves in the same capacity at Ventura College.His favorite MC instructor is Orbie Ingersoll. "He keeps me laughing and always has my attention," Tony said of Mr. Ingersoll.

 Tawny Summers, a freshman outside hitter from Westlake HS, has been a driving force for the fast start for Raider volleyball. Summers is a leader is the WSC in kills, digs and aces. She has led the Raiders to a 4-1 record, with wins over Irvine Valley, San Bernardino Valley, Grossman and Cuyumaca.

Summers, a 3.0 student, would like to end up in either Santa Barbara or San Diego after leaving Moorpark College. Her favorite MC instructor is Mr. Wyman because "he is one of the most down to earth people I know," said Tawny. "He makes the class fun and interesting. I definitely love that class."

Summers, when not spiking or acing, enjoys playing the guitar and piano. She speaks fluent Spanish and loves meeting new people. "I laugh really easily," she says about herself.

Josh Douglas, a freshman defensive end from Nordhoff HS, led the Raider defense to its second straight win, 32-16 over Long Beach City College. Douglas was a force on defense with a team-leading 10 tackles, six assists, one sack, one hurry and forced a fumble.

He came to MC because of the great environment and to play football. His favorite MC instructors are Tracy Tennenhouse, Nils Slattum and Del Parker. His family moved to Moorpark from Ojai after his 2003 graduation. "I live for my family," said Josh. "They mean the world to me. I love you, Mom."

  Danielle Hermansen, a freshman outside hitter, led the Raiders to two BIG wins over state powers Irvine Valley College and San Bernardino Valley College. She registered 27 kills over two matches and 21 digs. The Raiders are 3-0 on the season.

 Danielle brought a 3.5 GPA from Moorpark HS and came to MC because she wanted to continue her volleyball career. She hopes to transfer to a four-year university and continue playing volleyball. Danielle's favorite instructor is Andrew Kinkella, because he makes Cultural Anthropology fun, and the three hours goes by fast.  An interesting fact about Danielle is that she and her 21 year old sister not only share the same birthday, but also were born at the exact same time of day. She loves to dance, and eat ice cream, not usually at the same time.   

Cameron Merrill, sophomore quarterback out of Newbury Park HS, is Moorpark College's first Male Athlete of the Week.  Merrill led the Raiders to a season-opening victory at Cerritos College.  He threw two touchdowns passes, one for the game-winning score, 17-14.  He was named WSC "Quarterback of the Week" for his performance. Merrill converted 16 of 22 passes for 172 yards.

He is a private snowboard instructor in the winter.  Merrill came to Moorpark for "the great educational opportunities." His favorite instructor is Speech and Debate teacher Amanda Aquino

     Sandi Skinner,    sophomore sweeper from Simi Valley HS, was named Moorpark College's first Female Athlete of the Week for August 28-Septemeber 4^th.  Skinner led the Raiders to two shutout victories last week. Both were 1-0 victories over Santa Ana College and Antelope Valley College.

Besides Skinner's soccer excellence, her 3.5 GPA shows classroom excellence.  She also loves to surf. She has been playing soccer since she was six years old. Her number selection (21) is in honor of her older brother.  Her favorite Moorpark College instructor is Trainer Vance Manakas, whom she credits with getting her back to competition after recent injuries