El Paso Boys Are Coming
Region I is affectionately known as the "Region of Doom" and this year the El Paso boys are bringing the boom to the Region of Doom.
The dudes from out west have a lot of star power and they will take it to Lubbock all of the way from Class 3A to 6A.
Tornillo is looking to stop two streaks on November third. They want to end the streak of two straight runner-up finishes and the near decade long streak of the Luling reign in the 3A boys. Tornillo is just as good this year as they have been the previous years and coach Garcia's boys will look to add another region title before they make the trip back to Round Rock. Ofir Ortega will look to captain Tornillo over the hump and to the top spot this year.
In Class 4A, the San Elizario boys have a streak that they want to keep alive. They have won four straight 4A team championships and number five would be just as sweet. Coach Morales' squad is the favorite to win it all again this year, but the San Elizario way is to take nothing and nobody for granted. Sophomore, Edwin Gomez leads the team and the state in the 4A ranks.
The Class 5A races will be perhaps the best races in the state this year. Both the boys 5A individual and team races will be action packed and loaded with stars. El Paso Hanks duo Michael Abeyta and Roger Rivera will bring the star power for the El Paso 5A group. Abeyta was last year's over all runner-up in the state and the gold medal has to be on his mind this year. Rivera infused himself into the individual conversation by working hard and running fast.
El Paso Eastwood moved down to 5A this season after duking it out with the 6A powers last year. This season, things will be anything but easier for the team. Their only saving grace is that in some strange way they are an even better team than last year and perhaps ever. Eastwood has firmly established themselves as being both explosive and dangerous. They have battled at two serious out of state powerful meets and performed exceptionally. We are talking about races that were packed with hundreds of runners and top heavy on talent. They showed no weak link in their chain and appear to be ready for the 5A region and state meets. The only thing that comes to mind is that those two out of state races were at night time. At the state meet, they will be running in the middle of the day.
With the absence of Eastwood in the 6A race doesn't necessarily mean El Paso won't be well represented. Americas has looked like they were kind of good all year long. At McNeil, they showed they are more than just good looks, they are for real and they plan to break up the DFW party heading out to Lubbock. Jacob Ye leads his hungry Americas squad to the Region of Doom fresh off of their Region 1-6A district win and their strong McNeil race. These guys are good and dangerous!
If you're looking for a sleeper in the individual boys race, look nor further than El Paso Franklin senior Jacobo Wedemeyer. The 6A race is full of studs, but Wedemeyer is having a good season and his 15:45.10 at the Desert Twilight is proof his wheels are ready to roll this year.