Anthony Mori- Elko Daily Free Press- November 3, 2023
RENO — With a team score of 64 points, the Wells boys cross country team punched its ticket to state.
On Friday, Oct. 27, the Leopards trailed only champion North Tahoe’s winning total of 18 points and Incline’s runner-up finish of 38 points — the top-three teams in the regional earning state berths — using an amended scoring system that counts only the top-four runners from each team and uses the fifth, sixth and seventh runners to displace other teams’ scores.
Sierra Lutheran finished fourth with 68 points, and Jackpot ranked fifth with a team score of 81 points.
Of the local field, Wells junior Gonzalo Roque led the way — finishing seventh with a time of 18:56.
In ninth, junior Israel Garcia posted a time of 19:08 for the Jaguars and earned the third individual qualification to state — given to the top seven finishers from non-qualifying teams.
Teammate Jorge Avila Fragoza will also run at state, placing 15th — earning the fifth individual qualification — with a time of 19:57.
For the Leopards, freshman Isaac Gale crossed in 20:16 for 18th place — sophomore Cameron Livingstone finished in 20:27 and closed out the top 20.
Freshman Mason Noorda capped the team scoring for Wells with a 24th-place 20:46.
In 25th, Owyhee senior Santino Thomas finished out his career with a time of 20:47.
Jackpot junior Alfredo Aguilar ran a 21:04 for 28th place, Wells sophomore Carson Ballard took 34th in 21:58 and junior Christopher Burcham followed in 36th with a time of 22:25.
For the Jags, sophomore Angel Martinez posted a time of 23:20 for 40th place.
Junior Truman Kington rounded out Wells’ roster with a 45th-place time of 25:05.
The local field was capped with a 27:28 for Jackpot junior Giovanny Rios in 50th place.
Girls
For the girls, North Tahoe also claimed the regional championship — totaling just 12 points from the Lady Lakers’ top-four runners — Incline took second with 36 points and Coral Academy of Science-Reno finished third with 49 points and closed out the tams that advanced to state.
Wells senior Kira Boner will compete at the state meet, earning the second of four — which should have been seven given enough runners — individual qualifications with a 14th-place time of 27:42.
Up Next
The 2A girls will run the first race of the Nevada State Cross Country Championships at 10 a.m. Saturday, the 2A boys competing at 12:35 p.m. Saturday, at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, in Reno.