Close call

LA boys, Miyamura’s Ty McCray get pushed at Rehoboth Invite

REHOBOTH, N.M.

The varsity boys portion of the Rehoboth David Charles Invitational supplied all the drama at last Friday’s cross-country meet.

Miyamura junior Ty McCray withstood a late charge from Valley sophomore Justin James to win the individual crown.

In the team standings, Laguna-Acoma eked out a one-point victory over Many Farms as the Hawks rallied with their fourth and fifth runner coming ahead of the Lobos’ fifth runner.

“I was surprised that we won it because I was told we got second,” Laguna-Acoma coach Daniel Otero said. “I’m happy with what they did but we still have a lot work to do.”

Laguna-Acoma finished with 66 points led by sophomore Colton Salvador as he placed third overall behind McCray and James.

McCray crossed the finish line with a winning time of 17 minutes, 51 seconds, which was four seconds faster than James and 32 seconds better than Salvador.

“I had some competition,” said McCray, who also likened last Friday’s heat to an adversary as it triggered a nosebleed.

“It was pretty tough,” he said. “These (were) good schools and good teams so it was a good race today.”

With McCray setting the pace early in the race, James made his move at the end and closed that gap considerably.

“I was trying to catch him down the hill,” James said. “He kept a nice pace and I just followed him. At the end I tried to push myself to catch him.”

Valley coach Dorothy Mitchell said James has been coming on strong since the start of the season.

“He took over the top spot for our team so he’s our new leader,” she said.

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