I was excited to wear my uniform and cheer at my first cross country meet on Saturday. It was exciting because it was the first sports activity for LHS in over a year. It was the Lompoc Braves against the Santa Ynez Pirates. The top finishers for the Lompoc boys team were Andres Lerena and Paul Lawver. The top finishers for the Lompoc girls team were Mallory Branum, Lauren Jansen, and Hannah Brooks!

There were a total of 41 runners. The Santa Ynez boys and Lompoc girls won their team races. This was very elevating since it was their first win in over a year, due to COVID-19. There will be another cross country meet on the 14th of March against Cabrillo! Having the chance to interview a former cross country runner at Lompoc High School, Nick Reyna,I found he has been doing cross country for four years! Nick says ¨For the people that want to join cross country, I encourage them to do it. It is a fun sport that has a lot of bonding opportunities and we go to many cool places. It will be tough in the beginning, but you soon start to like it the more you keep on going.”

The Lompoc Braves raced the Cabrillo Conquistadors on Saturday, March 13th! The Lompoc boys varsity won the final race, first place going to Andres Lerena. This race was very exciting, going against our cross-town rivals. It was also the last meet (of 3) of the season! Unfortunately, the season was cut short due to COVID-19, but our team certainly made the most of it! It was also cross country’s “Senior Night” (technically it was morning) and they recognized all of the seniors from both Lompoc and Cabrillo! This memorable meet brought the short season to a close with triumph in the hearts of our Braves!