Local XC runners expected to contend for state titles
Cibola’s Cain headlines Div. I field; Gila Ridge has No. 2, No. 3 in Div. II
It is entirely possible that Yuma could produce one if not two individual champs at this weekend’s state cross-country meet.
Cibola senior Thomas Cain, the state’s top-ranked runner for all divisions, is the likeliest, and the odds-on favorite in the boys Division I race with a season-best time (15:07) that’s nine seconds faster than anybody else.
And at the Division II level, Gila Ridge could also contend for a first-place individual finish. The Hawks have the division’s No. 2 and No. 3-ranked runners in seniors Christian DeBoard and Daniel Marquez.
Those will be the top storylines to watch when the races get underway Saturday morning at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix, though there will be plenty other locals involved.
Seven local teams in all — Cibola’s boys/girls, Kofa’s boys/girls and San Luis’ boys in Division I, and Gila Ridge’s boys/ girls in Division II — qualified as teams, and Yuma High’s girls team (Division III) will be represented by two individuals and San Pasqual’s boys (Division IV) by one.
For Cain, he will be looking to breakthrough as Yuma County’s first crosscountry state champ since Cibola’s Bernie Montoya won three straight from 2010-12 — that is, unless either DeBoard or Marquez does it before him. The Division II boys race will take place first with a scheduled start time of 9:20 a.m., with the Division I boys race set for 12:15 p.m.
Cain was a seventh-place finisher at last year’s state meet and a fourth-place finisher the year before in Division II, and he is a former state champ in track — having won the Division I 3,200 meters this past May.
“We’re right where we want to be with him,” Cibola coach Kris Norton said. “We know he’s got his work cut out for him, and we’re trying to go over all the different scenarios that could possibly develop. We’re excited about his chances.”
Those different scenarios involve when