Sky Pointe boys, girls win 5A cross country region team titles — PHOTOS

Class 5A Southern Nevada high school cross country teams have tried to figure out how to outrun the Sky Pointe boys and girls, the reigning region team champions, all season long.

Any hopes that a brief rain shower Friday morning was going to dampen Sky Pointe’s chances quickly evaporated.

Sky Pointe defended its team titles at the 5A Southern Region meet at the 5-kilometer course at Boulder City’s Veterans Memorial Park in the program’s second year in 5A.

Even after claiming both the boys and girls titles, Sky Pointe coach Paul Sheppard said his team didn’t run to its full potential.

“The result was good, but I’m hoping they can pick it up a little bit next week,” said Sheppard, whose boys were the state runner-up and girls finished third at state last year.

Sky Pointe freshman Rayna Lewis helped the Eagles win the girls team title by winning the individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 37 seconds over teammate Aislin McMahon (18:45.4). The Sky Pointe girls scored 27 points to beat defending state champion Faith Lutheran (52 points) for the team title. Faith Lutheran’s Sophia Weisz was third (19:12.5), 27 seconds behind McMahon.

“Rayna’s killing it,” Sheppard said. “She’s getting faster every single week. I think Aislin held back just a tad (with a big gap to third), but that doesn’t take anything away from a freshman. She’s going to be a beast.”

The Sky Pointe boys had four runners finish in the top 10 — Shane Ramirez (third), Ryan Petty (fifth), Mason Haag (eighth) and Manuel Carranza (10th) — to score 47 points to win the team title over Shadow Ridge (84 points).

“You got to man up,” Sheppard said of the message to his boys before the race as it started raining. “It’s raining for everybody. It’s not just raining for you. We have a really tough squad.”

Centennial senior Calvin Rivera ran away with the boys individual title (15:42.5), winning the race by more than 20 seconds over Arbor View’s Pierson Butler (16:03.1).

“It feels great,” Rivera said. “My coaches put me in a great position to win and I’m just going to do it and do it for my team.

“I did what I was supposed to.”

‘We got to be ready’

A rain shower reached the park before the start of the 5A boys race, but that didn’t deter Rivera from his plan. He stayed with the pack of leaders through the first two miles, then broke away into the lead. It’s the first region title for Rivera, who is also looking for his first state title.

“I’ve been working for this all season. … I plan to do the same thing at state and maybe (go) even faster,” Rivera said. “I don’t go into a race thinking I can lose. I’m going to stay with a open mind and ready to make a big move because it’s my senior year. I just want to go for it.”

Lewis continued the success from her dominant freshman season in her first region tournament. Sheppard said over the last six weeks, the team has packed into Lewis’ dad’s RV to make the 45-minute drive from the school for workout sessions at the Boulder City park.

“I expected (to contend for the win), and it feels really good to have as much support as I do from my team and everyone around me,” Lewis said. “It gives me a lot of confidence because I feel like I know the course really well, so I feel prepared for state.”

The state 5A, 4A 3A and 2A state meets are Saturday, Nov. 7 at Veterans Memorial Park. Sheppard said his team had a tough workout on Wednesday and said he expects the Eagles will look better at state.

“As far as homefield advantage (of knowing the course) goes, we’re good,” Sheppard said. “But those Northern teams are no joke. They’re not messing around up North and they mean business. So we got to be ready for them next week.”

Class 4A

Desert League

The Clark boys and girls began their defense for the 4A state title by winning the Desert League team title Friday at Boulder City.

The Clark boys scored 21 points to win the title over Sierra Vista (70 points). Clark’s Andrew Duncan won the individual title at 16:14.2 over teammate Luke Wilgar (17:05.7).

In the girls race, Clark scored 40 points to beat Sierra Vista (59) for the team title. Clark’s Payton Howse (20:44.8) won the individual title over Amplus Academy’s Fiona Lewis (20:59.5).

Mountain League

Foothill and Cadence both scored 47 points to finish as co-Mountain League boys teams champions. Foothill’s Grant DiNicola (16:58.6) won the individual title over Cadence’s Henry Johnson (17:17.5).

The girls team race wasn’t as close as Foothill scored 17 points to win the girls league team title over Las Vegas High (63 points). Foothill’s Jazmine Raugust (21:07.6) won the individual title over teammate Adalyn Mosley (21:20.1).

Class 3A

Pahrump Valley swept the 3A boys and girls Southern Region team titles. The Trojan boys (40 points) edged Moapa Valley (44) for the title. Moapa Valley’s BJ Robison (17:22.9) won the boys individual title.

The Pahrump Valley girls had 23 points to beat Moapa Valley (44). Coral Academy’s Alexandra Herchik (20:25.7) won the girls individual title.

Class 2A

Lincoln County won the boys and girls 2A Southern Region team titles. The Lincoln County boys scored 12 points to win the title over Founders Academy (29 points). Lincoln County’s Brad Pike (16:48.1) won the individual title.

The Lincoln County girls recorded 13 points to win the title over GV Christian (29). Lincoln County’s Sadie Ivins (21:36.5) won the individual title.

Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.