Clovis boys take win at Singleton

CARLSBAD — Saturday’s Ron Singleton/Elks Invitational brought plenty of good news for local cross country teams.

• The Clovis boys varsity team rolled on, winning yet another meet.

• Clovis’ Jon Fuentes rolled on, too, claiming yet another individual title.

• Portales’ Brandon Guerro won the boys junior varsity race.

• Clovis’ varsity girls placed third, almost like a victory for a young and improving group.

Lots of fun stuff to be excited about on the long ride home from Carlsbad.

But don’t celebrate too much just yet, says Clovis head coach Mark Bussen. Though his varsity boys continued their season of dominance, it was Bussen’s job to see what still needs to improve. There obviously isn’t much room for improvement, but there’s some.

“We had a bigger gap between our 4 and 5 (runners) than we really needed to have,” Bussen said. “Hobbs ran really well today (Saturday) so they’re going to be tough to beat down the line. We’ve got to do a better job of being focused. Sometimes when you win consistently you think all you have to do is show up and win a trophy. ... My 5, 6, 7 (runners) need to pick it up. It wasn’t a bad day at all but we’re trying to keep our focus.”

And now back to the fun stuff.

Clovis’ varsity boys had 35 points, 11 better than second-place Hobbs. Lovington was third with 79 points.

Fuentes’ championship-winning time was 16:39. Teammate Jerrick Maldonado snagged third with a 16:47 time.

Other Clovis top-10 finishers were T.J. Gregg (sixth, 16:56) and Jose Salas (eighth, 17:29).

The Wildcats’ remaining finishers placed one right behind the other, as Elias Calderon was 20th (18:11), Kannon Brooks 21st (18:13) and Colton Wolf 22nd (18:16).

Portales’ Guerro won his JV race with a time of 18:38, boding well for the future of Rams cross country.

On the girls varsity side, Clovis’ third-place finish came with 53 points, trailing Hobbs (36) and Lovington (37). Hobbs’ Mitzi Madrid was the individual winner, posting a 20:14 time.

Annalysse Hamlett paced the Lady Wildcats with her fourth-place time of 21:10.

Hamlett’s teammate Faith Hays joined her in the top 10, placing ninth with a 22:17 time. Clovis’ Shylee Tree joined Hamlett and Hays in the top 20, taking 14th with a time of 23:01.

And Clovis had three more finishers in the top 30: Layla Walley (28th, 24:04), Ali Tree (29th, 24:10) and Sofia Rico (30th, 24:15).

“I was really pleased with the girls side,” Bussen said. “They’re just getting healthier and they’re getting more experience and they’re running well. ... They’re just kind of finding their way. Great effort, great attiutude. I just think another few weeks on the roads and on the hills and we’ll be good.”

Clovis finishers were: Fatima Hernandez (12th, 25:46); Lesley Bustillos (25th, 27:05); Yazmean Ledezma (28th, 27:21); and Ava Munoz (43rd, 33:01).

Clovis returns to action on Friday at the Albuquerque Academy Invite, with racing set to begin at 3 p.m. The Wildcat boys won it last year, so they’ll be looking for a repeat while the girls keep trying to grow and improve.

“It’ll be a lot of different competition,” Bussen said, “we’ll be seeing a lot of different teams.”