By IAIN MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School Cross Country proved to a force to be reckoned last week. The teams came away victorious in two separate meets. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams came away with first place honors at the mid-week meet held in Moapa Valley.
Then the boys’ team repeated on Saturday at the Lake Mead Invitational in Boulder City, taking first place in small schools with the girls’ team right behind taking second overall.
The Pirates showing was due to strong individual times by several runners setting personal records and beating the competition.
“Midweek meets like this week’s home meet are a great opportunity to try something new and experiment with racing,” said MVHS Girls’ Coach Heather Humes. “A lot of our runners did well and for some it paid off big time and they found out they are capable of even more than they believed. “
The first race of the meet was led by Pirate runner Emma Humes with a time of 22:00. Close behind her were Pirate runners Faith Witter, McKinley Bledsoe, and Faith Witter, taking 3rd, 4th, and 5th with times of 23:18, 25:04, and 25:14, respectively. Also contributing to the team win were Samantha Thompson (25:43), Kenzie Hughes (25:48), Aleana Hull (26:37), Katrice Hull (28:38), Alyssa Perez (28:47), Jorja Freeman (28:58), Julia Deschan (29:05), Haley Bush (29:25), and Anabelle Lounsbury (30:46).
The boy’s race was won by Pirate runner Preston Humes with a time of 17:53. Not far behind were Marcus Shambaugh and Ethan WItter, taking 3rd and 4th with times of 18:36 and 18:50, respectively. Also contributing for the Pirates were Cyrus Katich (19:11), Max Shambaugh (19:21), Preston Bushman (19:32), Trevor Witter (20:45), Joey Boss (22:05), Ryan McMurray (22:23), Braxton Farley (23:40), Nick Leavitt (25:58), and Iain McMurray (27:49).
The Pirates followed their mid-week wins at the Lake Mead Invitational on Saturday.
“The Lake Mead Invitational is an important one,” Humes explained. “Our runners showed up prepared for the challenging course and it showed in their performances.”
Emma Humes came in first in the Varsity Girls Small Schools race with a time of 20:28. Also medalling were Faith Witter in 11th (23:22), Hannah Watson,13th (23:52), Kenzie Hughes, 18th (24:27), and McKinley Bledsoe, 20th (24:39). Also finishing for the pirates were Signe Jensen (24:47), and Samantha Thompson (25:00).
The Varsity Men’s A – Small Schools race was won by Valley runner Christian Franklin with a time of 16:16. Preston Humes led the Pirate runners across the line, taking 3rd (17:23). Marcus and Max Shambaugh, and Cyrus Katich also medalled, taking 15th (18:48) and 18th (19:02), and 20th (19:04), respectively. Other Pirate finishers were Ethan Witter (19:09), Trevor Witter (21:11), and Jed Stephens (21:36).
The Varsity B Girls race was won by Arbor View runner Megan Roberts, (22:59). Julia Deschan led the Pirates with a time of 26:33, followed by Aleana Hull (26:52), Katrice Hull (28:07), Annabel Lounsbury (29:32), and Haley Bush (29:37).
The Varsity B Boys race was won by Centennial runner Noah Karnafel (18:17). Joey Boss finished first for the Pirates in 21:42. He was followed by Nick Leavitt (23:23), Braxton Farley (24:50), and Iain McMurray (28:13).
The coaches were thrilled with the performance of their teams and the success the runners are seeing as their hard work pays off. “Our runners are, very literally, hitting their stride as they continue to prepare for the upcoming Southern Division Finals,” said MVHS Boys’ Coach Gary Watkins. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. They give their heart and soul and it is great to see them succeed.”
