Diaz Runs to Fourth as Mescalero Apache, Cloudcroft Close Season at State

ALBUQUERQUE — Mescalero Apache standout Azellia Diaz raced to a fourth-place finish and led her team to an eighth-place team showing at Saturday's NMAA Class 2A State Cross Country Championships at Albuquerque Academy, capping a strong season for both Mescalero Apache and Cloudcroft.

In the team standings, the Mescalero Apache girls placed 8th and the Cloudcroft girls 12th. On the boys' side, Cloudcroft finished 10th, one spot ahead of Mescalero Apache in 11th.

Mescalero Apache girls: 8th

Diaz was the class of the local field, covering the course in 20:35.02 to claim fourth overall against the state's best 2A runners. Malair Maldonado gave Mescalero a second strong scorer, finishing 33rd in 22:55.15, and Rhiannon Blazer added a 51st-place run in 23:42.43.

Stephie Prins (74th, 26:03.97) and Verbena Comanche (75th, 26:22.78) crossed the line just seconds apart to round out the scoring five, followed by Ellie Gallerito (82nd, 27:30.78) and Lariah Comanche (86th, 28:16.02).

Cloudcroft girls: 12th

Gena Davis paced the Cloudcroft girls, finishing 43rd in 23:25.99. Adelyn Tompkins was next in 72nd (25:55.88), followed by Bella Johnson in 81st (27:17.64), Brisa Johnson in 88th (29:20.34) and Alyssa Singer in 90th (29:57.55).

Cloudcroft boys: 10th

Fin Abel led Cloudcroft and was the top local finisher in the boys' race, placing 35th in 18:19.46. Triston Tompkins (59th, 19:37.44) and Forrest Odom (67th, 20:00.11) followed, with Tyler Meszler (78th, 20:48.48) and Ryder Kempf (80th, 20:51.95) separated by just three and a half seconds at the back of the scoring five. Rafael Pulido (90th, 23:28.56) and Raine Langford (91st, 24:08.26) completed the Cloudcroft lineup.

Mescalero Apache boys: 11th

Shywin Chaffins led Mescalero Apache with a 41st-place finish in 18:36.73. Damien Valez came in 66th (19:54.91) and Travien Comanche 72nd (20:28.60), followed by Kanin Fernando in 89th (22:43.88), Ricardo Yuzos in 92nd (24:17.57) and Eustine Chino in 93rd (24:46.42).

A season to celebrate

With all four squads qualifying for the state meet and Diaz earning a top-five finish, Saturday's championships were a fitting end to a fantastic season for the Mescalero Apache and Cloudcroft cross country programs. Congratulations to all the runners and coaches.

Full results are available on MileSplit New Mexico.

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