Sky Pointe girls win 5A cross county title; Clark sweeps 4A crowns

Sky Pointe's girls won the program's first 5A state cross country championship Saturday, scoring 37 points to finish 42 points ahead of runner-up Faith Lutheran at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City. Senior Aislin McMahon claimed the individual title in 18 minutes, 45 seconds, becoming the Eagles' first 5A individual champion. Freshman Rayna Lewis placed second, seven seconds behind her teammate, and said she finished with no regrets. "It was really important just to make sure I helped my team," Lewis said, crediting McMahon as a mentor. Coach Paul Sheppard praised the team's focus, saying every athlete wanted the title more than anything.

Clark completed a sweep of the 4A team titles, with the girls winning their second consecutive championship and the boys also repeating. Caylee Hernandez won the girls' individual race in 20:10, while teammate Payton Howse finished third in 20:56 as the Chargers totaled 31 points. On the boys' side, Andrew Duncan (16:01) and Erasmus Gladden (16:35) went 1-2 to lead Clark to the team crown. Coach Chuck Bennion emphasized the program's daily approach: "You just have to embrace monotony. Day by day, there are no results, but the miles are king, and they put in the miles."

In the 5A boys' race, Sky Pointe finished second for the second straight year with 67 points, 14 behind defending champion Galena. Sheppard expressed satisfaction with the result, saying he did not think anyone could beat Galena without a miracle. Centennial's Calvin Rivera placed fourth in 16:13 as the top Southern Nevada finisher, while Sky Pointe's Shane Ramirez took fifth, one second back.

Truckee dominated the 3A girls' race with 20 points, while North Tahoe's Lucia Avril won the individual title in 18:33. The 3A boys' race was also controlled by Northern schools, with Tahoe scoring 33 points and Truckee's Connor Bilodeau winning in 15:50. Lincoln County and Incline tied for the 2A girls' team title, while Lincoln County won the 2A boys' championship.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal