Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff report
CARLSBAD — Led by sophomore Kelsey McNaughton, Clovis High’s girls managed to hold off Alamogordo in Friday’s District 4-6A cross country meet for their fifth consecutive district team title.
Meantime, the CHS boys finished third behind Hobbs and the host Cavemen. Both Clovis squads will now prepare for Class 6A state competition on Saturday at Rio Rancho.
McNaughton captured her second consecutive 4-6A individual crown, winning the 5K event in a time of 19 minutes, 39 seconds. Meantime, three other Lady Cats managed to finish in the top 10 and earn all-district honors — junior Silvia Velasquez (fifth in 20:45), senior Emily Gonzales (seventh in 20:50) and junior Mya Borwick (seventh in 21:11).
Clovis finished with 29 points to 36 for Alamo. CHS coach Mark Bussen said the depth of the Lady Cats showed.
“The biggest thing for the girls was Silvia and Emily ran amazing races,” Bussen said. “For (sophomore) Samantha Castro (12th in 21:33), who ran JV for much of the season, to come through was big. We were counting points (versus Alamo) and she passed a couple of runners late.”
The boys, meantime, were hoping to beat out Carlsbad for second place. They’d beaten the Cavemen in two of three previous meetings this season, all close, but this time they finished with 46 points to 64 for Carlsbad.
Hobbs, led by individual winner Andrew Bosquez (16:21), ran away with the meet as expected, finishing near a perfect score with 18 points.
“We were disappointed,” Bussen said. “We thought we’d be closer to Carlsbad. We didn’t get out well, and if you don’t get out well you’re not going to catch them.”
Junior Harrison Rikel (17:16) and freshman Jon Fuentes (17:22) led the Cats, finishing eighth and ninth overall.
The top three teams in each of the five districts qualify for next week’s 6A state meet. The girls run at 10:30 a.m. while the boys r ace is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“Our goal is a top-five finish,” Bussen said of the girls squad. “We really think we can do that. With the boys, we’re shooting for the top 10.”
