After nearly a month without a competitive race due to cancellations, the Lowry High School cross country team was back in action last Friday in Fernley for the Fernley Roadhill Invitational.
The Buckaroo boys won the team title with 36 points, as Lowry had six runners finish in the top 15.
Incline placed second with 56 points and Fernley (70), South Tahoe (93) and Dayton (97) rounded out the top five.
“We had a great day of racing at Fernley High School,” said LHS coach Kathy Norcutt. “The boys took first place on one of the toughest courses that we race.”
The Buckaroos had four finishers in the top 10 and were paced by a fifth-place finish in senior Eduardo Calderon at 20 minutes, 8 seconds.
Incline’s Noah McMahan (19:02) and Brenden Pietzke (19:37) swept the top two spots.
Ivan Lara was sixth for Lowry in a time of 20:39, Angel Huerta placed ninth at 21:20 and the fourth finisher for Lowry in the top 10 was Kaid Sanchez in 10th place at 22:12.
Austin Formby was the fifth scorer in 13th place, posting a time of 22:12.
Tyler Morrison rounded out the boys team with a time of 22:32 for 15th overall.
“We have really been focusing on running as a pack and holding each other accountable,” Norcutt said. “The guys did a fantastic job of staying together, working those hills and pushing until the finish. This was a great team effort.”
On the girls side Lowry only had two girls compete in the race and was led by senior Jovi Kuskie. Kuskie finished second overall in a time of 22:22. Bishop Manogue sophomore Amaya Aramini won the race at 21:03.
“Jovi looked very tough in the hills and was in a battle with the first-place finisher from Manogue the entire race,” added the coach. “It came down to the final 800 meters. Both girls finished minutes ahead of the next competitors.”
Freshman Natalee Formby placed 27th in the 3.1-mile race at 33:56.
Natalee ran a fine race,” Norcutt said. “The girls are working hard on charging the hills and maintaining their mental toughness. They continue to improve each week.”
Fernley won the girls team title with 15 points and Hug was second at 48. They were the only two schools to record team scores.
Lowry was scheduled to travel to Boise, Idaho, this weekend for the Bob Firman Invitational. However, that meet has been canceled.
Lowry will now travel to Truckee on Saturday. Lowry hosts its meet on Friday, Oct. 8.
