When the Division I Boys cross country race got started at the 2021 Odessa Invitational, a runner with bright pink shorts and a black and white shirt could be seen separating himself from the pack.
That was Permian’s Christian Chavez, who would close out the 5,000-meter race in second place, clocking in at 16 minutes, 25.80 seconds, about 16 seconds behind Andruw Villa of Abilene High.
It wasn’t just Chavez who shined for the Panthers, as Adriel Hinojos, Elyjah Conwright, Luke Persson and Julian Cruz would finish in the top 10 to lead Permian to a first-place team finish.
“I’m very proud of my team, we’re getting faster every single meet and we’re moving up and winning a lot,” Chavez said after he finished his 5K race.
It was a way to build momentum for Permian and six other District 2-6A schools ahead of their district meet scheduled for next Oct. 15 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
Midland Legacy placed second in the team standings, while Abilene High placed fourth and Odessa High took fifth.
San Angelo Central would take sixth and Midland High had two runners compete in the Division I race.
Permian head coach Darchelle Welch said she’s happy with the progress her team has made throughout the season, seeing the group run as a pack, not just relying on Chavez to get them positive results.
“Christian’s leading the way, but he’s not alone and I love that,” Welch said. “Even today, you see Christian come in then you see the team behind him in this pack coming together and I think that’s why this was our sixth team win.
“We’ve done this together as a team and that’s what I’ve really just enjoyed seeing, it’s not one person because you can’t win as a team with one person.”
While the Panthers came in looking to keep boosting their results, Odessa High was trying to get a feel for what it might see next week.
Broncho head coach Cody Valenzuela said he told his team to look at the Odessa Invitational as a practice run before its district meet.
His team was paced by Alex Camacho, who placed 19th after clocking in at 18:18.
“Whenever I saw Alex, I think he could have started out a little bit slower to kind of match those other miles,” Valenzuela said. “Every mistake is this week’s to make.”
After the Bronchos finished, Valenzuela was going to have each runner breakdown his effort to pinpoint what needs to be fixed before making the trip to Lubbock, forcing the athletes to accountable for their own races.
Camacho said he feels like he’s heading in the right direction after making his return from earlier injuries.
He feels like his team still has things to improve on, but it’s working hard in practice to correct any sort of mistakes.
Staying together as a pack is something Valenzuela wants his team to continue working on.
“It’s just closing it in and staying together,” he said. “It’s that second mile that we’ve been working on all year.”
In the Division II race, Compass Academy finished in fourth place led by Dakota Stratton who placed 14th.
The Cougars will compete in the District 5-3A meet Monday in Crane.
Similar to Valenzuela and Odessa High, Compass Academy assistant coach Evelia Reyes said she wants her boys team to run in a pack mentality.
She saw them take steps in the right direction, but there are still things to fix.
“They just need to stay together,” Reyes said. “I did see that today where we had two, three close together and toward the end they couldn’t stay together.”
>>Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
2021 Odessa Invitational
Thursday, UTPB Park
Division I
GIRLS (5K)
Team Standings
- Abilene High, 35; 2. San Angelo Central, 81; 3. Permian, 81; 4. Odessa High, 139; 5. Lubbock Monterey, 148; 6. Lubbock High, 150; 7. Lubbock Coronado, 151; 8. Midland Legacy, 173; 9. Lubbock-Cooper, 200.
Top 10 Individuals
- Mason Murray, Abilene High, 19:28.60; 2. Marin Murray, Abilene High, 19:39; 3. Reese Pena, Lubbock High, 19:53.10; 4. Zanashia Harris, Lubbock Coronado, 20:28.50; 5. Bailey Springer, Lubbock Monterey, 20:45.40; 6. Zoe Vann, Abilene High, 20:52.30; 7. Sydney Smothers, Lubbock Monterey, 20:53.30; 8. Miranda Chavez, Permian, 21:06.30; 9. Kendall Mathis, Permian, 21:20.30; 10. Naomi Bageant, San Angelo Central, 21:33.90.
Other Area Runners
Permian: 13: Nydia Brito, 21:45.40; 24: Abigail Scott, 22:37.10; 27: Arianna Carrasco, 22:48.80; 28: Benita Aguilar, 22:49.50; 52: Amanda Evans, 24:57.10; 62: Gabriella Favela, 25:09.40.
Odessa High: 11: Jazira Perez, 21:38.90; 19: Raquel Martinez, 22:17.30; 31: Julie Tejeda, 23:07.70; 36: Victoria Rivera, 23:30.20; 42: Nitzel Galindo, 24:09.20; 48: Amada Gonzalez, 24:28.80; 50: Giselle Hernandez, 24:37.70; 55: Carmen Robles, 24:39.50; 76: Alexis Lopez, 26:32.90; 79: Carmen Cruz, 26:50.60.
Midland Legacy: 21: Kyndall Jones, 22:31.70; 22: Mia Regalado, 22:35.80; 39: Isabella Reyna, 23:44.70; 49: Delilah Garcia, 24:18.90; 50: Arabella Munson, 24:21.30; 51: Karimme Conejo, 24:25.90; 63: Ashlyn McClatchy, 25:12.50; 66: Nicole Patel, 25:18.20; 67: Mariah Granados, 25:23; 80: Jackie Galindo, 26:53.20.
Midland High: 36: Emery Martinez, 23:24.10; 44: Emily Corbett, 24:04.60; 60: Celine Maldonado, 24:58.90.
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BOYS (5K)
Team Standings
- Permian, 36; 2. Midland Legacy, 70; 3. Lubbock Monterey, 74; 4. Abilene High, 109; 5. Odessa High, 132; 6. San Angelo Central, 147; 7. Lubbock Coronado, 186; 8. Lubbock High, 200; 9. Midland TLCA, 241.
Top 10 Individuals
- Andruw Villa, Abilene High, 16:09.70; 2. Christian Chavez, Permian, 16:25.80; 3. David Mora, Lubbock Monterey, 16:38.60; 4. Bridger Bowcutt, Midland Legacy, 17:16.30; 5. Malachi Macias, Lubbock Monterey, 17:25.70; 6. Xavier Sanchez, Lubbock Monterey, 17:29.20; 7. Adriel Hinojos, Permian, 17:30.90; 8. Elyjah Conwright, Permian, 17:31.30; 9. Luke Persson, Permian, 17:36.60; 10. Julian Cruz, Permian, 17:42.20.
Other Area Runners
Permian: 15: Kent Ashley, 18:14.5; 21: Andy Sotelo, 18:20.40; 42: Nicholas Pool, 19:39.40.
Midland Legacy: 13: Jose Almanza, 18:00.60; 15: Oakley Atwood, 18:14.10; 19: Joey Corning, 18:17.80; 23: Christopher Lopez, 18:29.40; 30: John Abalos, 18:51.70; 40: Chandler Bushman, 19:29.30.
Odessa High: 20: Alex Camacho, 18:18; 22: Alejandro Tercero, 18:26.80; 24: Jordan Flotte, 18:31.90; 29: Joseph Flotte, 18:51.70; 47: Miguel Lujan, 20:03.90; 52: Rogelio Pando, 20:22; 68: Randy Galindo, 21:35.10; 69: Jeremiah Casas, 21:46.90.
Midland High: 57: Sebastian Perez, 20:42.
Alpine: 28: Cason Hatfield, 18:41.90; 48: Marco Martinez, 20:08.20.
