Published Oct 16, 2008
Pojoaque High School junior Sophia Torres may be the defending Class AAA state girls cross country champion, but St. Michaels sophomore Kate Norskog is making a strong case to regain the title, which she won as an eighth grader in 2006.
Norskog struggled with injuries last season, finishing fourth at last year’s state meet.
At the Jaguar Invitational Oct. 11 in Santa Fe, Norskog set a course record and finished first with a time of 19:05. Leaving competitors from much larger schools behind, Norskog was almost a minute ahead of the second-place runner.
That runner was Torres and although she was far behind her District 2AAA rival, she may just be biding her time.
“She’s very patient and has been stepping up her training, pushing herself,” Pojoaque coach Alan Lockridge said. “She’s not going to be satisfied until she can close in on Kate.”
Lockridge needs Torres to set an example for his girls team. Pojoaque was unable to field a full varsity team at the Jaguar Invitational. Freshman Ariel Castañeda, normally the second runner to cross the line for the Elkettes, has a torn meniscus in her knee and is likely lost for the season. Another freshman, Jerica Catanach, is nursing a sore hip. Junior Jesenia Valera didn’t show up this week and has not contacted the team, Lockridge said.
Despite the troubles on his girls team, the boys are coming on strong for Pojoaque. They finished sixth with 168 points in the team standings. More importantly, they were ahead of District 2AAA rival Santa Fe Indian School and second behind St. Michaels among Class AAA schools at the meet.
Junior James Viarreal paced the Pojoaque boys, finishing 16th.
Likewise, Española Valley High School coach Lawrence Naranjo was pleased with his boys team. The Sundevils finished ninth in the team standings, but were second among the Class AAAA teams behind overall winner Los Alamos. Derrick Martinez paced Española, coming in 29th with a time of 18:13.
The Española girls team was eighth overall with Gabriella Fresquez in 29th place.