Heritage High School did a great job hosting the 2009 Liberty Bell Invitational this past Friday, September 18th. Eighty-six teams from Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska mixed it up in four divisions for some outstanding competition. Pomona faced a few old foes, a few league rivals, and a crew from Wyoming in the Division II race.
In the varsity race, Ian Harkreader led the Panthers with an 8th place finish and a new PR of 16:18. Freshman, Desmin Ramirez had a standout performance finishing 33rd in a time of 16:49. This is easily the best time a freshman has turned in for Pomona in a decade. Ian and Desmin were joined by Adam Sinda (18th), Vaughn Olona (39th), and Avi Kohen (53rd). The team finished in third place behind Loveland and Rampart. It was a closely matched division with 16 points separating the first six teams. Twenty-one teams competed in the division.
The Panther JV team, or Beta Panthers as they have labeled themselves, ran a fantastic race. The Beta's placed four runners in the top ten!
The five scoring runners were: Tom Williams (1st), Michael Rainey (6th), Nathan Want (7th), Dylan Hayes (10th), and Chris Kartchner (20th). Although Chris is a sophomore, this is his first year to run cross country or track and is making his presence felt with his ability and work ethic. Tallying across both varsity and junior varsity, eight Pomona runners finished below the 18 minute mark! Three more runners were within a dime of the mark.
Pomona's girls ran in a pack with four runners finishing consecutively. Ashley Gallegos led the team then Kara Farnes, Kendra Godsey, Kelly Marks, and Hannah Munson all finished directly behind each other.
This week, Pomona will travel to Broomfield Commons Park, on Sheraton Boulevard - just south of 136th Avenue.
Broomfield High will host their Invitational. This is a tough course with mostly grass and dirt running surfaces. It is fairly unique in that only two races are held, Boys and Girls. Each school can field their entire squad in one race. Spectators can view the runners in several locations and cheer their favorites.