Storm boys take XC title; Rams' Galbraith places second for girls

ALBUQUERQUE — Gianna Rahmer causally finished off her victory lap Saturday in the Class 5A girls cross-country championships, cruising along the track at Albuquerque Academy by herself, then collected a cup of water and wandered over to the area where the course entered the stadium.

The precocious Eldorado sophomore who had just won her third straight individual title got there just as runner-up Mariah Galbraith of Rio Rancho burst onto the track. But Rahmer was far more concerned about her Eagles teammates, getting highly animated as each one came past, exhorting them to give their best effort in the final 300 yards.

“I know how much one person yelling can help you,” she said. “My best friend Olivia (Rule), passed a Cleveland girl right at the end and it’s all for her. I can literally cry happy tears for her because I can see her working her butt off.”

Rule was ninth and actually passed two other runners in the backstretch, as did teammate Sylvie Hadley, who was sixth.

Rahmer finished in 17 minutes, 2.02 seconds, which was the day’s second-best among the girls and her second-best time overall.

With Rahmer acting as lead runner and chief cheerleader, the Eagles retained their title as state champs, scoring 50 points to Cleveland’s 56.

The Storm did take the boys championship, powering past Rio Rancho 36-61, with Cleveland senior Lucas Espinosa turning in an inspired effort to win his first major race, finishing in 15:13.7.

“I felt like God picked up my legs, I never felt that before,” he said. “I never was able to grab the race by the neck before and just go with it but I’m just so happy to be able to do that for me and the team. I’ve been working up to this for four years. Ever since freshman track, cross country and I’ve never been able to get over the peak.”

It was one of those rewarding moments coaches appreciate, said the Storm’s head coach, Kenny Henry.

“It was a joyful day for me to watch him do that,” he said. “This guy has been incredibly tough for us in his time here. He’s been tough all year. He’s been off a couple of races the last few weeks and he got himself right for the day and proved that he was the dude. That was pretty special.”

CLASS 5A

Boys

Top 3 Individual Scores

1. Lucas Espinosa, Cleveland, 15:13.7

2. Talen Riley, Volcano Vista, 15:43.7

3. Nikko Mihan, La Cueva, 15:53.7

Top 5 Team Scores

1. Cleveland, 36

2. Rio Rancho, 61

3. La Cueva, 118

4. Los Lunas, 119

5. Volcano Vista, 150

Girls

Top 3 Individual Scores

1. Gianna Rahmer, Eldorado, 17:02.2

2. Mariah Galbraith, Rio Rancho, 18:37.9

3. Ashley Galaz, Organ Mountain, 19:22.2

Top 5 Team Scores

1. Eldorado, 50

2. Cleveland, 56

3. Rio Rancho, 105

4. La Cueva, 108

5. Clovis, 129