The Lowry High School cross country team continued its quest toward the regional championships with a stop in Sparks last Friday for the Reed Invitational.
After being near the top of every race this year, Lowry senior Jovi Kuskie pulled out her first win of the season, beating out 64 other runners in the 3.1-mile race on Shadow Mountain Park.
Kuskie stopped the clock at 20 minutes, 44 seconds to beat Galena’s Alyssa Bronander by 16 seconds. Bishop Manogue’s Amaya Aramini was third at 21:14.
“Jovi didn’t have the best start but she is always so tough,” said LHS coach Kathy Norcutt. “She worked to get to the front pack and then settled in to let the race develop. Jovi looked incredibly strong on the hills and really used the downhill to her advantage. She has a great kick and was able to fend off her opponents for the win.”
Lowry junior Ryleigh Raabe also competed in the varsity race and was 57th in a time of 28:01.
“Ryleigh shows a lot of guts and heart,” added the coach. “She is still working through an injury but she shows up and does her best when most kids would quit. We are very proud of both of our varsity girls.”
Lowry did not have an enough runners for a team score and Galena took home the team title with 43 points and Spanish Springs was second at 73.
The Lady Bucks’ lone JV runner was freshman Natalee Formby. She finished 23rd with a time of 28:54.
“Natalee did a fine job of attacking the hills on this course,” Norcutt said. “It’s very hard to be the lone runner in a race but Natalee always goes out and gives it her best. “
Bishop Manogue’s Ava Luczkow (22:51) and Olivia Reid (24:22) swept the top two spots in the JV race.
The Lowry boys provided another strong performance, finishing fourth in the team standings with 127 points and were the highest finishing 3A school.
Reed won the team championship with 31 points and were followed by Spanish Springs (56) and Damonte Ranch (96).
Yerington’s Kutoven Stevens won the boys race with a time of 16:33 and Damonte Ranch’s Jackson Elliott was second at 17:39.
“The boys showed a lot of grit at Reed,” Norcutt said.” When we got there, we had a quick team meeting and decided that we wanted to try and beat Galena because they were the team that beat us last week. My athletes are very goal-oriented and they succeeded in beating them. They also won the small school division in the process.”
Ivan Lara stepped up to lead the Buckaroo boys at Reed.
The junior finished 14th with a time of 19:13 on the tough 5K course.
“Ivan had a great race and looked really strong in the middle of the race,” Norcutt said.
Lara was followed by senior Eduardo Martinez Calderon who placed 17th in a time of 19:26.
The coach said that Martinez Calderon had a good race and fought through some challenges to help the team. Angel Huerta was 34th overall at 20:25.
“Angel is such a coachable athlete,” said the coach. “We, tell Angel what needs to be done and he gets it done for us.
Kaid Sanchez placed 43rd overall out of 88 runners at 20:53 and the coach noted that Sanchez had a breakthrough week in practices and it translated into his racing.
Sophomore Austin Formby was 47th at 21:18 and senior Tyler Morrison rounded out the Lowry finishes in 53rd with a time of 21:43.
“Austin didn’t have the greatest start but he worked and fought his way up to his teammates. Austin has a lot of heart,” Norcutt said. “Tyler also had a great race and helped to displace some other runners to clinch our win. All around these athletes are focused and goal driven. They are a great bunch of kids that are exciting to watch. Overall, it was a fun day and our Buckaroos made us proud.”
Lowry will be at home this week and will run on Winnemucca Municipal Golf Course on Friday at 3 p.m.
