Eighth-grader Rahmer dazzles in extravaganza victory; Rams, Vause continue to excel

There were two names Saturday morning that seemed comparatively relevant in the mind of longtime Albuquerque Academy cross country coach Adam Kedge.

One of them was Amy Swier of Aztec, a four-time state champion from 1993-96. The second was Felicia Guliford, a four-time champ at Gallup from 1998-2001.

These two were taking up space in Kedge’s brain because of another runner, someone much younger:

Gianna Rahmer.

“She’s the fastest girl I’ve seen in the last 20, 30 years,” Kedge said.

Rahmer is the state’s No. 1 high school runner, and she doesn’t even attend high school yet.

What the Hoover Middle School eighth-grader did Saturday had people on the expansive Academy campus buzzing as the Academy Extravaganza brought together a majority of New Mexico’s best runners.

But only one of them stole the show.

That was Rahmer, running for Eldorado High School, who won the Class 5A race in absurd fashion. She won by two minutes and seven seconds.

“She’s outrageous,” Cleveland coach Kenny Henry said.

Rahmer’s sixth victory of the season in as many races left even her in awe, and she is not prone to speak about herself so glowingly.

“I’m really impressed with myself and I didn’t think that was what was gonna happen today, but I’m really proud of how it went,” Rahmer said with a shy smile.

Rahmer won in a time of 17 minutes, 44.66 seconds. La Cueva’s Ariana Thiel-Hadjilambrinos hadn’t even entered the Academy stadium by the time Rahmer had crossed the finish line. Thiel-Hadjilambrinos’ time was 19:51.38.

“She’s definitely really impressive,” Thiel-Hadjilambrinos said. “She’s just been developing for a long time and we’re seeing that come through.”

You had to wade into other classes to find the next fastest overall girls time behind Rahmer. Indeed, the second-best time of the day originated from another familiar name: Kate Henderson of Sandia Prep, who has run second to Rahmer at most of the top metro-area events this fall.

Henderson pulled away in the final mile from St. Michael’s Chloe Grieco to capture the Class 3A division, winning in 18:16.28, followed by Grieco (18:26.57). The Sundevils beat Santa Fe Prep 65-75 in the team standings, with Cottonwood Classical Prep (78) third.

Rio Rancho’s girls and boys swept the 5A races. The boys continued their complete dominance this fall, scoring 32 points, 43 ahead of rival Cleveland. Individually, it was Rams junior Charlie Vause (15:32.14) taking down the field, which he’s been doing regularly at almost every event. Corbin Coombs of Organ Mountain (15:44.53) was the runner-up. Rio Rancho had five of the top 11 runners.

Rio Rancho’s girls, with four top-10 runners, scored 41 points. Mariah Galbraith was fourth individually for the Rams. La Cueva (91) was second.

Academy’s boys and girls each won the 4A races, holding off their top rival in the process. The boys won in an extremely tight finish with rival Los Alamos, 51-53. The Chargers had a slight edge with the No. 4 and No. 5 runners, providing their team victory.

Theodore Roundface of Gallup (16:24.88) was the 4A boys champion. Nicholas Ponte was fourth overall for Academy, the team’s best individual finish.

The Academy girls edged Los Alamos, 27-36, with Anna Hastings (18:54.43), Addison Julian and Emma Michael finishing first, second and fourth for the Chargers.

Olivia Marquez of Albuquerque’s Oak Grove Classical Academy (20:11.06) and Lucas Williams of Laguna-Acoma (16:29.79) captured first place in the 1A-2A division. Pecos, by a single point over Laguna-Acoma (60-61) was the boys team champ; the Academy for Technology and the Classics out of Santa Fe was the 1A-2A girls winner, by eight points over Gateway Christian (87-95).

The extravaganza attracted 102 teams (including just about every major contender across all classifications) and nearly 1,400 runners. It serves as a precursor to the state meet, which will be run over this same Academy course on Nov. 11.