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DyeStat XC Region Review SW

Summary of Southwest Top Ten, Week Ending Sept. 15, 2007

By Sal Gonzales, Dyestat SW Regional Editor



Boys Reports ---- Girls Reports



Boys


1. Albuquerque Academy, NM

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division I: Academy 57 Los Alamos 96 Cherry Creek 142 Arapahoe 169 Fairview 175 (22 complete teams)
1. Ben Johnson 14:52
8. Pat Zacharias 15:49
15. Taylor Murray 16:10
16. Kyle Cooper 16:11
17. Anthony Lauriello 16:13
18. Ryan Clark 16:14
20. David Feddema 16:18

Academy is as solid as a team can be. Placing 7 runners in the top 20 at the Liberty Bell Invitational is a tough task. This week the team was improved by the return, to the varsity, of Taylor Murray. Murray won the JV race at UNM and followed that up with a solid #3 running for the Chargers. He was quickly followed by three of his teammates who raced across the finish line, less than 10 seconds after him. The strong performance of Ben Johnson makes the Chargers pack time look rather ordinary, but their gap of 29 seconds from 2-7 is very impressive. But everything isn’t perfect in Albuquerque. The Chargers found out that Wheat Ridge is a very capable team. They will not be able to race head to head vs. the Farmers until mid November ,but this will be another point that Coach Adam Kedge will use to keep his Red Army focus (that and the fact that he still has to face Los Alamos 3 more times before state.) Next week the Chargers travel to Belen where they will rest some of the top runners in a small meet.


2. Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division II: Wheat Ridge 49 Rampart 85 Loveland 127 Fort Collins 130 Cherokee Trail 216 (20 complete teams)
2. Henry Cowhick 15:46
3. Scott Fauble 15:47
13. Dart Schwaderer 16:07
15. Brian Heiny 16:09
16. Micky Nelson 16:09

These Farmers are tough. How tough? Well, when comparing times the top 5 would have defeated Albuquerque Academy in a duel. Their pack time was under 25 seconds again. Wheat Ridge just keeps rolling along. Their top two runners ran impressive, but not eye-popping times. They were followed by three runners who were within 2 seconds of each other. It will be interesting to see the top two teams in the Southwest pair off in Tempe, but that is a long time away and the Farmers cannot afford to look past the tough Colorado season. They are also hampered by the fact that they are not a deep team. The top 5 is it for this squad.


3. Los Alamos, New Mexico

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division I: Academy 57 Los Alamos 96 Cherry Creek 142 Arapahoe 169 Fairview 175 (22 complete teams)
4. Gareth Gilna 15:37
7. Allan Pittman 15:49
10. Kyle Pittman 15:53
34. Tom Witherell 16:32
41. Nat Gustafson 16:49
49. Kevin Hemphill 16:58

The Hilltoppers have started to close the gap that is between their #3 and #4 runners. That is good news for Los Alamos fans and bad news for the rest of the Southwest region. Los Alamos was the only squad that ran 3 runners in the top 10 in the Division I race. But 39 seconds passed before another runner passed with an LA on his chest. Los Alamos teams have shown improvements in the past. Just last year their girls team improved well over the last 3 weeks and took home the 4A state title.



4. Timpview, Provo, Utah

Provo Bulldog Invitational
9/15/07


Timpview 41   American Fork 47   Provo 131   Spanish Fork 137   Copper Hills 153

In what amounted to a duel; Timpview defeated an improving American Fork squad. 

1. Jonathan Nelson 17:02
5. Nathan Fletcher 17:19
11.  Krys Gardner 17:35
12.  Jason Fairchild 17:35
15.  Kevin Kemp 17:45
20. Josh Peavler 17:56



5. Desert Vista, Phoenix, Arizona

Ojo Rojo Inviational
9/15/07


Corona Del Sol 104 Desert Vista 104 Hopi 109 Highland 130 Red Mountain 154 (28 teams total)

Desert Vista did not run any of their seniors (last week the seniors turned in 4 of the top 6 times) and they were still able to tie Corona Del Sol and defeat 26 other teams. Desert Vista does not have a meet next week. They will be back at full strength at the Doug Conley Invitational on September 29.

3. Andrew Kellog 15:35
14. Jon Serfilippi 16:10
23. Chris Dunker 16:26
28. Michael Johnson 16:38
36. Adam Estavillo 16:50
56. Ben Kessler 17:20



6. Cibola, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Del Norte High School Invite
9/14/07
Albuquerque, NM


Cibola 46 Sandia 69 Los Lunas 89 St. Pius X 111 Hope Christian 119 (11 teams total)

Cibola cruised to a rather easy victory at the Del Norte Invitational. Josh Clark, usually the team’s #4, was hampered by the flu and finished as the team’s #7. Illness and a tough course did not affect the Cougars much as they were able to place 4 runners in the top 10 and run a pack time of 1:05. Cibola must be fond of tough courses because next week they travel down the Rio Grande to West Mesa High School. The West Mesa course, at Hell’s Hills, is notorious for producing slow times.

5. Vince Montoya 18:44
6. Chris Montoya 18:58
7. Jesse Darling 19:06
10. Josh Plank 19:16
18. Andrew Stearns 19:49
19. Thomas DeBenedittis 19:52
23. Josh Clark 20:19



7. Gallup, New Mexico

Jemez Valley Invite
9/15/07
Jemez Pueblo, NM


Gallup 33 Zuni 57 Penasco 128 Del Norte 143 Jemez 154 (12 teams total)

The Bengals attended a small school (Jemez is a 2A school) invitational this weekend. They were originally slated to attend the Four Corners invitational in Flaggstaff. If they had attended that meet they would have gone head to head with Arizona #1 Mingus. Instead they went head to head with Zuni who was ranked #6 in the New Mexico Small School Coaches Poll.



8. Regis Jesuit, Aurora, Colorado

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division III: Regis 85 Denver North 130 Battle Mountain 140 Niwot 140 D’Evelyn 158 (19 complete teams)

The Nicolls brothers led the way for Regis, who cruised to a victory in the Division III race. Regis is a solid team who would have faced tougher competition in the D3 race if Battle Mountain was at full strength. Their #1 was in Switzerland. But we can’t re-run this race for him. The Division III race was very spread out compared to the top two races at the Liberty Bell. In a larger race Regis’ spread would have been exposed.

4. Bobby Nicolls 15:20
8. Danny Nicolls 16:15
19. Curtis Pottle 16:35
23. Mitch Woomer 16:46
31. Garret Golesh 17:02



9. Rampart, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division II: Wheat Ridge 49 Rampart 85 Loveland 127 Fort Collins 130 Cherokee Trail 216 (20 complete teams)

Rampart has a deep team. They were very impressive in the Division II race.

4. Nick Saulnier 15:49
12. Jeffrey Cook 16:05
21. Simon McIntire 16:35
22. Brennan Jarvis 16:36
26. John Farquhar 16:38
27. Taylor Jarvis
33. AJ Skairs



10. Orem, Utah

Murray Invitational
9/14/07
Murray, UT


Orem 99 Mountain Crest 132 Davis 141 Skyline 167 Alta 176 (36 complete teams)

Orem pulled off an impressive victory over one of the most competitive fields in Utah. Orem’s top 5 had a spread of 1:06. They were 33 points better than a very deep Mountain Crest team and 42 points better than a surprising Davis squad. Orem looks like the best team in Utah.

8. Darren Ott 16:30.6
9. Bryan Willoughby 16:31.3
15. Benjamin Johnson 16:46.4
23. Jason Palmer 17:00.7
46. Ray Bateman 17:36.9
60. Michael Garlick 17:47.9
65. Derek Jones 17:49.2





Girls


1. Eldorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque High School Invitational
9/15/07
Albuquerque, NM


Eldorado 23 La Cueva 49 Valley 108 Clovis 120 Albuquerque 133

At this small meet, Coach James Butler choose to rest Rachel Velarde. It didn’t matter. Eldorado was still able to handle SW#6 La Cueva in what was basically a duel. A good sign for Eldorado is the fact that Julie Brasher ran #2 for the team. Last year she didn’t catch her stride until NTN and she may catch it a little earlier this season.

2. Kristy Hannah 20:00
3. Julie Brasher 20:06
5. Laynee Valverde 20:24
6. Allison Bedonie 20:33
7. Erin Madden 21:08
13. Camille Davis 21:47
17. Lauren Burnham 21:58


2. Fort Collins, Colorado

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division II: Fort Collins 46 Greeley West 61 Mullen 125 Highlands Ranch 159 Thunderridge 163 (21 complete teams)

Look out world: the Lambkins are ready to race. This team is not the scared bunch of girls who suffered through a “major hiccup” at last year’s state meet. This squad is confident and fun-loving at the same time. You can see it during their pre-race huddle when they quietly dance around. You can see it in Lisa Reyna’s eyes when she glowingly talks about how good her teammates are. And you can see it in their strides. These girls blew out of the gates and ran tough throughout the race. They looked strong and in control of their bodies as the rest of the pack around them seemed to be struggling. It is a shame that the world has to wait until November to see Fort Collins face off against Eldorado.

1. Lisa Reyna 17:40
7. Miranda Benzel 18:27
11. Tati Ogan 18:51
12. Kirstin Follett 18:53
15. Rachel Viger 19:17


3. Davis, Kaysville, Utah

Murray Invitational
9/14/07
Murray, UT


Oh, but wait. We need to include the Davis girls in this conversation about great teams in the Southwest. Davis continues to dominate the competition in Utah. They didn’t win by 100 points this week, but they were still very impressive. Their 56 point victory over Orem once again proves that they are the best team in Utah. Could they be the best team in the Southwest? Stay tuned.

Davis 67 Orem 113 Timpanogos 117 Skyline 177 Cedar 179 (31 full teams)

1. Candace Eddy, 18:49.5
3. Natalie Haws. 19:10.4
8. Katie Swanson, 19:37.3
29. Loren Storey, 20:32.9
30. Hollie King, 20:36.0
34. Emily Hansen, 20:39.1
50. Kelsey Valentine, 21:02.2


4. Mountain View, Mesa, Arizona

Dysart Invitational
9/14/07


Mountain View 21 Fountain Hills 85 Goldwater 118 Shadow Mountain 121 Centennial 149 (12 complete teams)

Mountain View continued to dominate their competition. This week they were without their #1 runner, Cami Jackson, but it didn’t matter. Their top 4 ran within 40 seconds of each other and they took the top 3 spots in the small race.

1. Hailey Hannah 18:30
2. Jennifer Larson 18:37
3. Jayleen Rominson 18:45
7. Shayna Norberg 19:09
11. Mary Massey 19:30
14. Amy Allen 19:38
16. Melissa Peters 19:50


5. Greeley West, Colorado

Liberty Bell Invitational
9/14/07
Heritage HS, Littleton, CO


Division II: Fort Collins 46 Greeley West 61 Mullen 125 Highlands Ranch 159 Thunderridge 163 (21 complete teams)

Hand one thing to the girls from Greeley West; they are not afraid of Fort Collins. After the race they acknowledged the Lambkins' achievements, but there was no sound of fear in their voices. This team is ready to race. Their top 3 runners are excellent and their next two are young and should improve as the season grows older. Kendra Gerk is an outstanding #1. She raced Lisa Reyna tough throughout the race. Greeley West does not have significant depth but they should hold strong throughout the season.

2. Kendra Gerk 17:43
6. Erica Hincliffe 18:26
9. Ashley Smalley 18:45
21. Sarah Swenson 19:30
23. Nicole Larson 19:33


6. La Cueva, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque High School Invitational
9/15/07
Albuquerque, NM


Eldorado 23 La Cueva 49 Valey 108 Clovis 120 Albuquerque 133

The better than advertised Bears continued to show their worth. After being moved up into the rankings they didn’t fail to perform. Their top runner, Laura Lavezo, beat all of the Eldorado Girls (minus Velarde) and their next 4 finished within 26 seconds of each other. Over the next two weeks the Bears will run at some small meets before their big showdown with Albuquerque Academy at the Albuquerque All City Meet. La Cueva will not be participating in the Academy Invite or the Rio Rancho Invite both of which are top meets in New Mexico.

1. Laura Lavezo 19:27
9. Crystal Freeman 21:19
11. Carly Porter 21:38
12. Megan Quimby 21:45
16. Jessica Knewitz 21:53
19. Lesley Martinson 22:03
20. Jorgan Grace 22:26


7. Thompson Valley, Loveland, Colorado

Fort Morgan Invitational
9/14/07


Thompson Valley ran their Junior Varsity squad at Fort Morgan.


8. Dakota Ridge, Littleton, Colorado

Pueblo County Invitational
9/15/07
Pueblo City Park


Dakota Ridge traveled to Pueblo after they were snubbed by the powers that be at Heritage High school. Dakota Ridge has tried to get into the Division I race for the last couple of years, but they have been denied. Many at the Liberty Bell believed that Fort Collins was moved into Division II to pacify Dakota Ridge, which is in Littleton, CO. Nevertheless it didn’t work. Dakota Ridge traveled to Pueblo for what became a tempo run for their top girls.

Dakota Ridge 24 Green Mountain 48 Liberty 76 Pueblo Centennial 115 Fountain-Ft. Carson 117

1. Natasha Rogers 19:41
2. Alexa Rogers 19:43
3. Paige Lillo 20:23
Katie Carney 20:50


9. Mountain Ridge, Glendale, Arizona

Sandra Day O’Connor/Ken Denson Invitational
9/16/07
Phoenix Arizona


Mountain Ridge 33 Cactus Shadows 43 O’Connor 69 Dobson 103 Sunrise Mountain 148 (8 full teams)

Who has a better 1-2 punch? No one in the Southwest. Nadya and Nastia Bishton will ruin anyone’s pack time. They will also ruin anyone’s chance of taking home a gold medal. Just ask Lindsay Prescott (O’Connor). She is no slouch and she finished 47 seconds behind Nastia for third place at her home invite. Mountain Ridge may not have the depth to compete with the top 3 teams in the Southwest, but their top two make them a serious threat to finish in the top 5 in mid November. We will know more when the team travels into California later this month.

1. Bishton, Nadya, 17:48.63
2. Bishton, Nastia, 18:08.29
8. Nguyen, Nathalie, 20:46.48
12. Radosevich, Katelin, 21:09.48
15. Catania, Franki, 21:29.41 12
16. Robinson, Natalie, 21:32.41 13
17. Light, Stephanie, 21:34.66 14
18. Trent, Marina, 21:43.23


10. Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Kadet Invitational
9/14/07


Cheyenne Mountain ran a few Junior Varsity runners at the Kadet Invitational.



Southwest Region Index
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