Cross Country makes mark at regional meet

By Cynthia Lytle

POST-REGISTER

After a long, well-run season, the Lockhart High School cross country teams competed at the Region IV Championships this Saturday at the University of Texas San Antonio. Out of 54 schools in the region, the top-ranked Lions came out on top with a commanding 20-point team victory over the Boerne Greyhounds, while district rival Elg

in finished third.

Led by senior Christopher West, Lockhart”s top five runners all finished ahead of Boerne”s top five, in a man-to-man battle for the win. West, who fought with district opponent Travis Fort of Vista Ridge, finished the race as runner-up finishing with a total time of 15:50 for the 3.1-mile race.

Sophomore Nick Yunkun, who was able to outrun Boerne”s second runner by over 20 seconds, finished ninth and helped to secure the victory for the Lions. Yunkun completed the course with a time of 16:29.

Despite injuries throughout the season, senior Mason Larkin fought hard and finished 14th at 16:42. Larkin completed the race 10 seconds over Boerne”s third man.

In his first post-district race, up and coming freshman Rory Tunningley marked the beginning of his legacy as he finished 23rd at 16:58, seconds behind Larkin. Coming from behind, Tunningley was able to beat Boerne”s fourth runner by one second.

Rounding out the scoring Lions, junior Justin Platt finished with a time of 17:00 and 27th place.

Close behind Platt was senior Nick Moctezuma in 28th place overall. Moctezuma, who was edged by teammate Platt, finished his first post-district race with a time of 17:00.

Also running in his first post-district race was junior Stoney McCrary, who finished 47th with a time of 17:25.

The Lions will compete at the State Cross Country meet this Saturday at Old Settler”s Park in Round Rock. This will be Lockhart”s 13th appearance at state in 15 years. Furthermore, the Lions have placed in the top-three in state six times in the past seven years and won the State Title in 1998 and 2000.

The Lady Lions also competed at the regional championships, where they finished eighth place among 24 teams and 175 runners and set a standard for the upcoming years.

Every member of the team ran the course during a meet on Sept. 25 and finished a minimum of 30 seconds faster.

The Lady Lions were led by junior Tami Warner, who finished 25th, with a time of 12:39. Warner was followed by freshmen Livi Massey, who finished 33rd in 12:47, Elizabeth Garcia, who finished 46th in13:00 and Alyson Daily, who finished 53rd in 13:09.

The freshman were followed by sophomore Ashley Simon, who finished 89th in 13:42 and junior Courtney Lee, who finished 91st in 13:44.

Rounding out the top seven was senior Jenna Allen, who ran a career best 13:52 and finished 103rd.

With the exception of Allen, all six runners will be returning to the Lady Lions.”

“The Lady Lion eight place finish ranks them officially as the eighth best team in Region Four, which has a total of 60 high schools which compete,” said Coach Lee Dates man, who expressed his deep appreciation for the ladies” unity, dedication and intense work ethic.

clytle@post-register.com