On Friday, the Harrison Panther Cross Country Team hosted its annual Panther Invitational. Nineteen teams attended the meet at El Pomar Youth Sports Complex. Athletes raced on the 3.1 mile course that started on the soccer fields at El Pomar and had three loops through the woods and on trails.
To win a cross country race as a team, a team must receive the lowest possible points (the top five runners’ places are added together to determine the team total with the sixth and seventh runners displacing other teams’ runners). While Thomas McClarren and Elizabeth took the team titles in the boys’ and girls’ races, respectively, Harrison High School had some standout performances.
Harrison runner Jake Coleson (12) finished fourth overall with a time of 18:38, averaging 5:55 miles throughout the race. Hayden Smith (12) and Jessee Ramos (11) ran an all-team personal best and Avery Hatley (12) led the athletes in the girls’ race. Freshman Marshawn McLean and Junior Naveen Pudi had impressive season debuts.
The Panther Cross Country team’s next race is on Thursday, September 21 at the Cougar Classic Invitational at North Monument Valley Park.
