Small-School Cross Country
Several local teams competed in Peñasco at the District 5-1/2A cross country championships on Nov. 4.
Oak Grove won both the boys and girls team race.
On the girls side, McCurdy finished in third place while without top runner Aubrey Cordova, who was on crutches during the day. Marisol Serna placed fifth, and Isabella Archuleta was sixth. Peñasco’s team finished fifth while without Rochelle Lopez. Charnelle Gonzales placed fourth in the race at 21:06.
Mesa Vista’s boys finished second in the race. Ezequiel Nevarez placed fourth at 17:43.
Peñasco was led by Jude Martinez at 17:30 in second place, while their third-place team finish qualifies them for state. From Coronado, Mossi Gutierrez who placed 25th qualified for state as an individual.
Dulce competed at the District 1-1/2A championships at Navajo Pine. The Hawks finished fourth on the boys side and third for the girls. Both teams will run at state.
Escalante Clinches District Title
Lady Lobo volleyball (15-7, 9-0 in district) guaranteed a spot at the state tournament on Monday night with a five-set win over Mora (5-14, 2-7).
That, combined with a four-set win by Questa (13-6, 6-3) over McCurdy (13-6, 7-2) put Escalante two games up with one match left.
The Lobos won big in the first and third sets, 25-9 and 25-11, but Mora answered both times, forcing Escalante to grind out a fifth set and win 15-12.
The Lobos and McCurdy Bobcats meet on Wednesday night at McCurdy.
Eagles Start Their Season
Miranda Salazar hit a layup with three seconds left to give Northern New Mexico College a 55-54 win in their season opener against Benedictine Mesa.
Salazar led the Lady Eagles with 12 points, and Lila Ashida contributed 10 off the bench.
The men’s team played at a tournament in Oklahoma City. The Eagles won one and lost one.
Northern lost 78-67 to Florida College, a conference favorite, though they had th e game tied with 14 minutes left. Then, they defeated Oklahoma City University, a different NAIA team, 72-66. Northern led by 14 in the second half, then were tied with a minute left. Emmanuel Taban’s free throw put Northern ahead, and Eloy Medina hit a clutch 3-pointer to seal the win.
Joziah Ramos led the Eagles with 39 points over the weekend, including 25 in the second game. Malek Malual led the Eagles in rebounds in both games. And they showed off their depth with 15 players entering in the first game.