RIO RANCHO RUNNER CHARLIE VAUSE WINS NATIONALS

Rio Rancho cross country runner Charlie Vause is a national champion. The long distance standout won boys race at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon on Saturday. “Going in, I wasn’t a heavy favorite, so I thought, ‘I have no pressure, I have nothing to lose, I’m just going to go for the win’, and somehow, I made it happen,” said Vause.

Source: New Mexico Activities Association
By JP Murrieta
Photo: Courtesy
Posted December 13, 2024

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Vause finished first on the muddy, rain-soaked 5K course in Portland with a time of 15:28.1. “I had been very prepared for those kinds of conditions from growing up in Ohio,” Vause explained. “I learned to do well in those kinds of conditions, and New Mexico has taught me how to run in altitude and how to surge up hills. You put those two things together and I had the confidence. I was at the starting line and looked around and thought, ‘It’s a beautiful day for a run’”.

In 2023, Vause won the Class 5A NMAA State Cross Country Championships and finished second at state this past November. Vause is also a state champion in track, winning the 3,200m run at the 2024 state championships. The senior is the first-ever high school cross country national champion from New Mexico.

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