Santa Fe Indian steals show in Acoma

LAGUNA-ACOMA- With the weather much more appeasing than a week ago in Laguna-Acoma, 14 schools showed up to run the 3.275 mile course including the Grants Pirates and Lady Pirates.

So far this season neither the boys nor girls squads have turned in that head turning performance, however, it seems as if each week both teams show signs of improvement across the board. Which is exactly what Head Coach Bob Vandiver and his assistant Leon Bachman are hoping for as the teams near the midway point of the season.

    Chris Kie took over the number spot on Sept. 18 for the Pirates, finishing the course in 19:22. Just behind him was Derek Lopez who came in at 19:31. Kie and Lopez were also the only two to crack the top 25, finishing 20 and 21 respectively. Gordon Gallegos was the only other Pirate who finished the course in sub 20, crossing the line at 19:48. As a team the boys finished in sixth place, well behind winner Santa Fe Indian School.

    “It was neat to get a new guy as our number one, Chris ran real well for us on Friday,” Vandiver told the Beacon. “All in all though the team did a good job, they continued getting better. The pack time was a little higher than a week ago, but it still wasn't too high so I'll take that.”

    For the second straight week it was Sydney Sanshu leading the pack for the girls' team and finishing in 15th place with a time of 23:28. Savannah Johnson and Jolanda Cuch rounded out the Lady Pirates top finishers, completing the course in 24:10 and 24:25 respectively. Elaine Torivio and Dyonne Sedillos were the other two Lady Pirates who scored for Grants, which finished in fifth place. Not to be outdone, the Santa Fe Indian School girls' squad also won the meet in convincing fashion.

    “The girls showed some real good signs, they came out and ran a strong meet for us on Friday. Santa Fe Indian just stole the show from everybody, they were really good.” Vandiver said. “It was a good meet for us though, some really good and tough teams were there and we did a pretty good job I think. It is all about building towards districts and then hopefully state; as long as both teams keep getting better we will be alright.”

    The teams will get their next and fourth meet of the season underway on Sept. 25 when  they travel to Albuquerque Academy, in what is sure to be another tough meet filled with top tier competition.