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| New
Mexico 2005 Cross Country Preview Top teams in predicted order of finish |
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Boys - Girls - Footlocker West Preview/NTN Preview 1- Highland: 2nd place last fall was Highland. They pushed La Cueva to the limit last November (75 points to La Cueva’s 74). Led by talented but inconsistent sr-Nick Arguellas the Hornets may ready to win their first state titles since 1969. 6 of their top 7 from last fall are back. 4 of those returning Hornets placed in the top-25 last November at state. If Arguellas stays healthy the Hornets are the team to beat. 2- Gallup: (SW#9) 3rd last fall and always at or near the top no 5A preview could be complete without the mention of the Gallup Bengals. The Bengals lose only 2nd man Kempton Jackson from their 5 scorers and were a mere 13 points out of 1st place. Jr-Philbert Brown was 2nd overall last fall and will be aided by fellow jr-Ray Suina. Despite returning 4 of their top 5 depth may still be an issue. 3- La Cueva: Defending state champion La Cueva loses 4 their top 7 to graduation as well as going through a head coaching change. New coach Travis Clark has been implementing a new system since his hire in mid-July. Clark is an alumnus of La Cueva, which should make the transition go smoothly. Top returnees for La Cueva are sr-Chris DeRego, sr-Jeff Dalman, and jr-Matt Evertt. Those 3 were 9th, 14th, and 34th respectively. Look for a good crop of sophomores to fill the other 4 spots on the Bear’s varsity. 4- Eldorado: The cream of the crop individually will be jr-Matt Tebo of Eldorado. Only a sophomore in `04 he won the state XC meet by 10 seconds. Since then he went on to place 16th at Foot Locker West and run 9:04 at Golden West this past June. His teammate sr-Kevin McNally placed third in the 5A division and was one of the top-10 in all classifications. Depth and adjusting to a new coach may be the only two factors that keep the Eagles from contending for the title. 5- Sandia: Legendary coach Curtis Williams comes out of retirement to take over a group of Matadors comprised mostly of juniors. Most would think this team is a year away but William’s magical touch (29 state team titles while at Gallup) could make Sandia instant contenders.
4A BOYS 1- Los Alamos: (SW#8) The Hilltoppers were ranked in the top-25 in the nation all last fall. They return their top-3 runners and should pick up where they left off. Sr- Simon Gilna and sr-Ryan McNiff gives Los Alamos the front runners they need to win state. Jr-Nathan Romero will be a solid #3. The only question is can their youth fill in the lower varsity spots. The Hilltoppers did beat the Albuquerque Academy Chargers 4 times during the regular season last fall. The larger schools don’t like to hear that the true strength of the state will once again remain in the top 4A teams. 2- Albuquerque Academy: (SW#2/US#12) I’m a high school coach and this is my team. My defending state champ Chargers were 10th at Nike Team Nationals, and have a tradition of winning state 6 of the last 7 years. The chinks in our armor are 3 of our top runners lost to graduation including state champ Mitch Bible and track standout Cody Harper. Our 4 returning varsity runners led by jr-Dustin Martin (3rd at state) will be assisted by a very strong group of runners from our JV squad. 3- St. Pius: The Sartans did not even qualify to state last year. However, their top two runners in sr-Ryan Steadman and sr-Jason Petty posted strong track seasons and a crop of youthful and talented runners are ready to support their veterans. 4- Capital: #1 man Jeremy Chavez transfers but the rest of the varsity remains. The Jaguars were a distant 3rd last fall, 66 points behind Academy. 5- Moriarty: The Pintos place 6th last fall but have solid depth. Year in and year out they tend to finish in the top 5.
3A BOYS 1- Santa Fe Indian: The Braves return 5 of their top-7 and look to be the team to beat in 3A. State champ Jerome Tafoya is gone but with everyone else finishing in the top-30 last fall the rest of 3A is going to have their hands full. 2- Robertson: Senior and 3rd place finisher Anthony Gonzales get help in the form of Capital transfer sr-Jeremy Chavez. Chavez was 9th in 4A and should help boost the Cardinals from a non-qualifying team to an instant contender for a team trophy. 3- Wingate: The defending state champs have a lot of work to do if they expect to make it back to the top step of the awards podium come November 5th. They lose #1 - #3 and #7 from their 2004 team that defeated runner up Santa Fe Indian. Jr-Shawn Begay at 18th is their top returnee. 4- Grants: The Pirates went 5,6,7 last fall but lacked the depth to finish any higher than 3rd overall. With two of the three from the top-10 returning but not much else Coach Vandiver’s team looks to have the same problem in 2005. 5- Pojoaque: Despite returning much of their
lower varsity the Elks just don’t look like they have enough firepower
to be a force this fall. The good news is they’ll run a lot
of underclassmen on their varsity and may be back near the top soon 2A – 1A BOYS (combined classifications) 1- Navajo Pine: Navajo Pine is the only top team that does not take a huge hit from graduation. As a matter of fact the 1A – 2A classification graduates 8 of the top 10. Pine has the top returnee from this class in jr-Ryan Nez who was 3rd. 2- Laguna-Acoma: Jr-Gerorge Concho was 9th in `04 and will lead a team with many top returnees. Year after year Laguna is right at the top of this classification. 3- Zuni: The Thunderbirds are the defending champs in 1A – 2A but have some holes to fill losing 4 of their top 7. Sr-William Naktewa and so-Marcus Waatsa will anchor the team that needs to find some new depth.
1- Gallup: The Bengals will have their work cut out for them if they intend to win title #10 in a row. Two of the three girls that placed in the top-15 have since graduated. Sr-Terra Brown looks to be ready to lead a team rich in tradition. Improvement will have to be shown in a solid but not stellar junior varsity squad if Gallup is going to hold off the rest of the hard pressing teams in 5A. 2- Rio Rancho: Despite finishing 4th at state last November the Rams are ready to contend. Their 4th place finish was only 8 points out of 2nd and was done with a top-5 full of youth. All 5 return including runner up sr-Alex Hansell and 4th place finisher sr-Geneva Torres. 3- Eldorado: Despite finishing 3rd last fall look for the Eagles of Eldorado to be right in the hunt for the title come November 5th. First year coach Jimmy Butler won his own state crown on the boys side back in 1997 for Eldorado, leading his team to their first ever team championships. #2 - #5 girls are all back along with a good crop of youth that should bolster an already strong varsity. 4- La Cueva: With two super freshmen (Laura Lavezo and Leslie Martinson) the Bears look to have a strong nucleus that will be around for quite some time. Both freshmen place in the top-15 at state and are aided by 3 other varsity returnees. La Cueva could make 2005 a log jam at the top with 3 to 4 teams scoring right under 100 points again. 5- Carlsbad: If Carlsbad can find some depth during the off season they may be the toughest team in the state any classification. They return state champ sr-Jojo Calderon and the Castillo twins that both place in the top-25 at state as 8th graders. After the Castillo twins the drop off was quick. Every team that finished ahead of Carlsbad in 2004 placed their #7 girl in from of Carlsbad’s #4.
4A GIRLS 1- Los Alamos: When you have a state meet win streak of 5 in a row and have posted scores of 15, 16, and 25 in recent years graduation of top athletes means a time to reload. Los Alamos Hilltoppers were ranked #1 in the nation for a while during the fall of 2003 and despite losing many of the big names the rest of the state may still has some catching up to do. Multiple time state champ Kristen Hemphill along with runners #2 – #4 have all graduated. Top returnees (#5 - #7) and their state places are so-Megan Stockton 8th, so-Margaret Wood 11th, and sr-Analisa Sandoval 12th. 2- Albuquerque Academy: The door has not been left wide open by Los Alamos but at least a sliver of daylight can be seen by perennial runner up Albuquerque Academy. Jr-Lyndsay Harper and a solid supporting cast may be just enough to contend for a title come November. Harper’s 6th place finish last fall and impressive track times make her one of the state’s elite. New coach Brantley Lutz will try to get his girls past the 5 consecutive runner-up finishes in recent years. 3- Taos: Only an 8th grader last fall Stephanie Riley came out of nowhere to place in the top-5. She is the top returnee in the division and leads a team comprised mostly of sophomores and freshmen. The deep tigers look to move up and contend for a trophy. 4- St. Pius: Another youthful but talented team is St. Pius. They were third last fall and lose only their #1 (Ally Gronager) from that squad. Ally’s younger sister so-Adrian Gronager is their top returnee placing 17th at state. 5- Kirtland: Of all the other teams that finished top-10 at state the Broncos retain the most from last fall’s squad. Jr-Johniell Charles was 7th.
3A GIRLS 1-Shiprock: Shiprock returns 6 of their 7 and won state by 5 points over St. Michael’s last year. Their top-3 of sr-Rachelle Billie, sr-Rychelle Charlie, and so-Kristen Begay were 3rd, 8th, and 10th in last year’s showdown. The Lady Cheiftians may even have enough firepower to contend with the larger classifications as one of the state’s elite teams. 2- St. Michael’s: If not Shiprock then St. Michael’s will win 3A. These two teams are too close to call. The advantage the Horsemen have is they return the state’s top distance runner. Irena Ossola posted a time :06 seconds faster than 4a’s Kristen Hemphill. A supporting cast of #2 - #6 back should help he cause. 3A girls should be one of the most hotly contested races of the year. 3- Wingate: Another team with good returning youth was last year’s 4th place team the Wingate Bears. Three returnees from the top-30 is a good start but may not be nearly enough to run with Shiprock or St. Michael’s. 12th place finisher sr-Arlinda Waley is their top runner. 4- Pojoaque: Pojoaque’s 8th and 9th graders from last fall got tons of experience but depth of the 3A classification is too much for them to contend with. They will be in the trophy hunt but need to improve to contend for the title. 5- Grants: With individual runner up Seny Archuleta and 9th place finisher Chelsea Nelson both graduated the 3rd place Grants Pirates are going to have a tough time making back to the medal stand where they were last year.
2A – 1A GIRLS (combined classifications) 1- Navajo Prep: Prep won by 43 points last November and is stronger then ever. 6 of 7 return including their top 4 runners. Best of the bunch is so-Simone Iron Shell who was 5th last fall. Prep will have to be strong because only 4 of the top-25 girls in this classification graduated. 2- Zuni: The Thunderbirds were runners-up in 2004 and have to make up a wide margin on a good team. With 6 of 7 back they are poised to make a run. Jr-Ivy Lasiloo is their leader on the course (7th overall) but the other 6 girls have to close up the full minute gap she had on the rest of her team last fall. 3- Rehoboth Christian: Finish top 3 the year before and return 5 of your top 7 girls should be a good recipe for success. Rehoboth’s 3rd place in 2004 and the depth that they return may not be anywhere close to enough in a young and deep division this fall. Only one of their top 7 broke up the top 5 of Navajo Prep.
BOYS: Jr-Matt Tebo of Eldorado has the track credentials (9:04 3200meters), the experience (16th @ FLW) and the strength on the hills to make a run for a bid to Nationals. Equally as talented is sr-Nick Arguellas of Highland and he could be a dark hoarse that few know of. Sr-Simon Gilna of Los Alamos should fare well on the Mt. SAC course and is another New Mexican to watch. GIRLS: Sr-Irena Ossolna of St. Michael’s is the top female from New Mexico going into the 2005 season. Right now she lacks the experience at the national level that would serve her well in the West Regional race. No other New Mexico female has the proven ability to fare well at the regionals in December.
NIKE Team Nationals Preview BOYS: With my Academy boys being ranked #2 in the region it would appear that we have a good shot at extending our season past early November. We’ve proven nothing and there are too many good teams in the SW preparing everyday to take us down. I fully expect for Los Alamos to out perform their SW #8 ranking and to fare well against my Chargers. We’ll see each other 6 times this season and each one should be a bar brawl. There is far too much work to be done between now and the state meet on November 5th for us, or anyone else, to be thinking about December. GIRLS: This is the first time in a number of years that Los Alamos is not considered one of the nation’s elite. Despite not being ranked nationally or even regionally look for the Hilltoppers to surprise some people. Their progress may not be enough to catapult them back into the national spotlight or back to NTN in 2005. However, there is no doubt that coaches Rob and Kathy Hipwood will be putting into place the framework of a young team that will emerge as a national powerhouse in the next couple of years. |
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John Dye - founder and editor in chief |