Lady Lions Cross-Country kicks off season at Yoakum

LISD

The Lockhart Lady Lions started off the season by traveling to Yoakum for their annual Bulldog Cross Country Invitational.

In the Varsity Division, Lockhart had two individuals entered, while in the JV Division, the Lady Lions placed second out of eight teams entered.
In the Varsity Division, Freshman Reina Del Castillo got off to a nice start to lead the Lady Lions and placed second out of 82 runners. Del Castillo ran the 1.5-mile course in 9:14. Industrial’s Katherine Simons was the overall winner with a time of 9:11. Last season, Simons won the gold at the Region IV Class 3A cross-country meet and led her team to state. Closely behind was sophomore Adriana Rodriguez, who used a late push to move into top 10 honors. Rodriguez finished ninth overall with a total time of 10:10 over the 1.5-mile course. 

“I was very pleased overall, ” said Lockhart Head Girls Coach Reuben Ortiz. “This isn’t our normal 3.1-mile race, so we used this race to work on our pacing and race awareness.”
In the Junior Varsity Division, freshman Clarissa Martinez-Olvera, ran an even pace to work her way with the leaders to finish fifth overall. Martinez-Olvera completed the 1.5-mile course in 11:08. Right on her heels was senior Amryss Flores, who finished in top 15 medal honors with a 12th place finish and a time of 11:44. Junior Ashley Ramirez fought hard but was edged out of medal honor to finish 20th overall with a time of 12:57. Freshman Linda Brito (13:41) and sophomore Jayla Goodwin (13:58) were the key fourth and fifth runners in the team standings competition. With Brito’s 28th and Goodwin’s 29th place finish, Lockhart brought home the silver and finished second overall in the Girls JV team standings.

“Early season injuries have hurt our team this season,” Ortiz said. “Having only five girls on JV meant there was no room for error and they all did what they needed to do. Depth has always been our strength and we will get our other girls back but for now every girl is that much more important.”
On Saturday, Aug 27, the Lady Lions travel to La Vernia for the Running Bear Invitational.

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Lockhart High School‘s Boys Cross Country team won first place at the Yoakum Invitational, but no other report was available.