Liberty Christian’s Cross Country team began the season with a strong showing at the Marcus I Invitational at North Lakes Park in Denton.
The boys raced a 5K in the 6A/5A varsity division and had a great showing, finishing 20th out of 38 in its large school division, just behind Frisco High and ahead of Guyer, Mesquite High, Aledo, and district rival Nolan Catholic.
Jackson Fountain, with a time of 16:31, ran 10 seconds faster than the school record held by alumnus Dereck Woodcock. Other individual finishers include Caleb Allison with a time of 17:16, Cole Porter at 18:09, Taylor McCarley at 18:49, and Ben Lamont 19:09.
The girls squad ran in the 5K (3.1 mile) 6A JV race to begin the season. They finished at an impressive fifth place overall in front of several area high schools including Keller, Flower Mound, Guyer, and Lewisville.
Elizabeth Reneau finished in first place by more than 60 seconds with a time of 19:29. She also achieved Elite Silver status on the network website MileSplit by running under 19:45.Second across the line for LCS was MacKenzie Gallagher at 21:46, followed by Erin Mahoney at 23:15, Miranda Glasser at 23:28, Brit Seago at 23:35, McKenzie Manning at 23:51, Madeleine McMillan at 23:58, and Payton Elsey at 25:46.
Other LCS runners ran in the 6A JV boys competition and also had a solid showing at the event on Aug. 30. Freshman Rugby Scruggs got off to good start finishing in at 20:19. Next for LCS was senior Hudson Engel, who is back running cross country after missing the 2013 season, and he crossed the line at 21:49. Newcomer sophomore Turner Becker finished his first high school 5K at 22:06. Rounding out the squad was returning letterman Todd Deetjen in at 22:23.
In previous news, the cross country team also ran in the 30th Annual Greenhill/Luke’s Locker 6-Mile Relay on Aug. 23 in Dallas. The season-opening relay featured eight different races in four categories with a pair of hay bale obstacles along the course.
“This meet provided a great opportunity for us coaches to check fitness levels, and this year did not disappointment us,” said Cross Country Coach Kirk Porter. “Overall, our individual times and team placing were good to excellent.”
The boys finished third overall and was just eight seconds off of their best time in school history. The girls came in 10th overall and posted solid times.
To continue building their speed and run for a good cause, students also competed in Denton’s Race for Hope 5K last Saturday.
Vivian Nichols handles communications for Liberty Christian School.
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