Lions win Cedar Park XC D-2 title

LISD

The Lockhart boys’ Cross Country team woke up early Saturday morning and traveled to Cedar Park to compete at the Cedar Park XC Invitational.

Lockhart took home the Division 2 Boys team championship with a score of 48 points in a field of 11 teams and 110 runners.

Lockhart senior Zeke Sanchez was the individual champion on Saturday. For the second straight week, Sanchez trailed through the two-mile mark before surging to the front of the race. The race winner was up for grabs all the way until the final 100 meters of the race. Sanchez covered the 5,000-meter (3.1 miles) course in 17 minutes and 36 seconds for an average of 5 minutes and 36 seconds per mile. 

Lockhart senior Carlos Terrazas placed fourth overall with a time of 17:39.

“Carlos used his powerful kick to win a final sprint down the homestretch,” said Lockhart Head Boys Coach Scott Hippensteel. “Carlos and Zeke give us such an advantage in any race because of their ability to run at the front of large races. Together, the two of them scored five points on Saturday.”

Freshman Ethan Herrera competing in just his third race as a high school runner placed 12th in 18:29.

“Ethan is still learning,” Hippensteel said. “He ran a solid first mile but fell off the pace during the second mile. I would like to see him stay with Carlos for at least two miles, and then we will see what happens. Ethan finished 50 seconds behind Carlos, so it would be great if on Saturday he could draw within 30 seconds of Carlos.”

Two Lockhart seniors completed the team scoring on Saturday for the Lion harriers. Cole Frey placed 12th in 18:33, and Griffin Mason placed 17th in 18:38.

“Both Cole and Griffin ran solid races on Saturday, but I would like to see both of them run at least one minute faster when we return to run the district championship meet on Oct. 12,” said Hippensteel.

Freshman Ivan Gonzales placed 23rd with a time of 18:52. Gonzales ran his first mile with the other top Lockhart runners in about 5 minutes and 37 seconds, then fell off the pace during the later part of the race.

 “I didn’t know at first what had happened to Ivan,” Hippensteel said. “I thought he got tired and fell back, but then I was told he had one of his shoes come off mid-race and still finished the course. Normally, I would not have expected a kid to finish over a mile of a race with only one shoe. That showed me he is a tough kid, and didn’t want to let his teammates down.”

Other Lockhart runners who competed in the Varsity race included sophomore David Ruiz, who placed 39th in 19:48, sophomore Jace Ramsey placed 53rd with a time 20:21, and sophomore Hayden Brast placed 72nd in 20:49.

The Lockhart Junior Varsity placed 15th of 18 teams running. Sophomore Paul Munoz led the way as he placed 40th out of 185 runners competing. Munoz finished with a time of 21:02. Freshman Keaton Archer placed 71st in 22:11 and was followed by Denny Winton who placed 87th in 23:41, freshman Felipe Albino 89th in 23:47, and senior Nathan Peralez who placed 90th in 23:49.

“I am super proud of these guys,” Hippensteel said. “They are a very important part of our team. They are truly the foundation of our program, these are the kids who make everything we do possible.”

On Thursday, the Lockhart Boys and Girls Junior Varsity runners, and the Lockhart Junior High Boys and Girls will travel to Seguin to run the Sequin Invitational. On Saturday, the Lockhart Boys and Girls Cross Country teams will travel to Corpus Christi to run in the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Invitational. Corpus Christi will be the site of the Region IV Regional Championships Oct. 23-24.