There’s a long list of underclassmen set to tow the line for Saturday’s state cross county championships

In regard to cross country, you can’t always except the underclassmen to outrun the older and more experienced harriers.

But it happens, and this is just the right time, for as Saturday’s state championships over the Albuquerque Academy course approach, you’ll find this on many rosters.

Take Pecos for instance in 2-2A. Head coach Patrick Gonzales and his dad,  assistant coach VIctor, were just getting their girls and boys to practice Tuesday afternoon.

Now He’s got two potential challenges for state, the girls whose best runner is junior Kristina Ragland and she teams with four freshmen and a pair of 8th-graders.

The boys, in turn, have two seniors, four juniors and sophomore, and whereas Ragland is the girls front runner, the boys are more balanced, with the likes of juniors Aiden Holton, Elijah Lujan, senior Antonio Garcia, and juniors Justin Muller and Israel Villegas.

The Academy of Technology and The Classic boys, also in 2-2A, are kind of rounded out with two seniors, a junior, a sophomore, two freshmen and one 8th grader, with its leading runner senior Joey Gurule.

Others schools that figure to be among the leaders are Hagerman and Penasco, Hagerman with three seniors and Penasco with two, but after that there’s one sophomore, three freshman and one 8th-grader.

Then you turn to 3A. Speaking of underclassmen, the St. Michael’s girls have the favorite, freshman Raylee Hunt, last year’s runner-up, and 8th-grader Ellie Mustolf who qualified for state. As for the boys, it was Horsemen Jaden Pirea and 8th-grader Jeremiah Rodriguez who qualified and both Hunt and Perea won districts.

If you figured that Hunt was young, she could have Santa Fe Prep 8th-grader Sophie Bair and Griffin freshmen Nya Griego and Helen Desmond right behind her. How is Prep youth after that, well it’s three more freshmen, a sophomore and senior Sophie Addison, who is usually its fifth finisher.

The Griffin boys, though,will send four seniors and three juniors to state. Then you have the Santa Fe Indian School boys with two seniors, two sophomores, two freshmen, and one 8th-grader, with yearling Jeremiah Chavez its leading runner.

Then when you turn to the Braves girls, you won’t find a senior, but there are five juniors, with Destiny Marques their top harriers, and a pair of freshmen.

In 5A girls, Santa Fe High has qualified its racers with rising 8th-grader Mia Schleman paving the way for two freshmen, a sophomore, and three seniors, its boys are more upperclassmen behind seniors Tanner Black and Mason Nichols, two mores seniors, to go two 8th-graders.

Now let’s see how these rising underclassmen do as seniors. Are they still racing, are they injured, have they been passed by other underclassmen? This will be decided by the way cross country continues to grow, and you can count on a good turnout Saturday.

Class 2-2A runs first at 9 o’clock, followed by 4A, 3A and 5A. Awards will be presented after each gender runs.