CHS Cross Country Teams Top NMMI Field

By Don Eskins

Carlsbad High’s Cavemen and Cavegirl cross country teams swept both the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the NMMI Invitational held in Roswell on Saturday, September 20.

The Cavegirls, with 37 points, outdueled both the Roswell Coyotes, who scored 50 points, and the Hobbs Eagles, who tallied 54, to capture first place in the girls’ division.

Rainelle Ruiz, who paced the Cavegirl effort with a time of 20:52.31, also claimed first place individually.

“Rainelle has always been a strong and consistent runner. She runs very smart and doesn’t put a lot of pressure on herself,” said CHS head coach Michael Sims. “This gives her a lot of freedom to get out there and compete.”

Also turning in strong performances for the CHS girls were Alyssa Balencia, Soledad Martinez, Alessandra Aguilar, Oliva Long, and Jocelyn Baca.

The Cavemen scored 22 points to grab the boys’ divisional championship. The runner-up NMMI Broncos accumulated 71.

Kaleb Vasquez crossed the finish line first for the Cavemen. Overall, having posted a time of 16:24.72, he finished in second place.

“The NMMI meet was a big one for Kaleb,” said Sims. “He learned the value of kicking at the end of the race, which paid off big time for him.”

Also running well for the Cavemen were Rex Reynolds, Dany Hernandez, Aiden Mendez, Javion Scott, Kleyvin Hernandez, and Urijah Yorgeson.

“Myself and our coaching staff are beyond proud of both squads. As for the boys, they’re running like a championship team. They’ve definitely turned things around since the beginning of the season and are on the right track,” said Sims. “The girls, who continue to show improvement each week, are also getting there.

“Roswell was at full strength at NMMI, but not so for Hobbs,” said the CHS coach. “But we’ll get to run against all of our conference opponents at the Artesia Invitational on October 10. We’re very much looking forward to that.”

The Cavemen JVs also collected a victory at NMMI. The CHS boys scored a meet-low 40 points to best Hagerman, NMMI, Loving, Hobbs, and Capitan.

Caisen Smith, with a time of 18:51.59, captured first place individually.

On Saturday, September 27, CHS will be in the Alien City once again, this time to compete in the Roswell Coyote Invitational. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m.

Cavemen NMMI Results

Team: 1. Carlsbad 22, 2. NMMI 71, 3. Lovington 75, 4. Capitan 105, 5. Roswell 109, 6. Goddard 151, 7. Hobbs 161.

Cavemen: 2. Kaleb Vasquez 16:24.72, 3. Rex Reynolds 16:37.80, 4. Dany Hernandez 16:42.08, 6. Aiden Mendez 17:29.16, 7. Javion Scott 17:30.79, 18. Kleyvin Hernandez 18:20.30, 18. Urijah Yorgeson 18:46.67.

Cavemen JVs

Team: 1. Carlsbad 40, 2. Hagerman 51, 3. NMMI 70, 4. Loving 76, 5. Hobbs 114, 6. Capitan 139.

Cavemen JVs: 1. Caisen Smith 18:51.59, 4. Gavyn Jones 19:16.34, 7. Nathan Walls 19:44.29, 12. Lee Majerus 20:52.53, 16. James Lopez 21:04.46, 21. Gavino Olivas 22:05.20, 25. Cayden Carrasco 23:28.72.

Cavegirl NMMI Results

Team: 1. Carlsbad 37, 2. Roswell 50, 3. Hobbs 54, 4. Goddard 96, 5. Capitan 127.

Cavegirls: 1. Rainelle Ruiz 20:52.31, 7. Alyssa Balencia 22:01.09, 8. Soledad Martinez 22:17.79, 10. Alessandra Agular 23:08.27, 11. Oliva Long 23:26.97, 12. Jocelyn Baca 23:51.14.

Cavegirl JVs

Team: Unavailable

Cavegirl JVs: 9. Jaydance Gutierrez 26:19.22, 11. Jeanette Gonzales 26:33.65, 25. Zoey Wright 35:09.09.