CHS Harriers Open 2026 in El Paso

By Don Eskins

With the new prep cross country season just around the corner, the Carlsbad Cavemen and Cavegirls will kick off 2026 with cautious optimism.

And for CHS, there are a lot of good reasons to be optimistic.

When the gun goes off to officially open up the new year at El Paso Eastwood on Friday, August 21, both the boys’ and girls’ programs will be toeing the line with a boatload of returnees, many of whom were CHS headliners during 2025.

All told, six Cavemen and six Cavegirls, who either started or saw varsity action last year, will be back.

Returning for another run at district and state will be Cavemen junior Rex Reynolds, senior Kaleb Vasquez, junior Javion Scott, sophomore Josiah Waddle, sophomore Klyven Hernandez, and junior Caisen Smith.

Reynolds, Vasquez, and Scott all earned All-District 4/5A honors in 2025.

Back for the Cavegirls are sophomore Rainelle Ruiz, sophomore Soledad Martinez, senior Alissa Balencia, junior Ali Aguilar, junior Jeanette Gonzales, and junior Joselyn Baca.

Martinez, Ruiz, and Baca led the Cavegirls’ effort at last year’s district tournament.

As CHS’s Coach Sees 2026

As CHS cross country fans probably already expect, nobody’s more excited about the prospects for both teams than third-year CHS head coach Mike Sims.

“We do have a lot to be excited about,” said Sims. “With so many varsity runners returning in both the boys’ and girls’ programs, we feel very confident about our opportunities to push Clovis and Hobbs for this year’s district championship.

“Most all of our returnees have been working out this summer at my club, the Cavern City Aces. As a result, they’re stronger than they’ve ever been. But, even at that, all our kids understand that to win this year’s district title, we’re going to have to continue to work hard at getting better every day,” he said.

“Clovis and Hobbs, year in and year out, set the standard for success in our conference. No doubt, it will take a great effort to unseat them.”

Although Sims expects his returnees to head up this year’s varsity roster as they head to their first meet at El Paso Eastwood, he said that this year’s crop of JVs will be pushing that roster, and some of them could possibly up the ranks as the season progresses.

“We do have some up-and-coming kids on our JV and junior high rosters who have shown a great deal of potential,” he said. “Currently on the boys’ side, freshman Gavyn Jones and eighth grader Mason Medrano are looking very good.”

Summing up on his kids’ chances at bringing back a District 4/5A title to Carlsbad in 2026, Sims had this to say: “In our bid to capture this year’s conference title, we’ll be relying on the efforts of all of our kids. Cross country is very much a team sport, but unlike many others, we can’t rely on just a few talented kids to win for us.

“In Cross Country, each runner earns points, and the team with the least number of points wins, so it’s important that every member on our varsity squad continues to improve, to drop their times each week. If we can do that, we’ll be in good shape come district tournament time.”

The Cavemen last won a conference crown in 2023. Last season, both the Cavemen and Cavegirls placed third behind Clovis and Hobbs.