Cross Country excels in meet

By Melissa McCaghren

Slatonite GM

The Slaton Cross Country teams had a strong start to their year when they competed in the Acuff Cotton Field Trot Wednesday (Sept. 2) in Roosevelt.

Head Coach Landon Sims said the meet was positive for the overall young teams. “The meet went well for both teams. We did not keep score, but if we had, the boys would’ve won. The girls are very young, minus Mary Jo (Parker) and Emily (Herrera), both seniors, we were running several freshmen and sophomores,” he said. “They will be fine, it just takes time adjusting to competing in high school. We also have to keep in mind, these kids haven’t competed in UIL competition since March 11-12.”

Sims added there were no team standings at this meeting, but Parker  and Zach Gonzales each won in their divisions.

“I was very proud of both Zach and Mary Jo. Both individuals had dealt with difficult obstacles during the past week. It was very hot and humid, but both of them were determined going into the meet and it showed Wednesday . It was a great way to start the season for both of them,” he said.

Parker finished in a time of 13:56.78 while Gonzales finished in a time of 11:16.36.

The boys race was a two mile race instead of the standard three mile race they run.

Other finishers for the boys: Elijah Culver, second, 11:17.61; Ishmal Gonzales, third, 12:15.43; Anguel Lopez, ninth, 13:43.99; and Ivan Venzor, 10th, 14:03.66.

Girls finishers were Kathryn Castillo, fifth, 14:51.65; Kira Cogburn, 13th, 16:32.46;, Samantha Gatica, 14th, 16:41.15; Herrera, 15th, 16:42.65; Presley Alford, 19th, 17:23.40; and Libby Brown, 20th, 17:27.48.

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Editor’s note: Slaton was scheduled to race at Lubbock Christian University this week, but due to a recent outbreak of COVID in Slaton High School, the events will not be conducted as the school has shifted to virtual only learning for the next two weeks.

Updates will be made available as they develop on The Slatonite’s Facebook page, Slatonite.