WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School cross country team wrapped up its regular season last Friday with a trip to Elko for the Elko Invitational.
Both of the Buckaroos' teams finished third, with the boys scoring 83 points. Elko narrowly defeated Spring Creek 27-28 for the team championship.
Spring Creek claimed the girls team title with 24 points. Elko was second at 36 points and Lowry (91) and Lincoln County (102) were third and fourth, respectively.
"I was very pleased with the boys," said LHS head coach Kathy Norcutt. "They ran well. We got Harley (Baker) back and he is feeling better after battling through shin splints this year. It was a good chance to see what we had before racing at the regional championship."
Elko's Kyler Simpkins was the individual winner, finishing with a time of 17 minutes, 40 seconds. Spring Creek's Daniel Sallee was second at 18:14 and Elko's Timothy Rose was third in a time of 18:14.
Baker led the way for the Lowry boys finishing with a time of 19:53, while teammate Kobe Fitzpatrick was just behind him at 19:54.
Seniors Richie Bleck and Nate Nelson finished together, separated by nine seconds, with Bleck finishing at 21:22 and Nelson stopped the clock at 22:31. Freshmen Devin Dowd and Christopher Kearns finished together as well, with Dowd finishing with a time of 21:45 and Nelson at 21:51.
Luis Brown timed in at 22:12, Chanse McAllister was at 22:29 and Liam Gallups had a time of 24:15.
On the girls side, freshman Charice Brown led the Lady Bucks with a time of 23:18 on the 5K course.
"Charice had a great race and has come on in the last couple of weeks," Norcutt said. "It was her first varsity race this year. It was an eye-opener for her. She saw that the varsity runners go fast from the get go. But she saw that she can compete with those other girls."
Nani Ramirez timed in at 27:30 for the Lady Bucks, while Jancy Ulch and Haley Weber finished together at 28:01 and 28:08, respectively.
Shannon Munk finished at 29:40, Alexandra Ziemer had a time of 21:34 and Rebekah Goldblatt finished at 35:48.
Spring Creek's Makenzie Whimple and Julia Mahlke were first and second with times of 20:35 and 20:36, respectively. Elko runners claimed the next three spots to round out the top five.
Lowry is off this week before competing in the Division I-A North Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Reno.
"We are at the point in our training where we are tapering off our training and getting them rested," Norcutt said. "We are going to do our Winnemucca Mountain challenge, which is fun for the kids. We will see who the king and queen of the hill are."
The boys Division I-A North Regional Championship race will start at 10:40 a.m. at Rancho San Rafael Park. The Division I-A girls run at 1:15 p.m.
The top three teams from the Northern League championship meet and the top three teams from the Southern League championship meet qualify for the six-team state championship meet in Reno on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The top five individuals from non-qualifying teams out of the Northern League championship meet and the top five individuals from non-qualifying teams out of the Southern League championship meet also advance to the state championships.
"I have been pleased with the way we have progressed this season," Norcutt said. "Our times are better from the start of the season and the kids have worked hard. It will be a challenge at the regional championship, but I am interested in seeing how we will compete."[[In-content Ad]]
