Harriers Host Jesus Fierro Invitational

By Don Eskins

On Saturday, August 29, the CHS cross country program will host the first-ever Jesus Fierro Invitational.

Scheduled to get underway on Saturday at 9 a.m., the Invitational will take place at Alta Vista Junior High School. Ten teams will compete in both boys' and girls' varsity competition.

Fierro, a longtime educator and coach in the Carlsbad Municipal School System, spent several years coaching both track and cross country at CHS.

During his tenure as head of the program in 2005, Fierro guided the Cavegirl cross country team to a third-place finish at state. He's the only coach in the history of the program to put a team on the podium at the state tournament.

In his final two years guiding the cross country program, 2022 and 2023, he led the Cavemen to back-to-back District 4/5A Championships.

Present-day coach Mike Sims succeeded Fierro.

"Coach Fierro has meant so much to Carlsbad High's cross country program. He set a standard here, both on and off the field, that may never be matched," said Sims. "On a personal note, he's served as a mentor of mine for years as a student here in Carlsbad and in college. He's a very special person, and we couldn't be happier about having an invitational here at CHS in honor of him."

Fierro continues to support the Cavemen and Cavegirl cross country programs.

Harriers Off to Good Start

Off to a good start, the Cavemen and Cavegirl Harriers performed well in their first meet of the 2026 season. The El Paso Eastwood Cross Country Invitational took place on Friday, August 21.

Rex Reynolds, with a 16:51.54, paced the Cavemen effort. Out in front for the Cavegirls, with a21:22.96, was Rainelle Ruiz.

"Our boys placed 10th in a field of 24, which was a really good effort for their first meet this year," said Sims. "Performing especially well were our first five runners, all of whom ran career bests. Their early season success reflected the amount of hard work they all put in over the summer."

Rounding out the Cavemen's top five runners were Javion Scott, 17:02.29; Kaleb Vasquez, 17:12.74; Josiah Waddle, 17:46.20; and Caisen Smith, 18:37.09.

"Rex, Javion and Kaleb bunching up to finish so close together was especially nice," said the CHS coach. "If they can continue to do that, it will help us to be very competitive come district time."

But the Cavemen weren't the only harriers to attract Sims' attention.

"We also saw some good things from our girls. Rainelle, who also posted a career best, had a strong season-opener and quickly adapted to racing with the Texas teams assembled there to compete," he said. "Soledad Martinez, with a time of 23:48.63, and Allesandra Aguilar, with a time of 24:58.28, also had strong starts to their season as well.

"Although our girls did have some solid individual results, we didn't run our full squad at Eastwood," continued Sims. "Things will look much brighter for them, as a team, when we begin to put a full slate of girls together."

Eastwood ResultsCavemen: 36. Rex Reynolds, 16:51.54; 45. Javion Scott, 17:02.29; 47. Kaleb Vasquez, 17:12.74; 68. Josiah Waddle, 17:46.20; 113. Caisen Smith, 18:37.09; 185. Gavino Olivas, 23:23.09; 190. Gage Ramirez, 25:00.45; 191. Zair Cornejo, 25:28.08.Cavegirls: 40. Rainelle Ruiz, 21:22.96; 96; Soledad Martinez, 23:48.63; 119. Alessandra Aguilar, 24:58.28; 139. Chaleesta Gonzalez, 27:21.38; Jeanette Gonzalez, 27:43.59.Freshman Boys: 6. Gavyn Jones, 19:49.26; 32. Alan Bautista, 22:02.80; 44. Lee Majerus, 23:21.30