By Arnie Leshin

Wonder if Pecos and Taos rode the same bus to Saturday morning’s 29th annual Joe I. Vigil Open Cross Country Invitational 5-killomers raced atAdams State University in Alamosa?
Either that or they just stepped along together in both the girls and boy’s run over the Cattail Golf Course. In the team scoring, the boys found Taos finishing 16th with 453 points, and a point and place behind in 17th was Pecos’ 454 points.
In the girl’s race, it occurred again. Not as closeastheboys, but the Tigers scored 282 points to take 8th, and in 9th was the Panthers with 320.
The top spot among the girls went to Los Alamos, edging Classical Academy, 63-64, with Albuquerque Academy third with 74. In 246th was Santa Fe High running up 639 points, with 284 in the field.
The Hilltoppers, always stressing balance, had sophomore Norissa Valdez running 4th in 19:19.5, junior Lidia Apell 6th in 19:39.5, and in 7th was freshman Sophie Chadwick in the time of 19:43.2. Taos’ leading runner was sophomore Alya Mastor coming in 11 in 19:51.1.
Head coach Patrick Ortiz’ Pecos girls ran four freshmen, four sophomores, and three juniors, with junior Vanessa Dominguez taking 66th in 22:07. The first Santa Fe High runner to finish was senior Maya Holder coming in 95th and timed in 22:49.
The winner was Classical Academy freshman Sawyer Wilson in 18:47.4.
Then there were the boys having Albuquerque Academy leading the field of 376 runners with 66 points, topping runner-up rival Los Alamos by six points. In 20th with 536 points was Santa Fe High.
Finishing first in 15:23.2 was Dakota Ridge senior Connor Ohlson. Sixth was Hilltopper junior Rafael Sanchez in 16:23, and senior teammate Steven Strevell clocked 16:39.2 and placed 8th.
Pecos, which entered no less than seven freshmen, was led by a senior Devon Gonzales’ 42nd place finish in 17:47.2. Two spots behind in 17:48.6 was Taos junior Eddie Duran.
Capital senior Joshua Namingha settled for 187th in 20:29 against a strong field. Santa Fe High’s best was sophomore Mason Nichols turning in an 18:43.3 for 77th place.
The rest of Pecos’ lineup consisted of four sophomores, two juniors, and one senior, Keith Flores, who finished 63rd in 18:25.8.
The Demons entered four sophomores and the lone senior, Matthew Chavez, ran 239th in 21:37.1. Capital did not have a full team, with the two joining Namingha being senior Abran Rosas and sophomore Max Quintana.
GIRLS 5K RESULTS:
(Pecos, Santa Fe High, Taos)
11. ALYA MASTOR, Taos sophomore 19:51.1
52. ELLA KATZ, Taos junior 21:32.2
66. VANESSA DOMINGUEZ, Pecos junior 22:07.5
69. MISTIDAWN ROYBAL, Pecos freshman 22:25.8
72. LORYN TRUJILLO, Pecos sophomore 22:14.9
77. SAVANAGH ORTIZ, Pecos sophomore 22:19..6
80. MANELLA GOMEZ, Taos freshman 22:22.7
89. SALONNA BORREGO-MARSI, Taos junior22:40.8
95. MAYA HOLDER, Santa Fe High senior 22:49.2
104. KIANNA QUINTANA, Pecos junior 23:04.5
111. KELLY TONEY, Taos junior 23:13.1
118. ALEXIS GONZALES, Pecos junior 23:36.3
179. ASHLYN LUJAN, Pecos freshman 25:11.2
202. MARIAH RUIZ, Pecos sophomore 25:55.6
210. AMBER LUJAN, Pecos sophomore 26:12.6
221. REINTA IRIZARRY, Santa Fe High freshman 26:55.1
222. LILI CADRET, Santa Fe High sophomore 26:55.1
223. JADEN EUSTICE, Santa Fe High sophomore 27:02.02
228. KRISTINA RAGLAO, Pecos freshman 27:24.6
236. LILY COOK, Santa Fe High junior 27:97.9
254. BELLA ROOT, Santa Fe High junior 29:29.5
263. ANALI ROYBAL, Pecos freshman 29:50.3
GIRLS TEAM SCORING:
(Pecos, Santa Fe High, Taos)
8. TAOS 282
9. PECOS 320
24. SANTA FE HIGH 639
BOYS 5K RESULTS
(Capital, Pecos, Santa Fe High, Taos)
42. DEVON GONZALES, Pecos senior 17:47.2
44. EDDIE DURAN, Taos junior 17:48.6
63. KEITH FLORES, Pecos senior 18:25.8
77. MASON NICHOLS, Santa Fe High sophomore 18:43.3
85. JESUS PEREZ, Santa Fe High sophomore 18:49.1
97. TANNER BLACK, Santa Fe High sophomore 18:54.3
118. DONOVAN DURAN, Taos freshman 19:18.5
124. JOSHUA EVANS, Taos sophomore 19:21.6
130. DUNCAN STEWART–JACKSON, Taos junior 19:24.4
147. DEREK HERRERA, Pecos junior 19:47.5
148. JOE TRUJILLO, Taos senior 19:48.1
157. ADEN HOLTON, Pecos freshman 19:56.8
167. ZACH ROX, Pecos freshman 20:08.5
187. JOSHUA NAMINGHA, Capital senior 20:29.8
193. LORENZO ORTEGA, Pecos freshman 20:36.7
200. ISRAEL VILLEGOS, Pecos freshman 20:46.2
203. ELIAH LOGAN, Pecos freshman 20:47.4
205. ABRAN ROSAS, Capital senior 20:54.4
211. NATHANEL MARTINEZ, Taos senior 20:59.5
239. MATTHEW CHAVEZ, Santa Fe High senior 21:37.1
246. JUSTIN MILLER, Pecos freshman 21:53.6
256. BLUEBIRD ASKAN, Santa Fe High sophomore 22:06.2
263. OWEN ALBBERTS. Santa Fe High freshman 22:24.3
264. DEREK ORTIZ, Pecos sophomore 22:26.5
274. JASON CROSS, Pecos freshman 22:29.6
281. MAX QUINTANA, Capital sophomore 22:40.6
284. ROLANDO SANDOVAL, Pecos junior 22:46.6
288. MOSES ROYBAL, Pecos sophomore 22:51.3
320. EVAN KLACK, Santa Fe High sophomore 24:11.1
340. CHRIS ORTIZ, Pecos sophomore 25:54.8
348. MIGUEL VIGIL. Pecos sophomore 26:54.2
BOYS TEAM SCORING:
16. TAOS. 453
17. PECOS 454
20 SANTA FE HIGH 536