By Don Eskins
Carlsbad High School's Cavemen and Cavegirl harriers, although not fielding enough runners to compete as teams, returned from the NMMI Invitational in Roswell with some pretty impressive results. The meet took place on Saturday, September 21.
"Overall, I was pretty happy with our results at NMMI. We had three kids finish in the top 10. Alyssa Balencia placed second for our girls, as did Rex Reyolds for the boys. Dany Hernandez, with a fifth place showing, also ran well."
Balencia turned in a time of 20:38, Reynolds 16:41 and Hernandez 17:07.
Just missing out on the top 10 finishes were Cavegirl Aubrey Velos, 11th with 21:52, and Caveman Kaleb Vasquez, 12th with 18:13.
"I'm pleased with the efforts we got from both the boys and girls despite not having full rosters. We've been working really hard to build a solid foundation in both programs," he said. "That's been kind of tough, though, with some of our kids out. However, I think by the time we get to the Roswell Invitational on Friday, September 27, we should be at full strength again."
While the CHS varsity teams might have been shorthanded, their JV squads weren't.
Led by Bryan King, the Cavemen JVs won their division while the Cavegirl JVs, behind Rainelle Ruiz, finished second in theirs.
"Bryan ran a really good race, but I think of all the amazing performances we had this weekend, Rainelle's was the most impressive," said Sims. "She wowed everybody with her effort.
"Only an eighth grader, she couldn't have executed a better race. Besides placing second, she improved her best time by nearly four minutes," he said. "As a result of her effort, she'll be running with the varsity at the Roswell Invitational. We feel she's going to have a very bright career as a Cavegirl harrier."
NMMI Invitational Results
Cavemen: 2. Rex Reynolds 16:41, 5. Dany Hernandez 17:07, 12. Kaleb Vasquez 18:13, and 17. Judah Wittmayer 18:31. (No team place; did not field a full team)
Cavegirls: 2. Alyssa Balencia 20:38, 11. Aubrey Veloz 21:52, and 17. Kaitlyn Robertson 23:01. (No team place; did not field a full team)
JV Boys Team Standings: 1. Carlsbad 17, 2. NMMI 57, 3. Alamogordo 80, and 4. Goddard 131.
Cavemen JVs: 2. Bryan King 19:42, 4. Jose Medrano 19:44, 10. Caisen Smith 20:43, 11. Urijah Yorgensen 20:56, 12. Nathan Walls 20:59, 21. Jeremy Kirkes 21:43, 25. Josiah Waddle 22:00, 27. Blake Walden 22:07, and 34. James Lopez 22:31.
JV Girls' Team Standings: 1. Hobbs 58, 2. Carlsbad 82, 3. Alamogordo 84, 4. Artesia 134, 5. Hereford 147, and 6. Roswell 149.
Cavegirl JVs: 2. Rainelle Ruiz 22:27, 6. Alessandra Aguilar 23:33, 25. Alexia Jones 26:18, 37: Rachael McMillan 28:16, 41. Jaydance Gutierrez 28:43, 42. Janette Gonzales 28:51, and 71. Olivia Long 37:46.
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