Kyle Pittman of Los Alamos ranks as one of the top male runners from the Land of Enchantment. Photo contributed by Kathy Hipwood.
Note: Each week, we'll be rotating states for cover photos for this article. New Mexico won't come up for another five weeks, but please send contributions from other states to versawa@msn.com.
By Matt Norton and Alan Versaw, Colorado NXN SW Ambassadors
While Liberty Bell grabbed most of the headlines, there were a few other regional meets with a lot of NXN SW implications this past weekend.
Of course, in New Mexico, everyone pretty much left the state. Maybe it was some bad chiles or something.
Anyhow, Rio Rancho went down to El Paso and dusted up on a bunch of West Texas schools at the Coronado Invitational. Dusting up is an important pasttime in West Texas. Unfortunately, the Rio Rancho girls only got to run two miles (or maybe it was more like 2.25) for all their travels. Jenna Padilla and Tamara Lementino went 1-2 for Rio Rancho, finishing in 13:27 and 13:43.
The Rio Rancho boys enjoyed very similar success but got to enjoy the El Paso scenery a little longer as their race was billed at 3 miles (but was reputed to be more like 3.15 miles). Once again, Rio Rancho got a 1-2 finish to boost their team title-winning efforts. Caleb Rubalcaba and Larry Rodarte went 16:40 and 16:51 to put the rest of the teams in an instant deficit.
For those trying to handicap the results, the elevation in El Paso is 3000-something feet, depending on where you are in the city. Not Albuquerque, not Denver, not even Salt Lake City, but still a detectable altitude effect.
Meanwhile, St. Michael's, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque Academy headed in a different direction to run in Colorado at the Liberty Bell Invitational. More on that meet later, but suffice it to say that the Albuquerque Academy boys were well out in front in the boys team score even with a #10 as their top individual finisher. Kyle Pittman of Los Alamos finished third in the Division I boys race. The Albuquerque Academy girls were relegated to a tie for fourth in the Division I girls team standings.
Back in New Mexico, Aleona Reyes of Belen turned a very nice 18:51 at her school's own invitational. Belen edged Los Lunas by a single point for the team title. Sandia was a runaway winner in the boys division, claiming places two through five. Individual honors went to Justin Lueras of Los Lunas with a time of 16:05.
Frankly, we're finding Nevada results very hard to come by. It seems as if Centennial (girls) and Galena (boys) have very respectable teams, but if you happen to know a good central clearinghouse for results for Nevada schools, please help us tap into that source. Anyone out there interested in becoming a MileSplit webmaster for Nevada?
The impression we're gathering here on the other side of the Rockies is that, at least in the early season, the Nevada schools are mostly heading over to meets in California and essentially running incognito. Perhaps that is the way they prefer it for now?
Whatever the case, we're open to assistance from the Silver State. Photos are cool, too.
In Colorado, all eyes were turned to Liberty Bell. Whether you run there or not, you can't help but take notice.
And you couldn't help but notice two girls teams--Fort Collins and Evergreen. Fort Collins, running their complete top five for the first time this season, destroyed the Division I field. The strength of the Fort Collins team becomes especially evident in an elite meet like this where the Lambkins' #4 and #5 score much lower than their counterparts from other schools. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the secret to advancing to Portland. And that is why Fort Collins has gone the last two years and done very well.
Evergreen isn't quite where Fort Collins is yet, but putting three in the top ten and posting a team score of 33 in the Division III race does earn them their very own place on the NXN SW radar screen.
Boulder's Kelsey Lakowske ran 17:35 to reaffirm her current status as the top female distance runner in Colorado. Eleanor Fulton was close at 17:39. Unfortunately, the two competed in different races, so we didn't get a good head-to-head reading. Both Boulder and Highlands Ranch looked very good as teams, too, and look like good candidates to make trips to Tempe in November. Pine Creek is another team sneaking over the horizon and looking for a place on the radar screen.
While we're at it--and as much as we don't want to bring this topic up again--the length of the Liberty Bell course is the subject of some dispute. Whatever the length might be, the course composition and overall downhill aspect produce some very fast times, times that aren't necessarily comparable to 5K times on traditional cross country courses. So, understand that people who run really fast times at Liberty Bell (which is almost everybody who isn't bedridden with swine flu), won't necessarily run those times again any time soon. Hats off to those who do.
On the boys' side, Albuquerque Academy came in with top billing and left with same. A number of Colorado's top teams were running short-handed, but not short-handed enough to account for the point disparity. Regis Jesuit made a good accounting of themselves in taking an easy second place to AA. Frankly, most Colorado boys teams are struggling with depth right now. There's still time to remedy that situation for many teams, but it's an uphill battle they're staring down at the moment. In some cases, getting a few kids healthy would help.
Among boys individuals, Walter Schafer (15:04) and Scott Fauble (15:18) won the Division I and Division II titles, respectively, and currently stand head-and-shoulders above the Colorado competition.
https://co.milesplit.com/meets/46731
For all those looking for detailed results from Liberty Bell, please be patient. The meet scores the results by hand and transcription is historically a lengthy process.
In Utah, they had some funky scoring going on at the Wahstach Rendezvous. The meet is of particular interest in that it is held at the site of the state meet, thus giving a sneak preview of some things to come. This course should be 3 miles, but we will listen to dissenting opinion from the state of Utah should it arise.
Steve Morrin of Lone Peak continues to look very good, running a 15:20 for the best time of the day by about 15 seconds. There was no clearly dominant boys team, but respectable performances were turned in by Pine View, Hillcrest, Alta, and Canyon View. Keep tabs in these teams, at least.
For the girls, there was a clearly dominant team. And nobody who's been following Utah cross country this fall will be surprised to learn that it was Park City. Park City is fast and deep. There are plenty of cross country teams in Utah who are glad Park City isn't 4A or 5A. Enough said. Cedar looked good as the runner-up.
http://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/463/2181/Result/2009_Wahsatch_Rendezvous.htm
In Arizona, you could keep tabs on most of the action by attending to the results from the George Young Invitational (trivia question: Who is George Young?) and the Four Corners Invitational in Flagstaff.
In the recurring theme of the weekend, there seems to be some uncertainty about the length of the George Young course. Is it 3.0? Is it 3.1? Or is it something else? No matter, really, it was a good test a the relative strength of a several teams. And it all took place on a golf course in Scottsdale (as if that narrows things down any).
Alhambra was the class of the boys field, with four entrants finishing under 17:00. Jorge Martinez of Alhambra won the whole thing with a 16:19. As a team, Mesa Mountain View was respectably close, finishing only 11 points behind Alhambra.
Among the girls, we're beginning to wonder if anyone in the races ever sees the front side of Xavier Prep's uniforms. Jessica Tonn won in 18:01 and was followed by teammate Sarah Fakler in 19:19. Other Xavier places went 12-16-21. Nobody else was close, and particularly at the #4 and #5 positions where big meets are won and lost.
https://az.milesplit.com/meets/56325
Up in Flagstaff, somewhere in excess of 7000 feet, Rolonda Jumbo continued her run of success with another very nice outing. Her Chinle teammates (Chinle, in case you've never heard of the place, is located near Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation in Northeast Arizona) also served notice that they should be heard from again as the season continues. Jumbo's time of 18:57 gapped the field by a full 40 seconds. All five Chinle scorers placed in the top 14 with times of 20:41 or better.
Host school Flagstaff won the boys division, but the performance of greatest significance was turned in by Ryan Yazzie of Tuba City. Yazzie smoked the course for a 15:51 time. That is a solid time in Flagstaff. We'll assume there are no disputes about course length there.
https://az.milesplit.com/meets/56324
Can't wait til next week? Then maybe you're from one of the Utah schools heading up to Bob Firman. Or possibly one of the Colorado schools headed to the showdown at Fort Collins. Or one of the New Mexico schools headed to the AA Invite. Or...
Kyle Pittman of Los Alamos ranks as one of the top male runners from the Land of Enchantment. Photo contributed by Kathy Hipwood.