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Los Lunas High School Tigers take district cross country title; state meet next
Published
Modified
Albuquerque
Considerable momentum and confidence has been churned up by the Los Lunas boys cross country team this season as the Tigers head to Saturday’s State 5A Championship at Albuquerque Academy.
That included an intense Halloween nail-biter Friday over Albuquerque High in the District 5-5A meet at Mesa del Sol. LLHS edged the Bulldogs by just five points, with Isaac Gonzales outlasting the field to take first place individually over the approximate 3.1 mile course.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be that close,” Gonzales said of the team competition. As for his first race on this venue, “It was certainly fun,” he noted, with a time of 16:34, 10 seconds ahead of the Bulldogs’ Achilles Orpinel-Padilla.
The first part of the race was rolling hills, with a good look at the concert stage at Isleta Amphitheater, but after that, “You have to go all the way back up that big old hill. That takes all your energy, but it’s fun,” an exhausted Gonzales said.
The team title kept a long string of consecutive district championships alive for LLHS coach Larry Padilla, who believes the Tigers will contend for a podium finish at the 5A State Championship. Los Lunas had four other runners in the top 10, with Brady Garcia third; James Martinez, sixth; Eloy Urtiaga, seventh; and Lucas Bland in eighth.
The Los Lunas girls also qualified for the state meet as a team after finishing second, well back of AHS.
The Tigers had three runners in the top 10, with Ainsley McKay, fourth; Delray Jaramillo, ninth; and Mia Sanchez, 10th; each earning All-District honors.
Valencia and Belen also competed Thursday, in the District 5-4A meet at Bullhead Park in Albuquerque.
Ean Elias, Valencia’s only male runner, was the district champion in the boys’ race while setting a course record in a time of 15:49. Elias is a threat to win a state title after a fourth place showing in the pre-state meet.
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“He will do amazing,” said Ashley Brower, VHS coach, about Saturday’s 4A State Championship.
The BHS girls finished third, good enough to earn a spot in the state meet as a team. Individually, Carlie Baca (seventh) and Leilani Gonzales (eighth) earned All-District honors. While the Eagle boys did not qualify as a team, Samuel Sisneros and David Sedillo reached state as individuals.
