Lions dominate at Chile Pepper Invitational

The Lockhart Boys Cross Country teams traveled to Fayetteville, Ark., last week, and on Saturday competed at the 2017 Chile Pepper Festival.

For the first time since 2009, the Lockhart Lions have won the Arkansas Chile Pepper race. The 2009 team was headed by future Texas Longhorns Nate Moore and Robert Uhr who finished first and fourth overall in 2009.

A total of 63 teams and 887 runners competed in the Open division this past Saturday. Lockhart dominated the race from the start as they won the team championship with just 37 points.

Sophomores River Bailey and David Mendez-Serrato led the Lions, placing second and third respectively, with times of 16:36 and 16:37. The course measured 5,000 meters. Bailey and Mendez-Serrato ran together for most of the race, resulting in a great finish for both runners.

Junior Ian Flores ran an outstanding race, finishing as the third man for Lockhart in fourth overall with a time of 16:44. Sophomore Henry Gomez placed 12th in 17:02, followed by senior Luke Hippensteel who crossed the line in 16th place with a time of 17:21 to complete the team scoring.

Junior Belton Andress finished as the sixth man for Lockhart, crossing the line in 21st place with a time of 17:28. Rounding out the top seven for Lockhart was Senior Matthew Fernandez who finished in 62nd with a time of 18:04.

Lockhart’s top five runners combined for a time of 84 minutes and 20 seconds. That is the fastest combined top five time Lockhart seen in at least five seasons.

Following behind Matthew Fernandez was senior Gabriel Franco in 71st with a time of 18:11, senior Diego Garcia in 84th with a time of 18:19, junior Caleb Marez in 142nd with a time of 18:53, junior Nash Thomas in 158th with a time of 19:02, junior Manifred Reynosa in 526th with a time of 21:39, and senior Abel Alvarado in 641st with a time of 22:47.

The team will travel to Shiner on Saturday October 7, 2017, before hosting the District meet on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.