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The Pampa Harvesters faced one of their largest fields of the season Saturday, making an early-morning trip to Lubbock Christian University and putting together another strong showing against competition from across the region.
The Harvesters boarded the bus at 4 a.m. for the trip, with an average of more than 350 runners competing in each division. Only the top 10 finishers received medals, leaving Pampa without hardware on the day, but several Harvesters turned in standout performances and personal records.
Pampa’s top finish came from junior high runner, eighth-grader Tiago Silva, who placed 20th in the junior high boys division.
On the high school side, senior Ryan Resendiz and junior Jesus Montano continued their strong starts to the season. Both runners recorded personal records while finishing back-to-back, with Resendiz taking 26th and Montano finishing 27th.
For the Lady Harvesters, junior Perla Hernandez led the way with a 27th-place finish in the high school girls race.
Despite having a week away from competition, Pampa head coach Otis Chunn said his runners showed no signs of slowing down.
“The week off did not seem to slow them down,” Chunn said. “They got off the bus ready to compete. I was proud of their effort once again. They proved the Harvesters came ready to be competitive.”
The Pampa varsity boys turned in one of the strongest team performances of the day, finishing 13th out of 47 teams despite competing without two runners who were out sick.
Pampa also held its own among its District 4-4A competition in a loaded field. West Plains finished third overall, followed by Dumas in seventh, Hereford in ninth and Pampa in 13th.
“District 4A was well represented,” Chunn said. “For us to finish 13th out of 47 teams with two members out sick says a lot about our group. Pampa served notice that we are ready for the next challenge.”
Resendiz led the Harvester varsity boys in 26th, followed closely by Montano in 27th. Junior Said Saldevera finished 62nd, freshman Dimario Ortega was 132nd, sophomore Max McClendon placed 138th, freshman Clark Campbell finished 180th, and freshman Benson Owens and freshman Jermiah Ojeda each finished 217th.
In the high school girls division, Hernandez paced Pampa with her 27th-place finish. Sophomore Zoe Reynolds finished 75th, while freshman Alexis Valles placed 183rd.
The Pampa junior high boys finished 23rd as a team, led by Silva’s 20th-place performance. Eighth-grader Wade Camden followed in 54th, eighth-grader Grayson Jones finished 132nd, eighth-grader Michael Williams was 134th and seventh-grader Kevin Hernandez placed 242nd.
For the junior high girls, eighth-grader Kaitlyn Resendiz led Pampa with a 64th-place finish. Seventh-grader Karen Hernandez placed 80th, seventh-grader Amiia Cabrales finished 235th and seventh-grader Alexis Logan was 245th.
Pampa will return to action Saturday, Sept. 19, when the Harvesters travel to Dalhart for a 9 a.m. start.
Chunn hopes a healthy roster will allow the Harvesters to continue building on the progress they have shown through the opening weeks of the season.
“Hopefully everyone will be healthy, and we’ll see even more PRs,” Chunn said. “This group continues to compete, and we’re ready for the next challenge.”
