The area’s top local cross country boys runner will be on the sidelines when the gun sounds Saturday for the state cross country meet at Albuquerque, after suffering a broken clavicle in a recent accident.
Mesa Vista junior Ezequiel Nevarez went flying over the handlebars of his ATV while trying to avoid a vehicle coming around a blind curve on a dirt road, Trojans coach Ben Sandoval said.
“When he was apologizing to me, I told him, ‘I’m glad you’re alive,’” the coach said.
Still, the Trojans qualified for the state meet by finishing third at the 5-1A/2A meet at Ventana Park in Albuquerque.
“I thought overall, it was a pretty good performance,” Sandoval said.
Jonathan Martinez and Andres Valdez finished fifth and sixth to earn All-District in times of 16 minutes, 5.55 seconds and 16:12.04, powering Mesa Vista to 77 points.
Both of them far surpassed expectations, Sandoval said.
“I expected them to be in the 16s but I didn’t expect them to be that low,” he said.
The next three Trojans: Noah Ortiz, Dominic Lopez and Santiago Martinez also finished as a pack in 21st, 22nd and 23rd in times of 18:13.35, 18:19.65 and 18:21.78.
“My expectations are, we’ve told them they’re running for seniors Santiago Martinez and Sunny Lucero, who are running their last race,” Sandoval said. “And they’ve got extra motivation in running for Zeke. So the motivation is to finish the season strong and have momentum going forward. Hopefully we can finish in the top four, maybe eke out a third place finish if we all have the race of our lives. It’s tough without Zeke, but I think all of them are capable of running that. I think we’re peaking at the right time, so three at best, five at worst.”
In 2-4A, both Española Valley and Pojoaque Valley were oh-so-close to qualifying as a team, but ultimately, both fell short as the Sundevils were fourth with 109 points, just eight points shy of third place Moriarty, which got the last qualifying slot. The Elks were one point behind Española in fifth.
“We were trying to get the whole boys team in and we were knocking on the door,” Sundevils coach Loren Martinez said.
Top runner Elijah Martinez, who was 11th in 18:16.76, came into the meet at less than 100% as he had been ill in the week leading up the district meet. Ordinarily, he would have been among the leaders.
“He’s one of the best in the district and he can hang with Los Alamos’s best on his best days,” Loren Martinez said. “He made state each year as an individual He’s a very crafty runner, knows how to pick his spots. He should be back closer to his form on Saturday. I’m expecting, if he was fully healthy, I’m thinking close to the top 10. He’ll be near the front of the pack for sure.”
Sundevils eighth-grader Damian Whittaker also qualified individually by out-sprinting other contenders to grab the last open spot, finishing 22nd in 19:23.71. He was just moved up to varsity two weeks ago after the middle school season ended.
“I wouldn’t say it was a big surprise,” Loren Martinez said. “He finished up the last mile in a pack of other contending runners who were not on qualifying teams and he showed some true grit there at the end.”
Pojoaque’s Pete Archuleta, who was 20th in 19:10.07, also qualified as an individual, while Joshua Sanchez was 23rd in 19:25.25 and Matthew Romero 25th in 19:39.96 were just out.
Dulce finished third in the 1-1A/2A meet at Ramah with 85 points and was led by Kash Trosper, who was 14th in 21:33.51, to lead a trio of Hawks, with Markol Vicenti 15th in 21:45.84 and Ian Gomez 16th in 21:46.41.
“I was expecting to come in second place, but I forgot about Pine Hill, who came out of nowhere and beat us by three points,” coach Lewis Martinez said. “It was a close race throughout the whole meet. They weren’t too far apart. I emphasized throughout the whole season that we have to run as a pack in order to compete. We were in striking distance, but in the 16-21 spots, they were a little bit stronger.”
The goal now is to improve times in a final push, he said.
“I want them to be in the top 10,” Lewis Martinez said. “I know they can do it. They just have to have faith in themselves, get a little bit faster than they do in regular meets. They need to get out in the same pace and push themselves.”
With 139 points, McCurdy finished two points behind Mora for the sixth and final qualifying spot in 5-1A/2A, but the top three Bobcats runners qualified for state, with Nicholas Martinez 14th in 17:28.60, Isaac Corona 20th in 18:11.74 and Ethan Bolton 33rd in 19:00.68.
Coronado’s Eli Martinez also qualified for state in 18:55.49 for 31st while teammates Malachi Valdez and Lonisio Ethan Vialpando were 39th and 46th in 19:37.12 and 20:24.34.