Lady Lions Cross Country hold their own at Invitational

By Anthony Collins

LPR Editor                           

The Lockhart Lady Lions cross-country teams took to the trails Friday at the Austin ISD Invitational, competing against some of Central Texas’ toughest competition at Walter E. Long Lake. The varsity squad finished 19th overall, while the junior varsity team claimed 16th in their division.

    Sophomore Alicia Sanchez paced the varsity Lions with a 107th-place finish in a field of nearly 200 runners, completing the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course in 25 minutes. Just seconds behind, sophomore Aliya Parra clocked in at 25:15 for 116th, followed closely by junior Melanie Garcia at 25:35 (121st).

     The breakout performance of the day came from sophomore newcomer Alicia Rodriguez, who impressed in her varsity debut. Rodriguez crossed in 26:03 for 129th place, making her the team’s fourth scorer.

     The Lady Lions’ pack held strong with senior Clarissa Martinez-Olvera (27:11/144th), junior Katherine Silva Garcia (27:20/148th), sophmore Sofia Rodriguez (27:32/148th), and sophomore Pyper Bornemann (27:57/157th) all finishing within the 27-minute range.

     “This was our first 5K of the season, so there was some adjustment,” said head girls coach Reuben Ortiz. “As a team, we must continue learning proper pacing for the mileage we race. We’re not near peak shape yet, but I expect several runners to really step up as the season continues. We’re happy where we stand but not satisfied.”

     In what proved to be the deepest race of the day with more than 240 competitors, junior newcomer Kendra Mendoza led the Lady Lions’ JV squad. Mendoza clocked 28:32 to claim 79th place, continuing her steady improvement this season.

     She was followed closely by junior Zoie Ledesma (93rd/29:03), junior newcomer Sariah Johnson (107th/29:31), and sophomore Brianna Chavez Vasquez (136th/30:37) to round out the Lions’ top four. Sophomore Allie Forester provided a key fifth score at 32:07 (161st), with junior Alahni Herrera (172nd/32:55) and sophomore Abigayle Stewart (196th/36:18) follow-ing as pushers. Senior Yadira Ferretiz-Ollervides (201st/38:20) rounded out the JV lineup.

    “Due to some injuries and fielding a bigger varsity team, we had a smaller JV squad today,” Ortiz explained. “Each girl played an important role, and together they earned us a strong team finish in a very competitive JV field.”

     The Lady Lions now turn their attention to another challenging week. The varsity team trav-els to Corpus Christi on Saturday, Sept. 13, for the Region IV Pre-Regional Meet, while the junior varsity squad will compete closer to home at the Seguin Matador Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 11.