High School Girl’s Cross Country Poll: Week 1

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

Franklin Invitational: 8 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 at Mary Frances Keisling Park. Franklin, Chapin, Eastlake, Hanks, VVECHS, Tornillo, Bel Air, Ysleta, Socorro, Bowie, Andress, Parkland, Eastlake, Mt View, Harmony, Tornillo.

Canutillo ISD Invitational 8 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 19 at Canutillo Middle School. Canutillo, Burges, El Paso, Jefferson, Austin, Eastwood, El Dorado, Montwood, Da Vinci, Americas, Pebble Hills, Clint, Loretto, Riverside, Del Valle, San Eli, Horizon, YWLA, Cathedral Coronado, Irvin.

The Franklin girls won the Pebble Hills Invitational last week and will host its own meet on Saturday.

Top 10

1. Franklin: The Cougars opened the season placing eight runners in the top 10 at the Pebble Hills Invitational at Blackie Chesher Park. Sophomore Emily Orr won the event in 19:46.23 followed by classmate Abigail Pinon (20:37.40). Senior Brooke McCune was third in 20:40.44, a trio of junior runners, Sophia Keiser was sixth in 21:00.97, Olivia Elder was seventh in 21:07.10 and Sienna Zarate was eighth in 21:10.02. Seniors Victoria Hoyt was ninth (21:15.21) and Hannah Martinez was tenth in 21:18.89. Franklin will race at its own event on Saturday at Mary Frances Keisling Park.

2. Eastwood: The Troopers did not race last week. Eastwood is scheduled to compete at the Canutillo Invitational at Canutillo Middle School.

3. Pebble Hills: The Spartans were third at their own invitational at Blackie Chesher Park with 89 points. Pebble Hills had three runners finish in the top 20 – sophomore Aubrey Arsenault (11th, 21:22.46), senior Carolina Zarrabal (12th, 21:24.18) and freshman Kareena Talavera (20th, 22:34.54).  Senior Natalie Franco did not race. The team will compete at the Canutillo Invitational at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

4. El Paso High: The Tigers did not run its top runners at the 2.7-mile Mt. View Invitational. It did have two runners, sophomore Calista Sakellako finish eighth in 21:47.21 and freshman Sofia Speer was ninth in 22:00.60. The Tigers are scheduled to race at the Canutillo Invitational at Canutillo Middle School.

5. Hanks: The Knights won the Mt. View Invitational placing three runners in the top 10. Junior Elizabeth Aguirre was second in 19:55.00, sophomore Ashlyn McMillian was seventh (21:33.58) and sophomore Lily Arias was 10th in 22:01.29. Hanks will race at the Franklin Invitational at Mary Frances Keisling Park on Saturday.

6. Montwood: The Rams did not race a full team at the Irvin Invitational but placed two runners in the top 3, including individual winner, sophomore Mia Hairston (18:19.84). Senior Layla Aguilar was third in 19:24.05. The course was 2.7 miles. The team is scheduled to race at the Canutillo Invitational on Saturday.

7. Chapin: The Huskies move up two spots after finishing second at the Pebble Hills Invitational at Blackie Chesher Park with 80 points. Chapin placed two runners – junior Rebecca Duran (fourth, 20:45.50) and sophomore Ava Dennis (fifth, 20:58.27) – in the top 10.  Senior Biviana Garcia was 14th in 21:47.68. The team will race at the Franklin Invitational Saturday at Mary Frances Keisling Park.

8. Eastlake: The Falcons did not race. They are scheduled for the Franklin Invitational at Mary Frances Keisling Park on Saturday.

9. Americas: The Trailblazers finished fourth at the Pebble Hills Invitational at Blackie Chesher Park with 106 points. Junior Giselle Abascal was the lone top 20 runner, finishing 18th in 22:22.40. The team will compete at the Canutillo Invitational at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

10. Canutillo: The Eagles did not race a full team at the Irvin Invitational. Sophomore Nevaeh Escobedo did manage a second-place finish (19:15.37) on the 2.7-mile course. They will race at their own invitational at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

Dropped out: None.

On the brink: Socorro.

Franklin sophomore Emily Orr won the individual title at the Pebble Hills Invitational.

Top Times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Emily Orr, Franklin, 19:46.23 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

2, Abigail Pinon, Franklin, 20:37.40 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

3, Brooke McCune, Franklin, 20:40.44 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

4, Rebecca Duran, Chapin, 20:45.50 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

5, Ava Dennis, Chapin, 20:58.27 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

6, Sophia Keiser, Franklin, 21:00.97 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

7, Olivia Elder, Franklin, 21:07.10 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

8, Sienna Zarate, Franklin, 21:10.02 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

9, Victoria Hoyt, Franklin, 21:15.21 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

10, Hannah Martinez, Franklin, 21:18.89 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

11, Aubrey Arsenault, Pebble Hills, 21:22.46 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

12, Carolina Zarrabal, Pebble Hills, 21:24.18 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

13, Breckon Wiebe, Franklin, 21:26.31 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

14, Biviana Garcia, Chapin, 21:47.68 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

15, Jocelynne Diaz Torre, Chapin, 21:59.89 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

16, Tessa Gibbons, Franklin, 22:07.25 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

17, Marielle Rubio, Eastlake, 22:19.50 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

18, Gisele Abascal, Americas, 22:22.40 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

19, Natalia Martinez, Eastlake, 22:28.78 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

20, Kareena Talavera, Pebble Hills, 22:34.54 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

21, Laila Morales, Americas, 22:43.95 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

22, Carli Day, Americas, 23:03.42 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

23, Nevea Ruvalcaba, Americas, 23:04.01 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

24, Haelee Enriquez, Pebble Hills, 23:10.24 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

25, Sophia Santivanez, Pebble Hills, 23:17.62 (Blackie Chesher, 8/11).

Montwood sophomore Mia Harrison won the 2.7-mile Irvin Invitational in 18:19.84.

Power Rankings

1, Emily Orr, Franklin, 10 (1).

1, Mia Hairston, Montwood, 10 (1).

1, Alexia Martinez, Fabens, 10 (1).

4, Abigail Pinon, Franklin, 9.

4, Nevaeh Escobedo, Canutillo, 9.

4, Elizabeth Aguirre, Hanks, 9.

7, Brooke McCune, Franklin, 8.

7, Layla Aguilar. Montwood, 8.

7, Dayanara Gonzalez, Mt. View, 8.

10, Rebecca Duran, Chapin, 7.

10, Nadine Villasana, Socorro, 7.

10, Angel Quinonez, Fabens, 7.

Ava Dennis, Chapin, 6.

Kailee Fierro, Bel Air, 6.

Jacqueline Gonzalez, Horizon, 6.

Sophia Keiser, Franklin, 5.

Katia Rodriguez, Coronado, 5.

Lileni Ayala, Mt. View, 5.

Olivia Elder, Franklin, 4.

Carolyna Noriega, Bel Air, 4.

Ashlyn McMillian, Hanks, 4.

Sienna Zarate, Franklin, 3.

Valentina Tarriba, Socorro, 3.

Calista Sakellakos, El Paso, 3.

Victoria Hoyt, Franklin, 2.

Sam Torres, Socorro, 2.

Sofia Speer, El Paso, 2.

Hannah Martinez, Franklin, 1.

Amavely Carrasco, Coronado, 1.

Lily Arias, Hanks, 1.

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Author: Victor R. Martinez

My love of running began with my son Deric. His passion and talent for distance running opened my eyes to a sport I never imaged I would embrace with such enthusiasm. As a journalist at the El Paso Times, I was the lead writer for cross country and track for several years and I was able to tell the stories of these amazing unsung athletes. Never a runner myself, I decided to change that when I turned 50 in 2016 when I trained for my first 5K. I've been running ever since and I love every minute of it - well - sort of.

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