‘Rabbits’ go wire to wire in region wins

Sunrise Region girls cross country runners got a good look at Karina Haymore at the starting line Thursday.

They spent the rest of the race trying to keep up with the Foothill sophomore.

Haymore exploded off the starting line and led from wire to wire to win the Sunrise Region meet at Sunset Park. Haymore finished the 3.1-mile race in 20 minutes, 10 seconds.

“I love leading the race and staying in the front; it’s a mental thing for me,” Haymore said. “I feel like when I’m in front, I’m in it to win it. It was just great. I finished strong, and I ran my best.”

Within a few strides of the start of the race, Haymore was the rabbit the other runners had to try to catch. She had a four-second lead just 500 meters into the race and never let off the gas.

Liberty’s Skyler Free took second in 20:27.4. Green Valley’s Amy Amezcua was third in 20:39.9.

Haymore, who won last week’s Southwest League meet, also helped the Falcons win their first region title as a team since 2006.

Foothill had 35 points. Green Valley was second with 48, and Coronado took third with 61. The top three teams and top five individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the state meet, Nov. 8 at Sunset Park.

SUNSET GIRLS

Alexis Gourrier has been running on injured shins for most of the second half of the season.

One would never know it from watching the Centennial freshman compete, that is if she had much competition.

Gourrier opened up an early lead, kept widening it and set a course record, winning the Sunset Region meet in 19:10.3.

“I just pushed through the pain,” said Gourrier. “I just don’t think about it when I’m running. I kept my focus.”

Gourrier, though, made it look easy, building a 10-second lead before the two-mile mark and never being seriously threatened.

The closest competition came from teammate Kayla Roberts, who was second in 19:23.9 help the Bulldogs to their fourth straight Sunset title. Palo Verde’s Samantha Reintjes was third in 19:43.9.

Centennial had five of the top 10 finishers in the race and finished with 27 points. Palo Verde, which had four of the top nine runners, settled for second with 43 points. Shadow Ridge took third with 93.

DIVISION I-A SOUTHERN REGION

Del Sol junior Ingrid Zarate had a shadow following her during the entire Division I-A Southern Region race.

If she moved left, Boulder City’s Jessica Embro did the same, only about a stride behind. If Zarate picked up her pace, Embro kept up.

In the final 200 meters, Zarate finally found just enough breathing room to clinch the victory.

Zarate became the first Del Sol girl to win a region cross country meet, finishing first in 20:29.

“I just didn’t let her get in front of me,” Zarate said. “It feels amazing. It feels like I’m doing something right.”

Embro was second in 20:31.3, and her teammate Sierra Selinger was third in 20:53.9. The Eagles won a close team competition, scoring 60 points to Tech’s 67 and Faith Lutheran’s 68.

SUNSET BOYS

Dajour Braxton was awarded the No. 1 racing bib by meet director John Dixon before the Division I Sunset Region meet.

The Centennial senior justified the recognition and proved why he’s the top runner in Southern Nevada.

Braxton led the entire 3.1 miles at Sunset Park to finish in 15 minutes, 44.3 seconds, winning his second consecutive Sunset Region meet.

“I think I pushed it more than my other races,” Braxton said. “It was really hot today, so I was fighting through that. My coaches told me to keep pushing and I did. I wanted to get into the 15:40s today, so a (personal record) is always good.”

Braxton blew out the field from the opening gun shot. His winning time was 35 seconds in front of the Sunset’s second-place finisher and 58 seconds ahead of the top Sunrise runner.

Palo Verde’s Noah Landers was second in 16:19.7, followed by Bishop Gorman’s Jacob Holland (16:52.2).

The Panthers placed seven runners in the top 20 to claim their first region title since 2006, snapping Centennial’s streak of seven consecutive wins.

SUNRISE REGION

Green Valley and Basic’s boys found themselves much closer than expected at the two-mile mark.

But no one was going to deny the Gators their first region title since 2011.

Despite it being close after more than half the race, Green Valley eventually pulled away to finish first with 44 points, topping Basic (67) and Coronado (81).

Junior Austin Rogers led the way for the Gators, leading the pack for more than two miles and finishing in 16:46.2, to win his first individual region title.

Leonardo Rubi was second in 17:01.2. Valley’s Kidus Feleke placed third in 17:05.5.

“It feels amazing (to get the team title), especially because last year we got upset,” Rogers said. “We’ve worked hard this whole year, and it finally paid off. This gives us a lot of confidence (going into state).”

DIVISION I-A SOUTHERN REGION

Faith Lutheran’s Chase Wood and Tech’s Garrett Meyer were bunched together for nearly the entire 3.1-mile race.

The Crusaders’ junior had just a little bit more in the tank, pulling away on the last 100-meter runway.

Wood won with a time of 16:26.1, edging Meyer by 3.1 seconds, en route to his first region title.

“We were neck and neck the entire time,” Wood said. “It just came down to the 100 (meters). A pure guts race. It was who would outkick who.”

Meyer was second in 16:29.2, finishing ahead of Desert Pines’ Abdirahman Mohamed (16:52.5).

Faith Lutheran placed five runners in the top 16 to earn the team title with 47 points. Clark was second with 49.