Some schools ready to take on the giants
Uh-oh, here come the Pecos Panthers. And the Taos Lady Tigers. And Los Alamos boys and girls (take your pick). There is something to be said about excellence commanding respect. For those three cross-country programs, their performance over the past few years — or in the case of the Hilltoppers, the past decade — led to the deference coaches in Northern New Mexico and across the state pay them. In the case of the newest power team on the block, Pecos head coach Patrick Ortiz sold his runners four years ago on the idea of making opponents raise their heads when they saw their bus drive into the parking lot.
Of course, there was a process to which the Panthers had to pay heed in order for it to happen.
“When I first started, me and my dad [assistant coach Victor Ortiz] told them, ‘If you put in the work and what we need to do, we’ll be OK,’ ” Patrick Ortiz said. “But the one thing I also told them was that one of my goals was that, when we showed up for meets, other runners would say, ‘Oh darn. Pecos is here.’ ”
While that day is here, other programs are trying to emulate that level of success. As the 2017 season begins in earnest this weekend, highlighted by the UNM Invitational at UNM North Golf Course on Saturday morning, a few Northern programs feel they might have something to say about who holds the blue trophy at the end of the season.
Class 6A
Last year, the Santa Fe High girls took eighth at state, but the Demonettes return the bulk of their varsity squad. While top runner Sierra Sweeney graduated, seniors Rue Allison and Daisy Gephart plus junior Judith Allison were solid Nos. 2-4 runners last year. No. 5 runner Maya Holder was just a freshman last year and should improve with a
season under her belt.
Class 5A
How about this for a “down” year? Los Alamos only brought home thirdplace (the boys) and a runner-up (the girls) trophies to “The Hill” last November. The girls’ finish ended a run of seven straight state titles, but that’s merely a speed bump. The Lady Hilltoppers return their top five finishers who collectively finished just six points behind champion Albuquerque Academy, including state individual runner up and senior Zoe Hemez.
On the other side, the boys have four of their top five runners back and a senior dominant lineup (four in all). But freshman Rafael Sanchez returns to improve upon a fourth-place state finish that led Los Alamos.
Class 4A
The Taos girls started the season just like it ended 2016 — winning their meet. While it wasn’t the state meet, the Lady Tigers’ victory at the Española Invitational on Aug. 26 was impressive, considering senior Cora Cannedy was playing in the Taos Soccer Tournament. Three freshmen, led by returning varsity runner Ella Katz, filled in admirably as Katz won the meet and the Lady Tigers easily outpointed St. Michael’s by a 37-59 count.
Not that any of that was unexpected by Taos’ District 2-4A foes.
“They’re going to do well again,” said St. Michael’s head coach Lenny Gurule.
Taos’ success is merely a microcosm of how strong the district is. It was a dogfight among Robertson, St. Michael’s and Pojoaque Valley to nab the other two at-large team spots for the state meet, which went to the Lady Cardinals and the Lady Horsemen.
It should be another nip-and-tuck battle this season. Robertson came in fourth in the 4A standings a year ago, and they return all of their lineup. Meanwhile, St. Michael’s returns its top three runners in Janai Clayton, Abbie Leuger and Violet Eklund.
On the boys side, Pojoaque might be the team to beat in the district, with a senior-loaded lineup led by Avery Torres and John Hall. St. Michael’s counters with a trio of juniors in Justin Angel, Eli Seward and Adrian Veruete-Maya. Taos might be on the rebound, as a couple of talented freshmen in Eddie Duran and Aiden Heflin were among the top three finishers for the second-place Tigers at Española.
As for the team that won the meet, Santa Fe Indian School exhibited a tight pack as its top five finished within 1 minute, 28 seconds of each other. Even though the Braves lost 4A individual champion Michael Tenorio, head coach Joe Calabaza feels he has a strong group of underclassmen ready to contribute right away. Freshman Chris Humetewa was the No. 3 runner for SFIS at Española, finishing 17th in 17:41, while sophomore Lauren Chavez was 20th to round out the Braves’ scoring ladder.
Calabaza added that he has plenty of depth, as he has 32 runners to choose from on the boys side and 72 for boys and girls.
“That makes it a little bit easier and a little bit harder to pick and choose who is going to run for the varsity,” Calabaza said. “Of course, if somebody has to step out, we just replace them.”
Class 3A
The Pecos boys are the two-time state champions, but the Lady Panthers might be ready to make the leap as championship material this fall. After taking third last year, the girls return all of their runners and four of their top five runners are freshmen. Combined with senior Mone Mondragon, Ortiz feels he has a squad capable of bringing home a blue trophy.
“What is special with this group of girls is they all basically became teammates last year,” Ortiz said. “Mone came in as a junior [transfer] and adopted our style and got to meet some of the girls. Some of the girls were just eighth graders and just figuring things out. They came together, became friends and got to compete at the highest level.”
Just don’t expect the rest of District 2/3-3A to simply let it happen. Santa Fe Prep won the Delorenzo Julian Memorial invite in Dulce on Aug. 26, with sophomore Hayden Colfax taking first place in the meet. Right on the Blue Griffins’ heels, though, were the Phoenix of Academy for Technology and the Classics. Pecos, Prep and ATC were third, fourth and sixth, respectively, at state, so the district race should be intense.
“I think we’re going to have a good rivalry,” Prep head coach Laura LewAllen said. “It was fun at Dulce. We were first and ATC was second [on the girls side], and on the boys they were second and our boys are third. I like our district. It’s going to have a little bit of everything in it.”
Meanwhile, the Pecos boys seek to win a third straight title behind a senior group of Josh DeHerrera, Michael Montaño and Carlos Cordova. Once again, Prep should be the primarily challenger in the district and perhaps push for a spot on the podium. Adrian Whitten might make some noise individually, as he won at Dulce.
Class 1A/2A
Mesa Vista also is seeking a threepeat behind four returning runners, led by brothers Brian and Daniel Gollas. The same can be said with the Peñasco girls, as two-time state champion Carly Gonzales headlines a trio of sophomores who were an integral part of the school’s first state championship team.