Los Alamos girls dominate state cross-country championships

Los Alamos girls cross-country runner Elisabeth McNiff won the individual title at the state championships held Saturday at Albuquerque Academy. She finished the 4A race with a time of 17 minutes, 55.39 seconds. Her teammate Ensley Jorgenson placed second, finishing 28.51 seconds behind McNiff.

The Los Alamos team recorded a 15-point score to claim the team championship. This result matched the perfect score achieved by the 2002 squad, which took the first five individual positions. The current group captured six of the first seven places in the race.

McNiff has led the team’s performance throughout the season. Her recent form includes victories in her last three races. She won the 4A race at the Academy Extravaganza on October 17. She then took first place at the District 2-4A meet on October 30.

Other schools also secured titles during the event. Santa Fe Prep won its fourth consecutive 3A girls team title with a 43-point score. Junior transfer Chloe Grieco won the individual 3A race with a time of 18:51.50. This marked her second individual championship of her career.

In the boys races, Taos senior Billy Romero won the 4A title with a time of 15:07.45. Pecos senior Carlos Ragland won the individual 2A crown in 15:42.99 while helping his team to a third straight title. Mesa Vista’s Ezequiel Nevarez topped the 1A boys race with a time of 16:39.58, leading his team to the championship.

Santa Fe High’s Chris Severy finished second in the 5A boys race with a time of 15:39.25. He became the first player from that school to finish in the top 10 of the large school division since 1999.

Los Alamos will lose three runners to graduation this year. The returning roster features McNiff, who is a sophomore. In football, Pojoaque Valley senior quarterback Joshua Gonzales threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. The Elks used that performance to defeat Ruidoso 42-26 in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.