LHS Teams Run in Stillwater

The Liberal cross country teams took part in the oldest consecutive cross country meet in the United States as they competed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Jamboree. The Jamboree hosted schools from Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Nebraska in the high school division.
The LHS girls were in the first high school race of the morning, starting right after the University men’s race. The heat and humidity added to the already tough cross country course known for its turns and hills. The race plan for the Redskins was to smile, be positive, have fun, and compete. Liberal senior Camryn Slatten went out smiling and showed she could run with the lead pack. Slatten covered the 5 kilometer distance in a time of 20:25, which was the 11th best time of the day. Freshman Katie Horyna had a strong second half of the race using the hills to move through the field of runners to place 26th with a time of 21:01. The top 30 in the race medaled as individuals. Senior Saw Ahmara was the 73rd runner across the line in 22:19, while senior teammate Yanelly Jurado’s time of 23:14 placed her 105th. Junior Kelsey Ramsey was the fifth runner for the Redskins with her time of 23:41 placing 121st place. The sixth and seventh runners for the Redskins were freshman Erika Valverde and senior Kayla Gokey. Valverde’s time of 25:15 earned her 159th place while Gokey was 204th with a time of 27:24. Liberal scored 326 points to earn 11th place as a team in a field of over 40 teams. The Woodlands High School out of Houston, Texas was first with 57 points, Bentonville High School from Arkansas was second with 149 points, and third place was Canyon Randall High School from Amarillo with 163 points.
The boys’ team was led by sophomore Antonio Borunda. Borunda completed the course in a time of 18:18 which placed him 71st place. Sophomores Javier Carrillo and Joel Obando were the next Redskins to cross the line doing so in 18:39 and 18:48, which placed them 91st and 99th respectively. Sophomore Xavier Perez crossed the line in 19:10 in 132nd place. The fifth runner for the Redskins was sophomore Alex Molina who was the 180th runner in the race with a time of 19:46. Sophmores Fausto Parral and Josh Diazdeleon placed 186th and 213th after completing the course in 19:51 and 20:16. Freshman Omar Ramirez made his varsity debut finishing in a time of 20:22 in 222nd place. The Redskins finished the race with 535 points putting them in the top half of the field in 17th place. Edmond Memorial High School won the race with 106 points, Bartlesville High School was second with 125, and Allen High School in Allen Texas was third with 135 points.
The Redskins cross country teams will travel to Newton, Kansas Saturday to compete in the Newton Invitational where 14 schools will be competing with several ranked schools throughout 4A, 5A, and 6A.