SHAPE's Anna Kyle runs her second lap Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 during a cross-country meet at RAF Lakenheath, England. Kyle took first place in the girls meet with a time of 21 minutes, 56 seconds. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
SHAPE's Anna Kyle runs her second lap Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 during a cross-country meet at RAF Lakenheath, England. Kyle took first place in the girls meet with a time of 21 minutes, 56 seconds. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath's Mara Lopes runs her second lap Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 during a cross country meet at RAF Lakenheath, England. Lopes finished second with a time of 22 minutes, 42 seconds. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Lakenheath's Kyle Kerr finishes a cross-country meet at RAF Lakenheath, England, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 against competitors from SHAPE and Menwith Hill. Kerr took first place with a time of 18 minutes, 20 seconds. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Boys run the first lap of a cross-country meet at RAF Lakenheath, England, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. Lakenheath took home the top boys team score over SHAPE and Menwith Hill. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
RAF LAKENHEATH, England – Lakenheath and SHAPE split top honors at a cross country meet Saturday.
The Lancer boys had seven of the first 10 finishers and took first. Kyle Kerr placed first overall with a time of 18 minutes, 20 seconds, beating out the Spartans’ Toby Muxtfelot by 16 seconds.
Despite being a freshman and having no experience at competitive running, Kerr has consistently placed well at weekly meets this season. He came in sixth at Brussels with a time of 18:20 and took first at Bitburg with a run of 18:32.
Kerr, who started running cross country after being urged by friends who knew of his speed, said he enjoys “the adrenaline of crossing that finish line” and probably will continue running as a sophomore though likely at a different school as his family may be moving.
The Spartans took first in the girls’ event, led by Anna Kyle, who placed first overall in 21:56.
Kyle, a junior, placed second at Waterloo, Belgium, with a time of 21:39 and third in Brussels with a 21:54 run.
Kyle hopes to improve on last year’s performance where she placed in the top 20 at the European championships by making the top 10 this year and she hopes to finish a 5-kilometer run in less than 21 minutes.
Inspired by her mother, Kyle started running in middle school. She continued running even during her freshman year in Armenia where only one meet per season was held, Kyle said.
“I think running has a lot to do with the team mostly and the friendships we build … are very important, and they’re long lasting,” Kyle said.
Menwith Hill also competed at the meet despite a small enrollment and scheduling difficulties. The team of only seven varsity boys, and no girls, scored 104 led by Brayden Nungester in 19:31 for ninth place.
The Mustangs narrowly fielded a team this year. Coach Dave Hines said they originally did not have enough boys to form a team and thus were dropped from the official schedule. As a result, the team now has to find zero-cost ways of making it to meets, Hines said.
Menwith is slated to close at the end of this academic year and only has 50 students, according to the most recent enrollment data.
Twitter: @AMathisStripes
