The Socorro Lady Warriors cross-country team is headed to state.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

The Lady Warriors finished second as a team, and Warrior runner Robinson Ford made it on the boys’ side when the Socorro High School cross country teams competed at the 3A District 3/4 Meet in Cobre on Oct. 28

“Nearly every runner broke their personal record substantially — and while most of the attention will naturally be focused on the runners who have qualified for state,” coach Beth Cadol said. “I want to highlight the amount of improvement that the non-qualifiers gained, too.”

It was about training her runners at a pace where they could experience those personal goals.

“I knew they had these times in them this season, and I am thrilled that they proved it to themselves when it mattered most. We are a young team that keeps growing, and we are already thinking about what we can do to keep improving next year,” Cadol said.

At the district meet, Sky Sessions was the top Lady Warrior runner with a third-place finish and a clocking of 24:13, which was five seconds in front of fellow runner Anastasia Zagrai who clocked a 24:18.

Also headed to the state meet on Nov. 5 at Albuquerque Academy are (district place and times) 14. Jacqueline Perez, 26:47; 15. Rem Jacquez, 28:06; 17. Lyzz Moellenbrock, 28:26; 22. Addisyn Fassett, 44:32; 23. Abagail Watkins, 52:29.

Ford was 6th overall in the boys’ race as he recorded a time of 18:52. Other Warrior runners included 21. Luther Richardson 20:36; 25. Keller Ford, 21:15.00; 30. Daniel Bowles, 22:09; 40. Liam Demorest, 27:24; 43. Andrew Moellenbrock 30:31; 44. Vicente Sanchez, 35:40.

Cadol shared her thoughts on her runners.

  • Robinson Ford — This sophomore qualified for state for the third year in a row by placing 6th (All-District). His time (18:52) is his first race under 19:00 and an all-time 5k PR by 45 seconds.
  • Luther Richardson — Lone senior on the boys’ team; his five years on the team is two years longer than I have been the coach. While he missed qualifying for state, his time (20:36) is a PR by 51 seconds. I wish I had another year to get him under 20:00. He’s been a fantastic leader on the team.
  • Keller Ford — Eighth-grader, has been running in the team’s No. 3 spot since the season’s first race. He has been chipping away at his 5k PR all season, and his 21:15 yesterday was another new PR by an astonishing 2 minutes and 11 seconds.
  • Daniel Bowles — Freshman who also set a PR by an impressive 1 minute and 27 seconds.
  • Liam Demorest — Eighth-grader who ran middle school races most of the season. He moved up to Varsity at the Socorro Stampede (and St Pius) and came through in a big way as the team’s 5th-scoring runner yesterday with a new PR that is 3 minutes and 24 seconds faster than his previous best. It also happened to be his 14th birthday.
  • Andrew Moellenbrock — Sophomore who had a rougher day out there, came through nearing his season-best time. He is a hard worker who has really improved his running more than this race shows.
  • Vicente Sanchez — Vinnie joined from football and has been unstoppable on the course. He has lowered his personal best by over 11 minutes since the first race despite suffering an ankle injury that kept him off his feet for three weeks in the middle of the season. His time yesterday was a new PR by 3 minutes and 16 seconds over his previous PR set at the St. Pius meet on Oct. 14.
  • Sky Sessions — This sophomore qualified for state for the third year in a row by placing 3rd (All-District). While not setting an all-time PR, it was her fastest 5k this season, and she used her gazelle-like stride to pass a runner in the last half-mile for 3rd place.
  • Anastasia Zagrai — Freshman, second year qualifying for state; 4th place (All-District) with a new PR by 1 minute 33 seconds. She beat out two Cobre runners at the finish line.
  • Jackie Perez — The girls team’s lone senior, joined just last year but has been rock-solid in her 5k pacing. She eked out a PR by one second.
  • Rem Jacquez — Junior, in just their third race ever, finished 4th on the team and PRs by 1 minute 13 seconds.
  • Lyzz Moellenbrock — Junior who came to every race to watch her brother run last year and realized she wanted to try Cross Country, too; PR by 43 seconds.
  • Addisyn Fassett and Abby Watkins were on pace to set new PRs at the 2-mile mark and then tragically went off-course at a confusing intersection. They managed to find their way back (separately) and finish the race despite the panic and frustration.
Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor