Category: El Paso boys cross country

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. Class 6A – Americas senior Mariana Guzman; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia, Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez and freshman Kyra Walker and Franklin senior Fernie Morales, Franklin. Class 5A – Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson and junior Melody Tsuitsumi; Lauren Walls, sophomore, Eastwood; Eastlake sophomore Israel David and Angel Contreras, senior, Chapin. 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.

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.

The words “redemption,” “disappointment” and “respect” keep creeping up when it comes to the Americas boy’s second trip trip to the UIL State Cross Country Championship.

It’s true, Americas did finish 15th out of 16 teams at last year’s state championship, the team’s first in school history.

It’s also true that the Trailblazers took their lumps on that Old Settlers Park course.

But they also learned some valuable lessons that helped propel them to a solid 2019 season, a second place Region 1-6A finish and an opportunity to right a wrong.

“Coming out as the fourth place team from Region 1 last year, we expected to do pretty well at state,” Americas coach Kenny Lucero said. “But that didn’t happen and the kids were pretty disappointed. The day after the state race, they committed themselves to work as hard they can to get back there and really redeem themselves.”

First step was at the Region 1 Championship where Americas finished second  between two nationally-ranked teams.

Southlake Carroll (ranked 18th in the nation) was first and Flower Mound (sixth in the nation) was third.

The Trailblazers placed three runners in the top 20 – seniors Jacob Ye (fifth, 14:58.40) and Hector Sanchez (ninth, 15:05.60) and sophomore Jared Laverty (16th, 15:22.50) – to earn 80 points, 20 points behind Southlake Carroll.

Other scoring runners were sophomore Aaron Saenz (22nd, 15:32.60) and senior Seth Andrade (28th, 15:37.80.

Junior Gage Garcia and  sophomore Melo Corral make up the rest of the team.

With five of the seven runners back – Sanchez and Saenz are new to the stage – expectations are running high.

“Last year, people where saying, ‘look out for El Paso Americas’ and then we go out there and not perform exactly the way we wanted to … OK, I’ll say it, we choked, we choked,” Ye said with a laugh. “The guys are really excited. We’ve seen some state meet previews on MileSplit  and they don’t have us predicted very high so that helps add fuel to the fire. All the guys are really motivated to go out there and prove everybody wrong and show that we can run with the top dogs.”

Ye, who ran a 15:47.33 at state last year, said finishing as Region 1 runner-up has boosted the team’s confidence.

“That was a big confidence booster for sure but regionals is a different race than state,” he said. “After regionals, the team talked about how well we did but we realize there is a bigger picture. I reminded them that Southlake always shows up at state and we know Flower Mound is not happy that an El Paso team beat them so they are going to come back with a vengeance. We now have a target on our back.”

But they also know they can compete against the best in Texas.

“The reason most of us are not overly excited is because we’ve worked hard for this moment and all of us have been running for many years so we  know how to handle the pressure,” he said. “We all have one common goal that we haven’t reached yet so we’re still not satisfied.”

Andrade said the team is more focused this year.

“We’re really excited that we were able to get second place at regionals,” he said. “We all ran our best, but the next day at practice we were focused and ready to accomplish our next goal of doing great things at state. We want to redeem ourselves by going out there and running as hard as we can and try to get top three.”

He said the team has applied the lessons of last year into it’s pre-race preparation.

“I didn’t handle the pressure as well as I wanted to,” he said. “It was a great experience, but now that I’ve experienced it, I’m a lot more ready and I know what to expect. The lesson I learned is we need to stay focused and not crack under the pressure of having so many schools there. You have to run your race as best as possible and you have to remember what you are running for. In our case, it’s for each other.”

Lucero said the team is using last year’s experience to fuel them for Saturday’s race.

“You can come up with the greatest motivational speeches in the world, but if the kids don’t want it inside, they are not going to perform,” he said. “Finishing second has given them confidence and their motivation is from the disappointment of last year’s results. I don’t think I have to say much. They have been there before and they were disappointed, they’ve run consistent as a pack all year, they really haven’t had a meet where they let down as a group.  We are as healthy as we ever been so I think the kids are going to surprise a lot of people.”

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. Class 6A – Americas senior Mariana Guzman; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia, Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez and freshman Kyra Walker and Franklin senior Fernie Morales, Franklin. Class 5A – Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson and junior Melody Tsuitsumi; Lauren Walls, sophomore, Eastwood; Eastlake sophomore Israel David and Angel Contreras, senior, Chapin. 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.

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.

You won’t hear Eastwood cross country coach Mike McLain talk about defending the Trooper’s Class 5A UIL State Championship this weekend.

“It’s just another meet, another meet we’re going to run in, that’s it,” he said. “A lot of people will say winning isn’t their motivator, and usually the people who say that, winning is the only motivator they have.”

Don’t get him wrong, he would like nothing more than to bring another state championship to El Paso, but winning gold isn’t the end game.

“I would be lying to say that we aren’t trying to win, but more importantly than winning is the experience the kids will have,” he said. “That’s why we take so many kids on out-of-town trips. A lot them will not make our varsity, but does that mean they don’t deserve to see some of these big out-of-town meets and to experience their teammates and carry that with them the rest of their lives?”

Eastwood is no stranger to the state meet, making seven appearances in the past eight years.

The Troopers won their first state crown last year, winning the Class 5A race with 62 points, 25 better than Austin Johnson. In 2017, Eastwood won bronze in Class 6A. Eastwood finished sixth in 2016 (6A), 14th in 2015 (6A), fifth in 2014 (6A), fourth in 2012 (5A) and sixth in 2011 (5A).

“We are always trying to win, and we’ve done a lot of it, so it shows,” he said. “But the number one factor for us is giving these kids an experience that, 20 to 30 years from now, they will say, ‘Man, that was worth doing.’”

McLain said he and his staff enjoy taking athletes such as senior Juan Olmos and Elias Perez and instilling a belief in them that they can do whatever they put their minds to.

“Getting kids that were not superstars to train like and to believe they are superstars, and to get the results that they do, to me, that is the magic,” he said.

He points to Perez as a prime example. Perez  ran a 14.25.90 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, the first El Paso runner to break in the Top 10 at Woodbridge and ran a sub-15 Regional (14:57.80), only the second Eastwood athlete to go under 15 minutes at regionals (current Furman University runner Daniel Bernal was the first).

“He was was no big deal in middle school,” McLain said with a smile. “He wasn’t even top 10 in our district meet. He was 16. He comes in and works his butt off and now people look at him as a stud. I don’t think happens at a lot of other places.”

Perez, who finished 21st at last year’s state meet in 15:47.13, said he wasn’t serious about running until he arrived at Eastwood.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “Being able to run, especially with this team, is the best decision I’ve ever made.”

No doubt, 2018 was a special year for Eastwood, winning the state title and Nike South which qualified them for Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

The Troopers were the first team from El Paso, and the first all-Hispanic team, to advance to the national championship.

This year’s team – seniors Perez and Olmos, juniors Nathan Hernandez, Sergio Cuartes, Victor Parra and sophomores Victor Anchondo and Andres Gurrola – are focused on 2019.

“We really don’t worry too much about having to win state again or having to top what we did last year, that’s not our focus,” Perez said. “We just have to work hard, prepare properly and run as a team and hopefully it will happen again.”

Olmos, who finished 12th in 15:33.69 at last year’s state meet, said the team trusts the process and the blueprint that has been laid out for them.

“We’ve been getting better every year,” he said. “From freshman year to junior year to this year, we’ve been getting better and improving. We really don’t focus on what we did last year or how we have to do that again or else the season isn’t successful. Last year was great, but that was last year and it’s over. Our focus is the next race and giving it our best.”

But, another state championship would be nice.

“The perfect outcome is winning, always,” he said. “Everyone wants to win, no question. That’s why we go there, that’s why we race. We show up and show out, to be on top. We want to run a good solid race, run together and maybe win it. We don’t want to see any other outcome so we’re going to run really hard to have that happen. But even if we don’t win, it will still be a good race because we ran hard for each other.”

The Troopers casual approach to defending its title is a reflection of its coach.

“Whatever happens at state will happen,” McLain said. “Our goal is to get what we can out of the guys who show up and who is willing to put in the work. It’s what we do, we invest in every kid because we believe in them.”

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. Class 6A – Americas senior Mariana Guzman; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia, Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez and freshman Kyra Walker and Franklin senior Fernie Morales, Franklin. Class 5A – Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson and junior Melody Tsuitsumi; Lauren Walls, sophomore, Eastwood; Eastlake sophomore Israel David and Angel Contreras, senior, Chapin. 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.

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.

The 32-year drought for the Hanks Knights boy’s cross country team is finally over.

For the first time since 1987 – when the team earned a bronze – Hanks will compete for a UIL state cross country team medal.

“We talked about it a lot over the season,” said Kim Gomez, the school’s cross country coach since 1990. “Having Michael (Abeyta) and Rodger (Rivera), we told the other boys that if there’s ever a chance, the time is now.”

The Knights were Region 1-5A runner-ups with 84 points, second to Eastwood which won with 57 points.

As expected, Abeyta and Rivera ran solid races with Abeyta finishing second in 14:35.10, the fastest any El Pasoan has ever run on the Region 1 course in Lubbock and Rivera was third in 14:51.30.

But it’s what the “other” runners did that was so great.

Freshman Alejandro Tarin was 22nd (15:33.70), senior Omar Munoz was 27th, (15:55.70) and sophomore Gael Alvarado was 30th (15:57.40). Juniors Michael Antuna and Christian Jaquez round out the team.

“Last year we finished sixth and we watched Burges advance to state,” she said. “We had been beating Burges in El Paso all year so the kids were really disappointed. It was in our mind all year so when we got second it was just amazing.”

And agonizing.

“I honestly didn’t see my number three runner come in, I couldn’t find him after the bridge, nobody could find him,” Gomez said. “I was having a fit, but once I found out he was my number three, I knew we were good; it was a great feeling, it really was.”

This is the first time Gomez has taken her entire squad to state.

Abeyta, a senior, has been All State the past three years finishing fifth last year, second his sophomore year and sixth his freshman year.

“I’m very grateful that I was able to help my team come up with me this year,” he said. “It’s nice that I won’t be traveling up there by myself. This time, I’ll have friends to back me up there. We are more than just teammates, we’re brothers so I know we’re going to have a blast up there.”

He said the entire Hanks program is excited for the opportunity.

“They’re anxious, they are ready to get out there and run already,” Abeyta said. “We have to remind them of how we got here in the first place. It took all of us to work hard to put us in this situation. It took all of us to place second at regionals. We have to remind them to stay fresh, don’t do anything dumb, keep your body healthy and most importantly, have fun, you have to have fun and enjoy the experience.”

Rivera advanced to state last year placing eighth, to earn All-State honors.

“When we found out that we made it to state, everybody was super happy and really proud,” he said. “We placed better than we thought we could do, second, right behind Eastwood.”

For Rivera, who is in San Antonio for the UIL State Marching Band Contest, the team state berth has been a long-time coming.

“This team has been working hard to stay close to me and Michael,” he said. “We’ve been doing the same speed workouts but we are working really hard to keep closer together. The goal is to get on the medal stand and everyone is pretty hyped about it.”

Abeyta has always talked about how great it was to be able to represent Hanks at state, but he always had a desire to be part of a team, chasing a state medal.

“That says a lot about Michael, that is truly who Michael is,” Gomez said. “Michael is a great leader and motivator and he really wanted these boys to make it just as he wanted it for himself. He has always wanted his teammates to feel what he feels and now they will have that opportunity.”

But this team is more than the senior superstars.

“I’m just proud of the seven individual boys and I’m thrilled to death that they made state,” Gomez said. “I am so proud of what these boys have accomplished because they believed in themselves all year. Seeing these boys grow and mature has been a joy. My No. 3 guy at regionals is a freshman but in the summer, it was like pulling teeth to get him to practice in the morning. But once he did, I was very proud. That was the only time he was my three, Gael Alvardo was my three all year and the other one that was top 5, Omar, he has been No. 3 in some races.  All they need is an opportunity.”

An opportunity for a state medal awaits the Hanks Knights, right there within their grasp.

“I’ve been telling the boys that we can do this, that we can get on the podium,” Gomez said. “I told them we just don’t want to get to state and run, we need to get to state and get on that podium.”

State Championship Previews

Today: Tornillo boys.

Sunday: San Elizario boys.

Monday: Hanks boys.

Tuesday: Eastwood boys.

Wednesday: Franklin girls.

Thursday: Americas boys.

Friday: Individual qualifiers. Class 6A – Americas senior Mariana Guzman; Montwood junior Karyme Garcia, Coronado senior Nick Gonzalez and freshman Kyra Walker and Franklin senior Fernie Morales, Franklin. Class 5A – Jefferson sophomore Crystal Peterson and junior Melody Tsuitsumi; Lauren Walls, sophomore, Eastwood; Eastlake sophomore Israel David and Angel Contreras, senior, Chapin. 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.

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.

Tornillo senior Ofir Ortega vividly recalls standing on the medal podium at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock in 2016 with a silver medal draped around his neck.

It was his freshman year and he was a late season call up to the varsity.

“It was awesome and exciting to be on the podium and being on the second best team in the state in 3A, but I didn’t really feel important because I didn’t contributed much,” he said. “I was the seventh man on the team and I finished somewhere in the 80s.”

He finished in 82nd place in 17:55.85.

Ortega’s sophomore year was much better. The team again finished second behind Class 3A power Lulling but he was 19th, fourth on the team in 16:45.79.

“I was proud of myself, I did my part in that race,” he said. “I went there and focused and ran a pretty good time. I felt that I contributed this time.”

His junior year was a step back, he finished 23rd in 16:53.77 and the team ended up in seventh place.

Next Saturday, Ortega will be competing in his fourth UIL State Cross Country Championship, the team’s 10th in 11 years.

“I feel really strong this year,” he said. “My goal is to win the race or finish in the top three. Team wise, the goal is to get back on the podium.”

That task could prove more daunting than it has in the past. Only three runners – Ortega, Michael Maney and Bryan Garcia- have state-race experience.

“I try to keep them motivated,” Ortega said. “At practice, I try to push them and cheer for them each day. Hopefully we can do something really special at state.”

Jesse Garcia, who has been a coach at Tornillo since 2008, is proud of the way Ortega has progressed into the unquestioned team leader.

“I moved him his freshman year from JV to varsity,” Garcia said. “He was the slowest kid on the team but he has worked hard ever since and here he is with a shot to win the individual title.”

He grew up, right in front of Garcia’s eyes.

“He has a lot of love for his teammates and he is real humble and down to earth,” he said. “I saw the way he started from the beginning, nobody knew who he was. After a while, he made a name for himself and came on to the stage.”

Garcia said he has seen gradual improvement with this year’s edition of Tornillo runners.

“Going back the Eastwood race (in August) and seeing those results, we’ve come a long way,” he said. “Our sixth man started at a 29-minute 5K and now he is at 21-something. It’s been a good year in terms of growing young kids so hopefully we can get to the podium, and if we don’t, we’re going to learn and hold our heads high.”

State appearances for Tornillo are the norm and pretty much expected.

“Every summer we come into the season with a mindset that we will try to be a contender and get back to the state championship,” Garcia said. “This year felt a lot like 2008. In 2008 I didn’t have anybody with regional experience. This year, I had four guys who didn’t have regional-race experience.”

Bryan Guzman, Angel Torres and Eric Fuentes are new to the championship season, never racing at regionals until this year.

And the team will only race with six runners after its seventh runner left the team right before regionals.

“I told the boys if we make it to state, great,” Garcia said. “We might not win regionals but we’re going to give them hell and we’ll be close. And sure enough, we lost by a point.”

Ortega won the region in 16:06.00, propelling the Coyotes to a second-place regional finish with 85 points. Presidio won the event by one point.

“I have kids who started the season running 20s and now they are almost breaking 17,” Garcia said. “The boys are definitely trying to close the gap with Ofir. Three weeks ago in Lubbock, we had a three-minute gap. It wasn’t very good, and we still managed to get third place. At regionals, we managed to get the second fastest gap which was 1 minute and 13 seconds, that was a huge gain for us.”

Garcia said he likes the makeup of this team.

“I have some warriors this year,” he said. “They are not an all-star group that has a lot of experience but they are beginning to believe in themselves and that’s the scary part, we are becoming a team that believes; we could be hard to deal with.”