Nothing builds confidence like victory and the Española Valley Sundevils boys cross country team tasted it Sept. 12 in Taos.
The Sundevils placed first in the seven-team field, scoring an impressive 20 points to beat second-place Santa Fe Prep by 30 points. Española’s District 2AAAA rival, Taos, finished third with 78 points.
“Working hard these last two weeks has brought them up to another level,” Española coach Lawrence Naranjo said. “It was a good meet and will help build their confidence.”
Leading the way for the Sundevils was senior Derrick Martinez, who took first place with a time of 18:39 on the three-mile course. He easily outdistanced teammate Luis Alvarado, who finished with a time of 19:30 in second place.
“He finally won his first race,” Naranjo said. “I hope this gives him the confidence to get out there and run.”
Adam Martinez took third for Española in 19:42, and Jeremy Trujillo was fifth in 19:56, giving the Sundevils four runners among the top five finishers. Stevan Trujillo finished ninth for the Sundevils to complete their scoring. Rudy Salazar III was 11th and freshman Darren Martinez was 13th for Española.
The Sundevils are hoping to surprise Los Alamos, the perennial District 2AAAA champion, Oct. 31 at the District 2AAAA meet in Bernalillo. Los Alamos has won the district championship every year since 2000, when the district was first formed. Los Alamos has possibly the best runner in the state in senior Kyle Pittman, but Española hopes that by packing runners in behind Pittman they can pull off an upset.
“It’s possible,” Naranjo said.
The Española girls team had a good meet in Taos, too, finishing second with 45 points to Santa Fe Prep. Prep scored 35 points for the victory.
Junior Gabriella Fresquez was Española’s top finisher, coming in fourth. Marquita Talache and Jackie Avitia, a pair of precocious eighth graders, came in seventh and ninth, respectively. Sophomore Maria Serna was 12th and Erika Sanchez 13th for the Sundevils.
The girls junior varsity took first place, scoring 35 points to Las Vegas Robertson’s 59 points in second. Twins Arianna and Tamara Espinoza paced the junior varsity, coming in fourth and fifth, respectively. The Sundevils boys junior varsity did not have enough runners to score as a team, running just three of the necessary five runners. Ariel Flores had the Sundevils’ best finish, coming in fourth.