WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School cross country teams got their first taste of mountain running, traveling to Zephyr Cove on Friday, Sept. 7, for the Warrior Warpath Cross Country Invite hosted by Whittell High School.
"It was another tough race with the hills and water crossings, but we expected that," said LHS head coach Dawn Lucas. "We have been there before, so we knew where the water crossing were and the hills we had to run. The elevation plays a big part in the race. We go up another 2,000 feet in elevation. It was much cooler and the heat didn't have the effect it did in Spring Creek. We had some first-time runners again and it's a tough race for them to jump into."
Jorden Raynor led the Lowry varsity girls runners with a 24th-place finish in a time of 28 minutes, 1 second on the 3.1-mile course. Eva Mercado was 29th with a time of 28:53 and teammate Alondra Duenas was right behind her in 31st at 28:54. Yoana Chavez finished 36th with a time of 29:37, MaElena Chavez and Tania Alcaraz were 39th and 40th, respectively, with times of 29:55 and 30:00. Jancy Ulch placed 43rd in a time of 30:35, Riata Kull (30:37) was 44th and Nani Ramirez (32:20) finished 51st.
"Eva and Alondra ran very strong races on a tough course and Eva was right at the top for us at Spring Creek," said the coach. "She is out there providing senior leadership for us."
Incline won the team title with 19 points and had eight runners finish in the top 14. Spring Creek was second with 55 points and Fernley and Lowry were third and fourth with 74 and 94 points, respectively.
For a second consecutive week, Harley Baker paced the Lowry boys in the varsity race, as he placed 19th in a time of 20:16. Richie Bleck had another strong race and finished 26thth at 20:58. Luis Brown finished 31st with a time of 21:15, Nate Nelson was 52nd at 22:56, Austin Schultz placed 67th with a time of 24:02, Dusty Hamilton was 78at at 25:209 and Devin Tinken finished 82nd in a time of 26:56.
Ten schools posted team scores, with North Tahoe leading the way with 28 points. Incline was second with 76 and Spring Creek (110) and Sage Ridge (122) were third and fourth. Dayton placed fifth with 137 points and Lowry (173) was eighth.
The Lady Bucks had four runners finish in the top 16 of the 2.1-mile JV race, on their way to a second-place finish as a team with 40 points. North Tahoe won with a perfect score of 15.
Claudia Duarte, Missy Book and Haley Weber were 12th, 13th and 14th, with times of 25:13, 26:05 and 26:07, respectively. Sierra Christy was 16th in a time of 27:39 and Kiko Ramirez (31:57) was 23rd.
"Claudia ran a great race and it was a good showing for her," Lucas said. "She went out at there as our leader and stuck herself out in front.
The boys junior varsity squad posted three top-11 finishers, with Layne Burgess leading the way in eighth with a time of 18:00. Ethan Andrews was ninth at 18:09, and Devin Morris placed 11th at 18:31; Marquess Jones (20:08) placed 22nd and Ian Maher (29:55) was 51st.
"Layne had a great race after faring not so well in Spring Creek," added the coach. "He came back and redeemed himself. You have to look at the Whittell race as a mental-toughness exercise instead of a race. It is very difficult with all the terrain you have to run on."
Lowry finished third as a team with 80 points, while North Tahoe (26) and Churchill County (62) claimed the top two spots.
Lowry travels back to the mountains today at 3 p.m., making the trip to Tahoe City, Calif., for the North Tahoe Invitational.
"We have another tough race with hills and the elevation," Lucas said. "We are excited about the season so far and the kids are learning and challenging themselves each week. This is the last of the mountain racing and we will start working on speed and flat courses."
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