Last Week in New Mexico XC: Sept. 21-28

Sampson Sage

Estancia's Jakob Bernal (in the white) has been on a tear this early season. Photo by Alan Versaw.

With the weekend, so went September racing. September did leave a lasting mark in its final weekend. Below we see the results.

Albuquerque Academy Invitational

Niles Thomas, 4-0. Natasha Bernal, 3-0. The Academy Boys made it back-to-back team titles, 9 of the last 10 since 2005, and 14 of the last 16, dating back to 1999. That's protecting home turf. The Eldorado Girls made it 5 team titles in a row since 2010, and 8 of the last 10 since 2002.

For a more in-depth look, see the Meet Summary provided by Nick Martinez. It's worth your time.

On-Site Coverage

Familiar Foes, and Hard Charging Harriers

With the crack of the starter's pistol, competitor's in the 2014 Albuquerque Academy Invite rush to establish position, including eventual winner, Niles Thomas (second from the left). Photo by Blake Wood.

Chicken Creek Challenge

Aztec, Farmington and Newcomb went north of the state lines to beautiful Mancos, Colorado. Aztec's Elana Kresl took a break from her Keeper duties on the Aztec Soccer Team to post a 3rd place finish, as Newcomb's Corminda Henry took 7th and Farmington's Melina McDermott took 9th. Fielding a full squad for the first time this season, the Aztec Lady Tiger's took second in the team standings.

In the Boys race, Farmington's Tanin McDermott and Aztec's Jared Diswood notched a couple of Top 10 placings.

On-Site Coverage

East Mountain Nick Martin Memorial XC Invitational

The above picture of Estancia's Jakob Bernal is used as a reminder, when he's toeing the line in your race, be ready to work. Bernal scored another Individual Meet Title, which brings his total to four. 4-0. At Socorro, a 17 second victory. At ATC Everybody, a 19 second victory. At the Bosque Fall Fiesta, a 13 second victory. And at East Mt., 10 seconds was enough. That's a September to remember.

In the Boys team battle, a battle it was. Through the scoring five, host East Mountain and visiting Hope were all notted up at 67 points. Even the Team Average was close, 19:15-19:19 in East Mountain's favor. East Mountain's Tristan Turner broke the tie, earning 32 team points, while reminding every 6-7 runner why it's so important to finish every race hard.

In the Girls race, East Mountain's Addison Rauch took the individual title with a 20:40 clocking. Unfortunately for the Lady Timberwolves, the Hope Lady Huskies walked away with the team title, 54-77.

Las Cruces Public Schools Invite

Forgive the accompanying image, as this is not the Centennial Hawks XC Challenge, but the Las Cruces Public Schools Invite. And indeed LCPS turned out, but so did El Paso Eastwood and El Paso Cathedral.

In the Boys race, visiting El Paso Schools, Eastwood and Cathedral took the top two team placings scoring 20-72, with Onate and Belen, who made th trip down, taking the next two spots. Belen's Aaron Valenzuela and Jared Garcia prevented an all El Paso Top 10, with Valenzuela taking top honors with a 14:49 and Garcia placing 8th.

In the Girls race, El Paso Eastwood made a sweep of the team titles edging the Onate Lady Knight's 48-55. While Eastwood's Anna Mora took top honors, the Santa Teresa duo of Regina Marquez and Britani Gonzalez, and Onate's tandem of Meghan Aguilera and Renee Baldwin gave valiant chase. Something to keep an eye on is the decreasing Pack Time of the Lady Desert Warriors. Two week's ago at the Cathedral-Loretto Invite, it was 5:59. At LCPS it dropped 94 seconds. If that drop continues on that curve, the 5A Team Battle is going to be pretty interesting.

Lubbock Invitational

After last weekend's review, one commentor posted, "We Want Hobbs!" Well, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. The Hobbs boys took down West Texas, scoring 45 points. Their Pack Time was 36 seconds (15:52-16:29), with a Team Average of 16:05. That folks, is capital "f" Fast.

In the Girls race, the Clovis Lady Wildcats did the same. Led by freshman Kelsey Mcnaughton's 19:28 4th place finish, Clovis scored 62 points. Their Pack Time of 62 seconds, and Team Average of 20:08 was just enough to hold off runner-up Coppell.

Meet Results

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Nike Pre-Nationals

This happened in Oregon.

On-Site Coverage

Through the Lens: Nike Pre-Nationals in Photos

A quick slideshow of photo highlights by Phil Johnson of TracktownPhoto from the 2014 Nike Pre-Nationals this past Saturday at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon. Full photo gallery can be found here as well as meet results here. 

Meets on Tap for 9/27 Weekend

Meets on Recap this weekend comes via skype with Jimmy from Elon University in North Carolina and B Miles from the Mall of America in Minnesota giving their insight into the top high school cross country meets to watch this September 27th weekend. 

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Piedra Vista Totah Invitational

Athlete's at Lions Wilderness Park were greeted with high temps (86 at Race Time), clear skies, and no wind, or a typical Farmington day.

The Girls race started things off and the Shiprock Lady Chieftains continued their recent string of success. Led by lacey Howe's 2nd place finish, the Lady Chieftains placed six runners in the Top 10 scoring 21 points in a dominating victory. Their 22:04 Team Average was 79 seconds faster than runner-up Window Rock.

In the Boys race, the host Piedra Vista Panthers used a 36 second Pack Time to score 32 points, more than half of Shiprock's 67 points. In the individual battle, Kirtland Central's Jonathan Charley was just edged by Window Rock's Leighton Quintana 17:42-17:43.