High School Boy’s Cross Country Poll: Week 1

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

Canutillo Invitational: 8 a.m., Saturday at Canutillo Middle School. Andress, Anthony, Austin, Cathedral, Chaparral, Chapin, Coronado, Da Vinci, Del Valle, Eastwood, Eastlake, El Dorado, El Paso, Gadsden, Hanks, Horizon, Immanuel, Jefferson, Loretto, Lydia Patterson, Montwood, Parkland, Pebble Hills, Riverside, San Elizario, Santa Teresa, YWLA, Austin, El Paso, Chapin, Andress, Jefferson, Franklin.

Fabens Invitational: 8 a.m., Saturday at Fabens High School. Americas, Bel Air, Bowie, Burges, Clint, EPLA, Fort Hancock, Harmony, Irvin, Mountain View, Socorro, Tornillo, Ysleta.

The boys kicked off its cross country season last week. Pebble Hills’ Erick Gutierrez, left, won the Spartan Invitational at Underwood Golf Course. El Paso High’s Andrew Truax, right, was fifth.,

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers finished second at the Region 1-6A Championship and fourth at last year’s UIL State Cross Country Championship, 14 points short of a bronze team medal. Despite the lack of state respect, Eastwood might find its way back to Round Rock. Eastwood won the Del Valle Midnight Madness Invitational with all 10 runners in the top 15, including nine in the top 10, to finish with 17 points. Junior Noah Loweree won the event in 16:09.28 followed by senior Job DeSantos (second, 16:13.18), junior Elias Alcocer (third, 16:21.49), sophomore Jacob Lara (fifth, 16:33.84), sophomore Noah Garcia (sixth, 16:35.81), senior Jonah Herd Jr. (seventh, 17:00.42), senior Evan Chacon (eighth, 17:07.94), sophomore Jaiden Melchor (ninth, 17:12.53), freshman Ayden Betancourt (tenth, 17:14.84) and sophomore Adam Nunez (14th, 17:32.23). Eastwood will race at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

2. Franklin: Three seniors return from a seventh place Region 1-6A team. Seniors Sebastian Mendez, Fransisco Medina and Jacob Martinez look to steady the ship for the Cougars. They will race Saturday at Canutillo Middle.

3. Pebble Hills: The Spartans had a strong showing at its invitational at Underwood Golf Course placing five runners in the top 10. Erick Gutierrez won in 16:48.63, followed by Adrian Cisneros Rodriguez (second, 17:06.08), Anthony Yon (fourth, 17:09.65), Gavin Cottle (ninth, 17:43.04) and Christian Morales (tenth, 18:01.70). Pebble Hills will race at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

4. San Elizario: The young Eagles are a year older and look to return to the UIL Class 4A State Championship after missing out last year. San Elizario finished second at Del Valle’s Midnight Madness with 66 points. The Eagles were led by returning state-qualifier, senior Antonio Arreola who finished fourth in 16:33.79. Junior Angel Bocanegra was 16th in 17:49.46 and sophomore Daniel Maese was 17th in 17:51.00. They too will race at Canutillo Middle School.

5. Coronado: The T-Birds will be led by seniors Humberto Serna, Rodrigo Pinales and Zyler Garnica. Coronado will make its season debut at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

6. Austin: The Panthers finished second at the Pebble Invitational placing two runners in the top 10 — senior Eirik Arredondo (third, 17:09.08) and Luis Pereda (seventh, 17:22.70). Austin will challenge themselves at the Canutillo Invitational on Saturday.

7. Hanks: The Knights where third at the Del Valle Invitational with 90 points. Hanks finished with three in the top 20 — sophomore Mateo Diaz was 12th in 17:30.81, senior Darian Hernandez was 15th in 17:44.21 and senior Zerach Hernandez was 19th in 17:52.28. They will race at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

8. El Paso High: The Tigers are in rebuild mode. The team was third at the Pebble Hills Invitational with 41 points. The team is led by sophomore Andrew Truax who was fifth last week in 17:11.66 and Eduardo Cardenas (eighth, 17:42.29). El Paso High will need some help from its pack of young runners to secure another trip to regionals. They will race Saturday at Canutillo Middle School.

9. Eastlake: The Falcons opened the season placing fourth at Del Valle with116. Its top runner was junior Caleb Bearden who was 11th in 17:28.58. The team will travel to Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

10. Montwood: The Ramslook to improve in District 1-6A, one of the toughest districts in the toughest region in Texas. The team finished fifth at Del Valle with 141 points. SeniorJulian Franco was 13th in 17:31.39. The team will race at Canutillo Middle School at Saturday.

 Dropped out: None.

On the brink: Socorro.

El Paso High’s Andrew Truax, Pebble Hills’ Anthony Yon and Austin’s Eirik Arredondo had top 5 finishes.

Top 25 times (3 mile or 5K)

1, Noah Loweree, Eastwood, 16:09.28 (Del Valle, 8/8).

2, Job DeSantos, Eastwood, 16:13.18 (Del Valle, 8/8).

3, Elias Alcocer, Eastwood, 16:21.49 (Del Valle, 8/8).

4, Antonio Arreola, San Elizario, 16:33.79 (Del Valle, 8/8).

5, Jacob Lara, Eastwood, 16:33.84 (Del Valle, 8/8).

6, Noah Garcia, Eastwood, 16:35.81 (Del Valle, 8/8).

7, Erick Gutierrez, Pebble Hills, 16:48.63 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

8, Jonah Herd Jr., Eastwood, 17:00.42 (Del Valle, 8/8).

9, Adrian Cisneros Rodriguez, Pebble Hills, 17:06.08 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

10, Evan Chacon, Eastwood, 17:07.94 (Del Valle, 8/8).

11, Eirik Arredondo, Austin, 17:09.08 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

12, Anthony Yon, Pebble Hills, 17:09.65 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

13, Andrew Truax, El Paso High, 17:11.66 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

14, Jaiden Melchor, Eastwood, 17:12.53 (Del Valle, 8/8).

15, Jorge Mendez, Socorro, 17:14.40 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

16, Ayden Betancourt, Eastwood, 17:14.84 (Del Valle, 8/8).

17 Luis Pereda, Austin, 17:22.70 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

18, Caleb Bearden, Eastlake, 17:28.58 (Del Valle, 8/8).

19, Mateo Diaz, Hanks, 17:30.81 (Del Valle, 8/8).

20, Julian Franco, Montwood, 17:31.39 (Del Valle, 8/8).

21, Adam Nunez, Eastwood, 17:32.23 (Del Valle, 8/8).

22, Eduardo Cardenas, El Paso High, 17:42.29 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

23, Gavin Cottle, Pebble Hills High, 17:43.04 (Underwood GC, 8/9).

24, Darian Hernandez, Hanks, 17:44.21 (Del Valle, 8/8).

25, Angel Bocanegra, San Elizario, 17:49.46 (Del Valle, 8/8).

Austin’s Eirik Arredondo, right and Luis Pereda will be the front runners for the Panthers this season.

Power Rankings

1, Noah Loweree, Eastwood, 20 (1).

2, Job DeSantos, Eastwood, 19.

3, Elias Alcocer, Eastwood, 18.

4, Antonio Arreola, San Elizario, 17.

5, Jacob Lara, Eastwood, 16.

6, Noah Garcia, Eastwood, 15.

7, Jonah Herd Jr., Eastwood, 14.

8, Evan Chacon, Eastwood, 13.

 9, Jaiden Melchor, Eastwood, 12.

10, Ayden Betancourt, Eastwood, 11.

Eirik Gutierrez, Pebble Hills, 10 (1).

Caleb Bearden, Eastlake, 10.

Mateo Diaz, Hanks, 9.

Adrian Cisneros Rodriguez, Pebble Hills, 9.

Julian Franco, Montwood, 8.

Erick Arredondo, Austin, 8.

Adam Nunez, Eastwood, 7.

Anthony Yon, Pebble Hills, 7.

Darian Hernandez, Hanks, 6.

Andrew Truax, El Paso High, 6.

Angel Bocanegra, San Elizario, 5.

Jorge Mendez, Socorro, 5.

Luis Pereda, Austin, 4.

Daniel Maese, San Elizario, 4.

Eduardo Cardenas, El Paso High, 3.

David Retana, Harmony Science Academy, 3.

Zerach Hernandez, Hanks, 2.

Gavin Cottle, Pebble Hills High, 2.

Lorenzo Espino, Eastwood, 1.

Christian Morales, Pebble Hills, 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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