McCurdy and Peñasco’s girls cross country teams have been battling back and forth the whole season.
The Bobcats have won three meets this season, and beat Peñasco in Moriarty. But at Peñasco’s home meet, Legacy Academy narrowly beat both teams. Those teams will likely continue to battle through the state championship.
“We really do push each other to work harder,” said Peñasco’s Charnelle Gonzales.
At the Sept. 23 Rio Rancho Jamboree, Peñasco took first place in the girls varsity team standings. The Panthers were led by medalists Gonzales, who was second in the race with a time of 21:46, Rochelle Lopez in 13th and Maddisyn Rodriguez in 20th.
“I really like this course,” Gonzales said. “It’s a fun course. I really like that there’s a lot of different parts. It’s not, like, the same thing.”
The shorthanded McCurdy team did not have enough runners to qualify for the team standings due to a volleyball tournament the same day. Had they had a full team, they likely would have had the placements to top the podium.
McCurdy had Aubrey Cordova in third, 17 seconds behind Gonzales. Marisol Serna was in sixth place, and Alicia Garcia was 12th. Cordova mentioned being less of a fan of the course’s variations, and was “just happy that it’s over.”
“You’re used to it, and then it changes,” Serna said.
The Rio Rancho race, with over 100 runners in one race, presents a challenge in seeing so many runners from around different levels of New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona.
“It’s really nerve wracking, but it helps you prep for state, just knowing who you’re going to go against,” Serna said.
Jude Martinez from Peñasco finished in fourth place in the boys varsity race at 18:19.
Mesa Vista Boys Run Strong for Silver
The young Mesa Vista boys team took off on a confidence-inspiring run in Rio Rancho, grabbing a second-place trophy against teams from all over New Mexico.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of time with these guys on the track,” said Mesa Vista coach PJ Martinez. “These guys have all the ingredients for a championship team.”
Freshman Ezequiel Nevarez finished eighth in the boys varsity race with a time of 18:43. Fellow freshman Andres Valdez was close behind in 14th place. Five Trojans placed in the top 52 to help their team score.
“These boys have bought in to that program,” Martinez said. “These kids are showing up. They’re dedicated. They’re putting in their practices four days. And then on the weekends a lot of these guys are doing their own stuff.”
The Trojans have set a goal of winning a state championship, and think they have the ability to get there.
“We just keep grinding it out,” said Martinez. “These guys have their sights set on a state championship. And I think they can do it.”
Española Girls Run with the Best
Española Valley’s Neveah Cachora and Hailey Renteria were the only two local competitors in the championship division. Racing with the best competitors in the state across all levels, Cachora finished 24th with a time of 21:06, and Renteria was 28th at 21:20. Cachora’s time would have won first place in the varsity division, and Renteria would have been just behind.
“I put them in the championship race because I feel that they’re at an elite level right now,” said Española Coach Daniel Velasquez. “I also wanted them to see that they do belong in a race like that, that high-end quality. And they actually responded.”
On the boys side, the Sundevils competed in the varsity race. Elijah Martinez took fifth place at 18:21, and Tyller Lomayma also medaled with a 10th-place finish.
“They got a chance to see Pojoaque and some of those other schools that we’re going to see later in the year,” Velasquez said. “That’ll probably just give us more incentive to train a little harder and put in the extra effort.”
Pojoaque Valley won third place in the boys varsity team competition. Matteo Nagle in 13th place and Matias Tiede in 17th both won medals. For the Pojoaque girls, Elizabeth Towles finished 10th and Marisa Martinez was 19th.
Justin Knight was the top finisher for McCurdy boys in 27th. Dulce’s top boys finisher was Michael Tecube in 36th place, and Alaina Vigil on the girls side finished in 38th. Coronado had Mossy Gutierrez in 85th place.