LHS boys XC 6th at District; Herrera wins individual title

LISD

The Lockhart Boys Cross Country team finished in sixth place last week at the District 25 5A Championships held in Round Rock at Old Settlers Park.

Leander won the team title with 52 points, followed by Liberty Hill with 72 points, and Cedar Park 81. All three teams qualified for the regional meet. Leander Glenn finished fourth with 93 points, Buda Hays was fifth with 106, Lockhart was sixth with 136, Leander Rouse seventh with 148, and Kyle Lehman placed eighth with 229.

Although the team will not advance to the regional meet, the Lions had two individual runners place in the top 10 overall, which automatically qualified both athletes for the regional race. 

Sophomores Ivan Gonzales and Ethan Herrera both ran outstanding races and will now compete in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Herrera won the individual district championship with a personal best of 15 minutes and 41 seconds, breaking his previous best by an incredible 61 seconds.

“Some may ask, ‘Was the course short?’,” LHS Head Coach Scott Hippensteel said. “The answer is it was absolutely not short. It was measured several times by various people, and everyone measured it at exactly 5,000 meters. “

Herrera went from finishing 24th at the district meet as a freshman to winning the title in one short year. His time is also the new Lockhart High School record for a sophomore, breaking the record of Lockhart legend Robert Uhr by less than a second.

Herrera’s individual title marks the 19th time in the past 36 seasons that a Lockhart runner has won the championship.

Gonzales finished ninth with a time of 16 minutes and 27 seconds, eclipsing his previous best by 23 seconds.

Junior Paul Munoz finished as the third runner for the Lions, placing 37th with a time of 17:58. Sophomore runners Jaiden Slussler and Keaton Archer placed 44th and 45th overall, with times of 18:23 and 18:25, respectively.

“I am so proud of these guys; they have dramatically improved over the course of the season,” Hippensteel said.

Junior Connor Zea finished as the sixth man for Lockhart in 51st place with a time of 20:01. Freshman Irving Ferretiz became ill during the race and finished 54th in 23:41.

“Irving had a fantastic season,” Hippensteel said. “It was unfortunate he became ill on Thursday. Great things lie ahead for Irving.” 

Over the past six seasons, Lockhart has won four district titles, finished as the district runner-up twice, finished as the regional runner-up three times, and qualified for the state meet four times. “It was inevitable that at some point the team would face challenges, making it difficult to sustain the streak,” said Hippensteel. “Before the season began, we all knew it would be a challenge. Having lost eight of last year’s top 10 runners was a lot to overcome, but despite that, this team didn’t disappoint. They battled the entire season and laid the foundation for 2025. Returning the entire varsity team next year, and most of it for the next two years, should make things interesting.”

The Lockhart Junior Varsity placed sixth in the team standings. Freshman Josiah Lopez led the way, placing 17th out of 65 competitors with a time of 19:29. Junior Jace Ramsey placed 28th in 20:07, followed by sophomore Antonio Rico, who placed 37th in 20:54. Junior Ethan Gamez placed 39th in 21:23, junior Hayden Brast placed 47th in 22:22, freshman Liam Moctezuma placed 55th in 23:38, freshman James Peterson placed 56th in 23:38, and freshman Maxwell Adams placed 65th in 25:21. 

“The Lockhart Cross Country program is forever grateful to the parents who have been so supportive of our runners, the City of Lockhart, which spent endless hours preparing Lockhart City Park for numerous meets, the Lockhart Band, Lionettes, Color Guard, Cheer Squad, and Lockhart ISD,” Hippensteel said. “Without all these people, we couldn’t achieve the great things we are able to do.”