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The 2012 New Mexico Cross Country season is past the halfway point, and the second half is shaping up to be something of a thriller. Teams have spent the last six weeks jockeying for position and attempting to establish a pecking order, the latter with little success, as most of the teams in the state have shown a gritty refusal to roll over. The Albuquerque Academy Invitational on Friday afternoon was reflective of that.
On a cloudy afternoon that featured wind and thunder (but no nearby lightning strikes), 18 teams assembled – from all different parts of the state and all different classifications as well.
Despite the impressive assemblage of teams, the day belonged to the host school. The Chargers of Albuquerque Academy began the day with a close second-place finish the boys varsity division. They gave a bit of an unexpected scare to the boys from Cleveland High School, who are nationally ranked at #17. The final margin was 38-43 in favor of the Storm, but with the Chargers running close to Cleveland at all five scoring positions, the Academy boys had perhaps their most successful result of the season.
The race also featured an anticipated showdown between Laguna-Acoma high school, which competes in the AA classification (second smallest), and some powers from the larger divisions. The Hawks proved that they were worth the hype, keeping pace with Academy and Cleveland in the first mile and then holding on for a decisive third-place finish (110 points).
After the top three, the race reflected the current log-jam in the ranks of the 5A boys division, where it looks like there are perhaps five Albuquerque schools dreaming of being on the podium at November’s state championships. Two of them (La Cueva and Sandia) were missing from the Academy field, but the other three (Volcano Vista, Eldorado, and Cibola – the order they finished on Friday), traded blows throughout the race and finished within just a few points of each other. All these teams warrant close observation in the next several weeks.
Immediately after the first race finished, the gun went off in the girls varsity division. The Academy girls ran with the same determination that their boys had against a more highly regarded opponent – this time, the lady Eagles from Eldorado High School. The result was very similar as well – a 49-53 victory for Eldorado after the teams ran close together at all positions. The difference in the race was the Eagles’ depth. Eldorado packed their 5, 6 and 7 runners just ahead of Academy’s final scorer.
Cleveland High School was third with 105 points, and no other teams were close.
The team results set up a number of key showdowns in the coming weeks. All three of the teams will challenge La Cueva High School and an even more highly regarded St. Pius X squad in two weeks at the ABQ Metro Championships before adding Los Alamos to the mix the following week at the Rio Rancho XC Jamboree.
After the varsity races, it was all Academy, as the Chargers swept the lower division races (JV and C-Team) for both boys and girls.
Individually, the boys’ crown went, predictably, to Cleveland senior Luis Martinez, but not before he got a solid challenge from Volcano Vista’s Zac Castillo. Castillo actually did most of the work in the race’s first mile before the still-undefeated Martinez broke away in the second half. 15:40 for Martinez, 15:50 for Castillo, with Cleveland junior Aaron Flores taking third in 16:03.
The girls race belonged, also predictably, to Cleveland senior Malia Gonzales, but she too got a mighty push from Claire Archibeck of Albuquerque Academy. The two were actually dead even until Gonzales was able to win in the last 200 meters. 19:02 for Gonzales, 19:05 for Archibeck, with Rachel Fledderman from Sandia Prep rounding out the medal podium in 19:21.