Lions dominate in first appearance at Weimar Invitational

The Lockhart Lions Cross Country teams traveled to the Weimar Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26. This marked the first time Lockhart has ever competed in Weimar, and the Lions rose above the challenge.

Coming off a victory two weeks ago at the Moulton Invitational, the Lions dominated the pack in Weimar, earning a team victory with only 34 points.

Normally a

score of 34 would signify an easy win, but not last Saturday. Lockhart edged 2A power players East Bernard by just three points, while the Lions plastered the third place team from Gonzales by over 100 points.

A total of 14 high schools competed in the meet. With the victory the Lions harriers now sport a season record of 37 wins and only five losses. Two of the five losses have come against Cedar Park and Boerne High School who are both currently ranked among the top 10 teams nationally.

With two top seven runners for the Lions out due to injury and family travel plans, the remaining Lions running Saturday had to step up their game.

Sophomore Nate Moore had another strong outing for the Lions, placing second overall in a field of 94 runners as he covered the course in 16:37.

Despite the fact the Weimar course was only three miles, rather than the customary 3.1 miles (5,000 meters) it presented many difficulties for the Lockhart harriers. The start was very narrow with a sharp left turn that caused the Lions to quickly fall behind a majority of the field. Nevertheless, Lockhart runners quickly caught a majority of the field and most found their way to the front of the field.

Lion Senior Noah Tunningley captured third overall with a time of 16:51. One second later freshman standout Robert Uhr finished in fourth.

According to Coach Scott Hippensteel, Uhr started slowly but has shown the ability to find his way to the front of large races.

“Robert has been such an exciting find for the team,” Hippensteel said. “Just a few weeks ago he wasn’t on our radar screen, but now he become an important piece of the 2009 teams success.”

The fourth Lockhart runner across the finish line was senior David Dihn who placed ninth overall. Dihn who ran very well during practices earlier in the week suffered from severe calf cramps that made it very hard to run. Dihn finished with a time of 17:11. Brother Bobby Dihn completed the Lions scoring as he placed 16th overall in 17:53.

Other Lions who ran in the Varsity race included Joseph Anchondo who crossed the line in 23rd place; Samuel Post – 30th; Mitchell McCree – 32nd; and Xavier Espinoza – 48th.

The Lockhart Junior Varsity also had a very dominant performance, Hippensteel said. Lockhart runners swept the second through sixth places. The Lions scored just 20 points.

Sophomore Eli Spring surprised everyone as he finished in second place with a strong time of 18:56. Lockhart Freshmen Colton Russell and Nicholas Avey placed third and fourth, and senior Carlos Anchondo finished fifth. Mario Maciel was sixth, and a very fast Lion track runner, Sebastian Llamas ended up in 11th.

The Lions will travel to the Texas State Invitational in San Marcos on Saturday. The team is working very hard to improve. Hippensteel Workouts have been going well and the expectations are growing every week.
(Courtesy of Scott Hippensteel)