Gomez, Enriquez capture top-20 finishes to begin Badger XC campaign

The Amarillo College cross country program opened their season in Abilene on Sept. 1 at the Big Country Festival.

The Badgers placed third out of 11 teams in the men’s division, led by Gabe Enriquez, the returning Amarillo College Men’s XC Athlete of the Year. The Tascosa High product placed 18th in the 5K race in a time of 16 minutes 28 seconds.

2022 Female XC Athlete of the Year Ariyah Gomez followed suit with her counterpart and had the top finish of any Badger. The sophomore ended the women’s race in eighth place (20:18) and led the Lady Badgers to a sixth-place finish.

Gomez’s time is a two-minute improvement from her season-opening outing in 2022.

“Both teams had great performances. They showed we’re ahead of where we were to begin last season,” Amarillo College head coach Sean Hargrove said. “That meet is a good warm-up for us, especially with the men running a shorter distance. It should give us some confidence heading into the next two races against some Division I competition.”

Freshman Jerin Perkins, an Amarillo High graduate, took 21st place in his first run as a Badger by crossing the finish line four seconds after Enriquez.

Sophomore Isael Giron was eight seconds off his personal record 5K time (17:17) and finished in 33rd place out of 87 runners in the male division.

Randall High grad Colton Thurman placed 36th in a time of 17:24 and freshman Hugo Briones took 42nd (17:37).

River Road product Christian Rosales came in 43rd, just two seconds behind Briones, and sophomore Xavier Soto took 61st (19:09).

Freshman Armando Flores placed 75th.

On the women’s team, Romie Rubio showed a significant improvement in time (one minute) compared to her first race as a Badger in 2022. The sophomore and Randall High grad placed 33rd out of 61 runners in a time of 23:02.

Sophomore Alexia Alvarez (50th place), freshman Elaina Arredondo (52nd place), and freshman Rubie Trevino (54th place) rounded out the Lady Badger performances at Zoe Park.

Up next for the Badgers is the Texas Tech Open on Friday, Sept. 15. The men’s race is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m., followed by the women’s race at 8:40 a.m.