MVHS Cross Country Hosts Pirate Invitational

By IAIN MCMURRAY

The Progress

Moapa Valley High School played host to the Pirate Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Clark County Fairgrounds. The meet brought runners from 18 different schools throughout the region to compete in the 5K race.

Moapa Valley teams performed well on their home turf. The Pirates placed first both in the Varsity A Boys race and the Varsity B Boys. Virgin Valley placed seventh and fourth, respectively. Neither school, however, fielded a full girls team.

The course consisted of a large loop around the fairgrounds and baseball fields and a smaller loop, each with a few uphills and downhills to challenge runners. However, an unexpected downpour from a thurderstorm that morning made the course muddy and wet in places. But the race went on as planned.

In the Varsity Boys race, Danyam Yosief from Sierra Vista placed first with a time of 16:39.
Cyrus Katich came in first for the Pirate team at 17:29, in third place for the race. Marcus Shambaugh (17:43) took fifth place. Other runners included Ethan Witter (18:10), Trevor Witter (18:23), Joseph Boss (18:57), William Anderson (19:30), and Jed Stephens (19:39).

Owen Rappley reached the finish line first for the Virgin Valley team with a time of 18:30 and in 14th place of the race. Other Bulldog runners included Dylan Barnum (19:44), Isaac Grieg (19:51), Micheal Anderson (24:34), and Drew Maxfield (25:21).

The Varsity Girls race was won by Desert Oasis runner Noemie Guechida with a time of 19:49. She was followed by Moapa Valley senior Emma Humes who took second and ran the race in 20:04. Other Pirate runners included Sasha Barnes (23:31), Kenzie Hughes (23:44) and Beverley Potts (27:07).

Kelly Denninhoff led the Virgin Valley girls with a time of 22:19.4. She edged out Pahranagat Valley opponent Jersey Tsosie (22:18.7) in an exciting sprint to the finish over the last 25 yards of the race to take 7th place.

Bulldog runner Jenna Walters was close behind in ninth place with a time of 22:40.7.
The third VVHS runner was Avery Somerville who finished the race with a time of 26:59.

The winning team in this race was Desert Oasis with a total score of 29, beating second place Somerset Academy Sky Pointe with 45 points.

The Varsity B Boys race truly was a time to shine for the Moapa team. The Pirate team swept the race with a rare perfect team score of 15. Pirate runners placed in all of the top six positions of the race.
MVHS runner Joseph Barnes took first in the race with a time of 19:46.7. He was followed by Gavin Hendricks (21:11.5). Russell Hardy (21:16.8) came in third, Cash Keller (21:42) in fourth, Noah Christensen (21:53) in fifth, Nicholas Leavitt (21:56.9) in sixth.

Grant Muhlestein took 8th in the race with a time of 22:08.8. Logan Harris (22:16) took ninth and Isaac Thompson (22:16.4) placed tenth. Other Pirate runners included Braxton Farley (22:31), Stockton Humes (23:40), Christopher Houston (25:51), and Iain McMurray (26:58).

Bulldog competitors in the race included Bryant Denninghoff (26:43), Max Hughes (26:53), Jesus Sandoval (29:21), Joshua Matthews (30:38), Travis Terry (33:56), and Oliver West (45:19).