RIO RANCHO, NEW MEXICO- In five days, Gatorade will announce the winner of the 2025-26 Female Cross Country New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year which should be followed up quickly by the male GPOY. So, it felt like a good time to make some predictions for who should be in contention for both awards.
Here are five female New Mexico athletes who we believe are the top contenders for the award. I will also share my prediction for who I believe will win the honor.
BREAKDOWN OF ATHELETES
Eldorado's Gianna Rahmer (sophomore)- During the 2025 season, Rahmer logged five first place finishes, secured the triple crown (district, metro & state titles), and posted a blazing time of 16:54.87 at the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional Nov. 8, 2025. Rahmer also won the 2024-25 NM XC GPOY award.
Moriarty's Carmen Dorsey-Spitz (junior)- Dorsey-Spitz had eight first place finishes which included wins at district, state, and a huge national win at the Brooks XC Championships West Dec. 6, 2025. Dorsey-Spitz also produced the fastest time in New Mexico (16:47.09) at the Academy Extravaganza, and produced another sub-17 time at the New Mexico state championships meet (16:57.90). I
Rio Rancho's Mariah Galbraith (sophomore)- The young sophomore runner took her game to new heights which included wins at districts, and at the Desert Twilight meet. Galbraith also set a new PR with a time of 18:14.20, and had a stellar time of 18:15.96 at the New Balance RunningLane XC Champions.
Albuquerque Academy's Anna Hastings (senior)- The future Brown runner was always at the top of the pack, and recorded a large chunk of the top 30 fastest times in New Mexico for the 2025 XC season. She has logged two sub-18 times, came in first place in the Rob Winter Invitational. and was the 4A state runner-up.
Taos' Elaina Cisneros (senior)- Cisneros had a ton of impressive performances this season but none topped her 17:48.00 time at the Volcano Vista Invite. The mark was not only a PR for Cisneros but the fastest time in New Mexico that didn't come from Gianna Rahmer or Carmen Dorsey-Spitz. Cisneros is going to be a ton of fun to watch come outdoor track season.
PREDICTION
*DISCLAIMER: IF I AM WRONG, THE WINNER OF THE GPOY MAY PIE ME IN THE FACE ON VIDEO.
Danny's Prediction- Moriarty's Carmen Dorsey-Spitz