Pecos had the girl and boy winners in the District 3-2A championships hosted by the Panthers, and at 2-3A at West Las Vegas, Santa Fe Indian School’s boy won the team title and its two sophomores ran second and third

By Arnie Leshin 

The District 3-2A girl’s final could have been a preview of Saturday’s state championships at Rio Rancho High School.

In the districts run at host Pecos’ course, Pecos took first with 24 points and Academy of Technology and The Classics was next with 35. The first eight finishers were from the Panthers and Phoenix, with Pecos 8th grader Mistidawn Roybal (20:49.50) and sophomore Vanessa Dominguez (20:50.08) running one-two.

Then came ATC sophomore Joette Gurule, Pecos’ sophomore Kianna Quintana and Phoenix sophomore Maggie Rittmeyer.

Mistidawm and Dominguez was a sprint to the finish. Gurule finished in 21:00.02, Quintana in 21:48.98. and Rittmeyer 21:56.29. Pecos and ATC had the first eight finishers.

The boys also had a first and second finish as the Panthers won with 21 points, 20 less than runner-up ATC. Here, Pecos took the first three places, with junior Isaiah Armijo leading the field in 17:11.87.

Next came junior teammate Devin Gonzales in 17:33.78. and senior Angel Varela was third in 17:50.84. Nine of the first 10 runs were from the Panthers and the Phoenix, with Desert Academy senior Jakob Kaare-Rasmusson sixth in 18:25.18.

ATC took the next two places as Gonzalo Reyes ran fourth in 18:19.32 and Ian Apodaca right behind in 18:20.00.

. . . In 2-3A on the course at West Las Vegas, senior Isaiah Pias of the host Dons led the field in17:11.30, with Santa Fe Indian School sophomores Christopher Humetewa and Marcus Concho taking second and third, Humetewa in 17:16.50 and Concho in 18:05.13.

The Braves won the team title with 34 points. Fourth was Robertson senior Marcus Sanchez in 18:26.19, and Santa Fe Prep senior Adrian Whitten was next in 18:29.01, and right on his heels as has been the custom all season was Prep junior Griffin Rutherford in 18:34.16.

For St. Michael’s. which finished fourth, qualifying for state was senior Adrian Veruette-Maya and junior Justin Sanchez.

In the girl’s race, Robertson senior Mikayla Quintana led the field in 21:31.44, and the Cardinals also took team honors with 35 points, 18 better than second place St. Michael’s.

Last year, the Lady Horsemen had only four entries at district and just three of them qualified for state. This time, they ran six girls, with their 8thgrader Logan Hunt the runner-up in 22:09.19. Tenth and 11th for St. Michael’s were seniors Violet Eklund (23:40.16) and Janai Clayton, (23:49.18) and junior London Luttrell two places behind in 23:55.10).

. . . In 5-5A hosted by Albuquerque High, Santa Fe High senior Brock McKinney continued his quest to make the podium at state by running fifth in 16:50. The winner was Bulldogs’ Walker Quale in 16:13, with Albuquerque Sandia winning the team title with 37 points, 11 better than Albuquerque High. Fourth was the Demons with 95 and fifth was Capital scoring 134.

The girl’s race also went to a Bulldog, with Vivian Micomo pacing the field in 19:10. This time, her school won the team title with 24 points, 12 better than Sandia. Santa Fe High picked up an 11th place from senior Judith Allison in 20:23 and the Demonettes had 95 points, same their boys.

Next stop, the state championships Saturday run at Rio Rancho High.