New Mexico Boys Cross Country Countdown: #17 Oak Grove


New Mexico Cross Country Countdown Series

The New Mexico Cross Country Countdown breaks down the top 25 New Mexico boys and girls teams returning this fall. These rankings will include projected top runners and weigh how each team may do in their respective districts and state competitions. Changes to class alignments and adaptions to the state championship format have been taken into consideration. These rankings are based on the past season of performances. All top returning runners are only projections and may include athletes no longer on the team due to transfer or out-of-state relocation.


#17 Oak Grove Classical Owls 

The relatively new Oak Grove Classical has come a long way in recent years as they land the #17 spot on our New Mexico Boys Cross Country Countdown. After a solid runner-up performance in 2021, the Owls appear to return ready to hoist their first blue trophy in program history. They return all of their state runners including Joshua Marquez who finished 11th as an 8th grader. The other returning varsity runners include Tobias Fernandez (13th in 2021), Revolution Rivera (43rd in 2021), Gordon Lee (28th in 2021), William Ryder McElveny (35th in 2021), Malikai Goldie (35th in 2021), and Paxton McDermott (60th in 2021). No other team returns a complete seven from last year's state meet and that factor alone could be a reason why Oak Grove captures a state title this fall. So what might be keeping the Owls from soaring high at the A/2A state meet this year? Well, Pecos returns all of their scoring runners including the three of their runners that landed in the top 10 to secure crucial points. Despite Oak Grove boasting faster personal bests than Pecos, the last showdown between the schools showed that Pecos had the edge. This season we can expect the gap to close between the two schools and Oak Grove is sitting in the driver's seat en route to a successful November. 

A/2A Boys

2021 State Finish: 2nd 

State Titles: None

Individual State Titles: None

2022 Oak Grove Rankings

New Mexico Ranking #17
A/2A Ranking#2
District 5-A/2A Ranking#1

Top Returning Runners

NameGradePersonal Best (5K)Best State Finish

Joshua Marquez

Fr17:5511th (2021)

Tobias Fernandez

Sr18:0913th (2021)

Revolution Rivera

Sr18:1043rd (2021)

Gordon Lee

Sr18:1228th (2021)

William Ryder McElveny

So18:3824th (2021)

Malikai Goldie

Fr19:0635th (2021)

Paxton McDermott

So20:0260th (2021)

Watch the 2021 A/2A State Championship Race