LVRT race gives local prep runners taste of diverse competition

Text and Photo By Colton Lochhead
Best of Las Vegas

The monotony of racing the same people over and over again, in the same format, can wear on local high school runners.
That is why many of them decide to break the routine, and enter in local running events such as last Saturday’s Come Run with Santa 5k race put on by the Las Vegas Running Team.
“It’s just good racing experience,” said Nick Savatgy, coach of the Bishop Gorman cross country team. “You get out here and you race people that are sometimes more competitive or race different styles than high school teams. So just the general experience of being out racing, you know, diverse styles of people is beneficial.”
Savatgy and a handful of his Bishop Gorman runners joined the 166 participants in Saturday’s race that took place near Findlay Chevrolet off of I-215 and Rainbow Boulevard South. For the prep runners, it was a chance to race each other, their coach and some of the better runners in Las Vegas as well.
“It’s awesome,” Savatgy said. “It’s kind of what we’ve tried to build on the team, is just a little friendly competition, and it’s just real beneficial to help motivate me and them.”
Savatgy will often train with his team in hopes to benefit both him and his runners.
“It’s kind of a lead by example type deal and I hope that it motivates them,” he said.
The prep runners proved that they belonged in the race, with two freshman, twins Jacob and Joshua Holland, finishing inside the top five, and posting times under 18 minutes.
For much of the race, it looked as though Joshua Holland might even beat his coach for just the second time.
“It was cool,” Holland said. “I wanted to beat him but, oh well, he did very good.”
Savatgy had a tight race of his own to deal with. He had trailed Ruud Hadders for much of the race, but closed the gap quickly in the last mile.
“I thought I was sneaking up on him but then he heard me coming and he gave a little push,” Savatgy said. “I just let him go too early in the race so couldn’t quite get him.”
Hadders would end up edging Savatgy out by just three seconds, posting a time of 16:38 to Savatgy’s 16:41. Jason Shuerman finished in third overall for the men with a time of 16:52.
The Holland twins finished in fourth (Joshua with a time of 16:54) and fifth (Jacob with a time of 18:02).
For the women’s race, Michelle Bokamper won the overall, posting a time of 20:13. Taylor Stueve (20:29), who was another Bishop Gorman runner, and Katie Belk (21:26) round out the top three.
The next LVRT run will be the 7th Annual New Years Day Run with Doug Clark & Friends on New Year’s Day at 7 a.m. at the Mandalay Bay.
For more information, visit the LVRT website.