October 2021 – El Paso Running

High School Boy’s XC Poll: Week 10

Every Thursday, El Paso Running will utilize a point system to highlight El Paso’s top boy’s 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 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 girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

UIL Cross Country State Championship: Friday, Nov. 5 for Class 3A and 5A and Saturday, Nov. 6 for Class 4A and 6A at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

Hundreds of runners from all over Region 1 converged on Lubbock on Monday, all hoping to earn a spot to the UIL State Cross Country Championship.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers had two top 10 runners – seniors Andres Gurrola (fourth, 15:46.0) and Isaac Mendoza (tenth, 16:01.6) – and finished second at the Region 1-6A Championship behind Southlake Carroll. Senior Victor Anchondo had a top 30 regional showing, finishing 30^th in 16:36.4. Eastwood’s team average was 16:22.2. This will be Eastwood’s eighth consecutive trip to state and the ninth in 10 years.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers finished sixth at the Region 1-6A Meet. Seniors Jared Laverty (11^th, 16:02.5) and Carmelo Corral (16^th, 16:08.0) both qualified to state. Senior Aaron Saenz was 29^th in 16:34.9. The team’s average was 16:44.9.

3. San Elizario: The Eagles earned a team silver at the Region 1-4A Championship, scoring 97 points, 12 points behind Canyon. Junior Chris Moreno won the region in 15:40.9 – the fastest El Paso time in any classification. San Elizario had four other runners – junior Matthew Maese (21^st, 17:01.4), sophomore Angel Maese (23^rd, 17:05.9), senior Alan Ceballos (25^th, 17:09.3) and senior Irvin Vazquez (27^th, 17:16.9) – finish in the top 30. The team’s average was 16:50.9. San Elizario will compete in its eighth straight state championship.

4. Franklin: The Cougars finished the season with an 11^th place finish at the Region 1, Class 6A Championship. Junior Diego Flores was the top Franklin runner, finishing 28^th in 16:34.5. The team average was 17:14.0.

5. Coronado: Junior Luis Pastor finished fifth at the Region 1-6A Championship in 15:47.0 and qualified for state. Senior Sam Breceda was 55^th in 17:02.1.

6. Cathedral: The Irish are preparing TAPPS State Championship Monday,Nov. 1 at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, Waco.

7. Riverside: The Rangers finished fifth – one spot away from advancing to state -at the Region 1-4A Championship with 173 points. Riverside had two top 10 runners – seniors Andrew Valdiviezo (fourth, 16:10.2) and Jayden Bustillos (sixth, 16:15.7) – both qualify to state. Bustillos’ time is a personal best. Senior Jostin Briones had a top 40 run, finishing 37^th in 17:35.5. The team average was 17:19.1.

8. Pebble Hills: Junior Omer Ibrahim led all El Paso runners at the Region 1-6A Championship, finishing with a bronze medal in 15:45.3.

9. Hanks: The Knights were the top El Paso 5A school finishing 14^th in the Region 1-5A race with 384 points. Senior Gael Alvarado (13^th, 16:23.7) and junior Alejandro Tarin (16^th, 16.29.1) both advanced to state. The team average was 18:03.2.

10. Burges: The Mustangs placed 16^th in the Region 1-5A race. Burges had two top 50 runners – senior Julian Maldonado (45^th, 17:19.8) and junior Mathew Guerra (46^th, 17:21.0). The team average was 18:17.3.

Dropped out: Horizon.

On the brink: None.

These five runners have been city leaders in teams and overall performance all season.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 14.43.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

2, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 14.49.7 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

3, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 15:02.15 (Del Valle, 8/28).

4, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:02.73 (Del Valle, 8/28).

5, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 15:04.79 (Del Valle, 8/28).

6, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 15:13.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

7, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 15:16.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18)

8, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:24.83 (Canutillo, 8/21).

9, Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 15:28.0 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

10, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 15:38.71 (Del Valle, 8/28).

11, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 15:41.47 (Clint, 10/2).

12, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:41.95 (Canutillo, 8/21).

13, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 15:44.07 (Del Valle, 8/28).

14, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 15:44.47 (Clint, 10/2).

15, Jacob Becket, Eastwood, 15:44.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

16, Diego Flores, Franklin, 15:51.32 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

17, Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 15:52.3 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

18, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 16:01.51 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

19, Aaron Saenz, Americas 16:04.0 (Cleveland, 8/28).

20, Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 16:15.52 (Clint, 10/2).

21, Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 16:15.7 (Mae Simmons, 10/25).

22, Austen Percifull, Franklin, 16:16.35 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

23, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 16:19.03 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

24, Isaac Romero, Franklin, 16:22.86 (Southlake, 8/28).

25, Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 16:28.43 (Clint, 10/2).

Senior Aaron Saenz has been a steady No. 3 man for Americas. His 16:04.0 ranks in the top 20 in El Paso.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 88 (3).

2, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 83 (6).

3, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 67 (3).

4, Jared Laverty, Americas, 66 (4).

5, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 57.

6, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 55.

7, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 54.

8, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 49 (3).

9, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 45.

10, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 45 (1).

Diego Flores, Franklin, 40 (1).

Carmelo Corral, Americas, 40.

Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 40.

Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 38.

Israel David, Eastlake, 34.

Austen Percifull, Franklin, 20.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 19.

Seth Truax, Chapin, 19.

Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 17.

Julian Maldonado, Burges, 17 (1).

Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 15.

Israel Quintana, Immanuel, 15.

Devon Paez, Eastwood, 15.

David Ramirez, El Paso High, 15.

David Herrera, Burges, 14.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 12 (1).

Omar Rivera, Canutillo, 12.

Irvin Vazquez, San Elizario, 13.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 10.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 10.

Rai Lopez, Franklin, 9.

Angel Maese, San Elizario, 9.

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 8.

Matthew Marshall, Eastwood, 8.

Sam Breceda, Coronado, 8.

Leo Valenzuela, El Paso High, 8.

Michael Castorena, Parkland, 8.

Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 7.

Frank Lozano, Franklin, 7.

Efren Moncada, Parkland, 7.

Carlos Mendez, Coronado, 6.

Matthew Guerra, Burges, 6.

Oscar Guzman, Franklin, 6.

Diego Espinoza, Cathedral, 6.

Alan Ceballos, San Elizario, 6.

Juan Linares, Horizon, 6.

Denovan Estrada, Franklin, 5.

Mario Elias, Eastlake, 5.

Sam Flores, Coronado, 5.

Aidan Hernandez, Eastlake, 5.

Aydan Lugo, El Paso High, 5.

Aaron Gomez, Burges, 5.

Isai Barajas, Ysleta, 5.

Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 4.

Dauntae Herrera, Chapin, 4.

Dylan Lorilla, Cathedral, 4.

Venancio Calderon, El Dorado, 4.

Bryan Estrada, Eastlake, 3.

Antonio Palos, Irvin, 3.

Jorge Maese, San Eli, 3.

Alexander Flores, Eastwood, 2.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 2.

Sebastian Gonzalez, Franklin, 2.

Rene Renteria, Americas, 2.

Juan Leal, Franklin, 2.

Luis Martinez, Irvin, 2.

Kevin Perez, Riverside, 2.

Heiden Pereda, Eastwood, 2.

Braulio Torres, Chapin, 2.

Yahir Barrios, Horizon, 2.

Isaac Romero, Franklin, 1.

Jesse Morales, Americas, 1.

Mauricio Cuartes, Eastwood, 1.

Evan Avitia, Americas, 1.

Jostin Briones, Riverside, 1.

Santiago Cadena, Horizon, 1.

High School Girl’s XC Poll: Week 10

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

For those who like raw times, we also list the Top 25 girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

What: UIL Cross Country State Championship.

When: Friday, Nov. 5 for Class 3A and 5A and Saturday, Nov. 6 for Class 4A and 6A at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

A great season of racing is coming to an end next weekend at the UIL State Cross Country Championship.

Top 10

1. Franklin: Franklin narrowly missed out on its third straight state appearance, finishing tied for fourth with Northwest Eaton with 167 points in the Region 1-6A Championship. Eaton advanced on the strength of its sixth runner finishing before Franklin’s sixth runner. Junior Alyssa Laspada placed 20^th in 19:28.0 and advanced to state individually. Franklin senior Jordan Torres ended her high school cross country career with a top 30 regional spot, finishing 29^th in 19:48.2. Franklin’s average time was 19:56.2.

2. Eastwood: Eastwood finished its team season in fifth place at the Region 1-6A championship. Senior Lauren Walls-Portillo win a silver medal finishing in 18:05.1 and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez finished sixth in 18:28.6 – both will advance to state. The Troopers average time was 19:47.8.

3. Montwood: The team portion of the season ended for Montwood at District when only four Rams finishing the race. However junior Kassandra Jimenez and senior Alexa Rangel represented Montwood at the Region 1-6A Championship in Lubbock on Monday. Jimenez finished 27^th in 19:39.5 and Rangel was 58^th in 20:29.8.

4. Jefferson: The Foxes finished seventh in the Region 1, Class 5A championship with 271 points. Senior Crystal Peterson was 13^th overall in 19:36.5 and advanced to state for the third time in four years. Senior Monique Correa was 31^st in 20:19.2. The team average was 21:15.7.

5. Coronado: The T-Birds finished 20^th in the Region 1, Class 6A championship with 480 points. Its top runners were junior Kyra Walker (56^th, 20:28.8) and sophomore Alexa Lawrence (74^th, 20:54.3). Coronado’s team average was 21:47.9.

6. Pebble Hills: The Spartans did not qualify for regionals.

7. Canutillo: The Eagles finished 10^th at the Region 1, Class 5A championship with 319 points. Junior Natalie Rivera was a top 30 runner, finishing in 27^th in 20:15.4. The team average was 21:45.4.

8. Del Valle: After winning District 2-5A for the first time since 2010, the Conquistadores finished 15^th at regionals. Senior Anisa Sanchez was the only top 50 runner, finishing 41^st in 20:41.6. The team average was 22:01.8.

9. Americas: The Trailblazers season ended at district but freshman Lexee Salas finished 62^nd in 20:38.3 at the Region 1-6A championship in Lubbock.

10. Tornillo: The Coyotes made school history by finishing fourth at the Region 1-3A Championship and advancing to its first ever state meet. Junior Kylene Elias was 10^th in the 2-mile race finishing in 13:15.6 and senior Olivia Garcia had a top 40 performance, placing 36^th in 14:04.1. Tornillo is the only girls team in the area to advance to the state meet.

Dropped out: Burges.

On the brink: None.

Del Valle junior Valeria Loo-Kung ended her season with a top 25 time in El Paso. She finished 52nd at the Region 1-5A Championship.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Lauren Walls-Portillo, Eastwood, 17:17.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

2, Adelynn Rodriguez, Eastwood, 17:20.1 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

3, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood, 18:28.29 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11)

4, Alyssa Laspada, Franklin, 18:30.07 (Southlake, 8/28).

5, Natalie Rivera, Canutillo, 18:52.86 (Clint, 10/2).

6, Pamela Ramirez, Burges, 18:59.11 (Del Valle, 8/28).

7, Jordan Torres, Franklin, 19:07.10 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

8, Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills, 19:08.03 (Del Valle, 8/28).

9, Salma Licon, Eastwood, 19:10.4 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

10, Sophia Watts, Eastwood, 19:11.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

11, Jenna Saunders, Franklin, 19:22.86 (SAC, 10/2).

12, Abby Barraza, Franklin, 19:25.63 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

13, Crystal Peterson, Jefferson, 19:36.05 (Mae Simmons, 10/25).

14, Ana Rojas, Socorro, 19:38.94 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

15, Adalia Olmos, Eastwood, 19:41.07 (Del Valle, 8/28).

16, Alexa Rangel, Montwood, 19:51.64 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

17, Mia Rivera, Hanks, 19:53.20 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

18, Jazmine Miranda, Montwood, 19:57.39 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

19, Anisa Sanchez, Del Valle, 19:57.84 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

20, Kyra Walker, Coronado, 19:58.38 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

21, Carolina Zarrabal, Pebble Hills, 19:58.92 (Del Valle, 8/28).

22, Sofia Camacho, Franklin, 20:03.13 (Canutillo, 8/21).

23, Giselle Rubio, Eastlake, 20:03.35 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

24, Valeria Loo-Kung, Del Valle, 20:04.76 (Clint, 10/2).

25, Monique Correa, Jefferson, 20:06.17 (SAC, 10/2).

El Paso High junior Jezarae Valenzuela had a top 50 regional performace.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Lauren Walls-Portillo, Eastwood, 73 (3).

2, Pamela Ramirez, Burges, 63 (2).

2, Alyssa Laspada, Franklin, 63 (2).

4, Adelynn Rodriguez, Eastwood, 60 (1).

5, Mia Rivera, Hanks, 52 (2).

6, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood, 49 (2).

6, Crystal Peterson, Jefferson, 49.

8, Jordan Torres, Franklin, 47.

9, Natalie Rivera, Canutillo, 46 (2).

10, Jenna Saunders, Franklin, 42.

Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills, 41 (1).

Samantha Ramirez, San Elizario, 39 (2).

Monique Correa, Jefferson, 39.

Anisa Sanchez, Del Valle, 39.

Valeria Loo-Kung, Del Valle, 31.

Kylene Elias, Tornillo, 29 (1).

Abby Barraza, Franklin, 29.

Alexa Rangel, Montwood, 27.

Disany Sandoval, Del Valle, 20.

Katelyn Montoya, San Elizario, 20.

Andrea Castillo, El Paso High, 17.

Madelyn Estrada, Mt. View, 17.

Sofia Camacho, Franklin, 16.

Carolina Zarrabal, Pebble Hills, 16.

Dania Cano, Canutillo, 15.

Olivia Garcia, Tornillo, 15.
Elizabeth Hernandez, Austin, 14.

Abigail Murillo, Bel Air, 13.

Ana Rojas, Socorro, 11.

Sofia Ramirez, El Paso High, 11.

Brooke McCune, Franklin, 10 (1).

Lexee Salas, Americas, 10.

Jaylee Levario, Bel Air, 10.

Osmary Vazquez, San Elizario, 10.

Olivia Elder, Franklin, 9.

Lauren Perez, Riverside, 9.

Jeanette Rivera, YWLA, 8.

Wendy Garcia, Tornillo, 7.

Camila Prieto, Jefferson, 7.

Sarah Lopez Touchy, Ysleta, 7.

Marcela Hernandez, Riverside, 6.

Alexa Lawrence, Coronado, 6.

Tessa Gibbons, Franklin, 6.

Brianna Ibarra, Tornillo, 6.

Adalia Olmos, Eastwood, 5.

Jennifer Najar, Canutillo, 5.

Mariah Martinez, Loretto, 5.

Sofia Hernandez, Jefferson, 5.

Salma Licon, Eastwood, 5.

Abigail Murillo, Bel Air, 5.

Natalie Franco, Pebble Hills, 4.

Kyra Walker, Coronado, 4.

Natalia Valdez, Chapin, 4.

Nataly Escajeda, Tornillo, 4.

Daniela Luna, Riverside, 4.

Jezarae Valenzuela, El Paso High 4.

Allison Perez, Coronado, 3.

Jazmine Miranda, Montwood, 3.

Mireyda Samer, Franklin, 3.

Alicia Chavez, YWLA, 3.

Giselle Rubio, Eastlake, 2.

Caroline Pitchkolan, Coronado, 2.

Sophia Watts, Eastwood, 2.

Ileana Maldonado, Clint, 2.

Hannah Martinez, Franklin, 2.

Ivy Lara, Canutillo, 2.

Ximena Holguin, San Elizario, 1.

Grace Kimble, Franklin, 1.

Amy Lozano, Burges, 1.

Ashley Hernandez, San Elizario, 1.

Region 1 roundup: Eastwood, San Eli boys, Tornillo girls and 16 individuals advance to state

What’s Next

What: UIL Cross Country State Championship.

When: Friday, Nov. 5 for Class 3A and 5A and Saturday, Nov. 6 for Class 4A and 6A at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

Who advanced?

Boys

Class 6A: Eastwood. Also, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills; Luis Pastor, Coronado and Jared Laverty and Carmelo Corral, Americas.

Class 5A: Gael Alvarado and Alejandro Tarin, Hanks.

Class 4A: San Elizario and Riverside’s Andrew Valdivierzo and Jayden Bustillos.

Class 3A: Tornillo’s Daniel Romero and Angel Torres.

Girls

Class 6A: Lauren Walls-Portillo and Adelynn Rodriguez, Eastwood;Alyssa Laspada, Franklin.

Class 5A: Pamela Ramirez, Burges and Crystal Peterson, Jefferson.

Class 4A: Samantha Ramirez, San Elizario.

Class 3A: Tornillo.

All five men in this photo will be running for a Class 6A state championship on Nov. 6.

The Eastwood and San Elizario boys earned silver team medals and the Tornillo girls made school history – AGAIN – qualifying for state for the first time at the Region 1 Cross Country Championship at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock on Monday.

Sixteen individual runners not on a qualifying team also advanced to the UIL Cross Country State Championship Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

Class 6A

Eastwood seniors Andres Gurrola and Isaac Mendoza paced the Troopers finishing fourth (15:46.0) and tenth (16:01.6) but could not overcome solid performances by Southlake Carroll’s 4-5-6 runners and eventually finished second with 98 points.

Southlake Carroll won the region with 75 points. Plano West was third with 123 points and Propser captured the final spot to state, scoring a 148.

Americas was sixth with 193 points and Franklin was 11^th with 295 points.

“Anytime you make it to state and run that close to a team like Southlake Carroll it’s a good meet,” said Eastwood coach Mike McLain. “I’ve very proud of them. This team is very much overperforming expectations.”

McLain said there is room for improvement.

“We’ll switch some workouts up that can make us a little sharper,” he said. “I think they have an excellent chance to medal which is a big deal in 6A.”

This will be Eastwood’s eighth consecutive trip to state and the ninth time in 10 years.

Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim led all El Paso runners, finishing third in 15:45.3. Coronado junior Luis Pastor was fifth in 15:47.0 and Americas’ seniors Jared Laverty and Carmelo Corral finished 11^th (16:02.5) and 16^th (16:08.0).

“I wasn’t at my best, I was struggling a bit but it felt good to finish in the top three,” Ibrahim said. “I was nervous before the race but I was still excited to be able to run regionals, I haven’t been able to do that in the past two years.”

Entering the race, Ibrahim said he was hoping for a top 10 finish and to qualify for state.

“I was happy that I qualified for state because that’s what I went there to do,” he said.

Hudson Heikkinen from Plano West won in 15:25.3 and Abilene’s Andruw Villa was second in 15:26.1.

Eastwood, Ibrahim, Pastor, Laverty and Corral all qualified for state.

Eastwood senior Lauren Walls-Portillo earned a silver medal, finishing in 18:05.1 at the Region 1-6A Championship. She has been to state all four years of her high school career.

On the girl’s side, Franklin narrowly missed out on its third straight state appearance.

The team finished tied for fourth with Northwest Eaton with 167 points but Eaton advances on the strength of its sixth runner finishing before Franklin’s sixth runner.

Eastwood was sixth with 198 points and Coronado was 20^th with 480 points.

Three El Paso runners qualified for state as individuals.

Eastwood senior Lauren Walls-Portillo earned a silver medal, finishing in 18:05.1 behind Natalie Cook of Flower Mound (16:39.9), Eastwood freshman Adelynn Rodriguez was All Region after her sixth-place finish (18:28.6) and Franklin junior Alyssa Laspada advances to state placing 20^th in 19:28.0.

“They have really driven each other this year,” McLain said of Walls-Portillo and Rodriguez. “With the boys, we’ve been able to create competition with each other. Competition will make you better. Lauren has had great improvement through her four years but there really hasn’t been anybody on the team who is as fast as her. Adelynn has given her someone not only to workout with, but to compete with. That has made them both better.”

Jefferson’s Crystal Peterson finished 13th in 19:36.5 at the Region 1-5A Championship and advanced to her third state meet.

Class 5A

Four runners survived Region 1 and will be running at the state meet in two weeks.

Hanks’ teammates senior Gael Alvarado and junior Alejandro Tarin, Burges senior Pamela Ramirez and Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson earned spots to state.

Alvarado was 13^th in 16:23.7, Tarin was 16^th in 16:29.1, Ramirez was eighth in 19:16.4 and Peterson was 13^th in 19:36.5.

The Hanks boys were the top El Paso 5A team, placing 14^th with 384 points followed by Burges (16^th, 399), Chapin (17^th, 422), Horizon (18^th, 466), El Paso (19^th, 485) and Bel Air (22^nd, 561).

Jefferson was the top El Paso 5A school placing seventh with 262 points followed by Canutillo (10^th, 319), Del Valle (15^th, 363), Hanks (16^th, 369) and Burges (17^th, 377).

San Elizario junior Chris Moreno won the Region 1-4A championship. He is the next in line in a long list of regional champions at the Cotton Valley School.

Class 4A

San Elizario junior Chris Moreno won the Region 1-4A championship in overwhelming fashion, racing to a 14-second margin of victory, finishing the course in 15:40.9.

Moreno also helped the Eagles to a silver team medal finishing 12 points behind Canyon with 97 points. Big Spring was third with 117 points and Argyle was fourth with 126 points.

“We lost Edwin (Gomez) and Dilan (Sanchez), our No. 1 and No. 2 runners so I knew this would be our rebuilding year,” San Elizario coach Cesar Morales said. “We start off slow almost every year because many of our kids go to Mexico or they work in the summer so we can’t workout. For us, our season begins when school starts, that’s why we start slow.”

Morales knew the season would be difficult.

“I told the kids that regionals would be tough,” he said. “This was really an eye-opener for them. All we wanted to do was qualify so that would give us two weeks to prepare for state. I wanted to use this race to see if we really had a chance to medal at state. You have no idea how pleased I am. There was only a 15-second gap between my second and fifth guy, which was very good.”

Moreno’s individual regional title is San Elizario’s fourth in five years.

“Since Michael Johnson, Erick Arambula, Edwin Gomez and now Chris, I have been fortunate to always have a top runner,” Morales said.

The Eagles will be making its eighth straight trip to state.

Riverside seniors Andrew Valdiviezo and Jayden Bustillos also qualified for state – both finishing in the top 10.

Valdiviezo was fourth in 16:10.02 and Bustillos was sixth in 16:15.7.

Riverside was fifth with 173 and Valle Verde Early College was 23^rd with 654 points.

San Elizario’s Samantha Ramirez finished in 15^th place in 12:52.2 and qualified for her first state appearance.

“Since the beginning of the season she has been on a mission to qualify for state,” Morales said. “We know it’s going to be difficult but her goal is to finish in the top 20. She has been hitting personal bests every week for the past six weeks and she wants to do the same at state and hopefully earn a scholarship.”

San Elizario finished 12^th in the region with 305 points, Riverside was 15^th with 466 points and El Paso Young Women’s Academy was 22^nd with 644 points.

Tornillo continues to write the cross country record back – advancing to state for the first time in school history.

Class 3A

Tornillo’s girls qualified as a team for the first time in school history, finishing fourth with 178 points – two points ahead of Bushland.

“When the unofficial results where published, we were up by one point,” said Tornillo coach Jesse Garcia. “The scary part is when its unofficial, you don’t know if they missed a kid at the finish line so they have to go back to the camera to make sure they didn’t. If they do, they fix it and then it becomes official. I’ve seen teams switch positions because they missed a kid. I’m glad that didn’t happen to us.”

Garcia waited to share the news with the team until it did become official.

“When we walked up to the girls, they looked spent, like they just went through a war,” he said. “They saw my reaction and heard me yelling with my phone up in the air and they yelled, ‘We made, it, we made it.’ It was a moment of euphoria, we were so grateful, it was feeling I can’t describe.”

Holliday won the region with 31 points followed by Crane (132) and Canadian (148).

Junior Kylene Elias ran a 2-mile time of 13:15.6, good for 10^th place, to lead the Coyotes.

For the first time in nine years, the boys did not qualify as a team, finishing 13^th with 326 points.

Tuscola Jim Ned won the region with 87 points followed by Presidio (120), Amarillo River Road (202) and Crane (203).

However, all is not lost as sophomore Daniel Romero and junior Angel Torres reached qualifying times to advance.

Romero was third in 16:48.0 and Torres 14^th in 18:14.1.

“They had somewhat of a bad race, it happens, but they still have the potential to medal at state,” Garcia said. “Daniel was in the mix to the very end. It came down to last 400 meters and it got away from him. Angel’s bad race took Daniel by surprise because they always work together. Angel is going to redeem himself, he knows what he has to do, those lessons had to be learned. He was humbled by it but hopefully it will make him a better runner.”

Boys Region 1 Preview: Traditional regional and state powers take on Region 1

What: Region 1 Cross Country Championship.

When: Monday, Oct. 25 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. Girl’s start times (Mountain Time): 4A, 8 a.m.; 5A, 9 a.m.; 6A, 10 a.m.; 3A, 1 p.m. Boys start times: 4A, 8:30 a.m.; 5A, 9:30 a.m.; 6A 10:30 a.m. 3A, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Mae Simmons Park, MLK Blvd. and 24th Street in Lubbock.

At Stake: Top four teams and top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the UIL Cross Country State Championship, Saturday Nov. 6 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

Who advanced?

The following boy’s teams and runners have advanced:

Class 6A: Eastwood, Americas and Franklin. Also, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills; Israel David, Eastlake; Luis Pastor, Coronado and Sam Breceda, Coronado.

Class 5A: Burges, Horizon, El Paso High, Hanks, Chapin. Bel Air. Also, Michael Castorena, Parkland; Efren Moncada, Parkland; Isai Barajas, Ysleta; Venancio Calderon, El Dorado; Omar Rivera, Canutillo.

Class 4A: San Elizario, Riverside, Valle Verde Early College.

Class 3A: Tornillo.

The Region 1 Cross Country Championship begins on Monday at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock with a trip to the UIL State Championship at stake.

The traditional El Paso and state powers will make their presence known at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock on Monday.

Eastwood and Americas in Class 6A, San Elizario in Class 4A and Tornillo in Class 3A will all be vying for another trip to the UIL Cross Country State Championship on Nov. 6 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.

The Region 1 Cross Country Championship begins on Monday.

San Elizario is working toward defending its Class 4A state title, Eastwood is hoping to improve on their Class 6A runner-up finish from last year and Eastlake senior Israel David is shooting for another opportunity to return to the state medal stand after finishing with a bronze at last year’s Class 6A race.

But first, they must get through the toughest region in the state – Region 1, the Region of Doom.

Six individual runners – Riverside junior Andrew Valdiviezo, Eastlake junior Israel David Eastlake, a pair of Americas runners (junior Jared Laverty and senior Michael Mier), Eastwood junior Lauren Walls-Portillo and Montwood junior Kassandra Jimenez – also punched their tickets to Round Rock.

Here is what’s in store for this year’s regional boy’s races:

Eastwood seniors Andres Gurrola (left) and Isaac Mendoza (right), along with Americas senior Carmelo Corral (center), will race for a spot to state.

Class 6A

Eastwood finished three points away from its third straight Region 1 championship last year, finishing right behind Southlake Carroll in the Region of Doom.

Americas finished fourth with 109 points and would have advanced to its third straight state championship meet but due to the pandemic, only the top three teams advanced.

The Troopers won Class 5A regionals in 2018 and 2019 before leaping back to 6A last year.

With a healthy, senior-laden team, Eastwood looks to return to state for the ninth time in 10 years and its eighth in row.

After losing four of its top five runners, Eastwood has been in reload mode.

“Everyone had low expectations for us this year,” said senior Isaac Mendoza, the lone returning top five runner. “A lot of people thought we would be done this year and we wouldn’t be competitive. We wanted to prove them wrong so we put in the work in the summer and we held each other accountable. Nothing beats work. If you don’t put in the work, you won’t go get the results – and all of us put in the work this year.”

Eastwood finished the 2020 season with a Class 6A state silver medal, just six points behind Southlake Carroll.

Americas and Franklin, Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim, Eastlake senior Israel David, Coronado junior Luis Pastor and Coronado senior Sam Breceda will also compete for an opportunity to advance to state.

“The boys have made great strides this year,” Franklin coach Anthony Laspada said. “Last year we had some injuries at district but we had some young kids fill in nicely for them so that helped us going forward. Just to see that light click has been amazing. I’m really excited to see what they can do going forward.”

David finished sixth in 16:10.60 and Americas senior Jared Laverty finished 14^th at last year’s regional (16:24.70) and both advanced to state.

Ibrahim, the District 1-6A champion, is looking forward to his first regional appearance.

“The Lubbock meet was kind of like a regional preview so I know the course,” he said of Mae Simmons Park. “We saw a lot of the teams that are going to be there on Monday so I’ll do what I did last time and I should be good.”

Ibrahim, who has won a city-best six individual titles this season, gained a huge confidence booster winning the Nike South Invitational at The Woodlands.

“I thought I was a lot farther behind the state and national runners,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was going to be able to compete with all the big teams and the runners. Knowing that I can has helped my confidence and now I know I can do more.”

Hanks and Chapin are two teams to watch at the Region 1-5A Championship on Monday.

Class 5A

Last year was a difficult one for the Class 5A boys when zero teams and only three individuals advance to state.

Hanks junior Alejandro Tarin is the only 5A runner (16^th, 17:23.30 at last year’s regional) with an opportunity to return to state.

Tarin finished second (17:44.39) at this year’s District 2-5A race behind senior teammate Gael Alvarado who defending his title in 17:24.17.

Burges, Horizon, El Paso High, Hanks, Chapin and Bel Air, along with Parkland juniors Michael Castorena and Efren Moncada, Ysleta sophomore Isai Barajas, El Dorado senior Venancio Calderon and Canutillo sophomore Omar Rivera will do their best to advance to state.

“Last year, due to the COVID pandemic, my morale was 100 percent down and I didn’t have the motivation to run,” Tarin said. “It definitely helps now that the pandemic has subsided a little bit. Running together as a team again together has definitely brought my confidence and morale up. We’ll going to give it our all and see where we end up.”

Burges was the top El Paso team last year finishing seventh, Hanks was eleventh, Bel Air was fourteenth and and El Paso High was fifteenth.

San Elizario and Riverside will represent District 1-4A at the Region 1-4A Championship.

Class 4A

San Elizario, the defending Class 4A state champions, have won six of the past seven regional titles – its only blemish was a third-place finish in 2018.

“Regionals is going to very tough,” said Cesar Morales, San Elizario’s head coach. “We haven’t competed against any of those schools in the east but according to what we’ve seen in the statistics, they are all very good, just like every year. We just have to go out and do what we’ve been doing in practice.”

Also competing are Riverside and Valle Verde Early College.

The Eagles are seeking its eighth straight trip to state.

District 1-4A champion junior Chris Moreno finished 13^th in 17:17.10 at last year’s regionals.

“From what we’ve seen, Argyle will be our toughest competition just like they were last year,” he said. “We know for us to win state, we have to continue to work hard in practice. This is not all we have to give; we have a lot more in the tank. Our goal is to win another state title but we’ll see what happens at regionals.”

Riverside’s Andrews Valdiviezo was fourth in 16:47.00 last year and advanced to state. Riverside finished seventh as a team.

Tornillo junior Angel Torres won the Class 4A Division at the Lubbock Invitational, earlier this year. He hopes to improve on his seventh place finish at the 2020 Class 3A regional.

Class 3A

Tornillo escaped Region 1 with a third-place finish and a trip to the UIL State Cross Country Championship last year.

It was the Coyotes 11^th state appearance in 12 years.

At last year’s regional, Tornillo had two runners – sophomore Daniel Romero (fourth, 17:35.90) and junior Angel Torres (seventh, 17:42.70) – finish in the top 10.

With very little behind that 1-2 punch, Tornillo – as a team – could be left out.

However, Torres and Romero could very likely win individual medals at regionals and the state meet.

Girls Region 1 Preview: Franklin looks for third straight state appearance, Eastwood’s Lauren Walls-Portillo seeks her fourth visit

What: Region 1 Cross Country Championship.

Where: Mae Simmons Park, MLK Blvd. and 24th Street in Lubbock.

At Stake: Top four teams and top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the UIL Cross Country State Championship, Saturday Nov. 6 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

Who advanced?

The following girls teams and runners have advanced:

Class 6A: Franklin, Eastwood, Coronado. Also, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood; Alexa Rangel, Montwood; Lexee Salas, Americas and Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills.

Class 5A: Jefferson, Del Valle,Burges, Canutillo, El Paso High and Hanks. Also, Elizabeth Hernandez, Austin; Sarah Lopez Touchy, Ysleta; Jaylee Levario, Bel Air; Abigail Murillo, Bel Air.

Class 4A: San Elizario, Riverside and Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Also, Madelaine Estrada, Mt. View and Ileana Maldonado, Clint.

Class 3A: Tornillo.

Only a select few will advance to the state championship in two weeks. The next step is regionals in Lubbock on Monday.

So here we are again – Mae Simmons Park, Lubbock, Texas – the roadblock for many El Paso girl’s cross country teams and individual runners.

It is a hilly, rolling park that might as well be filled with quicksand and landmines.

It is a place that traditionally has not been kind to El Paso runners.

The Region 1 Cross Country Championship begins on Monday, the last stop before the UIL Cross Country State Championship at 8 a.m. Nov. 6 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.

Here is what’s in store for this year’s regional girl’s races:

Eastwood senior Lauren Walls is seeking her fourth consecutive trip to state.

Class 6A

Franklin is looking for its third straight trip to state.

The Cougars finished third in the Region 1-6A race last year scoring 71 points and advanced to state.

“It’s been a really exciting year,” said senior Jenna Saunders, who had a top 20 performance (16^th, 19:53.50) at last year’s regional. “We’re relieved to have won district the past four years, but we want to do really well at regionals and qualify for state and do the best we can. We train for it so we know we can do it.”

Franklin coach Anthony Laspada said this year’s team has had to work a little harder because of the absence of two top five regional runners – Eva Jess (fourth, 18:39.00) and Ally Little (fifth, 18:48.70) – who are now racing at UT-Austin.

“We trained really hard all season so we know we can do it,” he said. “The girls have been there for each other and they will continue to be there for each other. We’re going to train and get ready and do our best and go out swinging. We have to stay humble and be thankful for what we have and continue to fight.”

Eastwood and Coronado will also be representing District 1-6A along with Montwood seniors Kassandra Jimenez and Alexa Rangel, freshman Lexee Salas from Americas and junior Natalia Martinez from Pebble Hills.

Eastwood senior Lauren Walls-Portillo – who finished sixth (19:00.10) at regionals last year – and Montwood’s Jimenez (19^th in 19:58.60 at last year’s regional), both qualified for state last year.

“We’re training very well right now and we are getting stronger, but we’re not done yet,” Walls-Portillo said. “We’re going to continue getting stronger and get ready for that regional course.”

Walls-Portillo, who has been to three UIL State Cross Country meets, hopes a fourth one is in the cards.

“Regionals is a course that you really have to be smart with,” she said. “With my knowledge of running on it for the past three years, I finally know how to run it and how to pace myself so I’m heading into regionals feeling pretty good. It would be my biggest accomplishments to win a state medal.”

Eastwood, which did not qualify a team to last year’s regionals, is looking forward to this opportunity.

“The front part of our girl’s team ran well at district, but quite frankly, the back part got a little scared and didn’t run as well as they could have, but I’m confident they’ll fix it at regionals,” Eastwood coach Mike McLain said.

Walls-Portillo won her first district title in 19:22.89 and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez finished second in 19:38.28.

“Adelynn and Lauren looked great,” McLain said. “I don’t think there have been two girls, that fast, on one El Paso team since I’ve been around and I’ve been around since 1983. What those two girls are doing together is special.”

Austin senior Elizabeth Hernandez hopes her second trip to the Region 1-5A championship results in a trip to the state meet.

Class 5A

Jefferson, Del Valle, Burges, Canutillo, El Paso High and Hanks are the teams representing Districts 1-5A and 2-5A in Lubbock.

Four seniors – Austin’s Elizabeth Hernandez, Ysleta’s Sarah Lopez Touchy and Jaylee Levario and Abigail Murillo from Bel Air – qualified as individuals.

Two senior runners – Pamela Ramirez from Burges and Jefferson’s Monique Correa – were the lone state qualifiers from El Paso’s Class 5A last year.

Ramirez, was 23^rd in 21:22.10 and Correa was 27^th in 21:32.40 at last year’s regional meet.

With a full year of training under her belt, Ramirez, who spent most of her time last year playing soccer, has made giant strides, winning the District 1-5A championship on Saturday in 20:47.09.

“Soccer has always been my first love and the sport that I focused on the most,” she said. “I never thought I could love another sport but I ended loving cross country just as much.”

She said last year’s regional experience has made her mentally prepared for Monday.

“I’m going to be mentally tougher at regionals, and I’ll be ready to compete for a spot to state,” she said. “This time, I want to qualify in the top 5 or top 10.”

Hanks senior and District 2-5A champion Mia Rivera, qualified to last year’s regionals but was injured during the race and did not finish.

“I’m going to train super hard for regionals again,” she said. “I know that I can’t get in my head so I’m going to try focus more than I did last year.”

San Elizario senior Samatha Ramirez looks to make the most of her first regional appearance.

Class 4A

San Elizario, Riverside and Young Women’s Leadership Academy will represent District 1-4A along with Mt. View junior Madelaine Estrada and Clint sophomore Ileana Maldonado.

The district champion, San Elizario senior Samantha Ramirez, is looking forward to regionals.

“I’m going to keep working and pushing myself,” she said. “Nothing is going to be given to me. As long as work hard, I think I can get pretty far.”

Last year, San Elizario finished in 14^th place and Clint was 15^th.

Class 3A

For the first time school history, the Tornillo girls are headed to regionals as a district champion.

Behind two-time defending individual champion, junior Kylene Elias – the Coyotes dominated, the district, scoring 19 points.

Elias was fourth at last year’s regional, completing the two-mile course in 13:01.40, and advanced to state.

The team finished ninth in the region.

High School Boy’s XC Poll: Week 9

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

For those who like raw times, we also list the Top 25 girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

Region 1 Cross Country Meet: Monday, Oct. 25 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. Girl’s start times (Mountain Time): 4A, 8 a.m.; 5A, 9 a.m.; 6A, 10 a.m.; 3A, 1 p.m. Boys start times: 4A, 8:30 a.m.; 5A, 9:30 a.m.; 6A 10:30 a.m. 3A, 1:30 p.m.

With the district championships behind them, El Paso’s runners are now focused on regionals in Lubbock on Monday and state on Nov. 6 in Round Rock.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers had three senior runners in the top 10 – Isaac Mendoza (fourth, 16:53.39), Andres Gurrola (fifth, 17:03.60) and Devon Paez (seventh, 17:30.92) – to win its 11^th district championship in a row with 43 points. The team average was 17:30.06. Eastwood will now race in the Region 1-6A Meet Monday in Lubbock.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers – led by seniors Jared Laverty (sixth, 17:20.98) and Carmelo Corral (tenth, 17:38.73) – finished second in District 1-6A with 71 points. Its team average was 17:56.93. They too advance to the Region 1-6A Meet in Lubbock.

3. Franklin: The Cougars are the third team out of District 1-6A to qualify to regionals after scoring 76 points, five behind Americas. Junior Diego Flores was the low-point man for Franklin, finishing eighth in 17:34.67. The team average was 18:04.99.

4. San Elizario: The Eagles earned its eighth District 1-4A title in dominating fashion, scoring 22 points and placing six runners in the top 10. Junior Chris Moreno won the event in 16:55.51, junior Matthew Maese was third in 17:42.97, sophomore Angel Maese was fifth in 18:04.93, senior Irvin Vazquez was sixth in 18:11.71, senior Alan Ceballos was seventh (18:19.42) and seniorJorge Maese was eighth 18:56.83. San Elizario’s team average was 17:50.91. San Elizario will race in the Region 1-4A Meet Monday in Lubbock.

5. Coronado: The T-Birds finished four points behind Franklin and placed fourth in District 1-6A. Coronado had two runners – junior Luis Pastor (third, 16:30.12) and senior Sam Breceda (ninth, 17:37.58) – finish in the top 10 and qualify for regionals. Coronado’s team averge was 18:04.43.

6. Cathedral: The Irish are preparing TAPPS State ChampionshipNov. 1 at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, Waco.

7. Riverside: The Rangers finished second in the District 1-4A race with 37 points. Senior Andrew Valdiviezo was second in 16:58.27, senior Jayden Bustillos was fourth in 17:46.05 and junior Kevin Perez was ninth in 19:03.93. The team average was 18:37.58. They will compete in the Region 1-4A race in Lubbock.

8. Pebble Hills: The Spartans placed fifth in a loaded District 1-6A with a team average of 18:33.58. Junior Omer Ibrahim won the individual championship in a time of 16:14.28 and will advance to the Region 1-6A meet in Lubbock.

9. Burges: The Mustangs are back in the top 10 after winning its fifth consecutive District 1-5A championship with 28 points. Burges took four of the top six spots including the top two with senior Julian Maldonado winning his first district championship in 18:17.19 followed bysenior David Herrera (18:29.97). Junior Matthew Guerra was fifth in 18:56.09 and senior Aaron Gomez was sixth in 18:57.39. The team will now compete at the Region 1-5A meet in Lubbock.

10. The Double H’s: Hanks and Horizon share the 10^th spot. Horizon won its first District 2-5A championship since 2008. The Scorpions had three senior runners in the top 10 – Juan Linares (fifth, 18:41.57), Yahir Barrios (ninth, 19:03.22) and Santiago Cadena (10^th, 19:05.45). Hanks was second in the district but had the better team average (19:15.30 to 19:32.04) due to its top two runners finishing 1-2. Senior Gael Alvarado defended his title in 17:44.39 and junior Alejandro Tarin was second in 17:44.39. Both teams will compete in the Region 1-5A championship in Lubbock.

Dropped out: El Paso High.

On the brink: None.

Riverside senior Andrew Valdiviezo (center) has been the leader of the Rangers cross country the past two years. He will lead the team into the Region 1-4A championship on Monday.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 14.43.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

2, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 14.49.7 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

3, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 15:02.15 (Del Valle, 8/28).

4, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:02.73 (Del Valle, 8/28).

5, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 15:04.79 (Del Valle, 8/28).

6, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 15:13.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

7, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 15:16.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18)

8, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:24.83 (Canutillo, 8/21).

9, Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 15:28.0 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

10, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 15:38.71 (Del Valle, 8/28).

11, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 15:41.47 (Clint, 10/2).

12, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:41.95 (Canutillo, 8/21).

13, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 15:44.07 (Del Valle, 8/28).

14, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 15:44.47 (Clint, 10/2).

15, Jacob Becket, Eastwood, 15:44.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

16, Diego Flores, Franklin, 15:51.32 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

17, Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 15:52.3 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

18, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 16:01.51 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

19, Aaron Saenz, Americas 16:04.0 (Cleveland, 8/28).

20, Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 16:15.52 (Clint, 10/2).

21, Austen Percifull, Franklin, 16:16.35 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

22, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 16:19.03 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

23, Isaac Romero, Franklin, 16:22.86 (Southlake, 8/28).

24, Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 16:25.30 (Desert Twilight, 9/24).

25, Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 16:28.43 (Clint, 10/2).

Tornillo’s Angel Torres and San Elizario Chris Moreno have legitimate changes to win regionals and, perhaps, state gold.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 72 (3).

2, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 65 (6).

3, Jared Laverty, Americas, 56 (4).

4, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 52.

5, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 47 (2).

6, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 43 (3).

7, Diego Flores, Franklin, 40 (1).

8, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 38.

9, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 37 (1).

10, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 36.

Carmelo Corral, Americas, 35.

Israel David, Eastlake, 34.

Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 29.

Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 28.

Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 23.

Austen Percifull, Franklin, 20.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 19.

Seth Truax, Chapin, 19.

Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 17.

Julian Maldonado, Burges, 17 (1).

Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 15.

Israel Quintana, Immanuel, 15.

Devon Paez, Eastwood, 15.

David Ramirez, El Paso High, 15.

David Herrera, Burges, 14.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 12 (1).

Omar Rivera, Canutillo, 12.

Irvin Vazquez, San Elizario, 13.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 10.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 10.

Rai Lopez, Franklin, 9.

Angel Maese, San Elizario, 9.

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 8.

Matthew Marshall, Eastwood, 8.

Sam Breceda, Coronado, 8.

Leo Valenzuela, El Paso High, 8.

Michael Castorena, Parkland, 8.

Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 7.

Frank Lozano, Franklin, 7.

Efren Moncada, Parkland, 7.

Carlos Mendez, Coronado, 6.

Matthew Guerra, Burges, 6.

Oscar Guzman, Franklin, 6.

Diego Espinoza, Cathedral, 6.

Alan Ceballos, San Elizario, 6.

Juan Linares, Horizon, 6.

Denovan Estrada, Franklin, 5.

Mario Elias, Eastlake, 5.

Sam Flores, Coronado, 5.

Aidan Hernandez, Eastlake, 5.

Aydan Lugo, El Paso High, 5.

Aaron Gomez, Burges, 5.

Isai Barajas, Ysleta, 5.

Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 4.

Dauntae Herrera, Chapin, 4.

Dylan Lorilla, Cathedral, 4.

Venancio Calderon, El Dorado, 4.

Bryan Estrada, Eastlake, 3.

Antonio Palos, Irvin, 3.

Jorge Maese, San Eli, 3.

Alexander Flores, Eastwood, 2.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 2.

Sebastian Gonzalez, Franklin, 2.

Rene Renteria, Americas, 2.

Juan Leal, Franklin, 2.

Luis Martinez, Irvin, 2.

Kevin Perez, Riverside, 2.

Heiden Pereda, Eastwood, 2.

Braulio Torres, Chapin, 2.

Yahir Barrios, Horizon, 2.

Isaac Romero, Franklin, 1.

Jesse Morales, Americas, 1.

Mauricio Cuartes, Eastwood, 1.

Evan Avitia, Americas, 1.

Jostin Briones, Riverside, 1.

Santiago Cadena, Horizon, 1.

High School Girl’s XC Poll: Week 9

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

For those who like raw times, we also list the Top 25 girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

Region 1 Cross Country Meet: Monday, Oct. 25 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. Girl’s start times (Mountain Time): 4A, 8 a.m.; 5A, 9 a.m.; 6A, 10 a.m.; 3A, 1 p.m. Boy’s start times: 4A, 8:30 a.m.; 5A 9:30 a.m.; 6A 10:30 a.m. 3A, 1:30 p.m.

Top 10

1. Franklin: The Cougars are back on top. For the fourth consecutive year, Franklin won the District 1-6A championship scoring 35 points. Franklin placed three runners in the top 10 – junior Alyssa Laspada (third, 20:19.80), senior Jordan Torres (fourth, 20:47.72) and junior Sofia Camacho (sixth, 21:03.75). Franklin’s average time was 21:11.45. Franklin will compete at the Region 1-6A Championship in Lubbock on Monday with an opportunity to advance to its third straight state meet.

2. Eastwood: Eastwood drops out of the No. 1 spot after falling 10 points short of Franklin in District 1-6A despite having a better team average (21:09.61). The Troopers did manage to take individual gold and silver with senior Lauren Walls-Portillo winning her first district title in 19:22.89 and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez finishing second in 19:38.28. Eastwood will race for an opportunity to race at state on Monday at the Regional Championship in Lubbock.

3. Montwood: Only four Rams finished the District 1-6A race and therefore were not eligible to advance as a team to regionals. Junior Kassandra Jimenez was fifth in 20:58.94 and senior Alexa Rangel was seventh in 21:04.05. Both will advance to the Region 1-6A Championship in Lubbock on Monday. The four runner’s scoring average was 22:11.88.

4. Jefferson: The Foxes move up two spots after securing its fourth District 1-5A championship with 26 points. The team placed four runners in the top six positions – Crystal Peterson (second, 21:30.21), Monique Correa (third, 21:58.13), Camila Prieto, (fourth, 22:18.22) and Sofia Hernandez (sixth, 22:52.86). The team average was 22:36.50. Jefferson will travel to Lubbock for Monday’s Region 1-5A Championship.

5. Coronado: The T-Birds move up one spot after finishing third in the District 1-6A championship with 83 points. Its top runners were sophomore Alexa Lawrence (12^th, 21:38.24) and junior Kyra Walker (14th, 21:54.47). Coronado’s team average was 22:38.48. Coronado will prepare for the Region 1-6A championship in Lubbock on Monday.

6. Pebble Hills: The Spartans drop two spots after placing fourth at the District 1-6A meet – the school’s best district finish. The team scored 104 points with an average of 23:01.50. Junior Natalia Martinez advanced to the Region 1-6A championship by placing 10^th in 21:17.30.

7. Del Valle: The Conquistadores seemed to have peaked at the right time, winning the District 2-5A championship for the first time since 2010. Del Valle, which moved up three spots, placed three runners in the top six – junior Valeria Loo-Kung (second, 21:57.39), senior Anisa Sanchez (third, 22:13.11) and senior Disany Sandoval (sixth, 22:22.26) – to score 44 points. The team’s average time was 23:15.03. The team is preparing for the Region 1-5A championship on Monday in Lubbock.

8. Americas: The Trailblazers move up one after placing fifth in District 1-6A. The team’s average time was 23:22.86. Freshman Lexee Salas waseighth in 21:16.62 and will advance to the Region 1-6A championship in Lubbock.

9. Canutillo: The Eagles drop two after placing second in the District 2-5A race with 51 points. Canutillo’s team average was 23:26.37. The Eagles top four finished 8-11 (in order of finish) – junior Dania Cano (22:54.81), junior Natalie Rivera (23:23.01), senior Ivy Lara (23:27.78) and senior Vanessa Preciado (23:30.61).

10. Burges: The Mustangs finished second in District 1-5A with 45 points to earn a trip to the Region 1-5A Championship in Lubbock on Monday. Senior Pamela Ramirez won the district championship in 20:47.09. Three of her teamamtes finishd 10-12 (in order) – senior Amy Lozano (23:47.37), sophomore Aritzel Garcia (23:53.40) and freshman Keilah Valenzuela Garcia (24:06.94). The team average was 23:30.71.

Dropped out: Hanks.

On the brink: El Paso High, Hanks.

The San Elizario girls won the District 1-4A team championship.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Lauren Walls-Portillo, Eastwood, 17:17.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

2, Adelynn Rodriguez, Eastwood, 17:20.1 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

3, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood, 18:28.29 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11)

4, Alyssa Laspada, Franklin, 18:30.07 (Southlake, 8/28).

5, Natalie Rivera, Canutillo, 18:52.86 (Clint, 10/2).

6, Pamela Ramirez, Burges, 18:59.11 (Del Valle, 8/28).

7, Jordan Torres, Franklin, 19:07.10 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

8, Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills, 19:08.03 (Del Valle, 8/28).

9, Salma Licon, Eastwood, 19:10.4 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

10, Sophia Watts, Eastwood, 19:11.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

11, Jenna Saunders, Franklin, 19:22.86 (SAC, 10/2).

12, Abby Barraza, Franklin, 19:25.63 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

13, Ana Rojas, Socorro, 19:38.94 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

14, Adalia Olmos, Eastwood, 19:41.07 (Del Valle, 8/28).

15, Alexa Rangel, Montwood, 19:51.64 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

16, Mia Rivera, Hanks, 19:53.20 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

17, Jazmine Miranda, Montwood, 19:57.39 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

18, Anisa Sanchez, Del Valle, 19:57.84 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

19, Kyra Walker, Coronado, 19:58.38 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

20, Carolina Zarrabal, Pebble Hills, 19:58.92 (Del Valle, 8/28).

21, Crystal Peterson, Jefferson, 20:02.02 (SAC, 10/2).

22, Sofia Camacho, Franklin, 20:03.13 (Canutillo, 8/21).

23, Giselle Rubio, Eastlake, 20:03.35 (Mary Frances Keisling, 9/11).

24, Valeria Loo-Kung, Del Valle, 20:04.76 (Clint, 10/2).

25, Monique Correa, Jefferson, 20:06.17 (SAC, 10/2).

Mt. View junior Madelaine Estrada finished third in the District 1-4A girls championship, finishing the two-mile course in 14:04.29. She advances to the Class 1-4A Regional Championship in Lubbock.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Alyssa Laspada, Franklin, 62 (2).

2, Lauren Walls-Portillo, Eastwood, 54 (3).

3, Mia Rivera, Hanks, 52 (2).

4, Pamela Ramirez, Burges, 50 (2).

5, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood, 49 (2).

6, Jordan Torres, Franklin, 47.

7, Natalie Rivera, Canutillo, 46 (2).

8, Adelynn Rodriguez, Eastwood, 45 (1).

9, Jenna Saunders, Franklin, 42.

10, Crystal Peterson, Jefferson, 41.

10, Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills, 41 (1).

Monique Correa, Jefferson, 39.

Anisa Sanchez, Del Valle, 39.

Samantha Ramirez, San Elizario, 33 (2).

Valeria Loo-Kung, Del Valle, 31.

Abby Barraza, Franklin, 29.

Alexa Rangel, Montwood, 27.

Disany Sandoval, Del Valle, 20.

Katelyn Montoya, San Elizario, 20.

Kylene Elias, Tornillo, 18 (1).

Andrea Castillo, El Paso High, 17.

Madelyn Estrada, Mt. View, 17.

Sofia Camacho, Franklin, 16.

Carolina Zarrabal, Pebble Hills, 16.

Dania Cano, Canutillo, 15.

Olivia Garcia, Tornillo, 15.
Elizabeth Hernandez, Austin, 14.

Abigail Murillo, Bel Air, 13.

Ana Rojas, Socorro, 11.

Sofia Ramirez, El Paso High, 11.

Brooke McCune, Franklin, 10 (1).

Lexee Salas, Americas, 10.

Jaylee Levario, Bel Air, 10.

Osmary Vazquez, San Elizario, 10.

Olivia Elder, Franklin, 9.

Lauren Perez, Riverside, 9.

Jeanette Rivera, YWLA, 8.

Wendy Garcia, Tornillo, 7.

Camila Prieto, Jefferson, 7.

Sarah Lopez Touchy, Ysleta, 7.

Marcela Hernandez, Riverside, 6.

Alexa Lawrence, Coronado, 6.

Tessa Gibbons, Franklin, 6.

Brianna Ibarra, Tornillo, 6.

Adalia Olmos, Eastwood, 5.

Jennifer Najar, Canutillo, 5.

Mariah Martinez, Loretto, 5.

Sofia Hernandez, Jefferson, 5.

Salma Licon, Eastwood, 5.

Abigail Murillo, Bel Air, 5.

Natalie Franco, Pebble Hills, 4.

Kyra Walker, Coronado, 4.

Natalia Valdez, Chapin, 4.

Nataly Escajeda, Tornillo, 4.

Daniela Luna, Riverside, 4.

Jezarae Valenzuela, El Paso High 4.

Allison Perez, Coronado, 3.

Jazmine Miranda, Montwood, 3.

Mireyda Samer, Franklin, 3.

Alicia Chavez, YWLA, 3.

Giselle Rubio, Eastlake, 2.

Caroline Pitchkolan, Coronado, 2.

Sophia Watts, Eastwood, 2.

Ileana Maldonado, Clint, 2.

Hannah Martinez, Franklin, 2.

Ivy Lara, Canutillo, 2.

Ximena Holguin, San Elizario, 1.

Grace Kimble, Franklin, 1.

Amy Lozano, Burges, 1.

Ashley Hernandez, San Elizario, 1.

District roundup: Several championship streaks continue

Who advanced?

The top three teams from each district and the top 10 individuals make it to the Region 1 Cross Country Championships, Oct. 25 in Lubbock.

The following teams and runners have advanced:

Boys

Class 6A: Eastwood, Americas and Franklin. Also, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills; Israel David, Eastlake; Luis Pastor, Coronado and Sam Breceda, Coronado.

Class 4A: San Elizario, Riverside, Valle Verde Early College.

Class 3A: Tornillo.

Girls

Class 6A: Franklin, Eastwood, Coronado. Also, Kassandra Jimenez, Montwood; Alexa Rangel, Montwood; Lexee Salas, Americas and Natalia Martinez, Pebble Hills.

Class 5A: Jefferson, Del Valle,Burges, Canutillo, El Paso High and Hanks. Also, Elizabeth Hernandez, Austin; Sarah Lopez Touchy, Ysleta; Jaylee Levario, Bel Air; Abigail Murillo, Bel Air.

Class 4A: San Elizario, Riverside and Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Also, Madelaine Estrada, Mt. View and Ileana Maldonado, Clint.

Class 3A: Tornillo.

Several district championship win streaks in 4A, 5A and 6A continued for several teams on a crisp Saturday morning at Vista Hills Country Club.

The Eastwood boys won its 11^th straight district championship and the Franklin girls won its fourth in 1-6A; the Burges boys won its fifth in 1-5A; the Jefferson girls won its fourth 1-5A title in a row and the San Elizario boys pulled off its eighth consecutive district title in 1-4A.

Also, Hanks senior Gael Alvarado defended his District 2-5A championship and in doing so, ran the Knights streak of eight individual titles.

The top three teams and top 10 individuals from each district will advance to the Region 1 Cross Country Championship, Oct. 25.

Here are some highlights from Saturday’s races.

District 1-6A

The Troopers had three runners in the top 10 – Isaac Mendoza (fourth, 16:53.39), Andres Gurrola (fifth, 17:03.60) and Devon Paez (seventh, 17:30.92) – to win its 11^th district championship in a row with 43 points.

Americas – led by seniors Jared Laverty (sixth, 17:20.98) and Carmelo Corral (tenth, 17:38.73) was second with 71 points and Franklin was third with 75 points. Junior Diego Flores was the low-point man for Franklin, finishing eighth in 17:34.67.

“We had a really hard week of workouts,” said Eastwood coach Mike McLain. “The goal really wasn’t to run well today (Saturday), our goal is to run well next week (regionals) and the week after (state) so I wasn’t expecting them to look great today.”

Eastwood is also on an 11-year unbeaten streak in El Paso.

“No team, in any sport, has done what these guys have done,” McLain said. “This is national-caliber team; and they had a tough task this year. We only one of our top five guys come back from last year. They really shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing.”

Pebble Hills’ Omer Ibrahim won the individual championship for the first time. He won in a time of 16:14.28. Eastlake’s Israel David was second (16:20.88) and Coronado’s Luis Pastor was third (16:30.12).

Pebble Hills’ Omer Ibrahim won the individual championship District 1-6A followed Eastlake’s Israel David Coronado’s Luis Pastor was third. This is photo from the Del Valle Invitational.

“It was lot of fun,” Ibrahim said. “It was a strong race, my best race so far actually. There as strong competition. No one really took control of the race until the end. It was one of the most fun and competitive races I’ve been in.”

The Franklin girls had three runners in the top 10 – Alyssa Laspada (third, 20:19.80), Jordan Torres (fourth, 20:47.72) and Sofia Camacho (sixth, 21:03.75) – for 35 points and its fourth straight district crown.

Eastwood was second with 45 points and Coronado was third with 83 points.

“When kids put this much effort in and when they buy in, you’ll definitely have a good outcome,” Franklin coach Anthony Laspada said. “I’m really proud of what the girls have done without Eva (Jess) and Ally (Little). We had kids who stepped it up this year and filled in for one another.”

Jess and Little were the top two runners for Franklin last year. Both are now on scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin.

“The girls are so close and so tightly bonded, it really does make a difference,” Laspada said. “They really believed in each other and they went out and did it. I’m so proud of them.”

Eastwood took the top two individual spots with senior Lauren Walls-Portillo winning her first district title in 19:22.89 and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez finished second in 19:38.28.

“Of course my goal and expectation is to win, but I also wanted to get ahead so I could pull my team with me so they could see where I was so I could drive them to go up with me,” Walls-Portillo said.

Walls-Portillo was also happy for her freshman teammate.

“We are a lot alike,” Walls-Portillo said. “We have the motivation and the well to drive and push for our team. We are determined to work hard to make our team better. I want her to be bigger and better than me.”

District 1-5A

The Jefferson girls and Burges boys each added another district championship to their respective trophy cases – the fourth in a row for Jefferson and Burges’ fifth consecutive.

Jefferson’s girls scored 26 points placing four runners in the top six positions – Crystal Peterson (second, 21:30.21), Monique Correa (third, 21:58.13), Camila Prieto, (fourth, 22:18.22) and Sofia Hernandez (sixth, 22:52.86).

Burges was second with 45 points and El Paso High was third with 66 points.

Burges senior Pamela Ramirez won the district championship in 20:47.09.

“Being able to train a full year really helped,” said Ramirez, who was district runner-up last year despite not competing in any pre-district meets. “Going to practice every day made me stronger and faster. Last year my best time was 19:37, this year it was 18:15 so that’s a big improvement.”

The Burges boys easily defended its fifth consecutive district championship scoring 28 points.

El Paso High was second with 49 points and Chapin was third with 64 points.

Burges took four of the top six spots including the first two with senior Julian Maldonado winning his first district championship in 18:17.19 followed bysenior David Herrera (18:29.97). Junior was fifth in Matthew Guerra (18:56.09) and senior Aaron Gomez was sixth in 18:57.39.

“That was a really tough race,” Maldonado said. “We started hill training early in the season because we knew that it would be important for the courses we would see at districts and regionals. Last year’s seniors told us we had to keep this tradition going, so winning another district championship is a big deal for us.”

The Horizon boys won its first district title since 2008

District 2-5A

The boys and girls team results in District 2-5A had the most intrigue with two surprise champions – the Del Valle girls and the Horizon boys.

Del Valle won for the first time since 2010 by placing three runners in the top six – junior Valeria Loo-Kung (second, 21:57.39), senior Anisa Sanchez (third, 22:13.11) and senior Disany Sandoval (sixth, 22:22.26).

Canutillo was second with 51 points and Hanks was third with 60 points.

The Horizon boys won its first district title since 2008, scoring 68 points.

Hanks was second with 73 points and Bel Air was third with 86 points.

The Scorpions had three senior runners in the top 10 – Juan Linares (fifth, 18:41.57), Yahir Barrios (ninth, 19:03.22) and Santiago Cadena (10^th, 19:05.45). Four of the seven are first-time runners.

What wasn’t surprising were the individual winners – Hanks senior Mia Rivera and Hanks senior Gael Alvarado who defending his title in 17:44.39.

Junior teammate Alejandro Tarin was second in 17:44.39 and Parkland junior Michael Castorena was third in 18:11.29.

“It feels very surreal,” Alvarado said of his back-to-back district titles. “Winning it last year wasn’t a huge deal but this year I had a lot of pressure so it feels awesome to win it back to back.”

Alvarado is the eighth consecutive Knight to win the individual title.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “It would be nice to continue the streak even longer. I know my teammates Alex (Tarin) will continue it next year, I have no doubt about that.”

Rivera won her first district championship in 21:47.43.

“This is all new to me,” Rivera said of being district champ. “Coming into my senior year I just wanted to enjoy my last season of cross country and go with the flow, and I ended up coming on top so that’s pretty crazy.”

Del Valle won district for the first time since 2010.

District 1-4A

San Elizario swept the boys and girls district championships.

It was the eighth District 1-4A for the boys – the defending Class 4A state champions.

“I still get nervous,” said Cesar Morales, San Elizario’s head coach. “Our goals never change and district is the first step before we can move forward. We knew Riverside is a great team and they’ve been very close to us the entire season in both the boys and girls so we knew we had to run well.”

The Eagle were dominate, scoring 22 points and placing six runners in the top 10 including district champ junior Chris Moreno who won in 16:55.51.

Junior Matthew Maese was third in 17:42.97, sophomore Angel Maese was fifth in 18:04.93, senior Irvin Vazquez was sixth in 18:11.71, senior Alan Ceballos was seventh (18:19.42) and seniorJorge Maese was eighth 18:56.83.

The defending Class 4A state champions won its eighth district championship and are headed to regionals.

Riverside seniors Andrew Valdiviezo was second in 16:58.27 and Jayden Bustillos was fourth in 17:46.05. Junior Kevin Perez was ninth in 19:03.93 as the Rangers finished second with 37 points.

“It was a tough race,” Moreno said. “Andrew is a great runner and he pushed me to run my best. “It was a different course this year with more hills, but it was a race which will help me get ready for regionals and hopefully state.”

Moreno becomes the fifth straight San Elizario runner to win district. Texas runners Edwin Gomez won the past four years.

“He taught me to keep pushing and to never give up,” he said. “He told me to do whatever coach (Morales) says to do and never give up. Being a runner is not easy. We have to wake up at 6 a.m. every day to workout – it doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold, you need to practice every day and do what you need to do to be better.”

Valle Verde Early College was third with 99 points.

The San Elizario girls won its first district championship since 2018.

The San Elizario girls took four of the top 10 spots to win with 29 points followed by Riverside (39) and Young Women’s Leadership Academy with 66 points.

It was the Eagles first district championship since 2018.

Eagle senior Samantha Ramirez was first on the 2-mile course in 13:13.42 followed by sophomore teammate Katelyn Montoya(13:57.14),sophomoreOsmary Vazquez was fifth in 14:45.79, and senior Ashley Hernandez was 10^th in 15:03.62.

“I’m really proud of my run, but I feel like I could have given a little more,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been working really hard to get to this point but this year was different. People say, ‘last one, best one,’ so I thought to myself I had to give it my all this year.”

Mt. View juniorMadelaine Estrada was third in 14:04.29.

District 4-3A

What an eventful day Thursday was for Tornillo.

Junior Angel Torres and sophomore Daniel Romero finished 1-2 in the district and the girl’s won the Cotton Valley school’s first girl’s District 4-3A cross country championship

Torres won the individual title in 16:50. And Romero was second in 17.21. The team finished second with 54 points. Presidio won the district with 30 points and Alpine was third with 67.

Last year, the girl’s fell seven points short of winning its first district championship in school history.

Not this year.

Tornillo won its first girl’s District 4-3A cross country championship in school history.

Behind two-time defending champion, junior Kylene Elias, the Coyotes dominated, scoring 19 points. Elias won her third title, racing the 2-mile course in 12:45 followed by senior Olivia Garcia (13:07).

Presidio was second with 49 points followed by Kermit’s 70.

Districts begin Thursday at Tornillo; continue Saturday at Vista Hills CC

Make Plans

What: District Cross Country Championship.

When: 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 14. District 4-3A at Tornillo High School (girls, then boys); 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16. Rolling schedule (girls first, then boys) – District 1-4A, District 1-5A, District 2-5A, District 1-6A.

Where: Vista Hills Country Club.

At Stake: Top three teams and top 10 individuals make it to the Region 1 Cross Country Championship, 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 25 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.

There are many compelling storylines heading in to Saturday’s district cross country championships including:

Will the Eastwood boys chase down its 11^th straight district championship – and continue its 11-year unbeaten streak in El Paso?

Will the Burges Mustangs win its fifth consecutive boy’s District 1-5A title?

Hanks is seeking its eighth individual title – will senior Gael Alvarado defend his championship?

The San Elizario boys are racing for its eighth consecutive district championship at the Class 4A level, will they be able to pull it off?

Will the Franklin girls win its fourth consecutive District 1-6A team title?

How about Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson going after her fourth District 1-5A championship?

These questions will be answered at the district cross country championships at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Vista Hills Country Club.

The top three teams and top 10 individuals from each district will advance to the Region 1 Cross Country Championship, Oct. 25. Last year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, only two teams qualified to regionals.

Here is a breakdown of the boy’s and girl’s district races.

Championship season is upon us. Who’s ready to take the next step? We’ll find out this weekend!

BOYS

District 1-6A

2020 District Champion: Eastwood.

2020 Individual District Champion: Israel David, Eastlake.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Eastwood and Americas.

The Eastwood Troopers hope two competitive out-of-town invitationals – Woodbridge (Calif.) Classic and Desert Twilight, the Nike Pre-Southwest Regional meet in Queen Creek Ariz. – have prepared them for championship season.

Seeking its 11^th straight district championship, the Troopers are led by seniors Andres Gurrola, Isaac Mendoza, Devon Paez, Victor Anchondo and junior Joaquin Chavez – all top 10 runners in El Paso.

The Troopers are nationally recognized as well – garnering the attention of DyeState which ranks them third in the South Region and MileSplit which ranks Eastwood at No. 22 in the nation.

Americas, behind seniors Jared Laverty and Carmelo Corral, pose the biggest threat to Eastwood. Franklin, behind juniors Diego Flores and Austen Percifull and Coronado – with juniors Luis Pastor and Sam Flores – will fight it out for the third and final qualifying spot to regionals.

The individual race could be the closest – and fastest – in memory.

Eastlake senior Israel David looks to defend his title with heavy competition from Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim, Coronado’s Pastor, Americas’ Laverty and Gurrola and Mendoza from Eastwood. This is anybody’s race.

District 1-5A

2020 District Champion: Burges.

2020 Individual District Champion: Joaquin Ortega, Chapin.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Burges and El Paso High.

The Burges Mustangs are chasing its fifth consecutive boy’s district championship. Seniors Julian Maldonado and David Herrera will be depended on heavily in order to make that happen.

David Ramirez and Leo Valenzuela look to help El Paso High return to the Region 1-5A championship. The third and final spot to regionals will be a toss up between Chapin, which is led by sophomores Seth Truax and Dauntae Herrera and Jefferson led by junior Isaac Ortega and sophomore Francisco Reyes.

The individual title should come down to Truax, Herrera or Maldonado.

Chapin sophomore Seth Truax has had a solid year and looks primed to compete for a spot to the Region 1-5A championship.

District 2-5A

2020 District Champion: Hanks.

2020 Individual District Champion: Gael Alvarado, Hanks.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Hanks and Bel Air.

Hanks won the district championship in 2020 for the first time since the 1990s. The team shouldn’t have to wait another two decades for another one.

The team is led by senior and defending district champion senior Gael Alvarado and junior Alejandro Tarin.

The Knights biggest challenge will come from Bel Air which is led by junior William Potter and senior Hector Garcia. Watch for Horizon seniors Yahir Barrios and Juan Linares to make a push for a spot to regionals along with Del Valle which has been led by seniors Kevin Rivera and Omar Salais for much of the season.

The individual title will be a race between Hank’s teammates Alvarado and Tarin.

District 1-4A

2020 District Champion: San Elizario.

2020 Individual District Champion: Edwin Gomez, San Elizario.

2020 Regional qualifiers: San Elizario and Riverside.

An eighth district championship for San Elizario is within reach – but it could be the Eagles toughest team race to date with Riverside nipping at their heels.

San Elizario junior Chris Moreno and seniors Alan Ceballos and Irvin Vazquez and brothers Matthew Maese (junior) and sophomore Angel Maese have been consistent all season.

Riverside counters with seniors Andrew Valdiviezo and new comer Jayden Bustillos.

Moreno and Valdiviezo will fight it out for the district individual crown.

The last spot to regionals will come down to Clint, Mt. View or Fabens.

District 4-3A

2020 District Champion: Presidio.

2020 Individual District Champion: Emilio Rios, Presidio.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Presidio and Tornillo.

The Coyotes could potentially have two of the top 5 Class 3A runners in the state in sophomore Daniel Romero and junior Angel Torres.

Both should easily qualify for the Region 1-3A Championship. The big question is, will they take a team with them?

In any other year – with top-tier runners such as Romero and Torres leading the way – Tornillo would be the odds-on favorite to finally win its first state championship. But unlike other years, the Cotton Valley school seriously lacks depth which could put the school’s streak of 13 years qualifying to regionals at risk.

Romero and Torres are the favorites to win individual titles but must watch for Presidio sophomore Eddie Flores, who finished fourth at last year’s district championship.

Girls

District 1-6A

2020 District Champion: Franklin.

2020 Individual District Champion: Eva Jess, Franklin.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Franklin and Montwood.

The Franklin girls are going after its fourth consecutive District 1-6A team title.

Junior Alyssa Laspada, seniors Jenna Saunders, Abby Barraza and Jordan Torres and junior Sofia Camacho make up solid five.

Eastwood counters with senior Lauren Walls-Portillo and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez who are the state’s fourth-ranked 1-2 punch and third in Region 1-6A. Juniors Salma Licon and Sophia Watts and senior Adalia Olmos all have top 15 times in the city.

The team championship will come down to the placement of the 4-5-6-7 runners for each school.

Montwood, the district runner-up last year, are led by juniors Kassandra Jimemez and Jazmine Miranda and senior Alexa Rangel. The struggle for the Rams is consistency in the 4-7 runners. With the top three girls, the Rams should have enough for another Region 1-6A appearance.

There are several individual runners who could claim a top 10 spot and a trip to regionals.

One thing is for sure, there will be a new individual champion as Franklin alumni and four-time district champion Eva Jess is now competing at Texas. It could come down to Walls-Portillo, Rodriguez and Laspada.

Other runners who could crack the top 10 and advance include Pebble Hills junior Natalia Martinez, Socorro senior Ana Rojas, Americas freshman Lexee Salas and Coronado sophomore Alexa Lawrence and junior Kyra Walker.

District 1-5A

2020 District Champion: Jefferson.

2020 Individual District Champion: Crystal Peterson, Jefferson.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Jefferson and El Paso High.

Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson is going after her fourth District 1-5A championship and a back-to-back team title for the Foxes. Peterson and classmate Monique Correa have led the Foxes the entire season with seniors Camila Prieto, Sofia Hernandez and Jelia Lugo rounding out the top 5.

El Paso High and Burges will battle for runner-up honors with both having legitimate opportunities to advance to regionals.

The Tigers – with sophomores Andrea Castillo and Sofia Ramirez and junior Jezarae Valenzuela – are a little deeper than the Mustangs but at a district race, anything goes.

Burges senior Pamela Ramirez leads the Mustangs and should contend for individual honors against Peterson and Correa. Austin senior Elizabeth Hernandez could also finish in the top 10 and advance to regionals.

District 2-5A

2020 District Champion: Bel Air.

2020 Individual District Champion: Angie Marrufo-Lujan, Parkland.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Bel Air and Canutillo.

This could be the most wide-open team race of the district championship races with no-clear cut favorite.

Canutillo and Del Valle have been improving every week, Hanks has been steady and consistent but you can’t sleep on defending champion Bel Air.

Eagles junior Natalie Rivera has emerged as one of the top 10 runners in the city. Juniors Dania Cano and Jennifer Najar and freshmen Arania Castaneda and Mia Covarrubio round out Canutillo’s top five.

Del Valle counters with two top 25 runners – junior Valeria Loo-Kung and senior Anisa Sanchez. From there, the Conquistadores struggle with depth. Senior Bianca Parker, top 10 sprinter in track field, sophomore Bobbi Guillen and senior Anahi Lara are working their hardest to move up a few spots.

Hanks’ seniors Mia Rivera and Madison Spencer and freshman Elizabeth Aguirre should be enough to get the Knights to regionals.

Seniors Abigail Murillo and Jaylee Levario will need plenty of help in order to get Bel Air a return team visit to regionals.

The individual race could be the most entertaining of the district meets with Canutillo’s Natalie Rivera going head-to-head with Hanks’ Mia Rivera and Bel Air’s Abigail Murillo and Levario.

District 1-4A

2020 District Champion: Clint.

2020 Individual District Champion: Kayhla Talavera, Mt. View.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Clint and San Elizario.

San Elizario had an impressive showing at the District Preview on September 18 at Vista Hills.

Senior Samantha Ramirez won the two-mile event boosting the Eagles to a team championship. Sophomores Katelyn Montoya and Osmary Vazquez and Ximena Holguin all had top 10 finishes.

Riverside could contend for the title if seniors Marcela Hernandez and Lauren Perez get some help from sophomore Hillary Hernandez and senior Daniela Luna who need strong races.

The final spot to regionals will come down to Clint and Mt. View who are pretty even.

Mt. View does have senior Madeline Estrada, one of the top runners in the district. Clint’s top runners are freshman Ileana Maldonado and seniors Natalie Frausto and Jessica Herrera.

San Elizario’s Ramirez and Mt. View’s Estrada will make for a great two-mile duel.

District 4-3A

2020 District Champion: Presidio.

2020 Individual District Champion: Kylene Elias, Tornillo.

2020 Regional qualifiers: Presidio and Tornillo.

The Coyotes fell seven points short of winning its first district championship in school history.

With Kylene Elias, the two-time defending district champion, returning to an already strong team, Tornillo has a legitimate shot.

Along with Elias, sophomore Nataly Escajeda, junior Brianna Ibarra and seniors Olivia Garcia and Abetsi Blanco hope to bring home a golden trophy to the Cotton Valley.

High School Boy’s XC Poll: Week 8

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

For those who like raw times, we also list the Top 25 girls race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

Chapin Invitational: 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 9 at Don Haskins Recreation Center. Franklin, Irvin, Andress, Jefferson, Chapin, Montwood, El Dorado, Eastlake, Santa Teresa, Tornillo, Loretto, San Elizario, Harmony, Cathedral, Anthony, Canutillo.

Championship season is next week! Four teams in each district will advance to the Region 1 Championship in Lubbock on Oct. 25.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: After two consecutive weeks of competitive out-of-town races, the Troopers did not run Saturday. The team is preparing for the District 1-6A championship Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club. However, the JV team placed third at the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex. Matthew Marshal finished fourth in 17:15.78.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers placed fourth in the “elite” division at Nike South in The Woodlands. Seniors Jared Laverty (eighth, 14:02.7) and Carmelo Corral (17^th, 14:07.8) finished in the top 20. Americas will rest its varsity on Saturday as the team prepares for the District 1-6A championship Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

3. Franklin: The Cougars ran away with the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex with 27 points. Franklin runners claimed six of the top 10 spots including Diego Flores (second, 16:49.48), Matthew Engle (third, 17:11.53), Rai Lopez (sixth, 17:17.84), Austen Percifull (seventh, 17:20.38), Oscar Guzman (ninth, 17:32.92) and Juan Leal (10th, 17:33.71). Franklin will not race on Saturday as the team prepares for the District 1-6A championship Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

4. Coronado: The T-Birds scored 50 points and finished second at the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at the SAC. Junior Luis Pastor picked up his third individual title finishing 16:15.52. Sophomore Carlos Mendez was fifth in 17:16.25 and junior Sam Flores, was eighth in 17:31.43. Coronado will not compete at the Dale Reinhardt Inviteon Saturday. Coronado will not race on Saturday as the team prepares for the District 1-6A championship Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

5. San Elizario: The Eagles, who were without its top runner Chris Moreno, finished third at the Clint/Fabens Invitational at Clint High School with 78 points. Two runners – brothers Matthew Maese (fifth, 16:28.43) and Angel Maese (eighth, 16:35.33) – finished in the top 10. San Elizario will prepare to defend its District 1-4A title on Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

6. Cathedral: The Irish won the Clint/Fabens Invitational at Clint with 50 points. Sophomore Preston Arnett led a trio of Cathedral runners who finished in the top 10, placing fourth in 16:15.52. Brothers Jacob Noble (ninth, 16:35.69) Elijah Noble (10th, 16:36.19) also finished in the top 10.

7. Riverside: The Rangers move up one spot after finishing second at the Clint/Fabens Invitational with 72 points. Riverside had two seniors – Andrew Valdiviezo (second, 15:44.47) and Jayden Bustillos (seventh, 16:33.38) finish in the top 10. The Rangers will prepare for District 1-4A championship Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

8. Pebble Hills: The Spartans drop one after finishing 17^th in the “elite” division at Nike South in The Woodlands. Junior Omer Ibrahim picked up his city-best fifth individual title of the season finishing the 2.8 mile course in 13:44.8. Pebble Hills will not race on Saturday as the team prepares for the District 1-6A championship at Vista Hills Country Club on Oct. 16.

9. Hanks: The Knights did not race on Saturday. The team will resume racing at the District 2-5A Championship on Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

10. El Paso: On the brink the entire season, the Tigers finally break into the top 10 with its fourth-place finish at the Clint/Fabens Invitational. David Ramirez was the top runner for El Paso, finishing 18^th in 17:07.7. El Paso will now prepare for the District 1-5A Championship on Oct. 16 at Vista Hills Country Club.

Dropped out: Burges.

On the brink: Chapin.

Coronado’s Luis Pastor won his third individual championship last week at the Dale Reinhardt Invitational.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 14.43.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

2, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 14.49.7 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

3, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 15:02.15 (Del Valle, 8/28).

4, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:02.73 (Del Valle, 8/28).

5, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 15:04.79 (Del Valle, 8/28).

6, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 15:13.6 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

7, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 15:16.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18)

8, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:24.83 (Canutillo, 8/21).

9, Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 15:28.0 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

10, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 15:38.71 (Del Valle, 8/28).

11, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 15:41.47 (Clint, 10/2).

12, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:41.95 (Canutillo, 8/21).

13, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 15:44.07 (Del Valle, 8/28).

14, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 15:44.47 (Clint, 10/2).

15, Jacob Becket, Eastwood, 15:44.8 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

16, Diego Flores, Franklin, 15:51.32 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

17, Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 15:52.3 (Woodbridge, 9/18).

18, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 16:01.51 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

19, Aaron Saenz, Americas 16:04.0 (Cleveland, 8/28).

20, Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 16:15.52 (Clint, 10/2).

21, Austen Percifull, Franklin, 16:16.35 (Mary Francis Keisling, 9/11).

22, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 16:19.03 (Shawver Park, 9/4).

23, Isaac Romero, Franklin, 16:22.86 (Southlake, 8/28).

24, Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 16:25.30 (Desert Twilight, 9/24).

25, Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 16:28.43 (Clint, 10/2).

Franklin’s Rai Lopez and Austen Percifull are key runners for the upstart Cougars.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 64 (3).

2, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 55 (5).

3, Jared Laverty, Americas, 51 (4).

4, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 43.

5, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 37 (1).

5, Diego Flores, Franklin, 37 (1).

7, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 34.

8, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 33 (2).

9, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 29.

10, Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 27.

10, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 27.

Israel David, Eastlake, 25.

Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 22.

Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 22.

Austen Percifull, Franklin, 20.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 19.

Jayden Bustillos, Riverside, 16.

Preston Arnett, Cathedral, 15.

Devon Paez, Eastwood, 11.

Seth Truax, Chapin, 11.

Omar Rivera, Canutillo, 9.

Rai Lopez, Franklin, 9.

Matthew Maese, San Elizario, 9.

Israel Quintana, Immanuel, 8.

David Ramirez, El Paso High, 8.

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 8.

Matthew Marshall, Eastwood, 8.

Irvin Vazquez, San Elizario, 8.

Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 7.

Julian Maldonado, Burges, 7.

Frank Lozano, Franklin, 7.

Sam Breceda, Coronado, 6.

Carlos Mendez, Coronado, 6.

Oscar Guzman, Franklin, 6.

Denovan Estrada, Franklin, 5.

Leo Valenzuela, El Paso High, 5.

Mario Elias, Eastlake, 5.

Sam Flores, Coronado, 5.

David Herrera, Burges, 5.

Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 4.

Aydan Lugo, El Paso High, 4.

Bryan Estrada, Eastlake, 3.

Antonio Palos, Irvin, 3.

Angel Maese, San Elizario, 3.

Alexander Flores, Eastwood, 2.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 2.

Sebastian Gonzalez, Franklin, 2.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 2.

Juan Leal, Franklin, 2.

Luis Martinez, Irvin, 2.

Alan Ceballos, San Elizario, 2.

Heiden Pereda, Eastwood, 2.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 2.

Isaac Romero, Franklin, 1.

Jesse Morales, Americas, 1.

Mauricio Cuartes, Eastwood, 1.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 1.