SPORTS BRIEFS: Lady Lions split against McCallum, Anderson

The Lady Lions (3-2) are officially past the halfway point of District 17-5A play and currently occupy fourth place, which would give them a playoff berth if the season ended today.
Lockhart beat third-place McCallum in five sets in a hard-fought road battle last Tuesday before being swept in three sets by undefeated Anderson, which currently occupies the top spot in the district.
Results were unavailable at press time for Lockhart’s game against Travis (1-4), which has dropped its last two district games.
The Lady Lions face second-place Richards, which beat Lockhart in five sets earlier this season, at home on Friday before playing Crockett, Northeast and McCallum — three schools it beat earlier this season — and finish the season with a rematch against Anderson.

CROSS COUNTRY
Lady Lions preview regional meet course

The Lockhart Lady Lions cross-country team took a trip to Huntsville this past Saturday the 18th to get a first-hand look at the Region III course.
Hosted by Sam Houston State, top High School teams from Region III came to prepare themselves and see where they stand.
In the 5A-6A Varsity Girls Division, the Lady Lions placed 9th overall. The Lions were led by freshman Adriana Rodriguez, running her first 5K (3.1 mile) race in her high school career. Rodriguez stayed with the main pack throughout the race and finished 32nd overall with an impressive time of 22:29.
Just a few spots behind Rodriguez was Junior Christy Gonzalez. Gonzalez slipped back slightly at the end but held on to a 34th place finish with a time of 22:56. Christy Gonzalez is no stranger to top competition as she was an Area Qualifier in Track last season.
Next for the Lions was Sophomore Ryleigh Lindsey(51st/24:34), who used a strong push at the end to steal key points for Lockhart. Senior Kaitlyn Louk(66th/25:40) and junior Jazmine Reyes-Trejo(69th/25:58) came in strong at the end to hold down Lion points. Sophomores Alize Salzar(71st/26:24) and Mayra Varillas(72nd/26:34) overcame a slow start and moved up throughout the race. Juniors Annelise Epperson-Jones(73rd/27:18), and Amryss Flores(75th/27:31) along with freshman Jayla Goodwin(78th/30:05), sophomore Ashley Ramirez(79th/30:50), freshman Takayla Thomas(80th/31:31) and sophomore Hailey Bane(81st/32:22) rounded out the team for the Lady Lions.
“This was a big experience builder for our team today”, says Head Girls Coach Reuben Ortiz. “This was the first 3.1 mile race ever for a couple of our girls and the first of the season for everyone. So they needed to get their feet wet so to speak. I’ve coached them never to fear top competition and they showed me that today. We also didn’t have four of our top girls in this race and we still beat some quality teams with our depth.”
Lindsey and Louk were the big surprises with their toughness and experience, not to mention Reyes-Trejo.
“Our young girls did make some pacing mistakes out there early but fought back,” Ortiz said. “I’m excited to see how we race next week at Giddings and hopefully we get some more runners back too that sat out today. Every girl out there today was equally as important and fought hard.”
The team will travel to Giddings on Friday, Sept. 24 to compete at the Giddings Camp Tejas Invitational.