Photo by Adam Maxwell
State Championship Results I Photos I Video I5A Boys Recap
Not long after the boys took care of business, it was the Volcano Vista girls squad that found themselves on top of the podium 5A State champions. unlike the boys, they were one of the teams that were unable to make it past the reduced state-qualifying marks in the spring state meet. The year prior they had secured their highest finish at the state meet with a runner-up performance. The lone returner from that runner-up squad was senior Angela Korte who managed an 11th place performance this time around. It would be freshman Carysa Marquez leading the charge for the Hawks as she ran to 6th place and helped with a 62 point victory over defending champions Rio Rancho. The Rams would hold onto 2nd as Gracey Lovato and Esther Cameron would run to All-State performances to contribute to the 80 point score. Sue Cleveland's 99 points would put them on the podium in 3rd led by Leah Futey who placed 4th in 19:37. Eldorado was left off the podium after an initial calculation error, they were just out of range with 101 points. Alamogordo would take home 5th place honors with a huge contribution to their #1 runner.
Photo by Adam Maxwell
Alamogordo's Ellary Battle has made huge leaps the past few seasons going from an 80th place performance in 2019 to 4th this past spring and now the 2021 5A State Champion. Battle ran to an 18:53 performance that would be the top time of the day. The field was stacked with state runner-up freshman Daniela Figueroa was coming off an APS Metro Championships win early in the year. Teammate Ava Stratton improves upon her 5th place finish in the spring to land 3rd in 19:32. Sue Cleveland's Leah Futey ran to a crucial 4th place performance that ensured her team would once again make the podium. Janae Shaklee joined Battle among the top 5 to end her high school cross country career. Other All-State performers included Carysa Marquez Volcano Vista (6th), Ellie Suo-Anttila Eldorado (7th), Gracey Lovato Rio Rancho (8th), Bhret Clay Hobbs (9th), and Esther Cameron Rio Rancho (10th).