Prep cross country season previews
Kofa Kings
Top returners: Boys — Adam Spencer, sr.; Clifton Ross, soph.; Girls — Lesly Salazar, sr.; Ruth Hanson, jr.; Paige Perry, sr; Alexis Jubera, jr.
Key newcomers: Boys — Robert Salazar, soph., Albert Aguilar, jr.; Girls — Maria Lopez, soph.; Kimmy Uriarte, jr.
Coach Tom Spanton's comments: “I'd like (the girls team) to go back to state. I like it up there. It's nice. ... I hope the soccer players (Lopez and Uriarte) will make a difference. I finally got their traveling coach to buy in that it's a good way for the girls to get in shape and still have time to play soccer. I don't want to say I have extremely high expectations, but I have the feeling I can count on them. They seem happy to be out right now.”
The Lowdown: The four returners for the girls all competed at state last year and Spanton is hoping for a return trip, which he said Lopez and Uriarte will have a hand in. As for the boys, Spanton said he wasn't sure what to expect with all the new faces on the team.
— compiled by Edward Carifio
Yuma High Criminals
Top returners: Boys — Filemeno Munoz, soph.; Daniel Cervantes, soph.; Girls — Alanna Antondo, soph.; Elvia Zavala, sr.
Key newcomers: Boys — Aaron Biever, sr.; Jesus Rojas, sr.; Luis Castro, soph.; Rudolpho Alvaredo, sr.; Girls — Gabby Ruiz, jr.
Coach I. Ryan Morales' comments: “If I can get all the guys committed out there and running, and get those key guys to be consistent, then I expect us to pretty good. I hope we can take at least third in the region.”
The Lowdown: Biever and Rojas return after not running last year and give a shot in the arm to both the quality and the numbers for the Criminals team this year. As for the girls, Morales said he should have at least the six runners needed to field a complete team but doesn't know how strong it will be. He said Ruiz should be the girls' top runner.
— compiled by Edward Carifio
Gila Ridge Hawks
Top returners: Boys — Juan Marquez, sr., Christian Quintero, sr., Girls — Natalie Lopez, jr., Candra Land, jr., Melea Harman, jr.
Key newcomers: Girls — Madison Haynes, soph.
Coach Duncan Sullivan's comments: “We're looking to qualify for state as a team, both on the boys and the girls side. We're looking to get kids as low as we can on those times and try to be as competitive as possible in the region.”
The Lowdown: The Hawks didn't lose a lot of runners on either team. Both the boys and girls teams have been running together for most of their high school career and have a good understanding what they need to do to win. The girls did qualify for the state competition last season and are hoping that their experience together will allow them to do so again.
— compiled by Erin Redmond
San Luis Sidewinders
Top returners: Boys — Clemente Morales, sr., Levin Atondon, sr., Manuel Alfaro, sr.; Girls —Rosario Rivera, sr., Estefania Hurtado, jr.
Key newcomers: Boys — Roberto Lomeli, fresh.; Girls — Ayleen Elizalde, fresh.
Coach Justin Anderson's comments: “We're looking at lots of numbers. We have lots of freshmen and that's kind of cool. It's nice to know there's a lot of new blood coming in and that I'm not going to have to be rebuilding last year.”
The Lowdown: In all, 38 runners are cleared to participate for Anderson's Sidewinders. That's 10 more than his record 28, although he is just in his third year coaching the team. He said he expects more wins than last year — when San Luis was able to beat only Yuma High.
— compiled by Edward Carifio
Yuma Catholic Shamrocks
Top returners: Boys — Lech Valdivia, sr.; Nico Franco, sr.; Manny Gonzalez, sr.; Girls — Patricia Scholle, soph.; Adriana Solorzano, jr.
Key newcomers: Boys — Becket Edwards, fresh.; Girls — Louise Scholle, soph.; Hannah Wyatt, sr.
Coach Ralph Farr's comments: “I hope to field a team of seven (for the girls) but we're not very experienced. There's Patricia from last year and Adriana who started with us, and some track experience, but I'm not seeing a lot of my girls doing running throughout the summer. I'm not sure if we'll field a varsity team early in the year, but by the end of the year we should be competitive and see if we can qualify for state. A lot can happen, but it's all good. You never know.”
The Lowdown: Aside from the top three seniors on the boys team, Edwards is the one who has most distinguished himself so far. Farr said he has 15 boys out for the team, but most are freshmen and sophomores.
— compiled by Edward Carifio
