Tigers terrific at Los Lunas Invite; running legend honored

Los Lunas

There were plenty of reasons for coach Larry Padilla to smile Saturday morning during the Los Lunas Invitational cross country meet.

The weather was ideal. There were about 450 participants, from middle to high school, cheered on by lots of fans. The meet started with a special tribute to Stephen Gachupin, one of New Mexico’s legendary runners. Plus, Padilla’s LLHS boys team was victorious for the fifth time in six meets this season.

“I feel this is one of the strongest boys’ teams we’ve ever had,” said Padilla.

Four Tigers finished in the top 10, with Isaac Gonzales (17:29.14) edging teammate James Martinez (17:30.48) for fourth place. Close behind were Brady Garcia (17:42.69) and Eloy Urtiaga (17:46.79) in ninth and 10th, respectively.

There was another excellent showing by Ean Elias, the only boys’ competitor for Valencia. Elias was runnerup in a time of 16:52.00, eight seconds behind Organ Mountain’s Daxton Coombs (16:44.20).

“I felt I ran smarter than my previous races,” said Elias, a home-schooled student competing at the high school level for the first time this season. “There was more strategy involved and not just going all-out.”

The top runner for Belen was David Sedillo (21:30.45), who came in 55th.

In the boys team battle, LLHS was first with 38 points, followed by Santa Fe Indian School (48), Organ Mountain (108) and Gallup (117). Belen (284) was 11th.

In the girls race, Carmen Dorsey-Spitz, of Moriarty, shot to the front from the sound of the starting gun, and blitzed the field by nearly two and a half minutes. Her time (17:41.30) would have finished ninth in the boys race.

Ainsley McKay (22:06.00) was 10th to lead Los Lunas, while Belen’s Carlie Baca (22:26.05) was 12th.

“It was a little scary since there were so many people, but I got through it,” Baca said about the crowded field of competitors.

The cool temperature, a cloudy sky and a favorable course pleased Baca.

“The ground was perfectly compacted, if that makes any sense,” she said. “I liked it.”

Angeline Batista was the only female VHS runner.

The Organ Mountain girls won the team competition with 76 points, with Gallup (85) and Los Alamos (99) next. Belen was sixth (179) and LLHS (222) 10th.

Before the first race, there was a touching ceremony in memory of Stephen Gachupin, of Jemez Pueblo, who died earlier this year. The observance, which included members of the Gachupin family, included a Native song, prayer and blessing.

Gachupin, known as “King of the Mountain,” was a six-time winner of the Pikes Peak Run, champion of the La Luz Trail Run five times, respected coach and a friend to Padilla.

“He was just an amazing man,” Padilla said. “He loved talking about running. He was a great advocate for the sport.”