St. Pius star Julie Giannini heads into her senior season. Photo by Alan Versaw.
And now we come to 4A, where some of New Mexico's greatest state meet battles have been staged. Here's the look of things for 4A entering the 2013 season:
Girls
1T. Los Alamos and Albuquerque Academy - Honestly, I'm not smart enough to pick between these two teams right now. We all know Los Alamos has depth like the Marianas Trench. We all know Albuquerque Academy has the Archibeck sisters and an incredible freshman class. Who will prevail? That remains to be seen.
3. St. Pius X - Lost one of big three to graduation, but the program is on the rise.
4. Aztec - Perhaps a ripple effect from this spring's track and field state title?
5. Santa Fe - Runners like Noel Prandoni tend to rub off a little on their teammates and good things start to happen.
6. Miyamura - Check out the 3200 times from track season and be impressed.
7. Piedra Vista - Should keep Aztec honest in the northwest corner of the state.
8. Los Lunas - Bringing back more in the way of depth than most 4A teams.
Boys
1. Albuquerque Academy - Keep your heads firmly fastened to your shoulders, guys, and the glory years will return
2. Los Alamos - Feeling the sting of graduation, but still a very good team.
3. Piedra Vista - We will learn a lot this year about whether or not this team believes they have a ceiling.
4. Belen - Another team anxious to show they are psychologically ready to challenge the traditional powers.
5. Miyamura - A new school comes of age.
6. St. Pius X - If it's true that we're going to Steven Duran this fall, he adds a dimension to the team that could make the Sartans truly dangerous.
7. Gallup - Still a solid team.
8. Santa Fe - Track season says this team has good distance depth.