Nearing the midway point of the 5A boys race, there was a surprising leader setting the pace. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Rio Rancho has been hosting the New Mexico state meet for a few years now, but state titles have proven rather elusive for the host school. Not since 2008 had Rio Rancho won the big prize.
Though he was dwarfed by nearly anyone he ran next to on Saturday, Devin Paredes ran like a giant nevertheless. If you're looking for the biggest difference between Rio Rancho, a team hanging on by their toenails to win meets in the last five weeks, and Rio Rancho on Saturday, it was a very determined effort by freshman Devin Paredes.
Paredes did not (quite) win the race, but he definitely upset the usual order of things. And that was more than enough to get Rio Rancho started on the right foot. And, the few moments around the midway point of the race when Paredes did hold the lead may have done more to put wind in Rio Rancho's sails and shake the confidence of the other teams, even if only ever so subtly, than any of us realize. It was clear that Taylor Potter, Chris Harlow, Jared Mayoral, and company hadn't expected to see Paredes in the lead, and nobody seemed to know quite what to make of the situation.
Nobody except Rio Rancho, that is.
With Paredes leading and the rest of the field in a state of consternation, fellow Rams Troy Lawton, Michael Goke, Caleb Eppes (a senior, but mistakenly identified as a freshman in my state preview article), and Noah Dodd seemed to know exactly what to do--to take the fight to the field and see what would come of it. What came of it was that much of the resistance dissolved and Rio Rancho ran to their most convincing victory over Cleveland--and the rest of 5A--in some while.
Paredes came into the state meet as a wild card, devoid of state meet experience and owning something of an up-and-down season. He left the state meet as the face of what could well become the next new 5A regime, the Rio Rancho regime.
Cleveland got a strong 4-7 finish from Jared Mayoral and Aaron Flores, but were beaten by Rio Rancho at positions 3, 4, and 5. A similar scenario held true for Eldorado--Taylor Potter would eventually take over the race and finish three seconds ahead of Chris Harlow for the individual title, while Adam Monroe would finish eighth--but the Eagles, too, found no answer for Rio Rancho at 3, 4, and 5.
Once the race had time to string out a little, nobody else was ever really in the hunt.
This year's state title for Rio Rancho comes on the heels of a third-place finish from last year and a graduation exercise that sent a couple of their top runners out into world. To all outward appearances, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Rams.
But the Rams retooled and rebuilt in a hurry. And they did it largely on the efforts of freshmen and seniors--freshmen Paredes and Dodd, and seniors Lawton and Eppes. The result the proved untouchable when it mattered most.
Complete Results and Photos