Uhr claims individual title at Regionals, Lions finish fifth overall

The Lockhart Boys Varsity Cross Country team traveled to warm San Antonio on Saturday to run in the Region IV-4A Regional Meet hosted by UTSA at the National Shooting Complex. For the second consecutive year, the Lion harriers came up short in their annual quest to run at the State Meet. The Lions finished fifth out of the 24 Regional qualifying teams. In 2011 Lockhart also fin

ished in fifth place. Unfortunately, only the top three teams advance to State, leaving the Lions on the outside looking in next Saturday.

Boerne Champion (Ranked No. 2 in Class 4A) won the team title with 68 points, while Cedar Park (Ranked First in class 4A) finished second with 94 points. Claiming the third and final spot was Mercedes with 142 points. Fourth place went to Corpus Christi Moody who scored 158 points. Lockhart finished in fifth out of 24 teams with a score of 163 points.

Senior Robert Uhr won his ninth consecutive race as he captured the individual Regional Championship for Lockhart. Uhr ran a patient, disciplined race through the first 2.5 miles before making a final move over the last 800 meters. Uhr ran the 5,000 meter (3.1 mile) course in 15:49. Uhr’s margin of victory was a gap of 10 seconds.

The victory by Uhr marks the fourth Lockhart individual title in the past five seasons. Rory Tunningley (running at Texas) won the title in 2007. James Bonn (running at Texas A&M) won in 2009, and Nate Moore (running at Texas) won last year in 2011.  The win was the 10th individual regional cross country title in the past 21 seasons for the Lion harriers.

Senior Nic Avey had a race that will be talked about for years. Avey, who had a previous personal record of 16:55 for a 5K, ran an incredible race and placed eighth overall in 16:04. Avey improved his personal best by 51 seconds.

“Everyone was so happy for the way Nic ran on Saturday,” said Head Coach Scott Hippensteel.

Senior J.D. Amaya was the third Lockhart finisher on Saturday. Amaya ran his best race of the year on Saturday, placing 29th with a fine time of 17:21.

“JD had an excellent career; his commitment and dedication have been greatly appreciated,” said Hippensteel.

Sophomore Sergio Moreno, who had been the Lions number three man all fall, dropped back a spot to finish as the fourth runner last Saturday. Moreno finished in 43rd with a time of 17:37.

Senior Joseph Hefner ran another solid race on Saturday as he finished in 84th with a time of 18:25.

“I was really proud of the way Joseph has improved over his career,” Hippensteel said. “He showed a lot of courage to step up and compete with a great deal of pride.”

Other Lockhart runners included Junior Erik Moreno who placed 88th in 18:29 and sophomore Billy Hernandez finishing 107 with a time of 18:54.

The Lockhart Varsity team ends the season with a record of 147 wins and 20 losses for a winning percentage of 88 percent. Against 4A schools, Lockhart ends with a season record of 68 wins and 9 losses.

Lockhart won the Hays Invitational, Weimar Invitational, Shiner Invitational, and Arkansas Invitational. Lockhart also won two dual meets against Lubbock Frenship, and Hays Lehman high schools.

Lockhart finished second at the Moulton Invitational and at the District 27-4A meet.

“I am so proud of the way this team never missed a single day of practice,” Hippensteel said. “They came every day with the expectation of getting better. This team was a pleasure to coach all season long.”

The Lockhart Cross Country team would like to say thank you to everyone who once again contributed to our success. Thank you to both the Lockhart City Park and the Lockhart State Park for all the help you provided.

This Saturday, Robert Uhr and Nic Avey will be representing Lockhart at the State Cross Country meet. The race will be run at the Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock behind Dell Diamond. The race will begin at 1 p.m.