Tigers girls XC takes first at Apple Ridge
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 23—EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers had a successful day at the Apple Ridge Run Invite Saturday as the boys took third overall, while the girls took first out of 20 schools that competed. Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts said he was very proud of the way his athletes performed in the early season meet.
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"Our girls showed up and competed," said Roberts. "They didn't back down from the competition and proved they are going to be a team to watch this year. Winning this meet was a big step for the program."
The Apple Ridge meet had a unique scoring format with three different race courses with two athletes scoring on each course, Roberts said. This gives a total of six scoring athletes rather than the traditional five.
Each course also had a different racing aspect to it with course one, "The Figure 8" being flat and fast, course two, "The Race Course" being the district course two laps with one solid hill each time and course three, "The Orchard Loop", being the most difficult course with a long grueling hill after mile two.
In the Figure 8 course, the Tigers girls were lead by senior Abigail chamberlain who took first place with a time of 18:59 with senior Hannah Malone taking ninth with a time of 21:15. The boys were led by sophomore Caleb Schooler who took seventh with a time of 16:49 followed by junior Mitchell Johnson who took 11th with a time of 17:33.
"It was rewarding to watch Abigail compete in a cross-country race again," said Roberts. "After a tough junior year, Abigail never gave up on herself and continued to work hard and be committed to the team. Incredibly proud of this effort and so excited for what this season has in store for her moving forward."
The Race Course was led on the girls side by Ephrata junior Savannah Harper who took first with a time of 19:35 followed by freshman Zoie Grubb (21:06).
"Savannah ran with confidence and crushed her course," said the Tigers coach. "Despite great competition, she remained strong mentally throughout the race. The victory was her first ever individual win, which is not an easy thing to do in any cross-country race, let alone a large invitational field."
The Tigers boys also had a strong showing in the Race Course as junior Caleb Fitts took second (15:52) and freshman Steve Molitor took 16th (17:30). This gave the Tigers a first place finish overall in the Race Course with a team score of 79.
"Caleb continues to be our leader," said Roberts. "His time of 15:52 was a new personal best and placed him second in the biggest race of the day."
Finally in the Orchard Loop, Ephrata junior Rebecca Wiser took third (21:07) for the girls, followed by sophomore Annabelle Adams in 15th (24:30). Tigers sophomore Louden Leenhouts took 12th among the boys with senior Grant Adams taking 17th (19:06).
With the combined scores from each event, the Tigers girls finished with 34 points to edge out Hanford by three points to claim first overall. The boys tied with Hanford at 64 points to take third.
As the Tigers prepare for their upcoming meets against Selah and at the Bob Firman Invite, the Tigers coach said he is excited to see how the athletes will continue to perform.
"Selah always provides great competition, excited for the challenge," said Roberts. "The Bob Firman Invite will provide a state like atmosphere that will help our athletes later in the season."
The Othello Huskies girls team took 10th overall with a score of 193 and the boys took 10th with a score of 240.
In the Figure 8, freshman Bradley Miranda Lopez finished with a time of 19:36 and sophomore Naomi Sanchez finished with a time of 28:59. For the Race Course, junior Betsy Policarpio took eight with a time of 21:46 and senior Carlos De la Cruz took eighth with a time of 16:46.
The Quincy Jackrabbits girls took 19th as a team with a score of 293 and the boys took 14th with a score of 424.
Jacks senior Jonaz Rodriguez took fifth in the Race Course with a time of 16:33 and junior Aliah Corona finished with a time of 26:11.
The Tigers and Huskies will compete against Selah at the Othello Golf Course Thursday at 4:45 p.m. The Jacks will head to Grandview High School Thursday to compete at 4:45 p.m.
Ephrata heads on the road to compete in the Nike Bob Firman Invitational this weekend with competition starting at 8:45 a.m. Saturday.