High School Boys XC Poll: Week 3

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

The system is as follows: In a race of less than 150 runners, first place gets 10 points, second gets 9 points all the way down to and 10th place which gets 1 point. For meets with between 151 to 300 runners, double points will be rewarded meaning 20 points for first, 19 for second all the way down to 1 point for 20th. For every additional 150 runners, another 10 runners will be included in the points.

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

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

This week’s schedule:

Desert Twilight: 9:25 p.m. Oct. 2 in Queen Creek, Ariz. Eastwood, Bel Air, San Elizario.

Eastlake Invitational: 8 a.m., Oct. 3 at the Socorro Student Activities Complex. Eastlake, Socorro, Horizon, Hanks, El Paso, Austin.

Franklin Invitational: 8 a.m. Oct. 3 at the Haskins Recreation Center. Franklin, Mt. View, Valle Verde, Montwood, El Dorado, Americas, Jefferson, Pebble Hills.

Cathedral/Loretto Invitational: 8 a.m. Oct. 3 at Veterans Park. Cathedral, Fabens, Andress, Bowie, YWLA, Ysleta, Tornillo, Eastwood.

Canutillo/Anthony Invitational: 8 a.m. Oct. 3 at Canutillo Middle School. Canutillo, Anthony, Riverside, Burges, Clint, Parkland, Del Valle, Coronado.

Franklin won its first team championship of the season last week at Mt. View High School. The Cougars will race at its own invitational at the Don Haskins Recreation Center on Saturday.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers rested its top five runners and still won the Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational at Tornillo High School with 28 points. Eastwood placed its five scoring runners in the top 10 led by Victor Anchondo (third, 16:48.55), Nick Parra (fourth, 16:49.19), Devon Paez (fifth, 16:52.33), Andres Gurrola (sixth, 16:57.09) and Joaquin Chavez (17:51.07). The team will race in the Sweepstakes Division of the 13^th annual Desert Twilight Cross Country Meet in Queen Creek, Ariz. on Friday night.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers won the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at SISD’s Student Activities Complex with 23 points. Americas placed runners in the first four spots led by Carmelo Corral who picked up his second straight meet victory in 17:13.37. Jared Laverty was second in 17:44.75, Michael Mier was third in 17:50.77 and Aaron Saenz was fourth (18:18.00). The team will compete in the Franklin Invitational at the Haskins Recreation Center.

3. Coronado: The T-Birds who placed three runners in the 2-3-5-6 spots to win the team championship at their own invitational at the Don Haskins Recreation Center with 29 points. Luis Pastor was second in 16:41.71 followed by teammates Corey Dubrule (third, 16:52.53), Sam Breceda (fifth, 17:04.59) and Stephen Pitchkolan (sixth, 17:31.10). Coronado will race at Canutillo/Anthony Invitational at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

4. San Elizario: Senior Edwin Gomez won his first race of the season at Tornillo High School completing the desert course in 16:26.23 to lead the Eagles to a second-place finish behind Eastwood at Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational. Two of Gomez’s teammates – senior Dilan Sanchez (second, 16:42.51) and sophomore Chris Moreno (seventh, 17:24.61) – finished in the top 10. San Elizario will travel to Queen Creek, Ariz. to race at the 13^th annual Desert Twilight Cross Country Meet on Friday night.

5. Franklin: After a slow start to the season, the Cougars took care of business at the Clint ISD Invitational at Mt. View High School winning the event with 25 points. The Cougars place five in the top 10 led by Octavio Trujillo (20:15.62) and Diego Flores (20:29.03) who finished third and fourth. Three other Franklin runners finished 6-8 – Rai Lopez (21:18.53), Matthew Engle (21:40.94) and Austen Percifull (21:46.42). Franklin will race at its own invitational at the Don Haskins Center on Saturday.

6. Tornillo: The Coyotes, placed two runners – sophomore Angel Torres (eighth, 17:27.96) and junior Bryan Garcia (ninth, 17:30.50) – in the top 10 to finish third with 69 points at the Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational. Tornillo will run at the Cathedral/Loretto Invitational at Veterans Park

7. Burges: The Mustangs won the Parkland/Hanks Invitational at Northeast Regional Park scoring 32 points. David Herrera was third in 16:36.13 to pace Burges who had four runners in the top 10 – Dylan Walker (eighth, 16:53.31), Julian Maldonado (ninth, 16:56.77) and David Gonzalez (tenth, 17:15.18). The Mustangs stop will be Canutillo/Anthony Invitational at Canutillo Middle School on Saturday.

8. Cathedral: The Fighting Irish ran to a second-place finish at the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at the SAC. Cathedral scored 39 points with four runners in the top 10 – Luis Gomez (fifth, 18:21.49) Elijah Noble (sixth, 19:29.13), Bernard Martinez (seventh, 19:53.52) and Jacob Noble (ninth, 20:09.25). Cathedral will race its own meet at Veterans Park on Saturday.

9. Eastlake: Junior Isreal David ran his win streak to three taking the gold at the Coronado Invitational at the Haskins Recreation Center (15:40.96) and leading his team to the runner-up position behind Coronado. Mario Elias was ninth in 18:11.52 and Angel Recio Martinez was tenth in 18:19.48. The Falcons will compete at their own invitational Saturday at Socorro Student Activities Complex.

10. Hanks: The Knights finished second at the Parkland/Hanks Invitational at Northeast Regional Park, scoring 40 points, eight behind Burges. Top runners for the Knights were Andrew Alvarado (fourth, 16:36.48) and Alejandro Tarin (sixth, 16:46.21). Hanks will race at the Eastlake Invitational Saturday at Socorro Student Activities Complex.

Dropped out: None.

On the brink: Riverside, El Paso, Pebble Hills, Bel Air.

Austin senior Jose Nilo owns the city’s 10th fastest time this season, turning in a 16:01.71 at Veterans Park on Sept. 19.

Top times (5K/3Miile)

1, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:15.03 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

2, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 15:29.43 (Del Valle, 9/19).

3, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 15:38.58 (Del Valle, 9/19).

4, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:40.62 (La Isla Park, 9/19).

5, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 15:40.73 (Del Valle, 9/19).

6, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 15:41.04 (Del Valle, 9/19).

7, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:41.15 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

8, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 15:46.55 (Del Valle, 9/19).

9, Aaron Saenz, Americas, 15:56.91 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

10, Jose Nilo, Austin, 16:01.71 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

11, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 16:03.17 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/26).

12, Michael Mier, Americas, 16:04.08 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

13, Victor Parra, Eastwood, 16:10.22 (Del Valle, 9/19).

14, Nick Parra, Eastwood, 16:15.42 (Del Valle, 9/19).

15, Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 16:16.49 (Del Valle, 9/19).

16, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 16:17.57 (Del Valle, 9/19).

17, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 16:22.04 (Del Valle, 9/19).

18, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 16:22.99 (Del Valle, 9/19).

19, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 16:30.54 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/26).

20, Gage Garcia, Americas, 16:33.48 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

21, David Herrera, Burges, 16:36.13 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/26).

22, Andrew Alvarado, Hanks, 16:36.48 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/26).

23, Denovan Estrada, Canutillo, 16:38.88 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

24, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 16:41.71 (Haskins Rec. Center, 9/26).

25, Kenneth Lamar Golston, Parkland, 16:45.92 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/26).

Bryan Garcia has led a strong Tornillo team this season. The Coyotes are the top ranked Class 3A team in the state.

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

1, Israel David, Eastlake, 30 (3).

2, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 25 (2).

2, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 25 (2).

4, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 21 (1).

4, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 21 (1).

4, Jared Laverty, Americas, 21.

4, Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 21.

8, Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 19.

8, Luis Pastor, Coronado, 19 (1).

8, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 19 (1).

Angel Torres, Tornillo, 18

Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 17.

Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 17.

Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 16 (1).

Corey Dubrule, Coronado, 16.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 15.

Michael Mier, Americas, 14.

Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 13.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 13.

Sam Breceda, Coronado, 13.

Kenneth Lamar Golston, Parkland, 13.

Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 12.

Nick Parra, Eastwood, 11.

Venancio Claderon, El Dorado, 11.

Stephen Pitchkolan, Coronado, 11.

Dylan Walker, Burges, 10.

Jorge Garcia, Socorro, 10.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 10.

Ivan Hernandez, Horizon, 10.

Diego Flores, Franklin, 10.

David Herrera Burges, 9.

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 9.

Miguel Avila, Del Valle, 8.

Octavio Trujillo, Franklin, 8.

Devon Paez, Eastwood, 8.

Jose Nilo , Austin, 7.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 7.

Josep Ferret, El Paso, 7.

David Ramirez, El Paso, 7.

Andrew Alvarado, Hanks, 7.

Denovan Estrada, Canutillo, 7.

David Ortega, Socorro, 6.

Aden Hodgson, El Dorado, 6.

Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 5.

Victor Parra, Eastwood, 5.

Luis Holguin, Burges, 5.

Rai Lopez, Franklin, 5.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 5.

Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 5.

Julian Maldonado, Burges, 5

William Moreno, Bel Air, 4.

Gage Garcia, Americas, 4.

Andres Buckley, Franklin, 4.

Chris Moreno, San Elizario, 4.

Jarrett Ketchmark, Andress, 4.

Juan Uribe, Socorro, 3.

Dylan Lorilla, Cathedral, 3.

Austen Percifull, Franklin, 3.

Trenton Nelson, Montwood, 3.

Jesse Morales, Americas, 2.

Francisco Reyes, Jefferson, 2.

Marcos Garcia, Cathedral, 2.

Roberto Rivas, Franklin, 2.

Mario Elias, Eastlake, 2.

Eric Lopez, Riverside, 1.

Joaquin Chavez, Eastwood, 1

Mathew Estrada, Socorro, 1.

Angel Recio Martinez, Eastlake, 1.

David Gonzalez, Burges, 1.

Joshua Gonzalez, Mt. View, 1.

Monday Cool Down: Chillin’ with Tornillo’s Kylene Elias and San Elizario’s Edwin Gomez

The San Elizario/Tornillo Invitational featured three state ranked teams – Tornillo in Class 3A, San Elizario in Class 4A and Eastwood in Class 6A.

TORNILLO-San Elizario senior Edwin Gomez and Tornillo sophomore Kylene Elias are familiar with success.

In his previous three years, Gomez won two UIL state cross country championships and finished with a silver medal last year. He also owns two golds and a silver medal from the Class 4A, Region 1 championship in his career.

Elias had a breakout fall season in 2019, winning the Class 3A, Region 1 championship and finished her freshman year with bronze medal at the state championship.

Each added to their local medal totals at the San Elizario/Tornillo Invitational at Tornillo High School on Saturday – Gomez winning in 16:26.23 and Elias in 21:12.56.

For Gomez, it was his first victory in three races this season and Elias’ second in a row after sitting out the Andress Invitational at Skyline Park.

Both attribute their slow starts to lack of training during COVID summer.

“I didn’t do much training during the summer,” Gomez said. “I was working construction in Dallas and I would be tired when I got home so I don’t have time to practice.”

San Elizario senior Edwin Gomez won his first invitational of the season, racing to 16:26.23 at the desert course at Tornillo High School.

But now that the season has begun, Gomez has turned in his hard hat and tool belt is looking forward to his senior year.

“I want to win another team state championship and try to get that first place individually,” he said. “Right now I’m not even close to where I want to be. I’m working on running a 15:15.00, that’s my goal. I’m running with the team in the morning, and in the afternoon, I’m doing 5 to 6 miles on my own because I didn’t get much training in the summer.”

In the desert course at Tornillo, the San Elizario boys – the No. 1 ranked Class 4A team in the state – finished second with 40 points, 12 points behind Eastwood who rested its top 5 runners in the boy’s and girl’s races.

Two of Gomez’s teammates – Dilan Sanchez (second, 16:42.51) and Chris Moreno (seventh, 17:24.61) – finished in the top 10.

The Troopers had its five scoring runners in the top 10 led by Victor Anchondo (third, 16:48.55), Nick Parra (fourth, 16:49.19), Devon Paez (fifth, 16:52.33) and Andres Gurrola (sixth, 16:57.09).

Tornillo, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 3A, placed runners – Angel Torres (17:27.96) and Bryan Garcia (17:30.50) – to finish third with 82 points, Bel Air was fourth (99) and Del Valle fifth (117).

Eastwood’s Joaquin Chavez rounded out the top 10 in 17:51.07.

On the girl’s side, Eastwood win the team championship with 29 points followed by Tornillo with 55 points, Bel Air (63) and Del Valle (85).

Bel Air’s Abigail Murillo finished second behind Elias in 21:47.57.

Eastwood had five runners in the top 10 including Trinity Martinez (third, 21:50.77), Desiree Carrillo (fourth, 22:07.98), Amaryllis Rubalcaba (sixth, 22:29.71), Hannah Tellez (seventh, 22:39.00), Alexis Vasquez (ninth, 22:51.27) and Jasmine Martinez (tenth, Eastwood, 23:04.55).

Olivia Garcia was fifth for Tornillo (22:17.07) and Bel Air’s Sara Armendariz was eighth (22:44.36).

“It was so hard to train this summer because of COVID,” Elias said. “Coach would send us the workouts and we would practice on our own. We had to do that until August when we came back to school and practiced as a team.”

Like Gomez, Elias acknowledged not training as hard as she should have in the summer.

After missing the first race of the season, Tornillo sophomore Kylene Elias has won two in a row after turning in a 21:12.56 at the Tornillo Invitational.

“I kind of slacked off,” she said, letting out a big laugh. “I’m not going to lie to you. But it was just a little bit.”

The experience of her freshman season – a district and regional championship and a bronze medal at state – has motivated Elias to get serious about her training again.

“I’m very eager to run and do my best this year because we have such a great team,” she said. “We have freshman named Nat (Escajeda) who is a great runner. I’m looking forward to see what we can do as a team at regionals and maybe state.”

She is looking to share the state experience with her teammates this year.

“Last year when it was just me, it was boring,” Elias said. “When I went to state, it seemed to motivate the team and now they want to go as well. I know my role is to be a leader and to work harder so we can all make it to state.”

Click here for full results – https://tx.milesplit.com/meets/395667-san-elizario-tornillo-invitational/results/702563/formatted#.X2_gM2hKjIU.

Other highlights and results from across the city:

Dale Reinhardt Invitational (SAC)

The Americas boys won the event with 23 points followed by Cathedral (39), Socorro (79) and Montwood (83).

Americas placed runners in the first four spots led by Carmelo Corral who picked up his second straight meet victory in 17:13.37. Jared Laverty was second in 17:44.75, Michael Mier was third in 17:50.77 and Aaron Saenz was fourth (18:18.00).

The rest of the top 10 were Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 18:21.49; Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 19:29.13.; Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 19:53.52; Trenton Nelson, Montwood, 19:56.80; Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 20:09.25 and Mathew Estrada, Socorro, 20:27.99.

The Montwood girls won the varsity division with 16 points followed by Loretto (69), Americas (70) and Socorro (85).

Montwood’s Jazmine Miranda won her first championship in 21:57.64 at the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at the SAC.

The Rams Jazmine Miranda won her first championship in 21:57.64 to lead five Montwood runners in the top six. Kassandra Jimenez was second in 22:10.52 followed by Alexa Rangel (22:29.60) Natalie Espinosa (23:02.45) in fourth and Karyme Garcia (24:29.39) in sixth.

Other top 10 runners were Samantha Ramirez, Socorro (fifth, 23:57.92), Morayma Montes, Austin (seventh, 24:30.91), Isabella Medina, Americas (eighth, 25:14.25), Britney Martinez, Loretto (ninth, 25:40.30) and Mia Vargas, Americas (tenth, 25:51.73).

Click here for complete results -https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1003207

Coronado Invitational (Haskins Recreation Center)

Eastlake junior Israel David won his third straight invitational in 15:40.96 but it was Coronado – who placed three runners in the 2-3-5-6 spots – who won the team championship with 29 points. Eastlake was second with 39 and El Paso High was third with 62.

Coronado’s Luis Pastor was second in 16:41.71 followed by teammates Corey Dubrule (third, 16:52.53), Sam Breceda (fifth, 17:04.59) and Stephen Pitchkolan (sixth, 17:31.10). El Paso High’s Josep Ferret was fifth in 17:00.20. Rounding out the top 10 were Jarrett Ketchmark, Andress (seventh, 17:43.52), David Ramirez, El Paso (eighth, 17:58.94), Mario Elias, Eastlake (ninth, 18:11.52) and Angel Recio Martinez, Eastlake (tenth, 18:19.48).

Coronado’s girls made it a T-Bird sweep winning the meet with 29 points. El Paso High was second with 35 points and Eastlake was third with 66.

Coronado sophomore Kyra Walker, a state qualifier last fall, won her second career varsity race in the 20:52.12. In all, the T-Birds had five runners in the top 10 including Alexa Lawrence (third, 21:32.18), Banah Abdeljaber (sixth, 21:44.99), Eva Asfahani (ninth, 22:11.31) and Christina Duncan (tenth, 22:12.39).

Other top 10 finishers were Eastlake’s Megan Kirtley (second, 21:13.25) and four El Paso High runners in 4-8 – Shayla Cohen Jones (21:34.19), Alissa Kennedy (21:42.13), Andrea Castillo (21:48.74) and Jezarae Valenzuela (22:00.39).

Click here for complete results – http://www.elpasoathletics.com/2020/09/21/coronado-cc-inv-2020/

Clint ISD Invitational (Mt. View High School)

Pebble Hills sophomore Omer Ibrahim won his first varsity meet completing the hilly, dusty, desert course in 19:33.04. Horizon’s Ivan Hernandez was second in 20:08.24.

Pebble Hills sophomore Omer Ibrahim won his first varsity meet completing the hilly, dusty, desert course Mt. View High School in 19:33.04.

Franklin won the team championship with 25 points followed by Pebble Hills (59), Horizon (59), Clint (112) and Valle Verde (129).

The Cougars place five in the top 10 led by Octavio Trujillo (20:15.62) and Diego Flores (20:29.03) who finished third and fourth. Three other Franklin runners finished 6-8 – Rai Lopez (21:18.53), Matthew Engle (21:40.94) and Austen Percifull (21:46.42).

Rounding out the top 10 were El Dorado’s Venancio Claderon (fifth, 21:02.55), El Dorado’s Aden Hodgson (ninth, 21:51.85) and Joshua Gonzalez from Mt. View who finished tenth in 21:58.98.

It was a perfect score of 15 for the Franklin girls who placed seven runners in the top 10. Pebble Hills was second with 70 points followed by Clint (76) and Horizon (83).

Eva Jess won her third meet and remains unbeaten in El Paso since her freshman year. She won in 21:50.18 followed by teammates Ally Little (second, 22:09.02), Sofia Camacho (third, 24:02.02), .Jenna Saunders (fourth, 24:23.74), Michele Paillard (fifth, 24:28.43), Alyssa Laspada (sixth, 25:02.65) and 8, Sarah Villaronga (eighth, 25:33.84).

Horizon had two runners -Andrea Villagomez (seventh, 25:22.37) and Iris Baca (tenth, 25:56.46 – in the top 10 and Clint’s Vivian Zapata was ninth in 25:45.52.

Click here for complete results – https://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/19643/1003201/result/MVHS%20XC%20Results%204-26-20.pdf

Parkland/Hanks Invitational (Northeast Regional Park)

Chapin’s Joaquin Ortega won his second varsity invitational of the season, racing to a time of 16:03.17, almost a full 27 seconds faster than runner-up Andrew Valdiviezo from Riverside (16:30.54).

David Herrera was third in 16:36.13 to pace Burges to a team victory with 32 points. Hanks was second with 40 points, Riverside third (56) and Parkland was fourth (73).

Including Herrera, the Mustangs had four runners in the top 10 – Dylan Walker (eighth, 16:53.31), Julian Maldonado (ninth, 16:56.77) and David Gonzalez (tenth, 17:15.18).

Top runners for the Knights were Andrew Alvarado (fourth, 16:36.48) and Alejandro Tarin (sixth, 16:46.21).

Parkland’s Kenneth Lamar Golston was fifth in 16:45.92 and Canutillo’s Denovan Estrada was seventh in 16:48.50.

Parkland’s Angelina Lujan-Marrufo won her third championship in as many weeks finishing 19:12.42 but it was the Canutillo girls who surprised the field in winning the team title with 41 points.

Jefferson was second with 49 followed by Hanks (55), Riverside (98), Parkland (103) and Young Women’s Leadership Academy (120).

Canutillo had three runners in the top 10 including runner-up Chondra Espino (20:36.59), Natalie Rivera (fifth, 21:21.31) and Ivy Lara (tenth, 21:48.57).

Jefferson’s top three were Monique Correa (third, 20:42.30), Jelia Lugo (sixth, 21:21.75) and Crystal Peterson (seventh, 21:35.22).

Hanks runner Mia Rivera (20:57.46) was fourth and Madison Spencer was ninth in 21:46.97.

Burges’ Emilee Antimo was eighth in 21:39.54.

Click here for complete results – https://www.runnercard.com/e/runner.Main?meet=1003208

High School Boys XC Poll: Week 2

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

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

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

This week’s schedule:

Dale Reinhardt Invitational: 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 25 at Socorro’s Activities Complex. Socorro, Montwood, Americas, Cathedral, Austin, Irvin.

Coronado Invitational: 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Don Haskins Recreation Center. Coronado, Eastlake, El Paso, Bowie, Anthony, Andress.

Clint ISD Invitational: 8 a.m., Sept. 26 at Mt. View High School. Clint, Mt. View, Pebble Hills, Valle Verde, El Dorado, Horizon, Franklin.

Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational: 8 a.m., Sept. 26 at Tornillo High School. Tornillo, San Eli, Del Valle, Eastwood, Ysleta, Bel Air.

Hanks Invitational: 8 a.m. Sept. 26 at NE Regional Park. Hanks, Parkland, Riverside, YWLA, Chapin, Burges, Jefferson, Canutillo.

In the first two weeks of the 2020 season, Eastwood has been as dominate as ever winning both local invitationals with ease.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The Troopers came two points short of a perfect score to win the Del Valle Invitational. Eastwood had four runners in the top 5 and eight in the top 10 for a season low 17 points. Eastwood swept the top three spots with first-place finisher senior Sergio Leon Cuartas, (15:29.43), runner up senior Nathan Hernandez (15:38.58) and third place runner junior Isaac Mendoza, (15:40.73). Senior Aaron Perez was fifth in 15:46.55, senior Victor Parra was sixth in 16:10.22, junior Devon Paez was ninth in 16:17.57 and junior Victor Anchondo was 10^th in 16:22.04. The Troopers 1-5 split was 40 seconds. The team will race at the Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational at Tornillo High School on Saturday.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers swept the top three spots at the Irvin Invitational at Veterans Park to score 18 points and the first-place trophy. Junior Carmelo Corral was first in 15:15.03 followed by juniors Jared Laverty (15:41.15) and Aaron Saenz (15:56.91). Corral won his first varsity race and set the season’s city best time. In all, six Americas runners placed in the top 10 including seniors Michael Mier (fifth, 16:04.08) and Gage Garcia (seventh, 16:33.48) and junior Jesse Morales (ninth, 17:12.49). The team will compete in the Dale Reinhardt Invitational at SISD’s Student Activities Complex.

3. Coronado: The T-Birds came out strong to start the 2020 with an impressive 32-point performance to win the El Dorado Invitational at SISD’s Student Activities Complex. Coronado placed four runners in the top 5 including race winner sophomore Luis Pastor (17:20.20), senior Corey Dubrule (third, 18:02.50), sophomore Sam Breceda (fourth, 18:22.80) and junior Stephen Pitchkolan (fifth, 18:36.00). Coronado will race at its own invitational at the Don Haskins Recreation Center on Saturday.

4. San Elizario: The Eagles move up one spot after its second-place finish at the Del Valle Invitational with 51 points. Seniors Edwin Gomez finished fourth in 15:41.0 and Dilan Sanchez was eighth in 16:16.49. Sophomore Chris Moreno was 12^th in 16:56.60. The team will race at the Tornillo/San Elizario Invitational at Tornillo High School on Saturday.

5. Franklin: Last week the Cougars tight pack was in the high 20s. At the El Dorado Invitational at the SAC, the pack moved up to the single digits. Franklin placed four runners in the 6-9 spots and finished second to Coronado with 41 points. The team also moved up four spots in the poll. Freshman Matthew Engle was sixth in 18:41.90, senior Andres Buckley was seventh in 18:51.10, sophomore Diego Flores was eighth in 18:59.50 and sophomore Roberto Rivas was ninth in 19:09.40. Franklin will race the Clint ISD Invitational at Mt. View High School on Saturday.

6. Tornillo: The Coyotes move up one spot after winning La Isla Invitational in Fabens with 50 points. Tornillo, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A in the state, had two runners in the top 5 – Bryan Garcia (second, 16:48.31) and Angel Torres (fifth, 17:18.97). The team will race in its own invitational on Saturday.

7. Burges: The Mustangs made its 2020 debut with a second-place finish at La Isla Invitational in Fabens, two points behind Tornillo. Burges had four runners – seniors Dylan Walker (fourth, 17:11.88) and Luis Holguin (sixth, 17:20.81) and juniors Julian Maldonado (eighth, 17:28.69) and David Herrera (tenth, 17:29.34) – in the top 10. The team will compete at the Hanks Invitational at the Northeast Regional Park.

8. Cathedral: The Fighting Irish drop three spots after placing third at the Fabens Invitational at La Isla Church. Cathedral had two in the top 10 – senior Luis Gomez (third, 17:07.09) and sophomore Elijah Noble (ninth, 17:29.00). The team is racing the Dale Reinhardt Invitational on Friday at the SAC.

9. Eastlake: The Falcons suffered the biggest drop of the week, down five spots after finishing fourth at the La Isla Invitational in Fabens. Junior Israel David won his second straight race finishing in 15:40.62. David’s scoring teammates finished tight in 15-16-18 and 20. Eastlake will race at the Coronado Invitational at the Don Haskins Recreation Center on Saturday.

10. Hanks: Life without two Division 1 athletes Michael Abeyta (Oregon) and Rodger Rivera (Texas) will take a little getting used to for the Knights who make their 2020 debut in the Top 10. Hanks will count heavily on junior Gael Alvarado and sophomore Alejandro Tarin. Hanks finished a respectable third with 98 points at the always difficult Del Valle Invitational. Tarin was 14^th in 17:13.65 and Alvarado finished 15^th in 17:14.53. Hanks will race at its own invitational at the always fast Northeast Regional Park.

Dropped out: Socorro, Riverside.

On the brink: Riverside, Pebble Hills, Bel Air.

Americas junior Carmelo Corral won his first varsity race and set the season’s city best time at Veterans Park. Corral ran a 15:15.03.

Top times (5K/3Miile)

1, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15:15.03 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

2, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 15:29.43 (Del Valle, 9/19).

3, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 15:38.58 (Del Valle, 9/19).

4, Israel David, Eastlake, 15:40.62 (La Isla Park, 9/19).

5, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 15:40.73 (Del Valle, 9/19).

6, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 15:41.04 (Del Valle, 9/19).

7, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:41.15 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

8, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 15:46.55 (Del Valle, 9/19).

9, Aaron Saenz, Americas, 15:56.91 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

10, Aziel Heredia, Austin, 16:01.71 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

11, Michael Mier, Americas, 16:04.08 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

12, Victor Parra, Eastwood, 16:10.22 (Del Valle, 9/19).

13, Nick Parra, Eastwood, 16:15.42 (Del Valle, 9/19).

14, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 16:16.25 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

15, Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 16:16.49 (Del Valle, 9/19).

16, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 16:17.57 (Del Valle, 9/19).

17, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 16:22.04 (Del Valle, 9/19).

18, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 16:22.99 (Del Valle, 9/19).

19, Gage Garcia, Americas, 16:33.48 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

20, Denovan Estrada, Canutillo, 16:38.88 (Veterans Park, 9/19).

21, Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 16:48.31 (La Isla, 9/19).

22, Chris Moreno, San Elizario 16:56.60 (Del Valle, 9/19).

23, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 16:56.63 (Del Valle, 9/19).

24, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 17:01.88 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

25, Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 17:04.09 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

The third week of the 2020 season begins on Friday at SISD’s Student Activities Complex with the Dale Reinhardt Invitational. Week two saw vast improvements in individual times.

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

1, Israel David, Eastlake, 20 (2).

2, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 17.

2, Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 17.

2, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 17.

5, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 16 (1).

6, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 15 (1).

6, Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 15.

6, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 15.

6, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 15 (1).

10, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 13.

Jared Laverty, Americas, 12.

Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 11.

Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 11.

Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 10 (1).

Luis Pastor, Coronado, 10 (1).

Jorge Garcia, Socorro, 10.

Miguel Avila, Del Valle, 8.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 8.

Corey Dubrule, Coronado, 8.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 8.

Kenneth Lamar Golston, Parkland, 7.

Aziel Heredia, Austin, 7.

Dylan Walker, Burges, 7.

Sam Breceda, Coronado, 7.

David Ortega, Socorro, 6.

Michael Mier, Americas, 6.

Stephen Pitchkolan, Coronado, 6.

Venancio Claderon, El Dorado, 5.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 5.

Victor Parra, Eastwood, 5.

Luis Holguin, Burges, 5.

Matthew Engle, Franklin, 5.

Aden Hodgson, El Dorado, 4.

William Moreno, Bel Air, 4.

Nick Parra, Eastwood, 4.

Gage Garcia, Americas, 4.

David Ramirez, El Paso, 4.

Andres Buckley, Franklin, 4.

Juan Uribe, Socorro, 3.

Dylan Lorilla, Cathedral, 3.

Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 3.

Denovan Estrada, Canutillo, 3.

Julian Maldonado, Burges, 3.

Diego Flores, Franklin, 3.

Devon Paez, Eastwood, 2.

Jesse Morales, Americas, 2.

Francisco Reyes, Jefferson, 2.

Marcos Garcia, Cathedral, 2.

Roberto Rivas, Franklin. 2

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 2.

Eric Lopez, Riverside, 1.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 1.

Ivan Hernandez, Horizon, 1.

David Herrera Burges, 1.

High School Boys Cross Country Poll: Week 1

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

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

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

This week’s schedule:

El Dorado Invitational: 8 a.m., Sept. 19 at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex. El Dorado, Montwood, Socorro, Pebble Hills, Coronado, Franklin, Mt. View, Anthony.

Fabens Invitational: 8 a.m., Sept. 19 at La Isla Church in Fabens. Fabens, Eastlake, El Paso, Tornillo, Burges, Clint, Valle Verde, Cathedral, Loretto.

Irvin Invitational: 8:30 a.m., Sept. 19at Veterans Park. Irvin, Americas, Bowie, Austin, Chapin, Canutillo, Parkland.

Del Valle Invitational 8a.m., Sept 19 at Del Valle High School. Del Valle, Hanks, Eastwood, Riverside, YWLA, Ysleta, Bel Air, San Eli.

Cross country was the first high school athletic event to take place in the El Paso since March. Socorro ISD officials took extra precautions for the safety of the athletics.

Top 10

1. Eastwood: The two-time defending Class 5A UIL state champion returned to the 6A ranks on Saturday with a convincing 24-point performance at the Pebble Hills Invitational at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex. Six of Eastwood’s runners finished in the top 11 including four in the top five – Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, (2^nd, 16:45.41), Nathan Hernandez, (3^rd, 16:46.09), Aaron Perez, (4^th, 16:48.18) and Sergio Leon Cuartas (5^th, 16:50.21). Victor Anchondo, was 10^th in 17:26.34 and Victor Parra was 11^th in 17:31.00. The team will race at Del Valle on Saturday.

2. Americas: The Trailblazers came into Saturday’s Pebble Hills Invitational with high expectations after a preseason No. 4 state ranking. Americas is coming off its second consecutive Class 6A UIL state appearance with a bulk of its team returning. On Saturday, Americas had two runners – juniors Carmelo Corral, (6^th, 16:53.24) and Jared Laverty (8^th, 16:59.52) – finish in the top 10. The team scored 74 points, good for second place. The team will race at the Irvin Invitational at Veterans Park on Saturday.

3. Coronado: Like most of the top teams, the T-Birds lost its 1-2 punch in Nick Gonzalez and Alan Alba. The team will look to senior Corey Dubrule and junior Stephan Pitchkolan to lead the team. They will make their season debut at the El Dorado Invitational at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex.

4. Eastlake: The Falcons have the city’s top runner in junior Israel David who is no longer in the shadows of Hanks grad Michael Abeyta or Coronado’s Nick Gonzalez. David became the first Eastlake runner to win an individual title in an El Paso race, earning the gold at the Pebble Hills Invitational at Socorro’s Student Activities Center in 16:17.18. The team earned a third-place spot with 108 points. They will race at the Isla Invitational in Fabens.

5. San Elizario: The Eagles, the No. 1 ranked Class 4A team in Texas, struggled just a bit at Saturday’s Pebble Hills Invitational finishing a distant fourth with 114 points. Senior Edwin Gomez was the top runner finishing 7^th in 16:58.69 and senior Dilan Sanchez was 12^th in 17:31.96. San Elizario hopes to improve when they race at Del Valle on Saturday.

6. Cathedral: The Fighting Irish appear to be back as a major player in the city. The team scored an impressive 32 points to earn the title at the Andress Invitational at Skyline Park. Cathedral had six runners in the top 10 including Luis Gomez (4^th, 17:04.09), Elijah Noble (fifth, 17:35.18), Jacob Noble (6^th, 17:35.58), Dylan Lorilla, (8^th, 18:00.60), Marcos Garcia (9th, 18:09.39) and Bernard Martinez (10th, 18:16.94). They will compete in the La Isla Invitational in Fabens on Saturday.

7. Tornillo: The Coyotes, ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A in the state, had two runners finish in the top three at the Andress Invitational at Skyline Park. Angel Torres was second in 17:01.88 and Bryan Garcia was third in 17:03.25). The team will compete in the La Isla Invitational in Fabens on Saturday.

8. Socorro: The Bulldogswon the Riverside Invitational with 44 points at Blackie Chesher Park. Socorro placed three runners in the top 10 including Jorge Garcia, (2^nd, 17:38.90), David Ortega (5^th, 18:37.13) and Juan Uribe (8^th, 19:00.41). Socorro will race at the El Dorado Invitational at the SAC on Saturday.

9. Franklin: The Cougars pack was tight atSaturday’s Pebble Hills Invitational with its top five finishing within 10 spots of each other. The team just needs to move up in placement in order to be successful.

10. Riverside: The Rangers has shown vast improvement and finished two points behind Socorro at the Blackie Chesher Park. Two Riverside runners finished in the top 10 – Andrew Valdiviezo who won the meet in 17:15.36 and Eric Lopez who placed 10^th in 19:13.92. Riverside will race at Del Valle on Saturday

Dropped out: None.

On the brink: Bel Air, Del Valle.

Eastlake junior Israel David (center) became the first cross country male athlete from Eastlake to win an individual title. No doubt, it will be the first of many.

Top times (5K/3Miile)

1, Israel David, Eastlake, 16:17.18 (SAC, 9/12).

2, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 16:36.25 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

3, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 16:45.41 (SAC, 9/12).

4, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 16:46.09 (SAC, 9/12).

5, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 16:48.18 (SAC, 9/12).

6, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 16:50.21 (SAC, 9/12).

7, Carmelo Corral, Americas, 16:53.24 (SAC, 9/12).

8, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 16:58.69 (SAC, 9/12).

9, Jared Laverty, Americas, 16:59.52 (SAC, 9/12).

10, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 17:01.88 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

11, Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 17:03.25 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

12, Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 17:04.09 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

13, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 17:15.36 (Blackie Chesher, 9/12).

14, Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 17:25.47 (SAC, 9/12).

15, Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 17:26.34 (SAC, 9/12).

16, Victor Parra, Eastwood, 17:31.00 (SAC, 9/12).

17, Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 17:31.96 (SAC, 9/12).

18, Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 17:35.18 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

19, Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 17:35.58 (Skyline Park, 9/12).

20, Jorge Garcia, Socorro, 17:38.90 (Blackie Chesher, 9/12).

21, Miguel Avila, Del Valle, 17:49.53 (Blackie Chesher, 9/12).

22, Kenneth Lamar Golston, Parkland, 17:51.77 (Blackie Chesher, 9/12).

23, Andres Gurrola, Eastwood, 17:53.15 (SAC, 9/12).

24, Nicholas Parra, Eastwood, 17:54.21 (SAC, 9/12).

25, Devon Paez, Eastwood, 18:18.28 (SAC, 9/12).

Eastwood’s Isaac Mendoza was second at the Pebble Hills Invitational at the sandy, hilly course at Socorro’s Student Activities Complex. Americas junior Carmelo Corral to led Americas.

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

1, Israel David, Eastlake, 10 (1).

1, Andrew Valdiviezo, Riverside, 10 (1).

1, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 10 (1).

4, Isaac Mendoza, Eastwood, 9.

4, Jorge Garcia, Socorro, 9.

4, Angel Torres, Tornillo, 9.

7, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 8.

7, Miguel Avila, Del Valle, 8.

7, Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 8.

10, Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 7.

10, Kenneth Lamar Golston, Parkland, 7.

10, Luis Gomez, Cathedral, 7.

Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 6.

David Ortega, Socorro, 6.

Elijah Noble, Cathedral, 6.

Carmelo Corral, Americas, 5.

Venancio Claderon, El Dorado, 5.

Jacob Noble, Cathedral, 5.

Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 4.

Aden Hodgson, El Dorado, 4.

William Moreno, Bel Air, 4.

Jared Laverty, Americas, 3.

Juan Uribe, Socorro, 3.

Dylan Lorilla, Cathedral, 3.

Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 2.

Francisco Reyes, Jefferson, 2.

Marcos Garcia, Cathedral, 2.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 1.

Eric Lopez, Riverside, 1.

Bernard Martinez, Cathedral, 1.

Eva Jess, Eastwood Boys seek NXN titles

What: Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

Who: Eastwood boys – seniors Juan Olmos and Elias Perez, juniors Sergio Cuartas, Nathan Hernandez and Victor Parra and sophomores Victor Anchondo and Andres Gurrola and Franklin’s Eva Jess.

When: Boys race begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and the girl’s race begins at 12:35 p.m.

Where: Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

Watch it here: https://cdn.runnerspace.com/nxnlive.html

Eastwood received one of four at-large bids to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals on Saturday.

When the Eastwood Running Club toed the line to start the 2018 Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon, it was a decade of work and dedication and perseverance in the making.

At the time, it felt as if the journey was over – they finally made it to the national state.

“The dream was always to get there, and once we did, it almost felt the finish line was Nike South and not NXN,” Eastwood coach Mike McLain said. “This year it feels more like business. Yes, we are going to enjoy it, but it’s a little more about business this time.”

NXN is the pinnacle of high school cross country in the United States. The top two teams in eight regional championships and the top five placing individuals not on an automatically-placing team receive automatic bids to NXN.

The race is at 11 a.m. Saturday at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.

Eastwood finished third (137 points) at Nike South but Nike Cross Nationals selection committee selected them as one of four at-large boy’s teams to compete in the 22-team field.

Southlake Carroll (85 points) and The Woodlands (126) received automatic bids for placing first and second.

Franklin junior Eva Jess automatically qualified by placing third at Nike South racing to a 17:54.34.

“This is going to be great experience,” Jess said. “I’m really excited to go. I’m going to get a lot of cool stuff and I get to race against the best in the nation.”

Jess, who finished second at the UIL State Cross Country Championship in Class 6A, is the first girl’s runner from El Paso to qualify for Nike Nationals.

“I’m happy just to make it there,” she said. “I know these are the best girls in the nation so I’m just really happy to make it. I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”

Last week Jess finished 13th out of 195 runners at the Foot Locker South Regional in North Carolina and missed qualifying for the Foot Locker nationals by three spots. She did run a personal best of 17:49 in that meet.

“This was my first year running the NXN regionals so it’s awesome making it to nationals on my first try,” she said. “I never really thought about NXN. I was always focused on state.”

Franklin-Jess — Franklin junior Eva Jess automatically qualified by placing third at Nike South racing to a 17:54.34. She is the first female from El Paso to race at NXN.

The girl’s championship race is at 12:35 p.m.

The Eastwood boys – seniors Juan Olmos and Elias Perez, juniors Sergio Cuartas, Nathan Hernandez and Victor Parra and sophomores Victor Anchondo and Andres Gurrola – are making its second consecutive trip to NXN.

“We just want to do better than last year,” Perez said. “We could have done better, so we want to go up there and show something, especially since we’re going up there as an at-large team, we want to show that it was worth it.”

Eastwood – which defended its Class 5A state championship this year – finished 22nd in a field of 22 teams in its first national championship.

Perez said he is hoping last year’s experience will help them on Saturday.

“Because it is NXN, we’ll still be a little excited, a little starstruck because it’s only our second year,” he said. “But we know it’s a big race and we can’t let it get the best of us.”

He has seen the team progress since his freshman season when the team was fourth at Nike South. His sophomore year, Eastwood was third but did not receive an at-large bid.

In 2018, Eastwood became the first team from El Paso to win Nike South and compete at NXN.

“Last year we were just kind of there having a blast,” he said. “This year, we’re going to have fun but we definitely want to take it more serious and do better than last year and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”

The team had to wait a week before getting the call last Saturday.

EastwoodEliasPerez — Eastwood’s Elias Perez and his team are returning to NXN on Saturday hoping to improve on last year’s performance.

“The team ran well at South but we didn’t know if we would be top two,” Perez said. “Coach was saying it would be close. I told the guys that there was nothing more we could do, we left it all on the course. I had a lot of confidence a week after South that would get an at-large berth.”

McLain said the past two weeks of training have been normal.

“The experience we had last year means everything,” he said. “Last year, before NXN, it didn’t feel like just another week of practice. Practice last week was calm, it felt like regional or state week. We weren’t as uptight as we were last year. We took a more it’s-just-another-race approach. It was just another two weeks of practice for us. We just did what we’ve been doing to make us successful this year, so it did feel more at home for us.”

But this is not just another race.

“These kids will be treated like royalty for four days,” he said. “The atmosphere is so incredible up there. When you show up they give you all this amazing gear, their pictures are up all over the Nike campus, you are like a celebrity with glamour and glitz and Olympians coming up to talk to you and eating with you at every meal.”

The team now has NXN experience with five runners who ran the course last year. Four runners – Olmos, Perez, Cuartas and Hernandez – ran the championship race while Parra was an alternate and race the community race. Anchondo and Gurrola will be making their NXN debut.

“If you want to keep doing well at NXN, you have to keep working to get back every year,” McLain said. “At first, everything is so new. You are looking around, experiencing things for the first time so it seems more like a vacation than a meet. We want to get to the point where running at NXN is as comfortable as preparing for Woodbridge, or state or Nike South. We’re not at that point yet, but we’re getting there.”

Abeyta, Gonzalez and Andrade sign early

Three El Paso cross country student-athletes have a lot to be thankful for this season as each one made their commitments to compete at the next level in the early signing period.

Michael Abeyta signed with the University of Oregon, Nick Gonzalez with St. Edwards and Seth Andrade signed with UT-Tyler.

A star at Hanks, Abeyta fulfilled a childhood goal of competing for the Ducks.

“Since I was 10 years old, I’ve always dreamed about going to the University of Oregon,” he said. “People in middle school would always tell me ‘you’re never going to get there, they won’t recruit you, they don’t take people from Texas, much less El Paso.’”

Hanks_State Champ_09 Nov 19-6 — Hanks’s Michael Abeyta fulfilled a childhood dream when he signed to run at the University of Oregon.

Abeyta’s resume is impressive.

He won two UIL State Cross Country silver medals – his sophomore and senior years – was sixth is freshman and fifth his junior year, and was All State all four years.

This year’s Region 1-5A time of 14:35.10 was the fastest regional time in El Paso history.

He has also won two state gold medals – in the 1600 meters (2017) and in the 800 meters (2018), a silver in the 1600 (2018) and a bronze in the 1600 (2019).

“People thought I was crazy, but I proved them wrong,” he said. “Now that it’s a reality, I am so blessed to be able to run there. I hope to make Hanks and El Paso proud.”

He picked Oregon over Oklahoma State University, Texas, Texas Tech, Gonzaga, Georgetown.

Hanks coach Kim Gomez said Abeyta is the best athlete she has ever coached.

“He came to me already a great runner, his dad has done amazing things with him since he was a little boy,” she said. “I’ve coached 36 years and I’ve seen the Culpeppers, Gilbert Contreras, the Luceros, and I think Michael is the best distance runner ever in El Paso.”

Coronado_State Champ_09 Nov 19-9 — Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez was the first El Paso runner in Class 6A to cross the finish line. He finished 14th in 15:11.31 at the state championship. He will sign with St. Edwards University.

Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez picked St. Edwards, a Division 2 school in Concordia, Texas.

“The big pull for me was that I wanted to run at a program that I felt that I could grow in,” he said. “With coach (Ryan) Ponsonby and coach (Sharlie) Brooks, I thought that I could really grow under their coaching.”

He was also looking for school where he could excel academically.

“Academics are a huge deal for me and I feel that at St. Edwards I’ll have the best opportunities to grow as a student,” he said. “Eventually, I want to go to medical school and St. Edwards will prepare me for that.”

He also took a visit to Division 1 Incarnate Word before deciding on St. Edwards.

“I put my running to the side and based my decision on how good the school was academically,” he said. “I wanted to be the first in my family to run at a Division 1 school, which is one of the reasons I was looking hard at Incarnate Word. But I decided that it’s not really running I want to pursue after college, its education and that’s why I chose St. Edwards.”

Seth Andrade, a senior at Americas, was also looking for a school that was strong academically.

“I was primarily looking for a good engineering school,” he said. “I had been e-mailing coaches at schools that had good engineering programs. I started with the Colorado School of Mines but the coach didn’t respond.”

He eventually e-mailed the coach at UT-Tyler and a trip was immediately set up.

“When I went on my visit, it was really beautiful and the environment felt right,” he said. “The coach is young but I could tell by the way he speaks and how he presented himself that he was very knowledgeable and has accomplished many things.”

While on the visit, Andrade trained with the team.

“It was a really fun experience,” he said. “They each had their own personalities. They were really great. Everything that they showed me was a check on my checklist of things I wanted in a school.”

El Paso area teams to battle at Nike South

Make Plans

What: Nike South Regional. Teams from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Mississippi will compete for an opportunity to race for a national championship. The boys from Americas, Eastwood and San Elizario, and the Franklin girls, will compete in the Championship Division.

When: Saturday, Nov. 23. Boys championship at 1 p.m.; Girls championship at 1:30 p.m.

Where: Bear Branch Park in The Woodlands.

At stake: The top two teams in the region receive automatic bids. The top five placing individuals not on an automatically-placing team will advance as individual qualifiers. Individuals and club qualifiers from eight regional championships are invited to NXN on Dec. 7 at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

EastwoodNXN — The reaction of the 2018 Eastwood cross country team after learning they won Nike South. They were the first team in El Paso history to compete at NXN.

The championship season for 2019 is almost over for many of the nation’s top high school cross country programs.

On Saturday, the best teams in five states will race at the Nike South Regional at Bear Branch Park in The Woodlands.

Teams from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Mississippi will compete for an opportunity to race for a national championship – Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

Three boys teams – Americas, Eastwood and San Elizario – and the Franklin girls, will compete in the Championship Division with a NXN berth at stake.

Many consider NXN, which is Dec. 7 at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon, as the ultimate cross country experience.

“I don’t think anybody who hasn’t experienced NXN can ever imagine what happens at NXN,” said Eastwood coach Mike McLain. “I talked to someone who qualified for the Olympics and this person had never seen NXN. I was describing to him what NXN is, showing him pictures and videos of it. I asked him if it was an experience only someone who made the NCAA Championship would go through and he said, ‘oh no, the NCAA can’t compete with what NXN does.’”

Last year, Eastwood Running Club became the first team from El Paso to win Nike South and advance to NXN.

Eastwood scored 121 points, Southlake Carroll was second with 137 points and Flower Mound was third with 142 points.

And just like in 2018, the path is hauntingly familiar.

Like last year, Eastwood won Region 1, the UIL 5A state championship and now enter Saturday’s meet peaking at the right time.

FranklinGState — The Franklin girls hope to complete a successful 2019 season at Nike South.

“Nike South is always on our schedule, no matter what.” McLain said. “It doesn’t matter if we have a strong season or not, we go there.”

McLain said Nike South is a great way to measure the Eastwood program against the best in Texas.

“In order to compete against Southlake Carroll and The Woodlands, you have to respect them,” he said. “Too often, when a team beats you, coaches will say it’s because you cheat or it’s because you recruit – they make up excuses.

We don’t do that. We go up there and if a team beats us, they beat us because they outworked us. You have to respect them for doing that and that should motivate you to work just as hard as they do.”

This is the ninth year in row that Eastwood will participate in Nike South. It’s best results were a pair of fourth place finishes in 2012 and 2016, a third place finish in 2017 and finally breaking through with a Nike South Championship in 2018.

In a season that started a bit slow for Eastwood, the team put it all together at the UIL Cross Country State Championship at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock two weeks ago.

The Troopers defended its Class 5A UIL State title in convincing fashion scoring 51 points, 59 fewer than state runner-up Grapevine.

Eastwood seniors Juan Olmos (fifth, 15:01.41) and Elias Perez (sixth, 15:03.46) had top 10 finishes. All scoring runners – junior Sergio Cuartas (17th, 15:28.21), junior Nathan Hernandez (20th, 15:31.10) and junior Victor Parra (21st, 15:31.12) – finished in the top 25.

Eastwood’s average time of 15:19.06 – with a 29 second split – was the fastest of all classifications, including Class 6A state champ Southlake Carroll’s 15:22.18.

“In the beginning of the season, we weren’t where we would have liked and all of us were wondering if we would ever get there,” Perez said. “I knew what we were capable of and I believed in every one of them. The young guys panicked a little and they would ask me if we could make it to NXN again? I told them I believed in them and that we could. After state, we definitely have a shot, and do better than we did last year.”

The team finished 22nd in a field 22 teams in its first national championship.

Rene:DilanSanEli — San Elizario’s Rene Arambula and Dilan Sanchez will compete with their teammates at Nike South.

San Elizario junior Edwin Gomez, who was second in the UIL State Championship Class 4A race, is focusing on Nike South from a more personal level.

“I had an up-and-down cross country season,” he said. “All season, I was running for the team. I’ve been training really hard since the season ended and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get back to Nike Nationals.”

Last year he placed fifth at Nike South in 15:45.38, and was 84th at NXN in 16:05.9.

Gomez, who lead San Elizario to a team silver medal, was the second El Paso area athlete to advance to NXN. Eastwood alum and current Furman University runner Daniel Bernal was the first in 2015 and 2016.

Bernal was also the first El Paso runner to be recognized as NXN All American when he finished 10th in 2016 in a time of 15:47.3.

AmericasBoys — The Americas boys will compete for the first time as a team at Nike South.

Americas senior Seth Andrade said his team is excited about its first appearance at the NXN South Regional.

“We wanted to place at state but our legs felt a little heavy and things didn’t work out like we wanted,” Andrade said. “We’re hoping Nike South turns out a little better. We are all excited to go out there and kick some butt.”

Americas placed sixth in the Class 6A race.

The opportunity is there for the taking. Four El Paso powerhouses – Franklin’s girls and the boys from Americas, Eastwood and San Elizario – all fighting for the ultimate prize – a trip to NXN.

“What Nike does for these kids is absolutely amazing,” McLain said. “Until you’ve been there, you could never image what it’s like. It’s a lot to take in. Nothing really compares for it. NXN has changed our sport. NXN changed Eastwood cross country.”

High school boys XC poll: Final

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 and 10th place which gets 1 point. For meets with between 150 to 300 runners, double points will be rewarded meaning 20 points for first, 19 for second all the way down to 1 point for 20th. For every additional 150 runners, another 10 runners will be included in the points.

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

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

Eastwood_1-6A State Champ_09 Nov 19-9 — Eastwood won back-to-back Class 5A UIL state championships. Eastwood’s average time of 15:19.06 was the fastest of all classifications, including Class 6A state champ Southlake Carroll’s 15:22.18.

Top 10

1, Eastwood: The Troopers defended its Class 5A UIL State title in convincing fashion scoring 51 points, 59 fewer than state runner-up Grapevine. Eastwood seniors Juan Olmos (fifth, 15:01.41) and Elias Perez (sixth, 15:03.46) had top 10 finishes. All scoring runners – junior Sergio Cuartas (17th, 15:28.21), junior Nathan Hernandez (20th, 15:31.10) and junior Victor Parra (21st, 15:31.12) – finished in the top 25. Eastwood’s average time of 15:19.06 was the fastest of all classifications, including Class 6A state champ Southlake Carroll’s 15:22.18.

2, Americas: At its second consecutive state championship, Americas improved from last year’s 15th place finish to sixth in Class 6A. The Trailblazers placed two runners – senior Hector Sanchez (17th, 15:15.36) and sophomore Jared Laverty (25th, 15:21.72) – in the top 25. Americas average time was 15:38.90.

3, San Elizario: The Eagles move up one after finding themselves on the Class 4A podium for the sixth straight time, finishing state runner-up to Decatur by three points. Junior Edwin Gomez was second overall in 15:06.05. Senior Rene Arambula was 11th in 15:47.50 and junior Dilan Sanchez was 12th in 15:51.22. San Elizario’s average time was 16:03.32.

4, Hanks: The Knights move up one after its fourth-place finish in the Class 5A state race. Hanks finished with 84 points after strong performances from seniors Michael Abeyta who was second in 14:35.10 and Rodger Rivera who was third in 14:51.30. Their average time was 15:41.17.

5, Franklin: The Cougars finished its team season at the Region 1-6A race with a sixth-place finish. Senior Fernie Morales advanced to the Class 6A state championship and had a top 20 performance, placing 18^th in 15:16.52.

6, Coronado: The T-Birds ended its season with a ninth-place finish at the Region 1-6A race. Senior Nick Gonzalez raced in his second state championship and was the first El Paso runner in Class 6A. He finished 14^th in 15:11.31.

7, Tornillo: Tornillo ended its season with a bronze medal at the Class 3A state championship. Senior Ofir Ortega earned All State honors, finishing in eighth place in 16:03.31. The Coyotes average time was 16:43.92.

8, Burges: The Mustangs finished seventh in the Region 1-5A Class 5A race to end their season.

9, Chapin: The Huskies finished 12th as a team in the Class 5A race. Senior Angel Contreras advanced to the state championship and was 23rd in 15:33.98.

10, Horizon: The Scorpions finished the season as the 15^th best team in Region 1-5A.

Dropped out: None.
On the verge: None.

Top times (3-mile or 5K)

1, Elias Perez, Eastwood 14:25.90 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/21).

2, Michael Abeyta, Hanks, 14:34.61 (Old Settlers Park, 11/9).

3, Rodger Rivera, Hanks, 14:51.30 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

4, Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 14:51.40 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/21).

5, Juan Olmos, Eastwood, 14:51.90 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/21).

6, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 14:53.50 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

7, Nick Gonzalez, Coronado, 14:58.20 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

8, Jacob Ye, Americas, 14:58.40 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

9, Isreal David, Eastlake, 14:59.10 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

10, Hector Sanchez, Americas, 15:05.60 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

11, Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 15:12.60 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

12, Victor Parra, Eastwood, 15:22.40 (Woodbridge Classic, 9/21).

13, Jared Laverty, Americas, 15:22.50 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

14, Fernie Morales, Franklin, 15:23.40 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

15, Angel Contreras, Chapin, 15:29.51 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/21).

16, Aaron Saenz, Americas, 15:32.60 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

17, Daniel Kennedy, Franklin, 15:35.20 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/21).

18, Alan Alba, Coronado 15:35.77 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/21).

19, Seth Andrade, Americas, 15:37.80 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

20, Gage Garcia, Americas, 15:44.35 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/21).

21, Ofir Ortega, Tornillo, 15:50.00 (Guyer Invitational, 9/14).

22, Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 15:50.30 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

23, Alejandro Tarin, Hanks, 15:53.70 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

24, Melo Corral, Americas, 15:53.93 (Northeast Regional Park, 9/21).

25, David Gonzalez, Burges, 15:54.20 (Mae Simmons Park, 10/28).

EdwinState — San Elizario junior Edwin Gomez was second in the Class 4A race finishing in 15:06.05. He lead his team to a silver medal.

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):

1, Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 99 (3).

2, Nick Gonzalez, Coronado, 94 (6).

3, Ofir Ortega, Tornillo, 92 (3).

4, Michael Abeyta, Hanks, 80 (4).

5, Elias Perez, Eastwood, 71.

6, Isreal David, Eastlake, 67.

7, Hector Sanchez, Americas, 54 (1).

8, Juan Olmos, Eastwood, 51 (1).

9, Jacob Ye, Americas, 49.

10, Fernie Morales, Franklin, 48 (1).

Angel Contreras, Chapin, 45 (1).

Rene Arambula, San Elizario, 44.

Dilan Sanchez, San Elizario, 44.

Alan Alba, Coronado, 43.

Rodger Rivera, Hanks, 43 (1).

Daniel Kennedy, Franklin, 34.

Nathan Hernandez, Eastwood, 26.

Andrews Valdiviezo, Riverside, 24.

David Gonzalez, Burges, 23.

Sergio Leon Cuartas, Eastwood, 23.

Melo Corral, Americas, 23.

Aaron Saenz, Americas, 21.

Jared Laverty, Americas, 21.

Gael Alvarado, Hanks, 19.

Christian Parra, Socorro, 17.

Matthew Avila, El Paso, 16.

Miguel Avila, Del Valle, 16 (1).

Stephen Pitchkolan, Coronado, 15 (1).

Gage Garcia, Americas, 15.

Joshua Gonazalez, Mt. View, 14.

Evan Rubio, Ysleta, 12.

Irvin Vazquez, San Elizario, 12.

Alex Sanchez, Horizon, 11.

Michael Mier, Americas, 11.

Dylan Walker, Burges, 11.

Alan Ceballos, San Elizario, 10.

Joaquin Ortega, Chapin, 10.

Omer Ibrahim, Pebble Hills, 9.

Steve Porras, Franklin, 9.

Corey DuBrule, Coronado, 9.

Sebastan Mimbela, LPI, 8.

Bryan Garcia, Tornillo, 8.

Seth Andrade, Americas, 8.

Jarrett Ketchmark, Andress, 8.

Jacob Ontiveros, El Paso High, 8.

Jorge Garcia, Socorro, 7.

Victor Anchondo, Eastwood, 6

Michael Bernal, Pebble Hills, 6.

Cristian Ibarra, Ysleta, 6.

Angel Morales, San Elizario, 6.

Josh Espino, Coronado, 6.

Josep Ferret, El Paso, 6.

Dylan Espinosa, Bowie, 6.

Lance Hubert, Canutillo, 5

Jose Nilo, Austin, 4.

Dominic Lara, Coronado, 4.

Gael Hernandez, Fabens, 4.

Victor Parra, Eastwood, 4.

Reginald Robinson, Jefferson, 3.

Matthew Avila, El Paso, 3.

Isaac Becerill, Canutillo, 3.

Abdiel Vieyra, Del Valle, 3.

Denovan Estrada, Canutillo, 3.

Seth Rodriguez, San Elizario, 3.

Angel Torres, Tornillo 3.

Trenton Nelson, Montwood, 2.

Anthony Soto, Fabens, 2.

Noah Yeager, Burges, 2.

Aaron Perez, Eastwood, 1.

Abraham Cruz, Eastwood, 1.

Nick Barajas, Americas, 1.

Anthony Gonzalez, San Elizario, 1.

Three teams earn medals and eight individuals race to All State honors

The El Paso delegation of distance runners who descended upon Old Settlers Park in Round Rock for the UIL Cross Country State Championship last week certainly left an impression on the rest of Texas.

Three of the six teams returned home with state team medals and eight athletes earned All State honors by virtue of finishing in the top 10 in their respective races.

The Eastwood Troopers won back-to-back Class 5A state championships, San Elizario was second in Class 4A and Tornillo was third in Class 3A.

Eastwood State — The Eastwood Troopers won back-to-back Class 5A state championships.

Five of the top 10 runners out of Class 5A were from El Paso including Hanks seniors Michael Abyeta (second, 14:34.61) and Rodger Rivera (third, 14:55.64) Eastwood seniors Juan Olmos (fifth, 15:01.41) and Elias Perez (sixth, 15:03.46) and Eastlake sophomore Israel David was seventh in 15:05.63. San Elizario junior Edwin Gomez was second in the Class 4A race finishing in 15:06.05 and Tornillo senior Ofir Ortega was eighth in Class 3A in 16:03.31.

Only two girls finished in the top 10 – Franklin junior Eva Jess was second in Class 6A in 17:12.18 and Tornillo freshman Kylene Elias was third in the Class 3A two-mile race in 11:37.79.

“It felt harder this year,” Eastwood coach Mike McLain said. “People take these things for granted. Doing something like this is difficult. I told the guys they needed to enjoy it because moments like this don’t come around too often.”

Eastwood won its second state championship by 59 points, scoring 51 points. Grapevine was second with 110, Boerne Champion was third with 128 points and Hanks was fourth with 151 points.

“This one had a very different feeling,” McLain said. “It was just as satisfying but in a very different way because of everything they had to overcome to get here. We lost two big guns from last year who were our leaders. We had some health issues with one of our top runners that would have decimated a lot of other teams. That runner, and the rest of the team, pulled together and made the most out of it.”

Eastlake_State Champ_09 Nov 19-2 — Eastlake sophomore Israel David was seventh in 15:05.63, earning him All State Class 5A honors.

After Olmos and Perez, Eastwood’s next five were junior Sergio Cuartas (17th, 15:28.21), junior Nathan Hernandez (20th, 15:31.10) junior Victor Parra (21st, 15:31.12) sophomore Victor Anchondo (107th, 16:48.43) and sophomore Andres Gurrola (139th, 17:26.53).

“It’s a great feeling going back to back,” Olmos said. “It was a good feeling to be able to share this with Elias, it was a perfect way to end our senior year.”

Perez and Olmos took over the leadership role for the Troopers this year.

“We had a lot of younger guys on this year’s team and we weren’t really doing too good in the beginning,” he said. “But we knew what we were capable of and it was awesome for all of us to come together at that moment.”

Perez said there were many twists and turns this season.

“At the beginning of the season, we were doing good but when we raced at Woodbridge, that’s when people started to get hurt. Desert Twilight was kind of bad, too. Runners who where usually up there with us were getting hurt and we weren’t at our full strength.”

But Perez knew this team would come around.

“We knew what we were capable of, but we had to stick with it, stick with the process,” he said. “We were lost at some point and getting in our own heads and we weren’t performing like we usually do. We talked to each other, we knew what we needed to do but we couldn’t stress over it. We had to keep working and get past it.”

For Hanks, after Abyeta’s second place finish and Rivera’s third place finish, Knights runners were sophomore Gael Alvarado (74th, 16:15.24), senior Omar Munoz (76th, 16:16.93) freshman Alejandro Tarin (85th, 16:23.43), junior Christian Jaquez, (144th, 17:44.91) and junior Michael Antuna (152nd, 19:18.47).

HanksBoys — Hanks senior Micheal Abyeta was second in Class 5A in 14:34.61 and senior Rodger Rivera was third in 14:55.64. Aledo senior Graydon Morris won the gold in 14:33.43.

Chapin senior Angel Contreras was 23rd in 15:33.98.

Eastwood sophomore Lauren Walls-Portillo was the top girl from Class 5A finishing 46th in 19:01.29. A pair of Jefferson runners – junior Melody Tsuitsumi was 81st in 19:25.02 and sophomore Crystal Peterson was 97th in 19:42.03.

San Elizario found itself on the podium for sixth straight time, finishing state runner-up to Decatur by three points.

“It’s a bitter sweet feeling,” San Elizario coach Cesar Morales said. “I’m not taking anything away from Decatur, they’re a great team and they improved a lot but we could have done a lot better. We had a young team and we made a couple of mistakes, so it cost us a little bit.”

After four straight state championships, the Eagles won bronze last year and now add a silver to its ever expanding trophy case.

“We could have done better but I’m happy because of the team’s improvement over the entire season,” he said. “We improved our average by 30 seconds from the last time we were state champions and we improved by 34 seconds average time from last year.”

But to finish three points shy of five state championships in six years, it stings just a little bit.

73278152_10215640300544647_451326712630738944_o — San Elizario has made it to the podium for six consecutive years. This year, the team won silver, missing out on gold by three points.

“I just wanted a little better result because the kids worked so hard this season,” Morales said. “We wanted a state championship, we were expecting one but looking at the year in its entirety, we improved a lot. I don’t know if there are any other teams in El Paso that have been on the podium six years in a row. But we have to keep working and taking it one year at a time.”

After Gomez’s second place finish, senior Rene Arambula was 11th in 15:47.50, junior Dilan Sanchez was 12th in 15:51.22, sophomore Irvin Vazquez was 56th (16:38.27), junior Anthony Gonzalez was 79th (16:53.56), senior Seth Rodriguez was 92nd (17:03.52) and sophomore Alan Ceballos was 103rd (17:15.51).

Mt. View junior Joshua Gonzalez was 78th in 16:52.55.

“We’ll have to reflect and evaluate what we did as a team and come back and get hungry again,” Morales said. “We’ll have lot of young kids on the JV team fighting for a spot on varsity.”

Mt. View senior Nicole Estrada had the best finish among El Paso’s 4A girls finishing the two-mile race in 37th place in 12:28.27. Mt. View junior Kayhla Talavera was 65th (12:47.25) and San Elizario junior Karina Gallegos was 109th in 13:20.09.

Tornillo2 — Tornillo earned a bronze in the Class 3A cross country state medal.

For Tornillo coach Jesse Garcia, there was added meaning to this year’s state championship.

His father, Eleazar Garcia, past away on Dec. 31, 2018.

“When I went back after the Christmas break, my kids found out,” he said. “I told them we were going back to the state championship and run it for my dad. Every race was for my dad. At the state championship, we all knew that my dad was watching from up there cheering them on. It was a proud moment.”

The Coyotes finished third with with 121 points. Eustace won state with 85 points followed by Crane with 112.

It was a bronze kind of day for Tornillo at this year’s state meet.

“Every kid we took up there came back with a third place medal,” Garcia said. “We put on a show. We were leading the race after the first mile. Eustace, the state champs from last year, had lost one from that group so they had a solid squad and Crane, which finished second last year, had everyone coming back so I knew it was going to be a hard battle.”

Garcia said he was happy with the way the team improved every week.

“I am real appreciative of the overall performance of the kids,” he said. “Every week we got stronger and Saturday was no different. Our best race of the season was Saturday.”

Ortega led the team with an All-State eighth place performance followed by junior Bryan Garcia (33rd, 16:43.75), freshman Angel Torres (37th, 16:49.39), sophomore Bryan Guzman (42nd, 16:56.74), junior Michael Maney (53rd, 17:06.42) and freshman Eric Fuentes (149th, 22:10.57).

“Finishing in the top 10 was my goal,” Ortega said. “I was little bit disappointed because I wanted to finish in the top three but I’m still glad I finished on the podium for the first time individually. Team wise, the guys stepped up big and because of them, we finished in the top three. I did my part, but they ran their heart out and did something really special.”

Ortega said he enjoyed his four years at the Cotton Valley school.

“Running for Tornillo has been a wonderful experience,” he said. “I will cherish all the memories I have from my freshman year to my senior year. The team-bonding, the family-bonding, was very special. I have much love for my coaches, it’s something I’ll never forget. They were like my second dads. It’s been a special journey.”

Freshman Kylene Elias is just starting hers at Tornillo. She won the school’s first girl’s state medal, finishing third by just one second to state runner up Finley Hunting from San Antonio Cole. Peyton Muntz from Whitesboro won the gold in 11:28.06.

“It’s a good feeling but I think I could have done better,” Elias said. “Next year I’ll try to get the gold.”

Does Elias now has the running bug?

“I fell in love with it,” she said. “I like the adrenaline that runs through my body when I run and I like how a lot of people from Tornillo support me.”

Garcia said he is proud of Elias’ first season of cross country.

“Kylene ran hard again and got a PR,” he said. “She got boxed-in in the first 400 meters of the race and that affected her a little bit. She is used to leading the race but she was never able to get a lead. At the end of the race, she was about to throw up. She fell into fifth place because of that but she managed to come back and almost caught second place.”

Elias said she didn’t know what happened at the end of the race.

“I was giving it my all but I guess my stomach didn’t like the breakfast from the morning,” she said. “I saw the girl in third place slowing down, I guess she thought I couldn’t catch up to her, but I was running as fast I could and I got her.”

The Americas boys improved from last year’s 15th place finish to placing sixth while the Franklin girls finished 15th in their first state appearance.

Americas placed two runners – senior Hector Sanchez (17th, 15:15.36) and sophomore Jared Laverty (25th, 15:21.72) – in the top 25. Other runners for the Trailblazers include senior Jacob Ye (51st, 15:42.69), senior Seth Andrade (80th, 15:56.97), sophomore Aaron Saenz (83rd, 15:57.78), junior Gage Garcia (98th, 16:09.52) and sophomore Carmelo Corral, (108th, 16:20.46).

Franklin_1-6A State Champ_09 Nov 19-47 — Franklin junior Eva Jess was second in Class 6A in 17:12.18.

Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez was the first El Pasoan in Class 6A to cross the finish line in 15:11.31 good for 14th place. Franklin senior Fernie Morales was 18th in 15:16.52.

For the 6A girl’s, after Eva Jess’s second place finish, Americas senior Mariana Guzman was 20th in 18:21.05; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia was 99th in 19:28.96 and Coronado freshman Kyra Walker was 118th.

Franklin’s runners were freshman Alyssa Laspada (123rd, 20:08.78), freshman Sofia Camacho (128th, 20:14.16), sophomore Jordan Torres (131st, 20:24.77), freshman Michele Paillard (133rd, 20:25.40), freshman Amanda Sotelo (140th, 20:51.78 and sophomore Jenna Saunders (144th, 21:13.61).

Fifteen El Paso runners seek individual state medals

State Championship Previews

Saturday: Tornillo boys.

Sunday: San Elizario boys.

Monday: Hanks boys.

Tuesday: Eastwood boys.

Wednesday: Franklin girls.

Thursday: Americas boys.

Friday: Individual qualifiers.

Make Plans

What: UIL State Cross Country Championship.

When: Saturday Nov. 9. All times (CST): Girls Class 3A, 10:50 a.m.; Boys Class 3A, 11:20 a.m.; Girls Class 4A, noon; Boys Class 4A, 12:30 p.m.; Girls Class 5A, 1:10 p.m.; Boys Class 5A, 1:50 p.m.; Girls Class 6A, 2:30 p.m.; Boys Class 6A, 3:10 p.m.

Where: Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

At Stake: State team and individual titles.

GonzalezChapin — Chapin senior Angel Contreras (Bib No. 1609), will try to improve on his 23rd place state finish. His time last year was 15:48.70.

The Region 1 cross country championship can be excruciating, especially if you are not part of a state-qualify team and you have to wait until the final results are revealed to find out if you advanced or not.

You see, only the top four teams and the top 10 runners not on a qualifying team advance so you can cut the tension with a knife as runners from all across the region wait anxiously for the results.

As always, El Paso will have a full delegation with 15 individual runners headed to state.

From Class 6A – Americas senior Mariana Guzman; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia, Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez and freshman Kyra Walker and Franklin senior Fernie Morales, Franklin.

From Class 5A – Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson and junior Melody Tsuitsumi; Lauren Walls-Portillo, sophomore, Eastwood; Eastlake sophomore Israel David and Angel Contreras, senior, Chapin.

From Class 4A- Mt. View junior Kayhla Talavera, senior Nicole Estrada and junior Joshua Gonzalez and Karina Gallegos, junior, San Elizario.

Class 3A – Freshman, Kylene Elias, Tornillo.

Peterson.Jeffersonjpg — Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson is making her second trip to the UIL State Cross Country Championship. She was 43rd last year in 19:21.03.

Last year, Eastwood sophomore Lauren Walls-Portillo ran her first state championship as part of the Troopers team in Class 5A.

“I’m going to pretend my team is with me right there because they are my motivation,” she said. “I know how much they wanted to make it but they will be with me in my heart and spirit.”

She finished 45th in 19:25.55 last year.

“It was a great opportunity for me,” she said of the 2018 meet. “Just being there was an amazing feeling. I ran pretty good but this year and I feel much stronger so I’m shooting for a higher finish.”

Knowing the course is going to be an advantage for her.

“It’s flat so that’s good,” she said. “I’m thankful that I made it. I want to go into the race with confidence and work just as hard as I did last year. I didn’t have a race strategy last year, I was just so excited to be there, but this year I actually do. I’m going to try to stay with the front pack and hopefully not die out.”

Coronado’s Gonzalez, who ran varsity all four years, will also be running his second state meet. Last year he was 21st in 15:29.16.

“Running at state has always been a dream, ever since freshman year,” he said. “Getting to regionals each year, but not making it until junior year, and now being able to make it again, is really great.”

He is looking for an All State, top 10 finish.

“I think I can do very well,” he said. “I’ve been able to continue to grow each year and each year I’ve improved. My cross country experience at Coronado has been amazing. I’ve been able to see myself progress and it really feels good seeing the work pay off.”

Mt.ViewBoys — Mt. View junior Joshua Gonzalez will try to make the most of his first state meet at the Class 4A race. He was 14th at the region 1 race finishing in 16:09.50.

Eastlake sophomore Isreal David was 43rd at last year’s Class 5A state race in 16:09.56.

He was able to experience the state experience which should serve him well his second time around.

“There’s a lot of competition there with a lot of fast runners who are going to push me pretty hard,” he said. “I’m in better shape this year because I’ve been improving a lot, working on my training and fixing what I need to fix. I going for a top 10 finish, I think I’m physically and mentally prepared for that.”

New to the state championship are Tornillo freshman Kylene Elias, Americas senior Mariana Guzman and Franklin senior Fernie Morales.

“I couldn’t believe I qualified,” said Guzman. “It felt like a dream come true. I’ve very thankful and really happy I get to represent not only my school but all of the hard work my coaches have put into coaching me.”

Guzman was 13th in the Class 6A race at regionals, racing to a 18:14.40, the second best finish from El Paso.

“It was intimidated going into the race,” she said. “I felt I was a little bit conservative towards the middle of the race thinking I might die out. I could have done a lot better so I’m looking to improve on Saturday.”

Guzman’s successful senior campaign comes after suffering through a season of injuries her junior year.

“I love running,” she said. “I love having my teammates there all the time. It was positive environment that I wanted to come back to, they are the ones that kept me going.”

Tornillo’s Elias, all 4-feet, 11-inches and 80 pounds of her, won the 2-mile, Class 3A Region 1 championship in 11:57.60 to become the first Tornillo girls to win regionals and advance to state.

“Regionals was a very cool experience because Hannah Spears (from Holliday) was there and she is a very good runner,” she said. “She gave me a lot of competition.”

Elias’s first love was basketball but after this season, that’s changed.

“It’s not really my favorite sport anymore,” she said, laughing. “I lot of people have supported me this season. Plus, I don’t think I was really good in basketball.”

Despite her success, she remains humble.

“I don’t think that I’m that good,” she said. “Still, to this day, I don’t think I’m that good. I know I can still get better.”

She is looking forward to making more Tornillo history.

“I’m very excited because no one has ever gone to state from Tornillo from the girl’s side so this is a really good opportunity for me to make school history,” she said. “I want to get on the podium, that would be a nice way to finish my freshman year.”

Also new to the sport – and to the state meet – is Franklin senior Fernie Morales,

“For the past three years I played football,” he said. “My junior year I did really well in the 800 (in track), so I decided running was better suited for me going into college than football. Also, that season, a lot of my teammates where getting ACL and MCL tears, I didn’t want to risk anything that might effect my running so I decided to get out of football.”

And that decisions has paid off.

“My coaches told me in order to get ready for track season in the 800, they thought I should try cross country and see how I did,” he said.

He earned a top 20 Class 6A Region 1 finish and a trip to state

“I’m nervous and excited- and honestly a bit surprised,” he said of the state meet. “On Saturday, I’ll be happy running my race to the best of my ability and PR or better than I did at regionals.”

This week’s schedule:

Top 10

Top times (5K/3Miile)

Power rankings(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

Dale Reinhardt Invitational (SAC)

Coronado Invitational (Haskins Recreation Center)

Clint ISD Invitational (Mt. View High School)

Parkland/Hanks Invitational (Northeast Regional Park)

This week’s schedule:

Top 10

Top times (5K/3Miile)

Power rankings(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

This week’s schedule:

Top 10

Top times (5K/3Miile)

Power rankings(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

Make Plans

Top 10

Top times (3-mile or 5K)

Power rankings (number parenthesis indicate meets won):

State Championship Previews

Make Plans

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

Power rankings
(number in parenthesis indicate meets won)

Power rankings
(number parenthesis indicate meets won):