The Lowry High School cross country team will be spending its first weeks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The Buckaroos got off to a promising start on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Whittell Invitational. The meet was broken up in to junior varsity and varsity races, with the varsity races held in different sections.
"It was a first good race for us," said LHS coach Kathy Norcutt. "I was pleased with how the kids ran. I tried to put the kids in different races and they did a good. Right now we are looking to improve personally and learning how to race."
In the varsity girls Section C race, Haley Weber was first a Shannon Munk was second. Fellow teammates Alexandra Ziemer and Camryn Maher were 11th and 12th, respectively.
Lowry's varsity boys ran in the Section B race and Hayden Jeppsen finished first. Ethan Andrews placed seventh and Devin Morris was eighth. Matthew Jock finished 18th.
"All of my kids had excellent starts today," Norcutt said. "We have talked about getting out and hanging on. For his first time out, I was pleased with Hayden. He runs during the track season but this is his first cross country season. Haley paced herself and ran a great race."
Liam Gallups took part in the Section B race and finished fourth.
On the junior varsity girls side, Charice Brown was first and Emily Jock placed third.
"Charice looked for the first time out," said the coach. "I was impressed with Emily for her first race as a freshman. I wasn't sure what to expect with some of the younger runners. Emily worked very hard and stuck right by Charice."
Lowry had four runners finish in the top 10 in the boys junior varsity race, led by Kobe Fitzpatrick who won. Jonathan Madrid was fifth and Chanse McAllister sixth. Devin Dowd stopped the clock in 10th, Christopher Kearns was 12th and Omar Aranjo was 20th. Hunter Albisu finished out the squad in 29th.
"Kobe and Chanse ran great races," Norcutt said. "All of my JB boys had a good day and that is encouraging to see. We are a very young team and learning a lot right now."
Lowry heads back to the mountains today for the North Tahoe Invitational in Tahoe City, Calif. As of press time there are 47 teams entered in the meet.
"It will be a step up for us," Norcutt said. "I am looking forward to see how we compete. There is going to be a lot of teams there and some good competition. The course is tough with hills and a lot of water crossings. This is the last of the mountain races, before we start getting on flat courses."[[In-content Ad]]
