At the Truman Wills Invitational, El Paso's
distance runners were off to a quick start to set the tone for this year's
season. Eva Jess from El Paso Franklin took a commanding lead after the first
lap and never looked back. Jess pushed a hard last lap to come in with a time
of 11:34.15. Andrea Perez, also from El Paso Franklin, had a great race
finishing second with a time of 12:00.30. Other notable runners: El Paso Eastwood'sEileen McLain - 12:23.70 'PR' and El Paso Eastwood'sMeadow Ortiz - 12:23.83 'PR'.
Girls 3200m at Truman Wills Invitational
The boys 3200m was very much the same, a lot of
grit and determination to make a statement in their first race. There were four
runners under 10 minutes in the boys 3200m race who battled all the way until
the end. The pack was tight for the first lap but going into the third was when
Aaron Gilliam from El Paso Irvin really seemed to take control of the race. Gilliam,
a senior, was able maintain his spot at the front and finish strong with a time
of 9:51.16. Not too far behind was one of Eastwood top
distance runners Gabriel Armijo, who finished not far from Gomez. He came in at
a time of 9:54.43. Other notable runners: San Elizario'sEdwin Gomez - 9:58.25
'PR" and El Paso Cathedral'sBrandon Seagreaves - 9:59.29.
Boys 3200m at Truman Wills Invitational
Truman Wills
Invitational was rained out on Friday pushing many events over onto Saturday, meaning some events would have to be ran much
later in the day than what these athletes are accustomed to. However, that
didn't stop the 1600m runners from giving it everything they had. The race
started and again, Eva Jess and Andrea Perez from El Paso Franklin were
battling for the top spot. Behind the pair was another competitive race with El Paso Montwood's Kayhla Talavera and El Paso Eastwood's Francis Hernandez
proving they had what it takes to be a top runner in the city. In the end, Jess
proved to be resilient and capped off her weekend with another first place
finish with a time of 5:24.57. Perez was able to PR with a time of 5:38.40.
They were followed by Talavera with a time of 5:43.39 and Hernandez with a time
of 5:49.34.
Much like the girls, the boys were determined to
not let the long day affect their race as we had three runners under 4:30 minutes.
The race was a real nail biter from the gun. El Paso HanksMichael Abeyta and
Nicholas Moreno were out to show that they could contend with the best Texas
has to offer. However, Aaron Gilliam wasn't about to go down without a fight. He
managed to show real tenacity as he was able to hang on and push through to
second place, finishing between Abeyta and Moreno. Gilliam finished second PR'ing
with a time of 4:23.60 and Moreno was a close third with a time of 4:26.26. Abeyta
came in first with a Texas #1 time of 4:21.34 and is also a top Boys Performer
of the Week. If you'd like to vote and support him click here. Notable runner:
El Paso Cathedral Brandon Seagreaves - 4:38.18.
