15th Annual Fighting Knights Cross Country Fun Run And Mark Weston Invitational In The Books

By Elijah Aston

Lake Havasu High School’s cross-country teams hosted the 15th Annual Fighting Knights Cross-Country Fun Run on Sept. 26.

The event featured a Half Mile Kids Run for under-12-year-olds, along with a 5K Fun Run for all ages.

All entry fees went to Lake Havasu High School’s Boys and Girls Cross Country program.

After the fun run races, Lake Havasu High School participated in the 2026 Mark Weston Invitational.

Mark Weston was a Lake Havasu High School cross-country runner who passed away in 1983, and this marks 43 years of hosting this meet in his memory.

The Lake Havasu High School Band of Fighting Knights performed during the event under the direction of Kim Schreiber, keeping the energy up for the fun-run participants and the high school cross-country runners.

The podiums of the respective fun runs were as follows:

Half Mile Kids Run

1. Gideon Sands
2. Abraham Escobeda McCurdy
3. Lincoln Donley

 The first place female runner was Kaiya Zampogna.

5K Fun Run

1. Greyson Winiger
2. Samuel Sanchez
3. Christian Rodriguez 

The first-place female runner was Jaime Akers.

The 2026 Mark Weston Invitational ended with the following podiums:

Boys 5K

1. Henry Johnson, Pinecrest
2. Emiliano Martinez, Kofa
3. Hib Sukhenko, Pinecrest 

Girls 5K

1. Vanessa Molles, Kofa
2. Areisy Gallegos, Lake Havasu
3. Sadie Chavez, Parker

Pinecrest Academy Cadence were the champions for the second year in a row in the boys’ race, while Kofa High School were the girls’ race winners. 

The Lake Havasu Fighting Knights took third place in the boys’ race. 

Here are some photos from the races: