Sports
Lady Wolves take 2nd place in Lubbock
By Bill Kelly | Sports Editor
The Dalhart Lady Wolves have been to the State cross country meet for two straight years, placing second at Regional last year before placing fourth at State and missing third place by a single point. The Lady Wolves showed that they are in a great position to return to State again on Saturday September 7 as they placed second in the Class 3A division at the Lubbock Invitational, which is held on the same course that will host the Regional meet in October.
Dalhart placed second in the 3A division, which included 22 total teams and 143 total runners. The Lady Wolves scored 106 points, beating third place Wall by 21 and district rival Canadian by 23 points.
Three of Dalhart’s runners placed in the top 15, four were in the top 30, and five were in the top 35. The top three Dalhart runners came in back-to-back-to-back, with just a little over six second separating all three of them. Circe Johnson placed 13th with a time of 13 minutes 11.5 seconds, Lyli Flores placed 14th with a time of 13 minutes 16.1 seconds, and Danna Arriaga placed 15th with a time of 13 minutes 17.6 seconds.
Evelyn Quiroz placed 29th with a time of 13 minutes 59.9 seconds, Victoria Terrazas placed 35th with a time of 14 minutes 13.1 seconds, and Bree Pollard placed 67th with a time of 15 minutes 7.9 seconds.
The Dalhart varsity boys had five runners compete in Lubbock, which should be enough for a team, but one of them wasn’t wearing his official competition bib with his number during the race, which meant that his time and place weren’t actually counted. That left just four boys officially finishing the race, which was not enough for a team score. They competed in the 3A division, which included 143 official runners along with Dalhart’s unofficial runner.
Jaron Schriber placed 15th with a time of 18 minutes 2.9 seconds, Anthony Rodriguez placed 32nd with a time of 18 minutes 49.9 seconds, Baiden Beavers placed 67th with a time of 20 minutes 3.4 seconds, and Aiden Buck placed 73rd with a time of 20 minutes 36.9 seconds. Israel Vasquez finished with an approximate unofficial time of 19 minutes 7 seconds, which would have given him 39th or 40th place depending on his exact time (to the hundredth of a second) if he hadn’t inadvertently ran without his racing bib.
Dalhart also had JV runners who competed in Lubbock, although official places and team score were not kept for JV. For the Lady Wolves’ JV, Michelle Pina had a time of 15 minutes 48 seconds, Haylee Arrington had a time of 16 minutes 21 seconds, Vianney Dominguez had a time of 17 minutes 1 seconds, Camila Montero had a time of 17 minutes 47 seconds, Ashlyn Townsend had a time of 18 minutes 55 seconds, Natali Leanos had a time of 19 minutes 11 seconds, and Xochitl Villagomez had a time of 22 minutes 32 seconds.
Dalhart had five boys in the JV division. Cristian Acevedo had a time of 20 minutes 47 seconds,
Tell Atha had a time of 21 minutes 37 seconds, Kash Fernandez had a time of 21 minutes, 54 seconds, Marco Rojero had a time of 24 minutes 41 seconds, and Ronaldo Queveda had a time of 24 minutes 58 seconds.
The Dalhart teams will host their own meet, the Dalhart Invitational, this Saturday, September 14 at Twisted Elms Golf Club. The junior high girls will run at 9 a.m., the junior high boys will run at 9:30 a.m., the JV girls will start at 10 a.m., the JV boys will follow at 10:30 a.m., the varsity girls will run at 11 a.m., and the varsity boys will run in the final race at 11:30 a.m.
Dalhart Federal Savings & Loan Female Athlete of the Week
BY BILL KELLY | Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Federal Savings & Loan Female Athlete of the Week is Circe Johnson. Johnson is a junior on the Dalhart Lady Wolves cross country team, and is also a varsity cheerleader and plays JV volleyball. This is her first time to be named athlete of the week this year, although she has been named multiple times over the past few years.
Johnson has been one of the top two or three runners on the varsity cross country team since she was a freshman, and is almost always either the first, second or third Dalhart runner to cross the finish line in any given race, and while there have been three other runners who have taken turns with her in the top two or three, Johnson has been the most consistent. She was named to the TGCA Class 3A All-State team both her freshman and sophomore years.
It is still early in the season, but Johnson is already running well, which showed on Saturday September 7 at the Lubbock Invitational. Johnson placed 13th in the Class 3A division with a time of 13 minutes 11.5 seconds, helping lead the Lady Wolves to place as the runner-up team on the same course that will host Regional next month. Johnson also showed her athletic ability by cheering during the pep rally and at the Dalhart football game on Friday September 6, the day before the cross country meet. She also played on the Lady Wolves’ JV volleyball team in their game against Dumas on September 3.
The Dalhart Invitational will be held this Saturday, September 14 at Twisted Elms Golf Club, and the varsity girls will run at 11 a.m. Dalhart fans should take the opportunity to see Johnson and her teammates in action, since every other meet is at least an hour away.
Honorable Mention:
Christy Young and Jada Clay: Texline cross country. Young is a freshman and Clay is a sophomore on the Lady Tornados cross country team. They finished back-to-back in the Class 1A division at the Lubbock Invitational and were just 0.2 seconds apart, as Young placed second with a time of 13 minutes 32.8 seconds and Clay placed third with a time of 13 minutes 33 seconds.
Lyli Flores and Danna Arriaga: Dalhart cross country. Flores and Arriaga are both seniors on the Dalhart cross country team. They were close behind teammate Johnson at the Lubbock Invitational, with Flores placing 14th at 13 minutes 16.1 seconds, and Arriaga placing 15th at 13 minutes 17.6 seconds.
Nizhoni Campos: Hartley cross country. Campos is a junior on the Lady Tigers’ cross country team. She placed eighth at the Lubbock Invitational in the Class 1A division with a time of 13 minutes 52.6 seconds.
