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Both the Alamo and SHS cross country teams had very strong performances at their district meets. Runners from both schools will be heading to the New Mexico State XC meet at the Albuquerque Academy on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Socorro Warriors
The SHS varsity boys and girls teams traveled to their district meet in Cobre on Halloween Day, Friday, Oct. 31. Both teams were great, but individually the finishing orders were a bit different than might have been expected.
“There is often the assumption that Cross Country is an individual sport, and in a lot of ways it can be. But yesterday was a good example for us of how important the team is. We had a lot of victory and a lot of heartache in the same day--and new teammates stepped up when others needed them. And ultimately, we still accomplished our team goals for the day.” Head Coach Beth Cadol said.
Individually, Anastasia Zagrai took first place, Kathleen Johnson second place overall and Aria Jacobs ninth place. For the team, the top five SHS girls earned the XC team first place, district champion, and a trip to state: Zagrai 23:12.84, Johnson 23:29.75, Jacobs 24:26.28, Max DeVries 25:06.91 and Abby Cadol 25:18.00. Beth Cadol had plenty to share about Zagrai’s day.
“Yesterday was an incredible display of what can happen when you keep showing up in spite of your doubts. She’s been a student of the sport for five years, showing up every day with questions about ‘How can I get better?’ and ‘Is this actually working?’ And in her second-to-last high school meet ever she…kept the girls individual champion trophy within Socorro and led her team to a third straight District Championship. I could not have written her story any better.” Beth Cadol said about Zagrai.
The boys varsity team claimed third place in the district meet, with Kyle Berger leading the way at third place individually. Rylan Timmons nearly broke the top ten bubble with his 11th place finish.
“On the boys side, Kyle obviously is a competitor. Rylan has had a breakthrough season and ran a great race. Everyone did what they could do for the team, but Peter Edmondson was my personal hero of the day. He ran last year as a freshman, but had a season-ending injury about half-way through. He came through as our fifth runner on the day it really mattered.” Beth Cadol said.
Here are the five SHS boys who earned them a trip to the state meet: Berger 17:46.81, Timmons 20:00.12, Timur Aitbayev 20:56.72, Liam Demorest 21:02.84 and Edmondson 22:12.69.
Beth Cadol will be able to run seven for each team at the state meet.
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See complete results from the 3A district meet here:
https://nm.milesplit.com/meets/701061-nmaa-3a-district-34-2025/results
Alamo Cougars
The boys varsity XC team and the one girls varsity runner for Alamo headed to Mescalero on Saturday, Nov. 1, for their district meet. Two Alamo runners qualified for state with their performances at this meet took place at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Golf Course.
The girls ran first, starting at 10 a.m. Alamo’s only varsity runner is Ania Torres, a freshman. She qualified for state with an excellent second place finish at 23:11.87, a solid nine plus seconds ahead of the third place finisher.
Ania’s mom, Lyndy Torres, cheered on the Alamo runners and took photos that day. Lyndy Torres is also the head coach for the volleyball team, and is excited that Ania is competing at the varsity level for both volleyball and cross country.
“Her goal is to finish in the top 10. She is very excited for XC state, potentially competing in the State Volleyball tournament and then moving right into basketball season.” Lyndy Torres said about her daughter.
The boys were next, and Alamo had six runners in the boys race. The team as a whole did not place high enough to qualify for state, but sophomore Pherell Herrera finished second individually with a time of 17:40.82. It was a close one, with third place coming in behind Herrera within two seconds. Herrera qualified for state as well with his finish.
“The meet was great, nice temperature and a lot of talent in our district. Though the boys didn’t make it to state as a team I’m glad Pherrell Herrera made it to state individually. He was our district runner up this year. Ania Torres was also a district runner up as well. I’m proud of them both. Our goal now is to have both Ania and Pherrell place top 20 at state.” Head Coach Ira Pino said.
The Alamo cross country team is young and talented, with the potential for many strong years of running ahead of them.
“Again, I am proud of all my athletes this year. I hope to see them again next year.”
See complete results from the A-2A district meet here:
https://nm.milesplit.com/meets/710029-nmaa-a-2a-district-34-2025/results
