One of the showdowns to look forward to on Saturday is a first match-up between an even-more-loaded-than-last-year Rio Rancho team and the defending state champions from La Cueva who return with most of last year's roster intact. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Probably overshadowed on the New Mexico cross country schedule only by the Rio Rancho Jamboree and the New Mexico State Championships, the UNM Lobo Invitational kicks off the competitive season for several local programs early on Saturday morning.
At last glance, the field includes five out-of-state teams. Two teams are making the trip up from El Paso, and another three teams from Colorado. Those Colorado teams include the 5A #1 ranked Mountain Vista boys and the 5A #6 ranked Mountain Vista girls. Right out of the gate, New Mexico schools will get the opportunity to test themselves against one of the finest programs in Colorado and in the entire Southwest region.
But, it's certainly not just about out-of-state schools. Defending state champion teams from Los Alamos, La Cueva, Rio Rancho, and East Mountain will be among the teams assembled on the starting line. Seeking to set a new tone for a new season will be traditional and rising powers like Albuquerque Academy, Volcano Vista, Eldorado, Piedra Vista, Belen, and St. Pius X.
With New Mexico's new classification alignments, much stands to be learned about the relative strengths of programs that must face one another at state. Are the Los Alamos girls as strong as they've been the last two years? Can Albuquerque Academy rebuild after a disappointing finish last season. Can Eldorado restock the girls roster? Will Volcano Vista continue their march toward the top of New Mexico's largest classification. How will East Mountain fare with moving up to 4A? These, and so many more, questions will see preliminary answers in the results from Saturday morning.
Many of New Mexico's top individuals figure to be in action as well, anxious to see where a summer's worth of training has left them since they last faced large-meet competition. On a fast course like the UNM North Golf Course, several sub-16s and sub-19s are definitely within the realm of possibility.
Racing begins at 8 AM with the open race. Varsity races begin at 8:45 AM with roughly 30 teams trying to find space on the starting line. Racing actual will continue throughout the morning and into the early afternoon hours at the UNM North Golf Course.
Be there, or wonder what you missed. MileSplit New Mexico will be on hand for complete coverage--including articles, photos, and video. Some coverage content will appear by Saturday night. The remainder will go up on Sunday.
Note: This weekend will also serve as the transition of MileSplit New Mexico from my hands into the hands of Sampson Sage. Thus, this should go down the last regular article that I write specifically for MileSplit New Mexico. It's been a wonderful experience, and I've been privileged to meet many fine people I would not otherwise have come into contact with in the two years I've had producing content for this site. The departure will be, in many respects, difficult, but the demands of doing the Colorado site and the need for New Mexico to have its own state webmaster make this the right decision to make. Many of you already know I will be bringing my own team (The Classical Academy) down to the UNM meet on Saturday. We aim to be competitive, though we may be a little more nicked up than I would like for us to be. Circumstances worked out nicely to make this trip happen, and I'm pleased this meet will mark the transition of MileSplit New Mexico from my control to Sampson's control. Please join me in wishing Sampson all the best as the new New Mexico state webmaster, and please do all you can to make his transition into the role both easy and quick. I am sure I will be checking in on the site at regular intervals to catch up on all the latest news from New Mexico cross country and track and field.