Coach pleased at Lady Lions in packed Hippensteel event
LISD
The Lady Lions Cross Country team stayed home Friday to compete at the annual Hippensteel Cross Country Open at Lockhart City Park. This year, more than double the runners attended from the previous year. It was an all-time record number of participants. Due to the event’s popularity and growth, it has been split into a morning high school session and an afternoon junior high session.
In the Varsity competition, the Lady Lions were split into two groups. In the Varsity Big Division, sophomore Addison Harrod continued to run with the region’s best and ran an impressive race against schools such as Austin Anderson, Comal Davenport and Victoria East. Harrod was able to use a strong kick to finish 17th overall with a time of 14:14 over the 2.1-mile course. Harrod’s 17th place finish put her in Top 20 medal honors.
Senior Beth Key worked her way up the pack the entire race and fought with Natalie Jones of Austin Anderson in the last stretch. At the end Key edged out Jones and took 40th with a time of 15:49. Only two Lockhart individuals were entered in the Varsity Girls Big Division.
In the Varsity Small Division, the Lady Lions took 11th in team standings out of 17 teams entered. Freshman Alicia Sanchez continues to improve week by week and finished 40th overall with a time of 15:16. A strong run from freshman Aliya Parra gave Lockhart big points. Parra finished in 67th overall with a time of 16:29. The Lockhart pack of freshman Pyper Bornemann (72nd/17:04), sophomore Dayana Delgado (76th/17:34), Sofia Rodriguez (78th/17:46), and Katherine Silva-Garcia (79th/17:49) roared in.
“These ladies had a bid day today,” said Head Girls Coach Reuben Ortiz. “I threw some newcomers in the wolves so to speak to see if they could handle the varsity competition. They should be big contributors in a few weeks but with the huge loss of our seniors this past graduation, they are going to have to grow up quicker than my normal plan. Overall, I was happy with our finish, but we need to improve mentally and work on our base as we transition to the 5k. We are moving in the right direction.”
In Junior Varsity competition, sophomore Melanie Garcia led the squad with a 43rd place finish and a time of 16:58 in the deepest girls race of the day. Junior Clarissa Martinez-Olvera was next, finishing 70th with a time of 17:54, which was a two-minute improvement vs. last year’s on the same course. Sophomore Zoie Ledesma (73rd/18:03) nearly improved by four minutes vs. last year. Freshman Marlie Stephens (89th/18:28) and junior Janae Torres (94th/18:40) were newcomers to this course and finished 4th and 5th teamwise respectively for Lockhart. The Lady Lions finished 11th overall in the team standings in a deep field.
“Usually, the toughest race is the last race of the day,” Ortiz said. “Melanie Garcia showed us today she is just about ready to be varsity caliber runner and improving by leaps and bounds the last few weeks. Other ladies had huge home personal bests. You can’t ask any more than that.”
This year’s Hippensteel Cross-Country Open broke the previous enrollment record making this race one of the premier races in the state of Texas to kick off the season.
“We couldn’t make this possible without an all-in effort from our city and our administration,” Ortiz said. “We start working on this in early May and it doesn’t end till today. Our Parks and Rec Director, Travis Hughes and his team have been huge. He really understands our vision and knows this not only helps Lockhart ISD but the economic impact it brings to the city. Our Admin has always been all in from start to finish and it starts with great support from Mr. (Mark) Estrada and everyone below him.”
Next week, the Lady Lions will travel to the Austin Invitational at Walter E. Long Lake on Friday, Sept. 6.
