Mescalero Apache wins girls’ race at Jamboree

RIO RANCHO, N.M.

Jasmine Turtle-Morales spent her underclassman years looking up to others.

But this year the Eldorado High junior became one others look up to.

Turtle-Morales, Mescalero Apache, finished first in the Rio Rancho Jamboree championships race in a time of 18:47.

She said she can’t quite get used to being an undefeated runner.

“It feels really weird,” she said. “I just remember Amanda Mayoral (formerly of Cleveland High and now running for Oklahoma State University), I looked up to her. I just want to be her now.”

At the start of the race, she’s used to shaking off the competition but Kirtland Central freshman Aisha Ramone was strong competition.

“At the start of the race, the girl was right there with me and I was, like, ‘Whoa,’” she said. “On the hill I sprinted and I sprinted, then I told myself, ‘I’ll just open up now.’”

Once Turtle-Morales took the lead there was no looking back.

Although she was caught off guard by Ramone, it was a good learning experience.

“I just got to work hard more and start out faster, that’s what my problem was,” she said. “That just means I need to work harder.”

Turtle-Morales has run cross-country since she was a freshman but it wasn’t until this season that she decided to take a step up.

“I just felt like during the summer, I just worked out more and I was more careful with what I was eating,” she said. “I felt like I’m pushing myself a little more this year than last year, because last year I was, like, ‘It’s just a season, I’m just a sophomore.’”

She said there is still a long way to go.

“I’m just hoping that my team does really well and, personally, me too,” Turtle-Morales said.

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