Cats head into district on win streak

In what has been a rough season overall for the Clovis High boys soccer team, at least the Wildcats entered their District 4-5A slate this week on a winning streak.

The Cats posted their third consecutive victory on Saturday at Leon Williams Stadium, blanking Taos 3-0 to improve to 5-9 for the season. They were slated to open district play on Tuesday night at Carlsbad.

Junior forward Ihab Mesbah had a goal and an assist against the Class 4A Tigers (8-3-1), who found shots hard to come by in the contest. They had just one on goal, compared to eight for the Cats.

“We played OK,” CHS boys coach Greg Trujillo said. “Defensively, we’re a lot better than we were at the beginning of the season. We’re not making as many careless mistakes.

“We’re a work in progress, but you want to be playing your best at the right time.”

Mesbah, who has half (19) of the team’s goals this season, put the Cats in front with just under 10 minutes left in the opening canto on an assist from sophomore midfielder Julian Salinas. Mesbah then assisted when freshman forward Damian Navarrete found the back of the net just over two minutes into the second frame.

About six minutes later, senior midfielder Isai Barraza got the final tally when he curled a corner kick just inside the right side of the goal.

“It was a pretty good game,” Mesbah said. “Everyone played well and passed the ball well.”

Trujillo said Taos’ best player, sophomore forward Thomas Simpson, was injured in pregame and his absence hurt the Tigers. Simpson came into Saturday tied for the team lead in goals with five.

The competition level steps up now, although Carlsbad (1-12) entered the Tuesday tilt on a six-match losing streak and having been outscored 46-13 for the season.

“It’s district time,” Trujillo said. “Carlsbad’s only won one game, but they’ve had a tough schedule.”

Hobbs (14-0) leads the way and is ranked No. 1 in Class 5A by MaxPreps. Roswell High, which hosted the Eagles on Tuesday, brought an 8-6 mark into the district campaign.

Mesbah said he thinks the Cats will do all right. They play a second road district match this week on Saturday at Hobbs.

Win two – or even get a split – and it would leave the squad in pretty good shape for the stretch run.

“I feel pretty good about district,” Mesbah said. “I believe in our team. As long as we play to our potential, we can win district. We’ve just got to be focused.”

Cross country teams in action – Led by junior Gabrielle Foggie’s third-place finish, Clovis High’s girls placed third as a team in Saturday’s Canyon Invitational cross country meet.

Foggie posted a three-mile time of 19 minutes, 40.53 seconds. Lubbock Coronado’s Zanisha Harris was the individual champion in a field of 87 runners in 18:08.48.

Lubbock High was first in the 10-team meet with 61 points, ahead of Amarillo Tascosa (76) and the Lady Wildcats (78). CHS also had 10th and 11th-place showings from eighth-graders Rosalia Morales (20:34.54) and Christina Waltrip (20:37.69).

Other finishes for the Lady Cats were Jarelly Navarrete, 26th in 21:31.33; Jelena Maldonado, 28th in 21:35.77; Joselyn Foggie, 44th in 22:41.22, and Kira Tree, 70th in 24:06.07.

Meantime, Clovis claimed 10th place in the 14-team boys field with 239 points. Host Canyon won handily, scoring 23 points.

Junior Sammy Fuentes led the Wildcats, coming in seventh in a time of 16:04.67. The individual winner in the 117-runner field was Canyon’s Alexander Niemiec in 15:07.02.

Rudy Ledezma was 46th in 18:10.33, while Santiago Verdugo placed 55th in 18:21.01. Rounding out the Cats’ performances were eighth-graders Erik Cordum, 67th in 16.49.02; Adrian Surita, 88th in 19:51.07; Ryder Bonney, 91st in 20:21.24, and Marquez Lippman, 94th in 20:21.24.

Meantime, five runners represented Portales High in Saturday’s Ruidoso Invitational. Four were on the girls side, with Miriam Caudillo leading the way at 26:40.00 and followed by Brittany Johnson, 36th in 29:23.03; Rita Garza, 47th in 32:02.04, and Fatima Lopez-Camacho, 52nd in 34:51.05.

The boys’ lone runner was Alan Sarinana, 87th in 26:26.03. Team titles were won by Lubbock Roosevelt for the boys and Artesia for the girls.

Clovis and Portales runners are slated to compete in an invitational at Artesia on Friday.

PHS squads absorb losses – Portales High’s girls began their District 4-4A schedule on Saturday, dropping a 5-0 decision at Artesia.

The Lady Rams (4-4-1 overall) kept it close for a half, trailing just 1-0, before the Lady Bulldogs (8-6-1) began to pull away.

Meantime, the PHS boys traveled to Alamogordo for the makeup of an earlier postponement and absorbed a 4-1 setback at the hands of the Class 5A Tigers.

The Rams (1-6-1) trailed 2-1 at halftime, but Alamo (2-10) pulled away from there and kept Portales off the scoreboard in the second frame.

The PHS boys were slated to begin district play on Tuesday night against Lovington at Greyhound Stadium. The Rams return to action on Thursday night at Roswell Goddard, while next up for the Lady Rams is a Thursday district date against Lovington at Greyhound Stadium.