Pirates Host Moapa Valley Cross Country Invitational

By GABRIELLE SHIOZAWA

Moapa Valley Progress

Out with the old, in with the new! That’s what the Moapa Valley Cross Country team decided this season. After years of hosting meets in a myriad of locations around the valley; the most recent of which was in the hilly desert east of the high school; the 5K course was moved to the Clark County Fairgrounds this fall.
“We changed the course over to the fairgrounds because it’s a lot flatter,” explained Coach Gary Watkins.

“It’s also more accessible for all of the spectators, and we wanted to make this cross country event so the spectators could get the maximum amount of participation.
“It’s just a beautiful course,” Watkins continued. “I’m very pleased with where we’ve moved it to. We’d like to get this place for Division and even Region in the future!”
The cross country team hosted an invitational on the new course last Saturday, with ten high schools and three middle schools entering the event.

The day began with middle school teams participating in a 1.6 mile course. Luke Williams of Somerset Academy Sky Pointe Middle School finished first for the boys at 9:13, with Lyon runner Preston Humes finishing in second place, just 3 seconds behind Williams, at 9:16. The next Mustang runner to cross the finish line was Gabe Leavitt, who took eighth place at 11:09. Trevor Witter and Ethan Witter took 12th at 11:32 and 16th at 11:40, respectively.

In the middle school girls’ race, Faith Witter took first place with a time of 11:30. She was 35 seconds ahead of opponent Robin Trombly from Somerset, who reached the finish at 12:05.
“It felt super great!” said Faith Witter, an eighth grader at Lyon Middle School. “This was my second race, and I did really well with my time.”

Lincoln County’s Cody Dirks took first place in the junior varsity boys’ race with a time of 19:37.5. Pirate runner Spencer Craven finished his first race of the season in 55th place at 32:03.2.
The junior varsity girls ran next, with SECTA’s Evelyn Corona placing first at 23:07.0. Cera Oakley was the first from Moapa Valley to cross the finish line, taking 16th place at 31:33.0. Lee Ann Perkins was close behind Oakley, placing 18th with a time of 32:01.0. Michelle Duong and Marina Mortensen finished off the race in 21st place at 35:15.0 and 22nd at 38:28.0, respectively.

In the varsity boys’ race, Pahrump Valley’s Bryce Odegard took first at 16:36.6. Nathaniel Thompson finished 15th for the Pirates with a time of 18:53.9. In 25th place with a time of 19:36.7 was Samuel Jolley. Garrett German completed the race at 20:26.5, placing 31st. Trevor Van Vliet took 34th at 20:36.0, while a time of 20:41.2 earned Nathan Waite 36th. Zachary Anderson took 40th at 21:25.6.

The last race of the day was the varsity girls’ competition. Kendall Larson won first place for Faith Lutheran with a time of 20:45.8.
The first Pirate runner to finish was Matilda Thompson, who took 12th at 23:05.7. Anna Stratton and Emma Thompson ran close races, with Stratton taking 25th at 25:06.7 and Thompson finishing 27th at 25:17.4. In 31st place with a time of 26:09.1 was Miranda Robison. Kennadie Burt took 39th at 28:47.8, and Gabrielle Shiozawa placed 42nd at 31:41.6. Katelyn Goddard finished off the race for the Pirates at 34:11.1 in 43rd place.
Both varsity teams took sixth place overall in the meet.

Earlier that week, MVHS Cross Country had participated in a cluster meet at Del Sol Academy in Las Vegas. The event featured a 2.75 mile course that meandered across the school’s campus.
“It was nice to get our runners on a shorter course,” said Coach Heather Humes. “It was tough because the course was one loop run three times.”

The boys ran first. After SECTA’s Bruce Troncoso took first place in the event at 15:48.6, Pirate runner Jerrick Stastny finished second at 16:05.6. The next from Moapa Valley to cross the finish line was Nathaniel Thompson, who placed seventh with a time of 16:28.1. At 17:09.3, Samuel Jolley took 10th place. Zachary Anderson, Garrett German, and Nathan Waite finished the race together, with Anderson taking 17th at 18:15.5; German placing 18th at 18:16.4; and Waite taking 19th at 18:19.7. Trevor VanVliet finished off the race for the Pirates at 18:53.8 in 24th place.

In the girls’ race, SECTA’s Eden Tesfay finished first at 19:28.9. Matilda Thompson finished in 5th place for Moapa Valley with a time of 20:34.8. Emma Thompson came in 8th at 21:56.7, and a time of 22:14.5 earned Anna Stratton 10th place. After Miranda Robison finished 13th at 23:35.2, Kennadie Burt, Lee Ann Perkins, and Gabrielle Shiozawa took 21st, 22nd, and 23rd with respective times of 26:30.0, 26:31.8, and 26:35.9. In 25th place was Cera Oakley, who crossed the finish line at 27:14.5. Michelle Duong took 28th at 31:00.9 while Katelyn Goddard came in at 31:25.7, placing 29th. Marina Mortensen finished off the race at 35:17.3 in 30th place.

Both teams placed second overall.
“This was a great meet!” commented Hunes. “I was excited about what we saw today. We had some outstanding performances. These runners are in a great place in our division, and, if we continue to improve like we have been, we will be able to make a push for the post-season.”