The past squad successful municipality that needed a small luck this play was Sky Pointe’s transverse state team.
But the Eagles got fortunate anyway.
The bully luck came via freshman runner Rayna Lewis, a phenom who showed up for the archetypal time of signifier and has accrued the Eagles’ chances of winning a 4th girls authorities squad rubric successful 5 years.
“She’s a beast,” said Eagles manager Paul Sheppard, who usually has to cultivate inexperienced runners from the crushed up. “She’s awesome. I didn’t adjacent cognize she was coming to Sky Pointe. There were rumors of it, and she was connected the waiting database (to be the school).”
Racing for conscionable the 2nd clip successful her precocious schoolhouse career, Lewis took 2nd spot past period astatine the Red Rock Running Company Invitational, finishing the 5-kilometer contention successful 18 minutes, 50 seconds and placing seconds down teammate Aislin McMahon. McMahon finished 2nd successful authorities past year.
Two weeks earlier, Lewis had placed seventh successful the 3-mile Cool Breeze Invitational successful California with a clip of 17:33 — the 2nd fastest clip by a freshman successful authorities history.
Though Sheppard was surprised, Lewis was not.
As a mediate schooler, she was a six-time Junior Olympian. She won a nationalist title successful the 4x800-meter relay and earned second-team all-American honors astatine the Nike Outdoor Nationals successful the 2,000-meter steeplechase. She was besides the lone middle-school jock to gain this grant successful that event. And she finished her middle-school vocation with an undefeated transverse state season.
What those stats don’t amusement is that Lewis sustained a superior encephalon wounded aft falling disconnected a scooter successful simple school. The betterment progressive aggravated rehab and took months.
“When she archetypal started to locomotion again, her mechanics were disconnected a small bit,” Rayna’s father, Ryan Lewis, said. “But yet she got close backmost connected way wherever she had near off.”
Rayna Lewis was already moving astatine that time, and she was determined to get backmost to her training.
“I really deliberation the acquisition had a affirmative effect connected me,” she said. “It made maine privation to support going.”
Sheppard is thankful for that, arsenic helium present has astatine slightest 2 runners susceptible of winning the 2026 idiosyncratic rubric and a squad that looks unbeatable.
“She’s going to play a immense relation successful regionals and state,” the manager said. “It could beryllium determined by however good she races. She’s going to beryllium a immense piece.”
But helium besides expects his newcomer to person a affirmative power connected her teammates.
“She’s ace hardworking, and volition bash thing you inquire her to do,” Sheppard said. “And the champion happening astir her is her demeanor aft a race. If she races good oregon bad, she’s chromatic acold nary substance what.”
Lewis is mounting large goals for her squad this season.
“I privation america to triumph No. 1 successful state,” she said. “I don’t deliberation thing tin get successful our way.”
Even McMahon sees a prima being born.
“I privation to interruption each the records and triumph (individually) astatine state,” Lewis said. “Even Aislin is encouraging maine to interruption her records.”
Sheppard said he’s excited to spot what happens this play but is besides looking astatine the semipermanent picture.
“I tin spot her moving a sub-17:00 5K,” helium said. “I tin spot her taking everyone down.”
If that happens, McMahon volition unfastened the doorway to adjacent much success.
“In the agelong term, I privation to spell to a Division I college,” she said. “I privation to spell to Oregon. That’s my imagination school.”
She’ll get her adjacent accidental to marque an content connected Saturday arsenic the Eagles volition question to Irvine, California, to vie successful the elite Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. The girls volition tally successful the Sweepstakes Division and the boys volition contention successful the Rated Division.
The girls squad has 5 runners ranked successful the apical 15 successful Nevada, and the boys person 3 of the apical five.
Contact Jeff Wollard astatine jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·