Greyhounds add 23 for track and field

PORTALES — Athletes come, athletes go. Fade out, fade in.

That’s the story for collegiate athletics. A good crop comes in and it’s soon time to bring in a fresh batch of recruits.

Eastern New Mexico cross country/track & field head coach Jeff Kavalunas is quite pleased with this year’s batch.

Earlier this week ENMU announced the signing of 23 athletes who will compete for the university’s cross country and/or track & field teams, a diverse group that includes athletes from Israel, Nebraska, Arizona and Colorado, plus athletes that hail from a little closer — New Mexico and Texas.

Among the incoming group are two Clovis graduates, Jon Fuentes and Burgin Foster, along with Tucumcari graduate Seth Martinez.

Fuentes helped Clovis’ boys cross country team win the District 4/5A championship last November, while winning his first individual cross country district title. Six months later, he was a district track champ in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter events.

“Jon’s a tough runner,” Kavalunas said. “I started watching Jon (in track) his junior year and watched him compete in cross country last year. I just think he runs hard and runs strong. I was very impressed and I thought he’d do well in my program. I think he has the ability to come in and be very competitive as a freshman. ... I’m pretty excited to work with him and help him develop over the next couple of years.”

Foster, a pole vaulter, redshirted at Franklin Pierce University last season, and is now continuing his collegiate career much closer to home. You can’t get much closer than 20 minutes away.

“Burgin’s a good vaulter. He did well in high school,” Kavalunas said. “We tried to bring him into our program right out of high school, but he didn’t have an interest. It didn’t work out where he was, so we got in contact with him.”

Recruiting-wise, it was a case of second time’s a charm for Foster and ENMU.

“When we recruit we tell the kids, ‘If things don’t work out, give a call, you’re always welcome,’” Kavalunas said. “And sometimes that happens.”

It did with Foster, who will now take on the Lone Star Conference.

“Based on what he’s been vaulting and doing in the past, he’ll step in and be competitive,” Kavalunas said.

Kavalunas thinks Martinez has a bright future in the Eastern program. But the key word there is “future.”

“It will be a little bit tougher for him to come in as a freshman right away and be competitive,” Kavalunas said. “The hurdles in college get a little bit higher, so sometimes for freshmen coming in it’s a little bit of a transition for them. We certainly think he has potential, but for him it’ll be more of a transition as a freshman.”

Eastern’s farthest-flung recruit this year is Neri Getraide, who comes from Israel by way of Iowa Western Community College.

“She’s a really talented 800 runner,” Kavalunas said. “She struggled at the junior college level; she was finding the right mix, had a couple of coaches and had trouble finding consistency.”

Eastern’s other 19 recruits are: Aminata Kenyawani (distance) and Dejanae Wilmore (sprints) from Tuscon; Viridiana Ruiz (distance) and Rinna Gatewood (sprints) from Phoenix; Fabian Llamas (jumps) from Amarillo; Audrey Meeks (distance) from Lubbock; Destiny Lawrence (sprints/jumps) and Kayla Sisneros (distance) from Roswell; Kaylee Caldwell (multi-events/jumps) from Rio Rancho; Jessie Madrid (distance) from Hobbs; Lauren Griego (distance) from Albuquerque; Austin Nagy (throws) from Los Lunas; Amalia Delgado (distance) from Dalhart, Texas; Tara Mayes (distance) from Richmond, Texas; Maddi Mossay (distance) from Flower Mound, Texas; Tamia Smith (throws) from Mansfield, Texas; Alejandro Chavez (distance) from Hartley, Texas; Paige Graham (jumps) from Julesberg, Colorado; and Kennedy Jones (sprints) from Freemont, Nebraska.

Foster isn’t the only recruit with collegiate experience; Getraide, Kenyawani, Mayes and Madrid are all transfers. The other incoming athletes, though, are straight out of high school.

“We’ve got a good mix with the young kids and transfers with experience,” Kavalunas said.

The Greyhounds will open their cross country season on Sept. 6 at the Buffalo Stampede in Canyon, Texas.