Every Wednesday, El Paso Running will utilize a point system to highlight El Paso’s top cross country runners.

The system is as follows: In a race of less than 150 runners, first place gets 10 points, second gets 9 points all the way down to and 10th place which gets 1 point. For meets with between 150 to 300 runners, double points will be rewarded meaning 20 points for first, 19 for second all the way down to 1 point for 20th. For every additional 150 runners, another 10 runners will be included in the points.

For those who like raw times, we also list the Top 25 5K/3 mile boys and girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

For questions, videos and photos email vrmart66@gmail.com.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers rested on Saturday after returning from the 38^th Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine, Calif. Eastwood will race in the Sole Sports Sweepstakes race at Friday night’s Desert Twilight Meet in Mesa Grande, Ariz.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers placed five runners in the top 10 including the top three spots to easily win the Class 6A portion of the Lubbock Invitational at Mae Simmons Park. Senior Tyler Rodriguez won the event in 15:41.9 followed by Jacob Ye (15:52.2) and Alek Duran (15:53.5). Freshman Jared Laverty was fifth in 15:57.8 and sophomore Gage Garcia was ninth in 16:13.0. Americas will travel to Round Rock for the McNeil Invitational at Old Settlers Park, the UIL State course.

4. San Elizario: The Eagles won its fifth straight meet, winning the Franklin Invitational at the Haskins Recreational Center on Saturday with 83 points, 15 points ahead of Franklin. Edwin Gomez was second in 17:04.20 and Seth Rodriguez as 10^thin 17:51.48. San Elizario will travel to Houston for the Nike South Invitational.

4. Hanks: The Knights rested Saturday as the team prepares for Friday night’s Desert Twilight Meet in Mesa Grande, Ariz.

5. Franklin: The Cougars climb another two spots after finishing second at their own invitational at the Haskins Recreation Center. Franklin scored 98 points with Jacobo Wedemeyer leading the way placing fifth in 17:10.44. Franklin will also race at Friday night’s Desert Twilight Meet in Mesa Grande, Ariz.

6. Socorro: The Bulldogs placed fifth with 95 points in the Class 6A race of the Lubbock Invitational at Mae Simmons Park. Senior Mario Luna was eight in 16:10.0. The team will race at the Jefferson/Burges Invitational at Chamizal National Park on Saturday.

7. Coronado: The T-Birds appear to have depth issues. It’s top three runners  – Nick Gonzalez, Liam Walsh and Alan Alba – have been steady all season. In order for the T-Birds to make a late-season run, they must find more consistency in the back of their pack. Gonzalez was fourth (17:06.35), Walsh was sixth in 17:30.64 and Alba was seventh (17:39.81) at the Franklin Invitational. Its final scoring runners were 48^thand 52^nd. They will compete at the Jefferson/Burges Invitational at Chamizal National Park on Saturday.

8. Burges: The Mustangs were third at the Class 5A portion of the Lubbock Invitational at Mae Simmons Park on Saturday. Its top runner was senior Sam Zambrano who finished fifth in 16:50.1. They will race in their own invitational at the Chamizal.

 9. Eastlake: The Falcons placed fourth in the Class 5A race of the Lubbock Invitational at Mae Simmons Park. Eastlake had two top 10 finishers – freshman Israel David (fourth, 16:15.2) and senior Carlos Armendariz (seventh, 16:27.2). Eastlake’s average time was 17:14.6. They will race at the Chamizal on Saturday.

10. Tornillo: The Coyotes finally ran a full squad for the first time this season at the Lubbock Invitational and won the Class 3A race. Tornillo went 1-2 with Ofir Ortega winning the race in 16:22.5 followed by Eduardo Carrillo in 16:31.3 and scored 65 points.  They will travel to Round Rock for the McNeil Invitational at Old Settlers Park, the UIL State course.

Dropped out: None.
On the verge: El Paso High, Cathedral.

Top 25 Times (5K/3 mile)

1, Michael Abeyta, Hanks, 14:32.48 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

2, Elias Perez, Eastwood, 14:37.0 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

3, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 14:52.5 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

4, Juan Olmos, Eastwood, 14:55.2 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

5, Rodger Rivera, Hanks, 14:59:46 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

6, Kayn Quinones, Eastwood, 15:03.3 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

7, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 15:13.4 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

8, Nick Gonzalez, Coronado, 15:18.09 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

9, Liam Walsh, Coronado, 15:19.73 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

10, Brandon Seagraves, Cathedral, 15:22:57 (Race to Midnight, SAC, 8/17).

11, Eddie Gallegos, Eastwood, 15:22.9 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

12, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:24:52 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

13, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 15:30.08 (Tornillo Invitational, 9/8).

14, Victor Parra, Eastwood, 15:31.8 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/15).

15, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:39:86 (Race to Midnight, SAC, 8/17).

16, Tyler Rodriguez, Americas, 15:41:9 (Mae Simmons Park, 9/22).

17, Ofir Ortega, Tornillo, 15:47.21 (Tornillo Invitational, 9/8).

18, Alan Alba, Coronado, 15:48.83 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

19, Carlos Armendariz, Eastlake, 15:51.12 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

20, Jacob Ye, Americas, 15:52.2 (Mae Simmons Park, 9/22).

21, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 15:56.30 (Tornillo Invitational, 9/8).

22, D’Angelo Flores, Jefferson, 15:57.92 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/15).

23, Seth Rodriguez, San Elizario, 15:58.36 (Tornillo Invitational, 9/8).

24, Alek Duran, Americas, 15:53:5 (Mae Simmons, 9/22).

25, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:57.8 (Mae Simmons, 9/22).

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicates meets won):

1, Edwin Gomez, San Eli, 49 (4).

2, Rodger Rivera, Hanks, 38 (1).

3, Michael Abeyta, Hanks, 37 (2).

3, Chauncey Wilkes, Andress, 37 (1).

5, Brandon Seagraves, Cathedral, 35 (2).

6, Ofir Ortega, Tornillo, 33 (1).

7, Tyler Rodriguez, Americas, 29 (1).

8, Nicholas Gonzalez, Coronado, 27.

9, Liam Walsh, Coronado, 26 (1).

10, Seth Rodriguez, San Eli, 26.

 

Jacobo Wedemeyer, Franklin, 25.

Israel David, Eastlake, 25.

Mario Luna, Socorro, 23.

Alek Duran, Americas, 19.

Jacob Ye, Americas, 18.

David Gonzalez, Burges, 18.

Carmelo Corral, Americas, 17.

Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 15.

Elias Perez, Eastwood, 15.

Martin Pargas, San Eli, 15.

Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 14.

Eduardo Carrillo, Tornillo, 14.

Angel Contreras, Chapin, 13.

Sam Zambrano, Burges, 11.

Carlos Armendariz, Eastlake, 11.

Trenton Nelson, Montwood, 10.

Sebastian Mendoza, Socorro, 9.

Jared Laverty, Americas, 9.

Noah Yeager, Burges, 9.

Josep Ferret, El Paso, 9.

Alan Alba, Coronado, 9.

D’Angelo Flores, Jefferson, 8.

Kayn Quinones, Eastwood, 7.

Juan Olmos, Eastwood, 7.

Eddie Gallegos, Eastwood, 7.

Christian Parra, Socorro, 7.

Steve Stresow, Cathedral, 6.

Angel Ortiz, Burges, 6.

Gage Garcia, Americas, 6.

Zach Sanchez, Andress, 4.

Joshua Pineda, Pebble Hills, 4.

Evan Rubio, Ysleta, 3.

Hector Rivera, Bel Air, 3.

Luis Cuevas, Burges, 3.

Andres Marquez, Eastwood, 3.

Dylan Espinosa, Bowie, 3.

Matthew Lindsey, Montwood, 3.

Irvin Vasquez, San Elizario, 2.

Jose Nilo, Austin, 2.

Daniel Kennedy, Franklin, 2.

Hector Sanchez, Americas, 1.

Joshua Gonzalez, Mt. View, 1.

Abraham Navarez, Parkland, 1.

Matthew Avila, El Paso, 1.

Jorge Navor, Eastwood, 1.

Adrian Morales, Irvin, 1.

Sebastian Mendoza, Socorro, 1.