Domani Grine, GHS Student Journalist
GRANTS, N.M. - The Grants High School crosscountry team continued its season at the Curtis Williams Invitational in Gallup on Saturday, October 4, where the boys team finished sixth overall and the girls team finished fourth overall. Although the team did not place exactly where they hoped, Coach Cody Hayes saw plenty of positive signs from the runners.
Hayes said he was encouraged by the number of runners who recorded personal records during the meet, despite facing difficult competition.
“I’m really excited about our performance. I saw a lot of positive things,” he said. “Looking at the numbers, I think we had about half a dozen PRs, so the fastest race some of these kids have ever run.”
The boys team finished sixth overall in a competitive field that included several larger schools. Hayes said one of the biggest positives was how close the varsity runners were in their times.
“The thing that stood out to me the most so far this year is that we have a really tight grouping of times right now, which is something that I’ve been looking for for years,” he said. “We’re finally getting there.”
The boys were led by Nathanial Saltclah, who finished 29th with a time of 18:46.38. Kingston Martinez followed closely behind in 30th with 18:54.86, while Kyori Vallo finished 32nd with 19:01.51. Elias Sarracino placed 42nd with 19:19.93, Joshua Sarracino placed 45th with 19:31.86, and Samuel George finished 70th with 21:50.66.
“I think the difference between our fastest runner on varsity and our slowest runner on varsity is less than two minutes at this point,” Hayes said. “And that’s really exciting.
The girls team finished fourth overall despite being without two of their top three runners, Emalynn Garcia and Alanna Victorino.
Sianalee Chavez led the team by finishing seventh with a time of 21:28.41, while Alynn Othole finished 12th with 21:53.34 and Kiara Romero finished 16th with 22:12.71.
“As a team, they did great. The spread was a lot wider on the girls’ side, and a lot of that comes down to two of our top three runners were out for this race,” Hayes said.
Hayes said the girls’ performance gave him confidence about the team’s goals for the rest of the season, especially with the goal of reaching the podium at the State Meet.
“Our goal is to, at the very least, podium at State this year,” Hayes said. “We were fifth last year in the State, so I think that gives me a lot of hope that maybe our goals are realistic.”
Looking at the program as a whole, Hayes believes the teams are continuing to develop and improve.
“I think the program is at the strongest point it’s been at in a decade,” Hayes said. “I think we’re fast and we’re deep and we’re growing and we’re getting better every week.”
Even with the strong results, Hayes said there is still an important area the team needs to improve: pacing. He believes some runners are starting their races too quickly and struggling to maintain that pace toward the end.
“I think our racing strategy still needs a lot of work,” Hayes said. “We have a number of runners who are getting out a little too hot. They’re starting their races too strong, and they’re fading at the end.”
For the next meet, the team will focus on continuing to lower their times while improving their pacing. Hayes wants the runners to finish races stronger and pass competitors toward the end rather than being passed themselves.
“We really want to get out at an appropriate level so that we can be finishing strong,” he said. “We want to be the one passing people at the end, not getting passed.”
With the season continuing, Hayes believes these improvements could be important as the team works toward its goals at the District and State meets.
“It’s those little things that are going to be vital if we’re going to be able to achieve our goals at District and State,” Hayes said.