AURORA | Hinkley had an outstanding day at the EMAC Championship cross country meet Thursday, placing third on both the boys and girls side and coming away with an individual champion.
Senior Merhawet Taeme conquered the 3.1-mile course at the Aurora Sports Park in 20 minutes, 46 seconds, to win the championship in the varsity girls race, helping the Thunderbirds post a team total of 65 points to finish behind winner Prairie View and runner-up Brighton.
Taeme — the runner-up at the league meet in 2013 — crossed the finish line seven seconds in front of Northglenn’s Taylor Philpot and was supported by a pair of top-20 finishes by teammate Nathalie Gomez (13th) and Kim Quinonez (19th).
Paced by Morgan Bloyer’s ninth-place finish, Rangeview accumulated 75 points to place fourth and Aurora Central scored 155 to take fifth in a girls race in which five schools — including Gateway — did not have enough runners finish to record team scores.
Hinkley also topped Aurora teams with a third-place result in the boys race, with senior Oscar Briones Ruiz finishing a city-best eighth in 17:59 to helm the Thunderbirds’ charge.
Finishing just outside the top 10 for Rangeview was Ramadan Mohammed, whose 11th-place finish helped the Raiders to a score of 121 points, just five points behind fourth-place Prairie View.
Gateway finished eighth with Jordon White’s 23rd-place finish leading the way, while Aurora Central came up a runner short of the five results needed to post a team score.
Next up for all four teams are 5A regional state qualifying meets, with Hinkley and Rangeview at Region 3 at Northwest Open Space, Gateway at Region 2 at D’Evelyn High School and Aurora Central at Region 1 at Margaret Carpenter Rec Center.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2014 EMAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oct. 9 at Aurora Sports Park
Boys team scores: 1. Thornton 36 points; 2. Brighton 40; 3. HINKLEY 114; 4. Prairie View 116; 5. RANGEVIEW 121; 6. Northglenn 145; 7. Adams City 187; 8. GATEWAY 206; 9. Westminster 241; AURORA CENTRAL no score
Top 10 boys individuals: 1. Joshua Joseph (Thornton), 16 minutes, 16 seconds; 2. Daniel Mordecai (Brighton), 16:27; 3. Jose Garcia (Thornton), 16:52; 4. Kaleb Taylor (Brighton), 17:43; 5. Jake Kiethley (Thornton), 17:50; 6. Alec Choury (Northglenn), 17:53; 7. Joe Langer (Prairie View), 17:53; 8. OSCAR BRIONES RUIZ (HINKLEY), 17:59; 9. Ricky Friedly (Brighton), 17:59; 10. Sean Johnston (Thornton), 18:02
Aurora team-by-team results (in order of finish)
Hinkley (114): 8. Oscar Briones Ruiz, 17:59; 18. Jason Padilla, 18:47; 22. Roverto Santamaria, 18:51; 27. Josue Nieto, 19:12; 40. Jose Rivera, 19:51; 42. Dylan Van, 19:54; 45. Damian Lopez, 20:00; Rangeview (121): 11. Ramadan Mohammed, 18:15; 21. David Nuttall, 18:50; 26. Karl Marquez, 19:05; 30. Michael George, 19:20; 33. Jaxon Setser, 19:28; 35. Jacob Kipfinger, 19:31; 39. Shane Tapia, 19:50; Gateway (206): 23. Jordon White, 18:52; 29. Jordan Roberts, 19:20; 48. Abi Hernandez, 20:11; 53. Luis Roche, 21:01; 58. Charles Reigies, 22:39; 62. Adam Schrot, 23:51; 63. David Estrella, 24:13; Aurora Central (no score): 37. Jose Millan, 19:44; 52. Andy Rodriguez, 20:33; 60. Jordan Henderson, 22:55; 64. Nicholas Flores Lopez, 24:18
Girls team scores: 1. Prairie View 39 points; 2. Brighton 44; 3. HINKLEY 65; 4. RANGEVIEW 75; 5. AURORA CENTRAL 155; GATEWAY, Adams City, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster no score
Top 10 girls individuals: 1. MERHAWET TAEME (HINKLEY), 20 minutes, 46 seconds; 2. Taylor Wilpot (Northglenn), 20:53; 3. Maia Shore (Thornton), 21:26; 4. Bea Walsh (Thornton), 21:27; 5. Kaila Green (Brighton), 21:33; 6. Stephanie Carrasco (Thornton), 21:39; 7. Morgan Taylor (Prairie View), 21:44; 8. Bethani Hartman (Prairie View), 21:59; 9. MORGAN BLOYER (RANGEVIEW), 21:59; 10. Caitlin Cunningham (Brighton), 22:03
Aurora team-by-team results (in order of finish)
Hinkley (65): 1. Merhawet Taeme, 20:46; 13. Nathalie Gomez, 22:23; 19. Kim Quinonez, 23:01; 23. Maria Acevedo, 23:28; 25. Monica Carreta, 24:03; 26. Enbbeba Taeme, 24:06; 31. Esmerelda Cabrera, 25:15; Rangeview (75): 9. Morgan Bloyer, 21:59; 11. Megan Shanahan, 22:20; 20. Sydney Comet, 23:01; 28. Yalitze Topete, 24:34; 29. Arielle Maes, 24:40; 34. Shynell Moore, 26:30; 36. Kate Stockinger, 26:33; Aurora Central (155): 40. Aiden Martinez, 27:44; 42. Dulce Gonzalez Beltran, 29:10; 46. Martia Millan Toledo, 29:49; 49. Chastityn Ruiz-Estrada, 36:21; 50. Jenesse Hicks, 36:58; Gateway (no score): 37. Lillian Schrot, 27:15; 39. Brianna Micciche, 27:39; 47. Priscilla Cruz, 30:02
