Cleveland Boys and Rio Rancho Stars Shine at State Cross Country Championships
The Cleveland boys cross country team posted 56 points to capture the state championship on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at Albuquerque Academy, securing the program’s second consecutive state title. Rio Rancho finished second in the team standings with 81 points.
Nathan Calabaza, Antonio Pacheco, Kenny Lopez, Henry Lopez, and Tomas Diaz each finished in the top 17 individually out of 118 runners for the Storm, while teammates Peter Acker and Darius Cajero placed 29th and 33rd respectively. Henry remarked that the team’s strength lies in a balanced pack rather than a single front-runner.
“The thing I like about this group is that there is not a definitive top runner,” Henry said. “On any given day, one of them can have a great day and lead the group.”
Individual Champions Set the Pace in Class 5A
In the individual 5000-meter races, Rio Rancho junior Mariah Galbraith and senior Alejandro Casaus added state titles to pre-meet, Academy Extravaganza, pre-state, and district victories they had already accumulated.
Galbraith controlled the girls race from the opening stretch, crossing the finish line in 17:05.3 ahead of a chasing pack of Eldorado Eagles runners. “I was really cold when I started; my lungs were pretty frozen over,” Galbraith told the New Mexico Activities Association. “I did wear sleeves, so that kind of helped a little bit. But when I was running, I was like, I can’t breathe. This is terrible, and then I started warming up, and I started letting loose and my legs were feeling nice and good at the end.”
Eldorado claimed the girls team title with 22 points, followed by Rio Rancho in second with 80 points and Cleveland in third with 105 points. All six Rio Rancho girls finished inside the top 39 out of 117 runners, while Cleveland’s Meg Mauermann placed 10th, and Alina Trujillo-Sando and Diana Abbate finished 18th and 19th.
In the boys race, Casaus built a steady lead through the first and second miles before striding to victory in 15:12.7. Christopher Severy of Santa Fe finished second in 15:39.2, and Ryu Medina of Organ Mountain took third in 15:42.3.
“Feels amazing,” Casaus told the NMAA. “I’ve been wanting this for a while now, but I always had teammates ahead of me, and now it’s finally my year. My turn.”
Rio Rancho’s Matthew Casey added a 10th-place individual finish, helping the Rams place five runners in the top 38. Behind champion Cleveland and runner-up Rio Rancho in the boys team standings, Centennial finished third with 127 points, Farmington took fourth with 148, and Albuquerque High placed fifth with 175.
