STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

First an apology to Santa Fe Waldorf School sophomore Ria Baker for forgetting to include her on my list of individuals from the Santa Fe area, but with the boys not qualifying, she did, and that’s neat for the small school to gets someone to state, so kudos to Ms. Baker.

Now through the years of the state cross country championships raced at Gallup and Rio Rancho, there has been some a run of interesting starts and finishes mixed with fallen harriers on the courses and photo finishes for individuals and teams.

But back in the year 2002 when sophomore Steve Martinez of Pojoaque Valley toed the line, not even he could account for what followed.

One of the favorites, the gun went off and Martinez’ right shoe fell off, which brought a quick decision on his part to stop, grab the shoe and lace it back on wasn’t what he decided, instead he just remained in the race and finished with one shoe on and the other up at the start somewhere, and won.

That was unreal, imagine traveling 5 kilometers with a huge cast of starters and stepping on rocks, racing up and down hills, and probably had one-shoe Martinez stumbling at times and trying to avoid contact with others in the field due to keeping his balance.

At Gallup and Rio Rancho, there are been sprints to the finishes in the stadiums. Photo finishes? Several. Arguments? Many. Wild celebrations by the winners and fans in the stands. Accidents on the courses were many as coaches and trainers raced to assist their runners, and sometimes losing a runner or two would eliminate schools.

Nothing’s changed since then. The event has now moved over to Albuquerque Academy, it’s still the same distance, still the top five harriers and numbers six and seven, and after last year’s shortened states brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s back on the course with a full field.

For the Chargers’ course, it’s the second state XC championship that follows the initial one from last season. Rio Rancho High School decided on withdrawing from the event and Academy stepped in.

And on Saturday’s one-day for 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A schools, it will be 2A boys stepping to the line first, followed by the awards, and then the same with the 2A girls. This is scheduled for a 9 a.m. start.

Next comes 4A boys and girls and their awards that followed. Then it’s 3A’s turn and 5A closes out the event in the early afternoon.

Rio Rancho, thought is one of the better teams in 5A. So is city-rival Rio Rancho Cleveland. Even Santa Fe High has qualified both its girls and boys in 5A after a good showing at districts.

In 4A, it’s chasing Los Alamos, not just the girls or boys, but both. The Hiltoppers dominated their district championships, both teams taking the first seven places, and now it’s up to host Albuquerque Academy also in 4A to present a challenge.

With the Chargers in there, it’s no doubt expected that Los Alamos will not dominate this time. Both have long rivalries and are two of the top XC programs in the state.

In 3A, Santa Fe Prep won both the girls and boys district races, and the Griffins should be right up there, the boys with an experienced crew and the girls with some of the youngest teams in the field. Santa Fe Indian School has a good chance to finish on the podium, but there are also other challenges.

In 2A, Pecos boys and girls look good. The Panther boys took first at districts while the girls finished behind Academy of Technology and The Classics. But Penasco fits right in here as one of the favorites along with Laguna-Acoma and maybe surprising Capitan.

That’s the girls, with Penasco also raising a challenge to the boys, especially the well-balanced Panthers of two juniors, four seniors, and one sophomore. Hagerman is also in the chase in both girls and boys.

Individually, 2A boys should have Pecos’ juniors Aiden Holton, Elijah Lujan and Justin Muller in the top 10 and could step on the podium.

In 3A, St. Michael’s freshman Raylee Hunt is the one to beat after finishing second last time. She and 8th-grader Ellie Musolf are the only qualifiers from the Lady Horseman, and this is also the case among the boys with freshman Jaden Perea up there with the front runners and 8th-grader Jeremiah Rodriguez the other Horseman quaifer.

Also right up there should be Santa Fe Prep senior Joshua Abeyta, and he and Perea are very familiar with each other. As for the girls, following Hunt should be the youngsters from the Griffins, with 8th-grader Sophie Bair and freshmen Nya Griego and Helen Desmond.

Plus, there’s the Albuquerque Cottonwood Prep bunch with a one-two punch of junior Sophia Lopez and senior Aubrey Lozoya, and the young Santa Fe Indian School girls could get to the podium among the first six.

In 4A, Espanola Valley sophomore Daniel Sanchez has been having a stellar season and could also make his way to the podium, maybe not as the winner, but right up there with his good times as the lone Sundevil at state.

Of course, Los Alamos has the team to beat behind seniors Keith Bridge and Morgan Schaller. Same with the Hilltopper girls with their leading runners being sophomore Delaney

Urich and senior Norissa Valdez.

But don’t forget the hosts, for they always arrive at states behind  good crews in both genders.

In 5A, Santa Fe High’s boys might get seniors Tanner Black and Mason Nichols into the top 10, and the same with Demonette 8th-grader Mia Schleman, with the youngster being their top runner all season.

Other than that, there’s the experience of Rio Rancho High and Rio Rancho Cleveland, in addition to name-changing Organ Mountain. But it was neat to get Santa Fe High qualifying from districts.

Picking winners is no doubt a guessing game. But when it looks like it should be a pleasant run on the course, don’t forget one-shoe Steve Martinez losing a shoe at the start and continuing on to the championship, which he won again in 2004.