On Their Marks… Four Local Schools Get XC State Tune-Up at Albuquerque Academy Extravaganza

Organ Mountain’s Coombs and Wisner go one-two in the Boys 5A 5k, and 58 other runners set the stage for their own runs at personal bests.

A Las Cruces Digest Report
(Photo of Organ Mountain’s Coombs, Wisner and Rodriguez taken earlier in the season.)

The Organ Mountain Knights have shown to be the strongest team in our broader community on both the Boys and Girls side. The Boys are lead by the senior duo Coombs and Wisner, who have challenged each other to excel in their final high school year. The Girls team has been bolstered by 8th-grader Ashley Galaz; however, senior Wren Hofackett, the Knight’s only female returning 2023 State competitor, has made improvements over last year’s performance, and clearly wants to make a good showing in her final run.

The Centennial Hawks are returning three Boys who competed in last year’s State Championship. While running 10 seconds behind teammate George Gibson in the Extravaganza, veteran runner Izaiiah Guzman has knocked more than a minute off of his time from last year’s championship at Albuquerque Academy. This promises to be a race to watch. The two veteran girls, Michell Ranney and Eva Nolan lead the Hawks. Nolan has whittled away more than a minute from last year’s time, as well.

Mayfield XC is a story of two sides of a coin. The Boys have no returning veterans, with Joshua Bernal finishing first among his peers at the Extravaganza. On the girls side, the Trojans are returning six runners who competed in last year’s State Championship. The most notable veteran is Ella Clemons, who topped her 2023 Championship time by more than two minutes. This wasn’t enough to overcome teammate Alena Castillo, but this will be a competition to watch come November 9. It should also be noted that Charlotte Dennis came close to besting last year’s performance by two minutes, as well.

The Las Cruces Buldawgs have a single veteran returning this year, Jacob Sierra. His run at the Extravaganza topped his performance at last year’s State Championship by nearly 1 ¾ minutes. He currently sits at the top of the Boys runners at LCHS. The Bulldawgs fastest girl at the Extravaganza was Sofia Amato; she did not compete at State last year.