Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Lady Eagle runners end up one spot from a trophy

Hendren is 6th; Sanchez, Smith compete

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Rio Rancho Years from now, members of the Belen High School's girls cross country team can describe the difficulties of the 2008-09 season with an exclamation at the end:

"And you know what? After all that, we still placed fourth at state."

Led by freshman Tayler Hendren's second consecutive all-state performance, the Lady Eagles placed fourth Saturday at the Class 4A state cross country championships, held at Rio Rancho High School. Though the BHS girls weren't able to duplicate their state championship-winning effort of 2007, the Lady Eagles still managed a strong finish to a season that had plenty of ups and downs.

Albuquerque Academy won its third state title in girls cross country and second in the past four seasons, posting 60 points to win Saturday. St. Pius, winning a trophy in the sport for the first time, was second with 68, while Los Alamos was third with 74.

The Belen girls scored 96 points, and Hendren placed sixth to be among the all-state (top 10 individuals) honorees. Belen's boys didn't qualify as a team, but juniors Juan Sanchez and Jeremy Smith competed as individuals in the 4A boys race.

"I'm very pleased with the way everyone ran, and I couldn't ask for anything more," said BHS coach Joseph E. Garcia. "I'm proud of how all these kids represented Belen High School."

Capping a season in which four members of last year's state title team missed or didn't complete at least one race due to injury or illness, the Lady Eagles saved one of their best meets for the end. In addition to Tayler Hendren's performance, Belen got another strong performance out of Shaylene Chavez, who was 11th overall.

Laycee Smith, an all-state runner in 2007 who missed much of this season due to illness, returned for state and placed 14th. First-year Lady Eagle Macy Baca was 32nd, while Tessa Hendren rounded out the scoring runs by placing 50th. The performances of Shelby Snow (52nd) and Cheyanne Boggus (60th) didn't factor into the team score.

Both Hendren and Chavez held off strong charges from challengers at the finish line. Chavez finished the season with two great races, placing third at the District 6-4A championships in Grants on Oct. 31.

Hendren said hydration was a big key in repeating as an all-state runner. "I drank a lot more water today than I have been, and I felt a lot better," said the freshman. "I knew more about what to expect this year."

Hendren passed St. Pius' Tessa Turcotte, this year's District 6-4A champion, at the finish line. Hendren might have contested Turcotte in the 6-4A race had she not fallen ill and not finished that race.

Saturday, the two alternated being ahead of one another in the race, which was won by Clara Milne of Academy. Hendren and all her teammates took the podium as state champions last year, and she said it was sad to be the only Belen runner getting a medal as all-state.

"I wanted my whole team to be up there with me," she said.

The Belen boys didn't qualify for state because they weren't among the top three teams at district.

Albuquerque Academy edged Los Alamos for the 4A boys team title. The 6-4A boys champion, Grants placed third at state, winning a trophy.

Both of the BHS boys in the race weren't even with the program a year ago. Sanchez played football in 2007, while Smith was attending Tohatchi High School.

"I trained hard over the summer," said Sanchez, who finished 55th at state. He had some trouble with his asthma early in the season, but a visit to a pulmonary specialist seemed to help.

Smith, who moved to the Belen area when his mother got a job in the area, said just making it to state was exciting.

Garcia, a Belen graduate, said both the BHS girls and boys, neither of which had any veteran seniors this year, should perform better next year. The girls, who went through the second half of this season without injured top runner Aleona Reyes, should contend for the 4A title.

"I take off to these athletes," said Garcia, performing a rare removal of his baseball cap. "I'm proud to be a Belen Eagle."

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