Lady Cats notch title in opener

Sports writer

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The top two runners for Clovis High’s girls were struggling a bit in Friday’s season-opening Clovis Invitational cross country meet at Ned Houk Park.

In the end, it only made their jobs a little tougher.

Sophomore Kelsey McNaughton battled cramps during the race to successfully defend her meet title with a three-mile time of 20 minutes, 6.86 seconds, junior Mya Borwick had the dry heaves and still finished third in 21:19.54 and the Lady Wildcats finished with 26 points to beat out Hereford (42) for team honors.

Meantime, the CHS boys had a solid opening performance, coming in third with 94 points to trail defending champion Hobbs (23) and Lovington 72.

“It was about what I expected from the girls, but I was pleasantly surprised by the boys,” CHS coach Mark Bussen said. “I did not expect our freshmen to run that well.”

Junior Harrison Rikel led the Wildcats, finishing ninth in 17:19, while Jon Fuentes led the strong freshman showing with a 14th-place finish (17:56.05).

McNaughton and Hereford’s Sabbatha Taylor were well ahead of the pack throughout the race, and McNaughton appeared headed for a comfortable win before struggling late and having to hold off Taylor (20:10.73).

“Kelsey was cramping that last mile, and she was probably fortunate to win it,” Bussen said. “I think she felt some pressure to perform, and that might have affected her.”

McNaughton said overall it was a good performance.

“It was OK,” she said. “If I wouldn’t have had the cramps, it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable.

“The team did amazing. It should be a really good year for us.”

The Lady Cats had five of the top 11 finishers, including senior Holly Steinle (eighth in 21:58.41), who has been slowed by shin splints and was cleared just in time to run.

Borwick said the difficult course proved challenging for her.

“It felt really tough going up the hills,” she said. “But on the downside it felt really nice.

“I think I (was) 10 or 15 seconds faster than last year, but I really wanted to be (even) faster.”

The CHS boys, with four freshmen and an eighth-grader running with Rikel and Dylan McNaughton, may have been able to catch Lovington but the spread was significant between their fourth and fifth runners.

“As a team, I was super-impressed,” Rikel said. “It’s amazing. We haven’t placed (that high) as a team in this meet in a couple of years.

“We only had three people who’ve ever run cross country (before).”

The Hobbs boys took four of the top five positions and all seven runners in the top 22, led by winner Andrew Bosquez in a blazing 15:58.61.

Bussen’s goal for the boys is to finish at least third in four-team District 4-6A and earn a trip to the Class 6A state meet in November at Rio Rancho.

“If we can beat Carlsbad (fifth with 118 points), that’s awesome,” he said. “With this young group of guys, if we can do that it would be quite an accomplishment.”