Clovis boys claim Lubbock Invite

LUBBOCK — For the second consecutive week, Clovis’ cross country program braved the heat to compete. This time, with an hour and a half road trip to boot.

It was worth the heat and trekking to the Lubbock Invite, as Clovis’ varsity and junior varsity boys won team championships, the varsity with 56 points, the jayvee with 42.

“I was really pleased overall with the effort,” Clovis head coach Mark Bussen said. “We ran the middle school (races) first, and so our (older) kids had to stand around, and it was pretty warm. You’re always curious how they’re going to perform, and they competed. ... So we’re looking pretty good for the future. When you compete hard and have success, it’s a lot easier to come back next week.”

Lubbock’s Isaac Alonzo won the boys varsity race with a time of 15:55.

For the second straight week, Clovis’ Jerrick Maldonado took second place, in this race with a time of 16:16.

Teammates Colton Wolf (seventh, 17:21) and Kyle Richardson (10th, 17:39) joined Maldonado in the top 10.

Alejandro Chavarria (18th, 18:36) and Kannon Brooks (19th, 18:37) posted top-20 finishes for Clovis.

Leading the boys jayvee championship charge were Hayden Levy — who took fourth with a 20:37 time — and Jase Nordgren — who was fifth at 20:50.

Donovan Gutierrez (ninth, 21:39) and Alex McBride (10th, 21:40) joined Levy and Nordgren in the top 10.

Defending state champion Canyon won the varsity girls race easily, with 17 points compared to second-place Abernathy’s 110.

Canyon’s Brianna Stewart won the meet with a time of 11:59.

Clovis’ girls placed 10th at 252 points. Annalysse Hamlett had the Lady Wildcats’ best finish — eighth place with a time of 13:19.

“It’s hard to convince them that they can get out a little faster. I thought they could’ve gotten out a little faster,” Bussen said of the Lady Wildcats. “But they’re getting better each week; that’s all I can ask. ... They work hard, they’re good girls.”

Clovis’ jayvee girls were third, with three top-20 finishes: Nashla Campos (11th, 27:35); Yazmean Ledezma (12th, 27:39) and Ava Munoz (15th, 28:09).

Clovis’ top middle school boys finisher was Sammy Fuentes — 30th (13:40) out of 172 runners. The Lady Wildcats’ best middle school runner was Kira Tree — 96th (16:56) out of 280 competitors.

Clovis returns to action next Saturday at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, beginning at 9 a.m.