Lubbock Invitational

September 29, Mae Simmons Park, Lubbock

Thanks to David Harrison for this report.

5A/4A GIRLS

Monique Ortega and Mindy Sullivan quickly separated themselves from the rest of the field, but Ortega surged strongly up the hill on the far side of the course and ran away with the race. Amarillo continued its domination of the Panhandle, but the Canyon girls team looked very good in second place.

Teams: 1, Amarillo, 92; 2, Canyon, 208; 3, Abilene, 230; 4, Mansfield, 240; 5, Lubbock Coronado, 253; 6, El Paso Americas, 290; 7, El Paso Jefferson, 295; 8, Granbury, 324; 9, Frenship, 329; 10, Hereford, 334

Individuals: 1, Monique Ortega (El Paso Montwood) 11:09.6; 2, Mindy Sullivan (Coronado) 11:45.8; 3, Amy Crox (Hereford) 12:01.1; 4, Suezette Luevano (El Paso Hanks) 12:02.7; 5, Princess Spence(Coronado) 12:08.1; 6, Ruby Crox (Hereford) 12:14.4; 7, Elisa Salcedo (Socorro) 12:15.7; 8, Rachel Collins (Granbury) 12:22.3; 9, Jennifer Baker (Canyon) 12:27.2; 10, Angie Synatzske (Stephenville) 12:27.7

5A/4A BOYS

Trent Deming took the early lead of a pack of El Paso area runners, but in the final mile Frank Lozano and Raul Saenz pulled away. After battling over the last stretch along the lake, Lozano sprinted away in the final 100 meters. El Paso Austin placed four in the top to dominate the meet with Canyon ran yet another solid race ahead of a surprising Burleson squad.

Teams: 1, El Paso Austin, 66; 2, Canyon, 133; 3, Burleson, 221; 4, El Paso Montwood, 241; 5, Abilene, 247; 6, El Paso Jefferson, 250; 7, El Paso Americas, 271; 8, Hereford, 276; 9, Frenship, 287; 10, Fabens, 342

Individuals: 1, Frank Lozano (Austin) 15:20.8; 2, Raul Saenz (Coronado) 15:25.9; 3, Juan Carlos Chairez (EP Mountain View) 15:43.2; 4, Alex Ramos (EP Mountain View) 15:46.3; 5, Trent Deming (EP Hanks) 15:54.1; 6, Josh Hawkins (Frenship) 16:01.1; 7, Cole Hollingsworth (Burleson) 16:03.5; 8, Julio Mariscal (Austin) 16:05.3; 9, Mike Alegria (Austin) 16:07.2; 10, Joey Sanchez (Dumas) 16:08.3

3A and UNDER GIRLS

3A's #1 team, Ballinger, took the team race as expected, but the real competition was between 2A powerhouses Sundown and Wall with Sundown winning by a a narrow 4-point margin. Jamie Buxkemper ran very well in winning by about 25 meters over Lamesa's Hope Jimenez who ran unofficially and didn't cross the finish line.

Teams: 1, Ballinger, 61; 2, Sundown, 106; 3, Wall, 110; 4, Happy, 169; 5, Seminole, 217; 6, Nazareth, 248; 7, Whiteface, 281; 8, Stratford, 311; 9, Garden City, 313; 10, Muleshoe, 339

Individuals: 1, Jamie Buxkemper (Ballinger) 12:28.5; 2, Heather Waygood (Sundown) 12:38.8; 3, Stephanie Thiel (Nazareth) 12:44.4; 4, Megan Moore (Dawson) 12:52.0; 5, Trista McIntyre (Wall) 12:52.8; 6, Raquel Soliz (Wellman-Union) 12:53.9; 7, Sara Aragon (Tucumcari, NM) 12:56.3; 8, Dilcia Diaz (Seminole) 12:59.1; 9, Ashley Perez (Sundown) 13:03.4; 10, Mallory Rodgers (Hamlin) 13:04.5

3A and UNDER BOYS

Heath Wing showed why he may be the toughest small school competitor in the Panhandle with an easy 31-second win over some very good runners. Holliday, running without last spring's 1600 state champ who moved away, stepped up from runner-up last year to take home the 2001 team title.

Teams: 1, Holliday, 140; 2, Ruidoso, 195; 3, Boys Ranch, 200; 4, Perryton, 202; 5, Wall, 228; 6, Haskell, 246; 7, Sanford-Fritch, 258; 8, Hart, 259; 9, Nazareth, 263; 10, Petersburg, 279