Green Valley boys, Coronado girls win Sunrise Region cross country titles

Al Galan was keenly aware of the history he made on Friday at the Sunrise Region cross country championship in Boulder City.

Foothill’s Leah Leedy, on the other hand, had no idea she put her name into some elite company.

Galan won the boys race on the tough 3.1-mile course at Veterans Memorial Park in 17 minutes, 12 seconds to become the first runner from Liberty to qualify for the state meet since the school opened in 2003.

Meanwhile, Leedy became just the second female runner in Southern Nevada history to capture three straight regional titles, easily winning with a time of 19:15. She joins Green Valley’s Abby Miller, who won four in a row from 1996-99, as the only runners to accomplish the feat since 1978.

“Really?” Leedy said when informed of her accomplishment. “I’m really happy because it’s my senior year and I’ve won it every year I’ve done it. My goal was to win it again my senior year.”

Green Valley’s boys team captured its first team title since 2002, finishing with 53 points. Foothill was second (74), while Tech made history by taking third (77) to reach the state meet for the first time ever. Coronado cruised to its second consecutive crown on the girls side with all five runners in the top 15 to score 37 points. Leedy’s performance helped Foothill take second (59) with Green Valley third (97).

The top three teams and the top five individual runners from nonqualifying teams advance to the Class 4A state championships that begin at 10 a.m. on Nov. 8 at Veterans Memorial Park.

Leedy has dueled all season with Coronado senior Michaelanne Laurent, and the two went head to head once again. Leedy took her customary spot at the front of the pack with Laurent right behind early on, but after the one-mile mark, Leedy began to push the pace.
Leedy was known for going out fast early and trying to build a big lead but has changed her strategy since getting lost on the same course at the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this season.

“The first mile was slow, and it worked to my advantage,” Leedy said of the race at the LVI. “It helped me start slowly and get stronger as the race went on.

“It showed me I don’t always have to be in first from the beginning.”

Leedy held a nine-second advantage over Laurent after 2,000 meters that grew to more than 30 seconds by the 4,000-meter mark. Laurent ended up second in 19:56 with junior teammate Lauren Lucas third in 20:57.

Foothill freshman Sage Long took fourth in 21:12 with sophomore Kristal Hosaka of Coronado fifth (21:27).

“I’m really proud of my team,” Laurent said. “They all work really hard, they’re self-motivated, and we have a lot of team unity.
“It was our goal to win it again, and we achieved it. We would have been disappointed if we didn’t.”

Galan has been a standout on the track in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs but decided to join the cross country team this year as a junior.

Galan surged to the front early and was pushed by Valley’s Rudy Frias and Foothill’s Chris Perrine over the first 2,000 meters but began to stretch his lead by the two-mile mark.

Valley senior Solomon Belay made a late charge over the last half of the race and took second in 17:23 to make state, while Tech’s Jose Escamilla finished strong to grab third (17:29).

After crossing the finish line, Galan walked off the course and exclaimed, “History has been made!”

“All the older guys and the younger guys told me we’ve never made state,” Galan said. “I decided somebody’s going up there. I knew a legacy would be made.”

Green Valley showed its superior depth in winning the team crown as the Gators’ top five runners all finished in the top 14. Junior Jason Ferraro was seventh (17:36) with Julius Kim (ninth, 17:41) and Matt Campa-Moreno (10th, 17:48) close behind.

“They really run for each other. It’s pretty amazing,” Gators coach Blaine Thompson said. “Now that everybody’s healthy, we have two No. 1s and three No. 2s, which should make for a competitive race at state.”

Foothill placed three runners in the top eight as Perrine was fourth in 17:31 followed by Carl Greene (fifth, 17:33) and Brian Arvizu (eighth, 17:38). Tech was led by Escamilla and Chris Rising (11th, 17:55), but it was Miguel Maldonado who helped ensure Tech’s first trip to state as a team. Normally the team’s No. 6 runner, he was was the fifth Tech finisher and 30th overall.

“We were shooting for first and took third, but we’ll take it,” Tech coach Tony Kyriacou said. “Valley ran fast, and their front end was spectacular. Our fifth (runner) did it for us.”

Galan will have company at state as sophomore Joslyn Evans was seventh in the girls race to make state. Other individual qualifiers on the girls side were Canyon Springs junior Heather Hollinger (sixth, 21:28), Tech senior Ana Mata (eighth, 21:40), Valley senior Wendy Villa (ninth, 21:41) and Eldorado junior Claudia Gonzalez (10th, 21:43).

In addition to Galan and Belay, Las Vegas senior Aaron Adkins (sixth, 17:35), Del Sol sophomore Colin Smith (12th, 17:55) and Coronado freshman Austin Parker (15th, 18:02) qualified for state as individuals.