Results

Los Alamos History

Team Entries

Course Records

Summaries:
Boys team
Boys Individual
GIrls Team
Girls Individual

Prior Years
2005
2004

Los Alamos Girls Edge Academy 61-63; Academy Boys keep racking Wins results

Kyle Cooper (7th overall in 17:00) and Pat Zacharias (16:50, 4th overall) from Academy.                                 
photo from Adam Kedge

Any student of American history knows about Los Alamos. It is the famous town on a hill where the Atomic Bomb was developed. Any fan of New Mexico cross country knows about the success of the Hilltoppers and their Co-Head Coaches Rob and Kathy Hipwood. Los Alamos is still the site of a major national laboratory but currently the town’s main export is its high quality distance runners. This Friday, 14 New Mexico teams will travel “up the hill” to take part in the Los Alamos Invitational. They will pass by Oppenheimer Blvd on the way to the Los Alamos City Golf Course where they will test themselves against one of the most storied programs in New Mexico Cross Country History.

Teams Participating:
Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque High, Bernalillo, Capital High School, East Mountain, Española, Gallup, Highland, Los Alamos, Manzano, Pecos, Peñasco, Pojoaque, Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe Prep and Taos.

Course Records:
(Girls) Kristen Hemphill, Los Alamos 19:14
(Boys) Ryan McNiff, Los Alamos 15:57



Boys Team:
The “Marquee Match-up” of the meet will be the Boys Team competition. SW#1 Albuquerque Academy is the pre-race favorite as they have been for every meet this year. Many people believe that it is a forgone conclusion that Academy will remain unbeaten but Academy Coach Adam Kedge is coaching his Chargers hard down the stretch and making sure they stay sharp. Recently he spoke about the yearly battle with Los Alamos, “I'd say LA has the best chance of all of beating us in the next few weeks. For that matter they have the best chance every year. We've faced each other 44 times in the past 10 years and they've beaten us 13. No other team is even close to that.” SW#3 Los Alamos Hilltopers will be out to prove that they are for real? Many pointed to their victory at Centerra as a fluke noting that many of the teams did not run at full strength but LA is known for finishing the season strong and they believe that they are ready for an upset. The strong pack of NM#3 Gallup will be out to prove that the ranking they earned earlier in the season was legitimate. This meet is defiantly top heavy as is has the 3 highest ranked teams in the Big School Division of the New Mexico Coaches Poll. But their will be some interesting battles further down the results board as Pojoaque, Peñasco and Pecos will be battling to prove their worth in the NM Small School Poll.

Boys Individuals:
Last year’s boys and girl’s champions are currently red-shirting for Adam’s State College in Alamosa so there will be a new champion for both races. Ben Johnson (Academy) and Dustin Martin (Academy) are the favorites to win this year. Other top runners include: Zach Doran (Highland), Patrick Ortiz (Pecos), Ray Suina (Gallup), Donavan Jim (Gallup), Gareth Gilna (Los Alamos), Allan Pitman (Los Alamos).

Girls Team:
The competition for the girl’s title could be wide open. Many of the quality teams have questions that they haven’t been able to answer. Let’s start with the home team. Los Alamos has not been able to put together the type of performance that the LA GIRLS are known for. Injuries to key athletes have led to a rather ordinary season thus far. A little home cooking could be the cure. The Albuquerque Academy Girls started the season ranked 2nd in the South West region. The Chargers returned everyone off of their 4A state championship teams and looked like a contender to travel to Portland Meadows. But the season has seen some inconsistent performances. Most of the inconsistencies are due to the busy schedules of the girls who are involved in more than just Cross Country. The Pojoaque Girls could pull off an upset this Friday if they can put their season back on track. Right now they have 3 healthy girls that can run with anyone in the state. This small AAA school will look to run a healthy 5 at state and walk away with another state title for Coach Alan Lockeridge. The most solid team in the field is Gallup. They are also the favorites. Gallup is the defending 5A champions and has performed with a champion spirit all year.

Girls Individual:
Vinita Joe (Gallup), Amanda Martin (Gallup), Kedra McBrayer (Highland), Amanda Thockmartin (Academy), Lyndsay Harper (Academy), Camile Martinez (Pojoaque), Sophia Torres (Pojoaque), Ali Blum (Los Alamos)

Prior Years:
In 2005, Ryan McNiff set a Los Alamos course record 15:57, 8 seconds ahead of Academy's Ben Johnson and 28 seconds ahead of Academy's Dustin Martin