The Rebels swept both the boys and girls 5-kilometer races in the Division I competition at the Tall City Invitational at Hogan Park and Sidley Nature Center.
The Lady Rebels were particularly dominant as they recorded a perfect score with 15 points to easily outdistance second-place Andrews (73 points).
The LHS girls swept the top three spots, as junior Kyndall Jones won the race with a time of 19 minutes, 49.64 seconds. LHS freshman Abigail Hinojosa placed second (19:54.81), followed by senior Mia Regalado in third (19:58.57).
The Lady Rebels got a perfect score because they claimed the top five spots by runners competing for a team.
The LHS girls won the meet for the second straight year and were District 2-6A champions last year for the first time in program history.
“I think this just shows that we’re as good and better than last year,” Jones said. “I think we’re going to come hard in our district, and we think we can move past regionals and get farther.”
The Legacy boys also had a strong showing with 38 points compared to runner-up Andrews (73 points).
The LHS boys were led by senior John Abalos, who placed third (16:45.60).
Midland High junior Joey Almanza won the race in impressive fashion with a personal record time of 16:12.95.
Almanza is poised for a memorable season after he qualified for regionals his first two years as a member of Legacy before transferring to MHS.
“It went well,” Almanza said of his winning performance. “The first two miles were honestly tempo paced and that third mile is the hardest, so I pushed it. I felt really good.”
Almanza said his goal this season to break the 16-minute mark and get his time into the low 15s.
“I know I can do it,” Almanza said. “It’s just a start. I only get faster from here.”
“I think I’m ready,” Almanza added. “I’m definitely ready. I feel like I will make it to state, very easy. I feel like I can do it.”
The Rebels’ pack running is what stood out on Saturday, as the girls had six runners in the top 10 including senior Isabella Reyna in sixth (20:42.11), freshman Marielly Kamali in seventh (20:45.96) and junior Garcia Gabrielle in 10th (21:23.75).
“I didn’t know it was going to go this well,” LHS head cross-country coach Ulises Lopez said. “We had a really good summer, June and July. Like I said, they’re in pretty good shape coming off the summer and we’re kind of pushing that fitness heading into September.”
Added Jones: “It’s really just all the hard work that we’ve done this summer and all of the hours we’ve spent putting into this. This is all worth it.”
The Rebel boys had two others finish in the top 10 with sophomore Hadrian Urquidi in eighth (17:20.42) and senior Aiden Montes in 10th (17:21.53).
“The training we’ve been doing so far has been non-stop,” Abalos said. “We were running on kind of tired legs so for us to come out and do as good as we did was really good. It shows us how strong we are with tired legs. It kind of says we’re going to be better with fresh legs.”
Added Lopez: “They did great. We talked about coming in together in the first mile within 30 seconds of one another and did they so. And then I said, ‘hey, focus, communicate with one another. Talk to each other during the race and get to the two-mile.’ And then at the two-mile, it’s a strength race and that’s we’ve been focusing on these whole three months is strength. If you take it to the two-mile and you’re together, it’s going to be game over. They’re not going to be able to hang with you because you are so strong right now and that’s what we did.”
Midland Christian sophomore Braden Belew was fifth (17:04.47) in the boys race; Andrews junior Gavin Ortiz finished sixth (17:12.57) and Big Spring junior Don Diego Rios was ninth (17:20.59).
Midland High freshman Kaylee Smith was fifth (20:29.18) in the girls race, while Andrews senior Cecilia Cuevas came in ninth (21:16.00).
Greenwood freshman Mae Savage finished fifth (13:52.10) in the Division II girls two-mile race; Big Spring sophomore Bergan Pinkley was eighth (14:05.18) and Greenwood senior Mckenzie Delarosa was ninth (14:07.11).
Tall City Invitational
At Hogan Park and Sidley Nature Trails
Saturday
Division I
Boys (5 kilometers)
Team standings – 1. Legacy, 38; 2. Andrews, 73; 3. San Angelo Central, 88; 4. Big Spring, 102; 5. Odessa High, 103; 6. Midland High, 119; 7. Abilene Wylie, 183; 8. Pecos, 184
Top 10 individuals – 1. Jose Almanza, Midland High, 16 minutes, 12.95 seconds; 2. Hatfield Cason, Alpine, 16:39.28; 3. John Abalos, Legacy, 16:45.60; 4. Nathaniel Palos, San Angelo Central, 16:54.81; 5. Braden Belew, Midland Christian, 17:04.47; 6. Gavin Ortiz, Andrews, 17:12.57; 7. Evan Sanchez, Odessa High, 17:16.17; 8. Hadrian Urquidi, Legacy, 17:20.42; 9. Don Diego Rios, Big Spring, 17:20.59; 10. Aiden Montes, Legacy, 17:21.53
Girls (5 kilometers)
Team standings – 1. Legacy, 15; 2. Andrews, 68; 3. San Angelo Central, 90; 4. Odessa High, 106; 5. Abilene Wylie, 142; 6. Monahans, 162; 7. Abilene Cooper, 165
Top 10 individuals – 1. Kyndall Jones, Legacy, 19:48.64; 2. Abigail Hinojosa, Legacy, 19:54.81; 3. Mia Regalado, Legacy, 19:58.57; 4. Ali Alissandra Jackson, Fort Stockton, 20:25.53; 5. Kaylee Smith, Midland High, 20:29.18; 6. Isabella Reyna, Legacy, 20:42.11; 7. Marielly Kamali, Legacy, 20:45.96; 8. Raquel Martinez, Odessa High, 21:12.42; 9. Cecilia Cuevas, Andrews, 21:16.00; 10. Garcia Gabrielle, Legacy, 21:23.75
Division II
Boys (5 kilometers)
Team standings – 1. Presidio, 53; 2. Lubbock Roosevelt, 57; 3. Crane, 114; 4. Odessa Compass Academy, 141; 5. Greenwood, 168; 6. Lubbock Southcrest Christian, 223; 7. Midland TLCA, 258; 8. Legacy JV, 270; 9. Lubbock Trinity Christian, 279; 10. Sands, 284; 11. Alpine, 287; 12. Midland Classical, 306; 13. Denver City, 306; 14. Andrews JV, 376; 15. Slaton, 394; 16. Grady, 396; 17. Lubbock All Saints Episcopal, 399; 18. Odessa High JV, 482; 19. San Angelo Christian, 511; 20. Abilene Wylie JV, 583; 21. Kermit, 569; 22. Midland High JV, 595; 23. Stanton, 639; 24. Pecos, 591; 25. Iraan, 717
Top 10 individuals – 1. Eddie Flores, Presidio, 16:45.02; 2. Jorden Anderson, Lubbock Southcrest, 16:46.79; 3. Justice Jackson, Lubbock Roosevelt, 16:59.75; 4. Wiley Gaskins, Sands, 17:07.92; 5. William Neufield, Lubbock Trinity, 17:13.47; 6. Dax Mahan, Lubbock Roosevelt, 17:13.61; 7. Jeysen Alvarez, Crane, 17:32.85; 8. Jesus Sanchez, Presidio, 17:36.50; 9. Billy Bond, Lubbock Roosevelt, 17:42.30; 10. Mucio Rey, Presidio, 17:48.14
Girls (2 miles)
Team standings – 1. Odessa Compass Academy, 49; 2. Crane, 91; 3. Greenwood, 127; 4. Grady, 145; 5. Big Spring, 187; 6. Legacy JV, 188; 7. Sands, 209; 8. Lubbock Roosevelt, 229; 9. Alpine, 233; 10. Slaton, 247; 11. Denver City, 267; 12. Midland Classical, 293; 13. Presidio, 299; 14. Stanton, 330; 15. Midland High JV, 395; 16. Odessa High JV, 397; 17. Marathon, 437; 18. Pecos, 525; 19. Kermit, 568; 20. Andrews JV, 593; 21. Iraan, 609
Top 10 individuals – 1. Chloe Granado, Odessa Compass, 13:17.79; 2. Kyla Rangel, Crane, 13:18.84; 3. Mandy Dobbs, Odessa Compass, ... Click here to read full article
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