Just because there are no losers in Cross Country doesn’t mean there aren’t winners–and winning programs. Organ Mountain High School has an enviable program, and from a glance at the roster, it looks to remain that way for years to come.
A Las Cruces Digest Report
By: Levi Gwaltney
(Pictured: OMHS 8th Grader, Ashley Galaz finishing 1st in Girl’s Varsity)
Cross Country is a different kind of sport. It is hidden from the gaze of all but the involved because the objective is to run so far and so fast that nobody can catch a glimpse. The most a casual observer sees are the random clusters of students at practice–running roadside after school. What’s worse, not knowing about XC (the insider term for “Cross Country”), our entire community runs the risk of missing out on a truly wonderful competition.
Last spring, a high school runner pinged the radar of those who were looking, and some much needed attention was brought to the local Track & Field world. Corbin Coombs was recognized as the Gatorade New Mexico Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. The Organ Mountain High School student earned this recognition by setting multiple state records at the end of the 2023-24 season. It was this recognition that drew me to Centennial High School the morning of August 31, 2024. Corbin Coombs’ is a story that needs to be shared in our broader community.
I did not know what to expect when I arrived that morning, and I simply joined in with the crowd as it funneled down some weathered steps to a clearing just north of “the Nest” (the name of Centennial High School’s gym). In the clearing, the girls were already beginning to gather at the starting line, and the dozens of onlookers began to toe the lines of the path the runners would take. Unlike a stadium or court sport, XC spectators stand directly along the edges of the running path, and the 5 kilometer path they were to run lived up to the name, “cross country”.
47 runners wide, the girls prepared to run. They took there marks, and were off at the sound of the pistol.
The teams were grouped together at the start of the race, but they quickly mixed among the field as the front runners for each school took to the front. The runners return to pass through the starting line roughly halfway through the race, and by halfway through it was clear what kind of competition Cross Country is. At the halfway point, the throng of runners who had gathered at the starting line had become a line of individual competitors spread out over the course, and as each girl passed through the clearing, the onlookers cheered them on. As the runners passed, one by one, it became clear that Cross Country is not a sport where pride drives spectators to root for a winner; it is a competition where each individual runner is competing against something much more powerful than any crosstown rivalry–the runners are competing against Time. Those watching, and cheering, hollered for each and every one of the runners to win that race–to win the race against Time.
Selected Girls Results
- Ashley Galaz, ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH (21:49.73) 8th
- Wren Hofacket, ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH (22:34.27) Sr.
- Alyssa Balencia, CARLSBAD HIGH SCHOOL (23:17.74) So.
Top Finishers For Each Team
(if not represented in top-3 finishers, above)
Alena Castillo, MAYFIELD HIGH SCHOOL (23:27.14) Sr.
Sofia Amato, LAS CRUCES HIGH SCHOOL (24:02.50) Jr.
Eva Nolan, CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL (24:17.90) Jr.
Kash Albrecht, DEMING HIGH SCHOOL (24:55.43) Fr.
Areena Rogers, SILVER HIGH SCHOOL (26:09.61) Jr.
Itzel Valdez, COBRE HIGH SCHOOL (26:29.69) Jr.
Valentina Zertuche, EL PASO DA VINCI 1 (28:29.06) Jr.
Sidney Bryan-Myers, CLOUDCROFT HIGH SCHOOL (32:43.18) Jr.
Times listed courtesy of MileSplit.com. Click Here for a complete list of times.
One of the boys was overheard commenting to his coach that the hardest stretch of the course was in the back half, with long stretches of straight running and no place for spectators to cheer. He mentioned how quiet it was when running that section of the race.
As a scholastic sport, it is expected that participants learn valuable life lessons in the process of competition. Running Cross Country is, in and of itself, a lesson in self-motivation. At the sound of the gun, it is a forgone conclusion that someone will finish last. One of the student athletes will look at the field of competitors and have to take the almost innate ideas of winning and losing and push those aside. It can be difficult to understand how there truly aren’t any losers in a Cross Country meet, but this has to be understood to find the courage to put on the team uniform and step up to the starting line.
Just because there are no losers in Cross Country doesn’t mean there aren’t winners–and winning programs. Organ Mountain High School has an enviable program, and from a glance at the roster, it looks to remain that way for years to come.
I showed up to watch Corbin Coombs and to learn about Cross Country. Coombs did not disappoint, taking first place in Boy’s Varsity. What I learned about Cross Country was a lesson in courage, self-motivation and community. These are the lessons learned by all of the student athletes who run XC, and sometimes these lessons need to be repeated by those who influence all of our lives.
At the halfway mark, Organ Mountain Coach David Nunez brought the lessons of Cross Country into sharp focus. Organ Mountain’s number one, Coombs, passed first. Number two, Jeron Wisner followed, just twenty paces behind. “Don’t let him get too far!” Nunez yelled at Wisner, the “him” being Coombs.
Almost immediately, Nunez shifted his mantra: “It’s not about Place. It’s about Time!” Nunez repeated this several times as Wisner hurried past. In that brief moment, halfway through the race, Nunez both acknowledged the desire to win against a (friendly) competitor, and then almost immediately reminded his athlete how winning in Cross Country is not always about how an athlete ranks against his opponent. It’s about how an athlete ranks against the clock. It’s about time.
Selected Boys Results
- Corbin Coombs, ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH (16:00.51) Sr.
- Jeron Wisner, ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH (16:19.14) Sr.
- Kobe Rodriguez, ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH (17:41.35) Sr.
4 4 172 Daxton Coombs 9 ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH 4 17:56.57
Top Finishers For Each Team
(if not represented in top-3 finishers, above)
Brock Anderson, SILVER HIGH SCHOOL (18:02.91) Jr.
Robinson Ford, CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL (18:03.89) Sr.
Jacob Sierra, LAS CRUCES HIGH SCHOOL (18:35.05) Jr.
Rex Reynolds, CARLSBAD HIGH SCHOOL (18:55.48) Fr.
Jacob Meraz, MAYFIELD HIGH SCHOOL (19:28.96) Jr.
Austin Garcia, EL PASO DA VINCI (19:45.15) Jr.
Oscar Pacheco, DEMING HIGH SCHOOL (20:34.93) So.
Jacob Arias, COBRE HIGH SCHOOL (20:55.70) Jr.
Connor Smith, CLOUDCROFT HIGH SCHOOL (22:16.43) Sr.
Evan Gandara, GADSDEN HIGH SCHOOL (23:34.70) Jr.
Times listed courtesy of MileSplit.com. Click Here for a complete list of times.
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