The Lakeside Running Warriors competed in the Class 2A state championships at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches Monday afternoon.
In the girls competition, there were 160 runners competing. Finishing in the top position for the Running Warriors at 33rd was Christine Bray with a time of 21:53.
Bray, a 12-year-old seventh grader, was the top finishing seventh grader in the entire 2A state meet in only her second 3 mile race. Kerrigan Zachary finished 45th with a time of 22:18. Eighth grader Laney Lindbergh finished 64th, with a time of 23:15.
In the boys championships Logan Bailey led the running Warriors coming in tenth place with a time of 17:08. Bailey, because of his efforts and place in the race,
was placed on the Class 2A all state squad. This is the ninthstraight year the Lakeside boys have been represented on the 2A all state cross country team.
Junior Tyler Davis finished 29th, running a time of 18:18. Sophomore Tim Mansfield finished just two places behind teammate Davis, running 31st, with a time of 18:29.
Jairo Aguinaga had somewhat of an off day, being sick during the race, finished 55th with a time of 19:28. Eighth grader Jairo Aguinaga had the third best finish of any eighth grader in the 2A competition.
Seventh grader Jase Pate closed the team scoring for the Running Warriors coming in 85th with a time of 20:31.
Chelby Hinton, another seventh grader, finished the total scoring for the Warriors, coming in 133rd with a time of 22:40.
There were 169 runners in the AA boys championship race. As a team, Lakeside finished 5th out of 23 full teams represented, scoring 140 points.
Head coach Dan Grantham had this to say about the day’s events:
“We had multiple outstanding performances at the championships. It should be noted
that there are no seniors competing for us. This is a great source of optimism for the upcoming season.
Our female athletes competed exceptionally well for their age, but for our boys to finish 5th, to be as young as they are is one of my most memorable achievements