By IAIN MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School Cross Country teams shined on Saturday morning, for their very own M.V. Invitational held at the Logandale Fairgrounds. This is the fifth year for this local meet, which invites schools from all of Clark County to participate.
Fifteen schools came to compete on a 3.1 mile course that transitions through paved, sandy, and grassy sections, looping around the fairgrounds and the Logandale Fire Station #73.
“Hosting an invitational is no simple undertaking,” said MVHS Girls Coach Heather Humes. “But it is important to give our kids an opportunity to race at home where they are close to friends and family. This was the best attended meet we’ve had to date and that’s really encouraging.”
This week there was one race for all varsity girls and the Pirate team ran an extremely competitive race. Coming in first place out of 61 runners was Cimmaron athlete Olivia Garcia, with a time of 21:04. Right behind her was Pirate Emma Humes, taking second with a time of 21:12. Faith Witter (23:22) finished in 12th place, followed by Hannah Watson (23:41) in 13th. Emma Fortini (24:27) rounded out the Pirate medalists in 19th place. Other Pirate finishers were Mckinley Bledsoe (25:14), Signe Jenson (25:51), Samantha Thompson (26:05), Aleana Hull (28:15), Julia Deschan (28:25), Annabel Lounsbury (28:47), Alyssa Perez (29:45), Haley Bush (29:47), Jorja Freeman (29:51), and Kenzie Hughes (23:07). Among the 4 teams competing, Moapa Valley placed second.
Boys races were divided due to numbers. The Varsity Boys A raced first with a field of 79 runners. Taking first for the race was Durango runner William McMahon, with a time of 17:04. The first Pirate across the line was Preston Humes, taking a close third with a time of 17:09, only five seconds off the winning time. Pirate medalists were freshman Cyrus Katich (19:11) in 17th and . Ethan Witter (19:24) in 20th. Other Pirate contributors were Marcus Shambaugh (19:48), Preston Bushman (20:15), and Trevor Witter (20:40). Pirate runners placed second among 11 schools that competed in that race.
Varsity Boys B team was the last race of the day and also had some surprises from the Pirate runners. Taking first place for this race with a time of 21:42 was Pirate freshman Joey Boss, followed by senior Ryan McMurray in fifth with a time of 22:18. Jed Stephens also medalled for the Pirates in 12th place (23:07). Other Pirate finishers were Nicholas Leavitt (23:48) and Iain McMurray (30:54).
The Pirates were excited about their home-town success. It was a first time win for Boss, who said, “That was really awesome. I thought I would be lucky to even finish.” Junior Annabel Lounsbury said, “This week’s course was really hard, but we all did really well and pushed ourselves.” Other Pirates and parents were also involved, performing tasks such as directing runners, handing out medals, and making sure that all the runners who started were accounted for at the end.
“Our team took first in small schools by a significant margin, which lets us know that our boys and girls are doing great,” said MVHS Boys coach Gary Watkins. “Our freshman runners are defining our team, and that’s a great motivational factor.”
Coach Humes also praised the team, saying, “Our Pirate runners had a great day! Our course is one of the tougher courses they will encounter over the season and they showed up ready for the challenge! Many runners set new personal records and keep pushing themselves to new heights!” The Pirates will be running Tuesday afternoon at Palo Verde in their first mid-week race and then traveling to Arizona next weekend for the Four Corners Invitational in Flagstaff.
