'Runs in the family': Isaiah, Mariah Galbraith shine on RR XC

RIO RANCHO — When you think of traits that run in families, you may think of features such as eye color, height and … high school cross-country dominance?

While it may not be genetic, Isaiah and Mariah Galbraith have been posting their family name all over leaderboards this season for Rio Rancho High School cross-country.

Isaiah, as the number-two runner for the Rams, helped the boys’ team take home first place at the Rio Rancho Jamboree two weeks ago. Meanwhile, last weekend in Arizona, Mariah took first place individually at the Desert Twilight XC Festival with a time of 18:14 in the championship division.

“I think everyone (on the team) did what they wanted to,” Mariah said. “I really enjoyed it. It’s always nice to have a big meet like that; there are a lot of people who really want to be there.”

For a Rio Rancho team that graduated a handful of seniors last year, the Rams had some unanswered questions on who would step up in 2025. Now, just about halfway through the fall season, the Galbraiths have helped find some of those answers.

“We had a lot of fun (in Arizona); my time went from a 16:30 to a 16:01,” Isaiah said. “It’s just so much fun being up there with the team. It’s always good to go on those trips and just spend time with them.”

Isaiah and teammate Matthias Parsons have created quite the 1-2 punch in the 2-3 spots for the Rams. At the Jamboree, both were two of the exclusive 17 runners who recorded a sub-17-minute time in the Rams’ win. Isaiah topped his 2024 result by a 1:20.

Isaiah, in his senior season, is looking to finish his high school career on a high note. But for Mariah, she is just getting started on the high school scene.

Only in her sophomore year, Mariah has already been building quite a running resume. On top of her win in Arizona, the Ram set a course record at the Huron Sioux Time Trial at the beginning of September.

The results speak for themselves, but it is not what drives this set of siblings. Much like a race, Isaiah and Mariah are just following the people in front of them.

“I just love running; I’ve done five years of competing,” Isaiah said. “Our older brother, he did it before I started. I think just watching him run fast made me kind of want to start.”

Skyler Galbraith, a former Rio Rancho runner from the class of 2024, was on some history-making Ram teams in his time, winning state titles in 2022 and 2023.

“Because I’ve started so fast, I just want to be up there with all the really fast people one day,” Mariah said. “So I just keep going for more, like, all those really fast runners I looked up to are mostly graduated now.”

When their days with the Runnin’ Rams come to a close, the siblings look to head to Provo, Utah. Isaiah will be enrolling in Brigham Young University after going on a mission with his church.

Will running be involved? Time will tell.

“I plan to go to BYU just for their schooling program,” Isaiah said. “Obviously, BYU is really good running-wise. So if I can make the team, I’d be glad to take that, but if not, I’d definitely like to join a running club or something, just to continue running with other people.”

For Mariah, she hopes to follow a similar path.

“I also want to go to BYU,” Mariah said. “My plan is to try to get recruited from BYU, but I don’t know how that’s gonna go in the end. I still have time, but I would love to run in college.”

Before living out their Cougar dreams, Isaiah and Mariah Galbraith will look to continue their great seasons with the Rams in the APS Metro Championship, set for Oct. 4 at Community Stadium in Albuquerque.