Cross Country Regionals Preview

In Division 1 six teams qualify for state—in Reno this year— with three teams each from Sunrise and Sunset (a nine-team state final). In 1A it’s three teams total, based on a Sunrise-Sunset shootout, (a six-team state final). And in D-3 (combined with D4 for cross country) one or two teams from the South qualify, depending on how many full teams compete in the D-3 Region final, (a final with five or six teams). 

Looking at Sunrise first and girls before boys, two spots will almost certainly go to Coronado, the defending champs (as well as defending state champs) and Green Valley. Foothill appears to have the edge for the third spot at state but Basic, Rancho, or Liberty could pull the upset. 

Coronado is led by two-time Sunrise individual champion Sara Dort, who has not been beaten by a Sunrise runner all season. Fellow seniors Logan Lucas and Taylor Lauten have also been top-5 Sunrise runners this year, but there is a sizable gap after that—a time spread of 2:39 among the Coronado top-5. Green Valley also has two front-runners, senior Lindy Eskin and sophomore soccer-transfer Sara Braverman—currently “ranked” 2-3 between Dort and Lauten. What makes the Gators stand out this year is a spread of only 1:03 among their top-5, a Sunrise best. Seniors Jenna Landman, Stacie Hall, and Marisa Davidson have all run big 5K PR’s this fall.  Foothill, the likely third qualifier, is led by senior Alyse Vanek, junior Raegan Janda, and freshman Aine Jones.

Among the best-of-the-rest in Sunrise—vieing to get to state as individual qualifiers—are Aryn Maxwell (Rancho), Sydney Groom and Briana Padilla (Liberty), Brooklyn Allison (Canyon Springs), Bailey Gallop and Brittany Claramella (Basic), Brooke Timothy (Valley), and Sharon Ortega-Dominguez (Las Vegas).

In Sunset there are a number of strong girls’ teams. Arbor view has it all, a pure striker in Zanae Jones and depth, seven runners who have broken 21 minutes for 5K and a 1-5 spread of 1:00. Centennial counters with Sydney Badger and Katie Gorczyca—maybe the best 1-2 in the state—but a spread from 1-5 of 2:38.  Palo, like Arbor View, has great balance, with an elite striker (Marissa Suan), and a spread of 1:54 from 1-5. The numbers say it will be close between Arbor View and Centennial with Palo a clear favorite to also advance to state.

The individuals with a best chance to join teams in Reno from Sunset—excluding Arbor View, Centennial, and Palo—are Brooke Locey and Alexandra Myers (Desert Oasis), Jessica Graf (Shadow Ridge), and Tiana Callejo and Julianna Brooks (Cimarron-Memorial).

The strongest girls team in D-1A is Faith Lutheran, led by Hannah Pavlov, Jessica Scamman, and Eryn McCoy. After that it’s a battle as to which two teams join the Crusaders at state. SECTA, Desert Pines, Pahrump, and Cheyenne would appear to have the best shot.

Individually, Pavlov, Ebonique Diaz (Sunrise Mt.), and Stefanie Thelaner (Pahrump Valley) are ranked 1-2-3 among the D-1A runners from the South. Pavlov and Diaz are two-time state qualifiers. 

Only one D-3 girl’s team will likely go to state from the South since only The Meadows and Lincoln County have full teams. The Meadows will surely be that team; they are, in fact, stronger as a team than all but the elite D-1 teams. Led by the Jeneke Heerema and the Gosse triplets—Bailey, Delaney, and Cassidy—the Mustangs are strong favorites to bring home the state D-3 title while Jeneke and Bailey Gosse both appear to have a good shot at the individual crown.

Turning to the boys, it’s “round up the usual suspects” in Sunrise. Green Valley looks look safe for a return trip to state. The other two spots appear to be up for grabs with Coronado and Las Vegas as the favorites, but Liberty, Foothill, or Rancho could sneak in.

Green Valley has the best depth, with an impressive spread from 1-5 of 47 seconds. As an aside, Gator’s coach Blaine Thompson stresses pack running and a tight spread among his runners; it has paid off this fall—on both sides of the gender.  Sophomore Austin Rogers leads the Gator boys, but a pair of freshman—Leonardo Rubi and Edgar Narciso—and another sophomore, Derek Sumner, are not far behind. Coach Thompson is “blessed with young talent this year” (his words). Coronado counters with the top sophomore in the valley this year in Colin Schaefer and a spread from 1-5 of 1:14. Las Vegas becomes a contender for state this year—for the first time in a while—with a strong trio of Hector Ortego-Torres, Miguel Ramirez, and Michael Wells.

Eddie Esquivel (Eldorado) is the defending Sunrise individual champion. The Sundevil senior was runner-up at state in 2012. Eddie has come on strong of late, winning the UNLV Invitational with the fastest 5K time this year posted by a runner from the South. Other Sunrise runners with a solid chance of making it to state as individuals include Chuckie Custer, Jonathan George, and Alex Grant (Liberty); Chase Norberg (Rancho); and Kidus Feleke and Josh Nyberg (Valley).

Centennial’s boys are the defending D-1 state champions. They could be seriously challenged on November 9^th in Reno this year by Galena, but unless the bus breaks down on the way to the Vet no team from Sunset is likely to upset them at Regionals. The Bulldogs have six runners in the Sunset/Sunrise top 12 with Jackson Carter, Dajour Braxton, and George Espino ranked 1-2-3 in Sunset. The fight for the other two spots at state will likely come from the quartet of Shadow Ridge, Arbor View, Desert Oasis, and Palo Verde. Shadow appears to have the edge with a pair aces in David Peters and Nick Oberdin, but Arbor View, led by Cole Jones; Desert Oasis, fronted by Frankie Martinez; and Palo, headed by Noah Landers are all strong teams, stronger in fact—based on the most recent Coach’s Poll—than all of the teams in Sunrise with the exception of Green Valley.

Among others in Sunset who stand the best chance of qualifying as individuals, assuming their team falls short, are Thomas Ness and Sam Jimenez, (Desert Oasis), Jordan Comish and Jason Gallo (Arbor View), Andrew Goldsmith and Pedro Rios (Palo Verde), and Jonathon Blaine (Shadow Ridge). Then add four more to the mix: Desmond DeCaires (Spring Valley), Jake Holland (Bishop Gorman), Nicolas Gonzalez (Cimarron-Memorial), and Marlon Medina (Durango).

The strongest boy’s D-1A teams this year are SECTA and Clark. The Roadrunners are led by Martin Ponce, one of the top runners in Nevada, regardless of class. Close behind Ponce are Mucuranyana (Freddy) Amon from Clark and Chase Wood (Faith Lutheran). Joining SECTA and Clark at state will likely be Faith Lutheran.

Other runners in 1A Sunrise/Sunset with a good chance to be on the starting line at state are Chandler Harkins and Evan Klouse (Boulder City), Ty Rappleye (Virgin Valley), Carlos Cerda (Western), Emillo Sigala (Desert Pines), and Manuel Hernandez (Sunrise Mt.).

In D-3 three schools are expected to enter a full team at Regionals, with one team qualifying for state. Most likely The Meadows and Lincoln Country will vie for the honors, prevailing over Laughlin. The best 5K time turned in this fall belongs to Cameron Frehner of Lincoln County, who won the D-3 Southern Regional and was 14^th at state in 2012.

(Phil Lawton)