High School Boy’s XC Poll: Week 3

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 boys race times and the meets and dates that they occurred.

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

This week’s schedule

Pebble Hills Invitational: 8 a.m., Friday, Sept. 2 at Blackie Chesher Park. Eastlake, Austin, Chapin, Pebble Hills, Montwood, Americas, Ysleta, YWLA, Bowie.

Trooper Twilight Invitational: 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2 at Eastside Sports Complex. Franklin, Coronado, Irvin, Burges, Jefferson, El Paso, Eastwood, Socorro, El Dorado, San Eli, Bel Air, Hanks, Riverside, Anthony, Ft Hancock, Cathedral, Loretto.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers won the Rudy Alvarez Invitational at Del Valle with 29 points. The Troopers had four in the top seven. Alex Flores was third in 16:24.18, Matthew Marshall was fifth in 16:50.51, Anthony Casillas was sixth in 16:56.74 and Leo Espino was seventh in 16:57.45. The team will race at its own invitational on Friday night at the Eastside Sports Complex.

2. Franklin: The Cougars were fourth at the Southlake Carroll Invitational. Franklin had three runners in the top 20 – senior Diego Flores (14^th, 15:26.04), senior Denovan Estrada (17^th, 15:29.44) and junior Matthew Engle (20^th, 15:32.31). There were 40 teams and 339 runners in the Elite Division. Franklin will race at the Trooper Twilight Invitational on Friday night.

3. Coronado: The T-Birds finished second at the Cleveland Invitational in Albuquerque with 58 points, eight behind Volcano Vista and three points ahead of Rio Rancho. Senior Luis Pastor was second in 15:51.5. Three other T-Birds had top 20 finishes – junior Edgar Valles (sixth, 16:45.7), Preston Eastman (13^th, 17:05.5) and Carlos Mendez (18^th, 17:22.5). The team will race at the Troopers Twilight on Friday night.

4. Pebble Hills: The Spartans finished a distance second at the Rudy Alvarez scoring 91 points. Pebble Hills had two runners in the top 20 – senior Noah Castorena (13^th, 17:31.43) and senior Omer Ibrahim (20^th, 17:53.58) who is still nursing a minor injury. The Spartans will race at its own invitational Friday morning at Blackie Chesher Park.

5. San Elizario: The Eagles were third at Del Valle. Senior Chris Moreno won his third consecutive individual crown in 16:19.62. San Elizario’s No. 2 man, junior Julian Guerra, did not race.  Matthew Maese was 18^th in 17:49.61. The team will race at the Trooper Twilight Friday night.

6. El Paso High: The Tigers hold steady at six after seven of its runners finished in the top 8 including the top four to win the Gadsden Invitational with 16 points. Sophomore Miles Westbrook won the event in 17:19.59. Junior Leo Valenzuela was second in 17:30.65, junior Aydan Lugo was third in 17:54.45, sophomore Ulysses O’Rourke was fourth in 17:57.31, sophomore Andrew Hernandez was sixth in 18:51.30, junior Joaquin Moya was seventh in 19:00.20 and sophomore Lorenzo Shields was eighth in 19:01.72. El Paso will race at the Trooper Twilight Invitational on Friday night.

7. Cathedral:  The Irish did not race a full team at the Rudy Alvarez Invitational at Del Valle. Its top runner was Jacob Noble who was 26^th in 18:12.41. Cathedral will race at the Trooper Twilight Invitational on Friday night.

8. Tornillo: Tornillo did not run a full team at Del Valle on Saturday. Junior Daniel Romero was second in 16:19.98 and senior Angel Torres was 19^th in 17:51.35. The team will race at the Trooper Twilight  Invitational Friday night.

9. Chapin: The Huskies return to the top 10 after finishing fourth at Del Valle.  Junior Seth Truax was 11^th in 17:30.52 and sophomore Braulio Torres was 12^th in 17:30.66. Chapin will race Friday morning at Blackie Chesher Park.

10. Americas: The Trailblazers are hanging around and holding out hope for improvement as the season continues. Junior Jacob Corral was the top runner (30^th, 18:22.25) at Del Valle.  Americas will race at the Pebble Hills Invitational on Friday morning.

Dropped out: Hanks.

On the brink: Parkland, Bel Air.

Top times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Diego Flores, Franklin, 15:26.04 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

2, Denovan Estrada, Franklin, 15:29.44 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

3, Matthew Engle, Franklin, 15:32.31 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

4, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 15:46.25 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

5, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 16:19.62 (Del Valle, 8/27).

6, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 16:19.98 (Del Valle, 8/27).

7, Juan Leal, Franklin, 16:22.38 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

8, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 16:22.89 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

9, Alexander Flores, Eastwood, 16:24.18 (Del Valle, 8/27).

10, Sebastian Gonzalez, Franklin, 16:40.10 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

11, Frank Lozano, Franklin, 16:41.37 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

12, Ameen Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 16:42.44 (Blackie Chesher, 8/12).

13, Noah Castorena, Pebble Hills, 16:44.13 (Blackie Chesher, 8/12).

14, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 16:44.41 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

15, Julian Guerra, San Elizario, 16:45.80 (Clint, 8/13).

16, Matthew Marshall, Eastwood, 16:50.51 (Del Valle, 8/27).

17, Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 16:51.73 (Blackie Chesher, 8/12).

18, Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 16:52.88 (Blackie Chesher, 8/12).

19, Austen Percifull, Franklin, 16:56.07 (Southlake Carroll, 8/27).

20, Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 16:56.74 (Del Valle, 8/27).

21, Leo Espino, Eastwood, 16:57.45 (Del Valle, 8/27).

22, Edgar Valles, Coronado, 16:57.66 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

23, Michael Castorena, Parkland, 16:58.51 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

24, Seth Truax, Chapin, 17:03.07 (Blackie Chesher, 8/12).

25, Adan Castillo, Franklin, 17:05.14 (Mary Keisling Park, 8/20).

Power Rankings

1, Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 30 (3).

2, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 29 (2).

3, Daniel Romero, Tornillo, 24.

4, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 21.

5, Miles Westbrook, El Paso, 18 (1).

6, Alexander Flores, Eastwood, 17.

7, Julian Guerra, San Elizario, 16.

8, Diego Flores, Franklin, 15.

9, Edgar Valles, Coronado, 14.

10, Matthew Marshall, Eastwood, 13.

10, Michael Castorena, Parkland, 13.

Israel Quintana, Immanuel, 12.

Leo Valenzuela, El Paso, 12.

Ulysses O’Rourke, El Paso, 12.

Anthony Casillas, Eastwood, 11.

Ameen Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 10 (1).

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 10.

Angel Torres, Tornillo, 10.

Ayden Lugo, El Paso, 10.

Noah Castorena, Pebble Hills, 9.

Leo Espino, Eastwood, 9.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 8.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 7.

Denovan Estrada, Franklin, 7.

Seth Truax, Chapin, 6.

Preston Eastman, Coronado, 6.

Matthew, Guerra, Burges, 5.

Angel Maese, San Elizario, 5.

Andrew Hernandez, El Paso, 5.

Zachary Rivas, Pebble Hills, 4.

Sam Flores, Coronado, 4.

Leonardo Resendez, Bel Air, 4.

Joaquin Moya, El Paso, 4.

Edward Robledo-Gonzales, Mt. View, 4.

Juan Leal, Franklin, 4.

Braulio Torres, Chapin, 3.

Lorenzo Shields, El Paso, 3.

Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 2.

Robert Dickerson, Pebble Hills, 2.

Francisco Reyes, Jefferson 2.

Micha Lay, Pebble Hills, 1.

Carlos Mendez, Coronado, 1.

William Potter, Bel Air, 1.

Efren Moncada, Parkland, 1.