Martin Amezcua leads Green Valley boys to region cross country title

Green Valley senior Milton Amezcua said some pressure accompanied the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A Sunrise Region boys cross country meet Friday at Veterans’ Memorial Park in Boulder City.

Didn’t seem like it.

Amezcua ran away from the pack and finished the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 46 seconds to claim the region championship and lift the Gators to the team title with 31 points.

Omar Aguilar Espinoza of Silverado finished a distant second with a time of 17:27, and Coronado finished second in the team competition with 49 points.

“I know I could push a lot harder. I know my body can go harder,” Amezcua said. “I was kind of nervous in the morning, shaking. … Seeded No. 1, I had to protect that. I knew I could have done better, but it was a good race overall.”

Amezcua was the first of five Green Valley runners to finish in the top 11, followed by Martin Nelson (third), Jesus Narciso (sixth), Ayden Patricelli (10th) and Cristian Kongsrud (11th).

Gators coach Bud Beam spoke highly of his seniors, who anchored Green Valley throughout the course of the season.

“This is big, and they came out big,” Beam said. “They know exactly what their job is. It’s a team sport, but each individual knows they got a job. And if each individual accomplishes their job, we’re going to come out on top.”

Arbor View senior Keith Williams joined Amezcua as a region champion by posting a time of 16:58 to claim the Sunset championship. Conner Nicholas of Desert Oasis finished in 17:10 for second place.

Williams, who grew up playing football and didn’t run cross country until his junior year, said he didn’t expect to win a region championship.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to run cross country, to be honest,” Williams said. “I got it done. I got the job done today.”

Williams teamed with Ian Jackson (third), Noah Ayala (fourth), Andrew Parker (11th) and Mario Gutierrez (21st) to guide the Aggies to 4o points and the team title. Centennial finished second with 89 points.

Arbor View coach Sheina Torres fought back tears when she talked about the strength of her group.

“They just make me so proud,” Torres said. “They want to be the best. They want to be No. 1. They’re the coachable kids.”

Class 3A

It wasn’t a matter of who would win the Class 3A Southern Region meet.

But by how much.

Pahrump Valley senior Bryce Odegard finished the 3.1-mile race in 17 minutes, 36 seconds to capture his second consecutive individual region title and lead the Trojans to the team title with 39 points.

“It’s a tough course with all the sand and stuff,” said Odegard, who won by 18 seconds. “It’s not what we traditionally run, so we just kind of had to adapt. I knew what I was up against coming in, so I strategized to really work up the wash through the thick sand.”

Odegard, the defending 3A state champion, finished ahead of Desert Pines’ Jovan Ibarra (17:54), Cheyenne’s Jaime Chavez (18:01), Moapa Valley’s Jerrick Stastny (18:14) and Pahrump Valley’s Cole Goodman (18:22).

Moapa Valley finished second with 60 points, ahead of Cheyenne (72), Tech (101) and Del Sol (182).

Class 2A

The Meadows had three runners in the top 10 and finished with 31 points to win the boys title.

Ian Cook placed second in 17:52, Tucker Hansen was fourth in 18:33 and Julius Santo Pietro finished 10th in 19:43 for the Mustangs, who captured their second title in three seasons.

West Wendover finished second with 36 points, ahead of Lake Mead (45), Laughlin (55) and Lincoln County (63).

Lake Mead’s Shay Rutledge won the race in 17:36.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter. Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow @af_ferguson on Twitter.