By Don Eskins
The Cavemen and Cavegirl cross country teams both placed third at Saturday’s, September 7, Lovington Invitational.
Top honors in the girls’ division went to Clovis. The Wildcats collected 30 total points en route to picking up the win. The Cavegirls scored 83.
Carlsbad’s girls were paced by Alyssa Balencia’s fifth-place finish. Balencia covered the distance in a time of 20:59.36. Crossing the tape second for CHS was Aubry Veloz, with a time of 22:21.92. Veloz finished 13th.
Rounding out the Cavegirl scorecard were: 19th, Ali Aguilar, 24:26.77; 20th, Rainelle Ruiz, 24:34.67; 30th, Jaydance Gutierrez, 26:56.14; and 31st, Rachael McMillian, 27:25.92.
The Hobbs Eagles, with 30 points, took top honors on the boys’ side of the tournament. The Cavemen, in finishing third, tallied 85.
Danny Hernandez, who finished eighth after posting a time of 17:25.36, led the Cavemen effort. Placing ninth, right behind Hernandez, was Rex Reynolds, who came in at 17:47.17.
Closing out the Cavemen’s scorecard were: 20th, Kaleb Vasquez, 18:46.86; 21st, Judah Wittmayer, 19:05.33; 27th, Bryan King, 19:43.42; 34th, Jose Medrano, 20:16.17; and 36th, Caisen Smith, 20:18.24.
“All of the teams, both boys and girls, in District 4/5A competed at Lovington,” said CHS head coach Mike Sims. “So, it gave us a good look at the level of competition we’ll be running against as we move closer to our conference meet on November 1 in Hobbs.
“A few of our varsity runners were out of town or working on nagging injuries, so we weren’t at full strength for the meet,” he said. “However, we did manage to beat Roswell without a full roster, which was encouraging. Also encouraging was the fact that most of our kids ran personal bests.”
Sims was also pleased with the effort he got from his Cavemen JVs.
“The effort our JV boys put out was impressive. They raced against Goddard and Loving’s primary rosters and managed to beat them,” said the CHS coach. “I’m proud of them for the effort and determination they showed.”
Next up for CHS is the NMMI Invitational on Saturday, September 21, in Roswell. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m.
Lovington Boys’ Team Results
1. Hobbs 30, 2. Clovis 59, 3. Carlsbad 85, 4. Roswell 95, 5. Lovington 142, 6. Hagerman 146, 7. NMMI 149.
Cavemen: 8. Dany Hernandez 17:25.36, 9. Rex Reynolds 17:47.17, 20. Kaleb Vasquez 18:46.86. 21. Judah Wittmayer 19:05.33, 27. Bryan King 19:43.42, 34. Jose Medrano 20:16.17, and 36. Caisen Smith 20:18.24.
Lovington Girls’ Team Results
1. Clovis 30, 2. Hobbs 33, 3. Carlsbad 83, 4. Roswell 102 and 5. Portales 139.
Cavegirls: 5. Alyssa Balencia 20:59.36, 13. Aubry Veloz 22:21.92, 19. Ali Aguilar 24:26.77, 20. Rainelle Ruiz 24:34.67, 30. Jaydance Gutierrez 26:56.14, and 31. Rachael McMillian 27:25.92.
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