Oak Grove seeks first state title, Pecos seeks to remain on top of A/2A 

Way back in August we had a feeling Oak Grove was on the verge of a possible breakthrough and the 2022 season sure hasn't disappointed the Owls. The #17 team on our Boys Cross Country Countdown has been checking off huge wins this season and the biggest being at the Academy Extravaganza where they were able to knock off the defending champs Pecos. The Owls are interchangeable in their scoring leaders week to week and have the depth to go head-to-head with any A/2A school. Now Pecos surely will not be giving up anything without a fight as they landed three runners in the top ten in 2021 to pull away from Oak Grove by over 50 points. Also not to be taken lightly is Laguna Acoma which has a solid squad but will be without their top runner in Lucas Williams (16:53 personal best).  These three schools are the teams that appear to have separated themselves from the rest of A/2A heading into this championship. In the individual race, it appears Gerardo Mendoza of Hagerman along with Maxwell's Tristan Pierce could be a final 100m sprint to the finish. Mendoza has hit huge personal bests this season while Pierce has yet to break 17:00 but if he can hang around until the finish Pierce has shown to be the more capable sprinter having won the 400m, 800m, and 1600m state titles this past May.