Lady 'Cats win McClain Invitational
By
The Highland County Press-
GREENFIELD — On Saturday at Mitchell Park in Greenfield, the Lady Wildcats of Whiteoak took home first place out of 10 participating schools in the McClain Invitational.
WHS finished with a score of 34 to outdistance the second-place Westfall Mustangs by 14 points.
The highest finisher from Highland County was Lynchburg-Clay junior Laney Lewis in second place at 22:24. McClain's Sarah Davis was sixth at 23:25.
Leading the way for Whiteoak was LeAnna Lomske. Lomske took third overall in the race with a time of 22:36. Clarissa Johnson and twin sister Jennah Lomske followed her up with ninth and 10th place finishes at 23:56 and 24:03, respectively.
The surprise from Whiteoak came from their No. 4 and No. 5 runners.
Freshman Courtney Cummings ran her personal best time of 25:09 to earn her first varsity cross-country medal with a 15th place finish. Not to be outdone, Morgan Lehr also attained her personal best time to finish 20th at 26:04. Freshman Olivia Lomske rounded out the Wildcat runners with a 26th-place finish and a time of 30:51.
Coach Doug Hughes was elated with the whole team's performance.
"This is my eighth season of coaching cross-country, and this is the biggest invitational we have won during that time," Hughes said. "Of the 10 schools with runners in the race, we are the second smallest school in number of girls in 9th-12th grade.
"To be able to beat the schools our size and some of the bigger schools says a lot for how hard these girls have worked to improve. Our top three runners have been up around the front most of the year, but to have Courtney and Morgan step up like they did is what put us over the top. Every place counts, and if they don't run their best times ever, we don't take home the top trophy."
Also running in the event from Highland County were Fairfield's Brenna Simmons (25:32) and Haley Bobb.[[In-content Ad]]
WHS finished with a score of 34 to outdistance the second-place Westfall Mustangs by 14 points.
The highest finisher from Highland County was Lynchburg-Clay junior Laney Lewis in second place at 22:24. McClain's Sarah Davis was sixth at 23:25.
Leading the way for Whiteoak was LeAnna Lomske. Lomske took third overall in the race with a time of 22:36. Clarissa Johnson and twin sister Jennah Lomske followed her up with ninth and 10th place finishes at 23:56 and 24:03, respectively.
The surprise from Whiteoak came from their No. 4 and No. 5 runners.
Freshman Courtney Cummings ran her personal best time of 25:09 to earn her first varsity cross-country medal with a 15th place finish. Not to be outdone, Morgan Lehr also attained her personal best time to finish 20th at 26:04. Freshman Olivia Lomske rounded out the Wildcat runners with a 26th-place finish and a time of 30:51.
Coach Doug Hughes was elated with the whole team's performance.
"This is my eighth season of coaching cross-country, and this is the biggest invitational we have won during that time," Hughes said. "Of the 10 schools with runners in the race, we are the second smallest school in number of girls in 9th-12th grade.
"To be able to beat the schools our size and some of the bigger schools says a lot for how hard these girls have worked to improve. Our top three runners have been up around the front most of the year, but to have Courtney and Morgan step up like they did is what put us over the top. Every place counts, and if they don't run their best times ever, we don't take home the top trophy."
Also running in the event from Highland County were Fairfield's Brenna Simmons (25:32) and Haley Bobb.[[In-content Ad]]