Local Runners Bring Home National Awards

Eight local runners competed in the Cross Country Youth Championships on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana. The meet consisted of six age divisions ranging from ages 6 to 18. All eight runners ran for the Brocaw Blazers, a youth team out of the Kansas City Area, which had multiple teams in each division. Camryn Slatten ran in the highly competitive 13-14 age division; individually she was only competing against the other 14 year olds. Slatten finished the 4K race in 28 ^th place, with a time of 17:23. Slatten will be a freshman next year, and her time of 17:23 would currently be the 8 ^th best time at LHS since 2008.

The 15-16 age division had four local runners competing. Sammy Obando cracked into the top 25 earning All-American honors. Obando was the 21 ^st runner to cross the line in the race; he was also on the National Championship team for that division. Obed Quintana and Luis Medina were both on the 4 ^th place team. Quintana finished in 29 ^th place while Medina crossed the line in 31 ^st . Emilio Tovilla finished the race in 47 ^th place. Tovilla and Quintana will get to compete in the same age group next year.

Mercy Perez competed in the girls 15-16 age division. Perez completed the 5K course in a time of 20:35, beating her personal record of 22:27 from a year ago at the National meet. Perez’s time was good enough to earn her All-American honors as she was the 13 ^th competitor to cross the line. Perez was also on the National Runner-Up team.

The 17-18 age division consisted of two LHS Runners, Angel Viveros and Marco Espinoza. Espinoza got onto the podium as a member of the third place team, as he crossed the line in 26 ^th place, just missing the podium as an individual by one place. Viveros ran through the 5K course in an impressive time of 16:38, good enough for 7 ^th place and All-American Honors. Viveros also found success on the team side, as his team won the National Championship for their age division.