After failing to reach the Class 4A cross country state meet as a team, the Pojoaque Valley boys made a point to get there this season.
“We’ve been talking about it all summer during workouts,” Elks coach Gloria Martinez said. “They were pretty disappointed last year that we didn’t make it to state. That’s been there since the end of the season last year. That’s been their carrot. It didn’t leave a good taste.”
Junior Isequel Villegas was the only Pojoaque runner to qualify for state and he finished 48th in a time of 18-minutes, 0.6-seconds.
He heads the team that includes five other juniors who have been a unit since their eighth-grade year.
“That junior class is tough,” Martinez said. “And they’ve been this way since they were in the eighth grade. They just have stuck together. I see really good things from them.”
It surely helps that they all took summer training seriously, she said.
“They didn’t feel good about last season,” Martinez said. “They can do it, they have the potential. They need to buckle down and put in the work. This is the summer when I’ve seen most of the kids show up. I think they really want it this year to make that appearance, at state. I know they have that potential.”
With 6 a.m. workouts, it took a commitment, she said.
“The bulk of the boys showed up every morning for practice,” Martinez said.
In addition to Villegas, fellow juniors Daniel Herrera, Andres Martinez, Joshua Sanchez and Matthew Velarde are looking to make an impact, she said.
“Isequel is our top runner, but all of my boys, my juniors are tough so that can switch at any time,” Gloria Martinez said. “But he’s so competitive, I don’t know if he would ever allow that.”
And senior Thomas DeVargas is the glue runner.
“He’s not super fast but he’s an amazing leader,” she said. “He keeps them busy working hard, pushing them every day.”
There also are some youngsters who are making workouts competitive, as well as junior newcomer Jaylon Romero, who is out for the team for the first time and is showing out well.
Things are not quite so rosy on the girls side, where freshman Mikaylah George is the only high school runner. There are four eighth graders whose transfer eligibilities are still being checked so the team could grow in a hurry.
For now, however, George is running with the boys and doing her best to keep up.
“That’s great for her,” Gloria Martinez said. “Individually, she would definitely have a chance to qualify for state. She’s a competitor. She has that spirit. You can tell. After she runs with the boys, she wants to know how far behind she was. She has that edge. Once she gets a taste of racing, she’s going to be up there. She’s a great kid to have on your team.”