Last year there were about 24 LHS cross country runners out for the sport. This year, there are about 50 runners in Liberal’s cross country program as Joe Denoyer begins his second season as head coach.
Last year, both teams were 5th in the WAC but were young. The Redskins qualified one boy and one girl for 6A state as Kaleb Zamora made it for his junior season and Sofia Lucena made state as a senior.
Seven runners compete in varsity meets while the top five score for team placement at meets. Denoyer says he expected the varsity lineups to be fluid with lots of competition.
The team held time trials last weekend. The top seven boys are Jr. Easton Martinez, Sr. Kaleb Zamora, Jr. Piero Huaman, Fr. Nehemiah Jaramillo, Jr. Axiel Gomez, Jr. J’Kobe Contreras, and Fr. Gian Almanza. The top girls in the time trials are So. Valeria Ontiveros, Jr. Alondra Gonzalez, Fr. Courtney Carroll, Jr. Kim Arredondo, Fr. Yazy Medina, So. Sophia Mercado, and Sr. Jhovana Cruz. Soccer standout Jr. Lily Guy also figures into the varsity lineup.
The cross country team was featured during Sportsguys Thursday morning.
Schedule
September 5- Meade
September 10- Hesston
September 19- Hugoton
September 26- Lawrence
October 3- Liberal (Hector Rios Memorial)
October 10- Salina
October 15- WAC (Dodge City)
October 24- Regional
October 31- State (Lawrence)
