The Camp Verde cross-country teams competed well in the Liberty Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Liberty High School in Peoria, despite being the only Division IV team competing at the meet — the other three teams at the meet, Liberty, Sunnyslope and Prescott are all in Division II.
“We are running against them to put forth a challenge to our team,” said Camp Verde cross-country head coach Mike O’Callaghan. “Over the years as we have done this, [and] they are responding better to the competition.”
The Camp Verde girls team was led by senior Amber Yocum who finished 12th overall.
“Amber continues to improve in her competition against higher division schools,” O’Callaghan said.
“She has really learned to use her strength and pacing to be able to run with girls who last year would have finished far in front of her.
“She is building a good racing base in her efforts to qualify for state.”
Shelby Monroe finished in 22nd place, despite battling injuries this season.
“Shelby is running with some minors leg injuries and is working to maintain her condition while training and racing,” O’Callaghan said. “She was looking to run a nice, relaxed and evenly-paced race, which she accomplished.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 25, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
