Cavemen, Cavegirls Headed to State

By Don Eskins

Both the Carlsbad Cavemen and Cavegirl Cross Country teams placed third at the District 4/5A meet in Hobbs on Friday, November 1. As a result, both teams will move on to compete in the state tournament at Albuquerque Academy on Saturday, November 9.

Dany Hernadez, with a fourth-place finish, paced the Cavemen, while Alyssa Balencia, who placed fifth, led the Cavegirls. Both Hernandez and Balencia—along with Cavegirl Aubrey Veloz, who placed ninth—earned All-District honors.

“Overall, our athletes did what they needed to do to get us to state,” said CHS cross country head coach Michael Sims. “We have a really young team, so we expect to only get better over the next couple of years.

“Our goal for state is to compete to the best of our ability. Our kids will be able to use the experience they get at state to plan ahead for next year,” he said. “This is the meet we aim for all season. Getting the opportunity to compete at such young ages will definitely give our kids a better idea of what they need to do to help build our team into one of the top programs in the state.”

District 4/5A Results

District 4/5A Boys’ Standings: 1. Hobbs, 27; 2. Clovis, 42; 3. Carlsbad, 79; and 4. Roswell, 225.

Cavemen Results: 4. Dany Hernandez, 15. Isaac Williamson, 19. Kaleb Vasquez, 20. Rex Reynolds, 21. Jose Medrano, 25. Kleyvin Hernandez, 26. Judah Wittmayer, 27. Josiah Waddle, and 32. Blake Waldon. (Times unavailable)

District 4/5A Girls’ Standings: 1. Clovis, 24; 2. Hobbs, 44; 3. Carlsbad, 74; and Roswell, 108.

Cavegirl Results: 5. Alyssa Balencia, 9. Aubrey Veloz, 16. Alessandra Aguilar, 21. Jocelyn Baca, 23. Rainelle Ruiz, and 24. Kaitlyn Robertson. (Times unavailable)

Cavegirl Volleyball Report

On October 31, the Cavegirl volleyball team traveled to the Alien City to take on the state’s fourth-ranked Roswell Coyotes, 20-1 on the year and 4-0 in District 4/5A.

Roswell defeated Carlsbad in three sets dropping them to 7-14 on the year and 0-5 in District 4/5A.

The Cavegirls were scheduled to close out 2024 play on Tuesday, November 5, in Carlsbad against the 11-10 (2-3) Hobbs Eagles.

Due to this year’s election, the game was moved to Thursday, November 7. Results of the game and the Cavegirls’ season will be posted in the November 15 edition of the Carlsbad Local.