More than 300 students from around the district and the Española Valley came to Española Valley High School on Wednesday for the elementary school cross-country meet.
The runners ran a one-mile course from the school’s football fields around the baseball and softball fields and the hilly sandy area behind. Essentially the same course is used for the high school, with three laps in a 5-kilometer run.
“The weather was fantastic,” said Española Athletic Director Matthew Abeyta. “I thought it went great. Really excited about the future, with the performances we saw today.”
Española Valley also hosted the meet the past two years for elementary schools.
“They enjoy it, they really enjoy it,” said Matthew Coriz, who teaches physical education at both San Juan and Chimayo elementaries, and coached both teams. “They look forward to this, and to the track meet. They really enjoy this experience.”
Coriz said the teams practice during P.E. time, and some participate in after-school cross country, which at San Juan has 30-40 students.
For the fifth-grade boys, Chimayo elementary finished first, San Juan second, and Tony E. Quintana third. Anthony Maestas from Chimayo won the race. In fifth-grade girls, James H. Rodriguez was first place, Dixon second, and TEQ third. Lhotse from Dixon won first place. San Juan was the winner in the sixth-grade boys race, with JHR second and TEQ third. San Juan’s Adrian Trujillo won the race. And Zoey Garcia from JHR led her team to victory in sixth-grade girls, with Eutimio T. Salazar elementary second and San Juan third.
“It just shows the community that we have a lot to offer for our youth,” Abeyta said. “And having it here at the high school gives us a chance to showcase our facility. It’s just a tremendous opportunity to reach out to the youth, and hopefully instill some excitement for cross country.”
Española Valley’s cross-country team helped set up the event, and were the “rabbits” charting the course for each race in front of the leader. And the group of high schoolers seemed to grow for each race as they enjoyed setting the pace.
“It was a collective effort between a lot of the volunteers,” said Daniel Velasquez, the high school’s cross country coach who helped organize the event. “Parents, kids, the volleyball team, as well as the sophomore class who ran the concession stand.”
Velasquez said he is excited about the event staying every year and encouraging distance running in local youth.
“We’re just trying to encourage these kids to come out, so we can build our program later on in the years,” Velasquez said. “But everything went great. It was a success, and I look forward to it in the future.”