PREP NOTES

Slowed by a strained hip flexor muscle, Amber Parkinson of Orange Lutheran put together a strong effort to finish fourth in the State cross-country meet Saturday at Fresno’s Woodward Park. Parkinson, a 10-minute 38.80-second 3,200-meter runner and The Times girls’ track and field athlete of the year last season, covered the 5,000-meter course in 19:13.

“I’m happy,” Parkinson said. “I just wanted to help the team do well today.”

Orange Lutheran, led by freshman Barbara Boisvert who was third in 19:10, finished third behind Ojai Nordhoff and Fillmore.

Parkinson said she will rest her leg about two weeks before starting her soccer season.

“It’s not getting any better,” she said. “I had shin splints over the summer and I think I was favoring my right hip.”

Latest entry for the 1991 Mal-O-Prep quote of the year comes from the starter at the State cross-country championships Saturday. “If you fall, get up,” he told the runners in his pre-race announcements. Sage advice.