Kuykendall, West have one final duel during ‘Extravaganza’
More than 100 send teams to prep meet
By the time everyone returns to this venue in three weeks and lines up again, Steven West of Sandia High School should project as the odds-on favorite to win the Class 5A state cross country championship.
But he’s not going to have to deal with Rendon Kuykendall anymore.
“It’s a cool thing to get first, but man, it’s a pleasure to run with him,” West said of Kuykendall, the Hope Christian junior. “I’m glad I get the best of both worlds.”
Kuykendall, the defending 4A state champion and unquestionably New Mexico’s premier runner, beat West by more than eight seconds on a cool Saturday morning at the Albuquerque Academy Extravaganza, the largest regular-season meet on New Mexico’s prep calendar.
The state meet on Nov. 6 will be run over the same 3.1-mile course as athletes covered Saturday.
Approximately 100 schools, from all five classifications, came to the Academy. Los Alamos was the most noticeable absentee.
Kuykendall and Volcano Vista freshman Carysa Marquez were the individual champions in the “A” race, where most of the largeschool elite teams could be found. The Academy girls and Volcano Vista boys also won.
West had a slight lead on Kuykendall halfway through the race. These two were 1-2 a week earlier at the Albuquerque Metro Championships where Kuykendall beat West by a wide margin.
With about a half-mile to go Saturday, Kuykendall had his mind made up.
“We were right there. I heard his breathing was a little off, so I was like, time to get moving,” said Kuykendall after his third victory of the season.
He won with a time of 15 minutes, 20.64 seconds. West crossed the finish line in 15:29.02 and was 36 seconds in front of third-place Dawson Gunn of Rio Rancho.
“My legs are a bit tired,” Kuykendall said. “I did two 70-mile weeks in a row with a race in there.”
He’ll run the district race on the Academy course in two weeks, before state.
As for Volcano Vista’s boys, the Hawks had their best showing of the season, and their 72 points was a nifty number with a field this deep. Senior Aiden Davis was sixth individually for Volcano Vista.
“We’ve been holding out some of the boys for various reasons,” Hawks coach Elena Schrader said. “Most of them were here today, and they were just really dialed in and had a goal in mind and went after it and executed their race plan the way they wanted to. They ran well as a pack, and Aiden had an amazing day.”
Volcano’s two District 1 rivals, Rio Rancho and Cleveland, were second and third, respectively.
The Academy girls scored 62 points, beating Rio Rancho by 20 points. Volcano Vista (98) was third. Emma Patton was the top Charger, in fifth place.
Marquez, the impressive ninthgrader, pulled away from La Cueva’s Ariana Thiel-Hadjilambrinos as they entered Richard Harper Memorial Field for the final 400 meters. Marquez’s winning time was 18:27.35; Albuquerque High freshman Dani Figueroa (18:35.62), last week’s metro champ, overtook Thiel-Hadjilambrinos in the final few meters to earn second place.
“I just made sure to save something and let it all out in the last 400,” said the soft-spoken Marquez after the biggest win of her young varsity career. She lit up as she soaked in the importance of this victory.
“It means the world,” she said. “I’ve been working for this the entire season, and I’m so excited.”
“B” AND “C” DIVISIONS: Cottonwood Classical Prep swept the boys and girls team titles in the “B” division, with Maximo Brito of the Coyotes (16:55.85) and Aisha Ramone of Kirtland Central (19;27.46) winning individually.
The “C” division was largely for the smallest of the schools. Pecos’ boys and Santa Fe Indian’s girls, along with Gilbert Valdez of Peñasco (the Class 1A-2A state champ from the spring season) and Vanessa Gallegos of Loving- ton, took first place.