ATC shows its mettle against bigger schools
RIO RANCHO — Somebody pinch Josette Gurule.
She still can’t believe what the Academy for Technology and the Classics girls cross-country team keeps doing.
The Phoenix already established themselves as the team to beat in Class 2A in November at the state cross-country meet, but they showed they can compete at a higher level. Taking on a host of bigger schools in the girls championship division of the Rio Rancho Jamboree on Saturday, ATC showed it is no slouch against the toughest field of runners in the state.
The Phoenix took eighth place in the team standings with a total of 232 points in the lowest score wins format at Rio Rancho High School. They were the highest-placing school in Class 1A/2A, and they rubbed elbows with the likes of Class 5A’s Hobbs, which was seventh and just four points ahead of the Phoenix, and 4A’s Kirtland Central, which placed ninth with 237 points.
“We did not expect that, at all,” said Gurule, who finished in 46th place and was the No. 3 runner for ATC. “We’re like, ‘There are such good teams. Why are we even in this race?’ But we proved ourselves.”
It took a pack mentality for the Phoenix to finish in the top 10. Maggie Rittmeyer was 22nd in a time of 20 minutes, 54.50 seconds, but No. 5 runner Noelani Van Loon was just 1:33.70 behind Rittmeyer as she took 71st. It will take a similar pack time for ATC to pull off its second state title in the past five years.
Not to be lost in the excitement of ATC’s performance was Santa Fe Indian School’s Chris Humetewa and Santa Fe High’s Maya Holder. Humetewa was the top Northern runner in the boys championship race, as he finished 12 with a time of 17:00.70. Meanwhile, Holder was eighth in the large-school race in 21:56.90.
Both runners weren’t close to their best, as they ran despite dealing with respiratory illnesses. Humetewa said he wanted to break the 16:30 barrier, but knew that was a far-fetched goal as he missed a couple of days of practice to help facilitate his recovery.
“I’m disappointed in how I did [Saturday],” Humetewa said. “But I was kinda happy I gave it my all and truly pushed it and pushed through this hurt. Being 10 seconds off my [personal record] while I’m in this pain all week, it was not a bad week.”
Holder said she struggled running up the dirt hill on the backside of the high-school’s football field, as she couldn’t breathe through her nose at one point.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna push myself and I’m gonna finish this race,’ ” Holder said. “Go as fast as I possibly can. You just got to believe in yourself and believe in your ability to run.”
The Pojoaque Valley girls finished second in the large-school division with 111 points, which trailed Laguna Acoma’s 45. In the small-school race, Peñasco tied Wingate for second with 90 points, but took third as its No. 6 runner Jennifer Aguilar finished 56th, while Wingate’s Tenara Morgan took 47th. Lady Panthers senior Carly Gonzales finished 10th individually.
On the boys side, Santa Fe Prep was second in the smallschool race with 124 points, trailing Many Farms (Ariz.) by a 105-124 count. Pojoaque Valley took fourth in the team standings, while West Las Vegas’ Jarred Baca was fourth individually.