GIRLS

Kate Norskog, St. Michael's. Norskog is one title shy of joining Amy Sweir of Aztec as the lone girls in Class AAA to capture four individual state championships. Norskog opened the season with a victory at Española Valley and ran second to Julia Foster of Albuquerque Academy at Saturday's University of New Mexico Invitational. Foster entered the season as one of the top 25 runners in the country.

Jennifer Mooday, Los Alamos. Mooday was the eighth runner — and second Lady Hilltopper — to cross the finish line at the 2009 Class AAAA State Cross Country Championships that helped pace Los Alamos to its 14 state team title, which shares the state record for girls with Gallup.

Victoria Honnell, Los Alamos. Honnell also contributed to last year's state championship with her 17th place. Honnell was the fifth Lady Hilltopper to finish a year ago, but at Saturday's opener at UNM, she led Los Alamos to the team title with her 10th place. The UNM meet attracted 26 teams, including the best in Class AAAAA.

Haliey Lucero, Mesa Vista. Lucero owns three top-10 finishes at the Class A-AA State Cross Country Championships. She was seventh last year, fifth as a freshman and sixth as an eighth-grader. Lucero posted the 53rd best time at state last year out of 424 runners that included all classifications. She opened the season with a victory at the Peñasco Invitational.

Marcella Sanchez and Victoria Vasquez, Peñasco. If the Lady Panthers are to challenge Bosque School and Navajo Pine for the team title at state in November, Sanchez and Vasquez need top-10 performances, if not top-five. Sanchez ran eighth at state last season, while Vasquez finished 12th for the third-place Lady Panthers.

MK English, Santa Fe Preparatory. Yes, it is MK, no periods. And while you haven't seen her face before, get accustomed to reading her name if Saturday's Peñasco Invitational was a portent of things to come. English ran third, as Santa Fe Prep took the team title over Peñasco, one of the top teams in Class A-AA. Santa Fe Prep placed fourth at state last season, missing the podium by 14 points.

BOYS

Antonio Varela, Pecos. Do not overlook Varela because he competes in Class A-AA. He is one of the best in the state, regardless of classification. Varela captured his first state title in cross country last season, and of the 477 runners that competed that day in all classifications, Varela posted the fourth-best time overall and the top time by an underclassman. This season, Varela is two-for-two — one victory and one course record at the Peñasco invite.

Zach Breshears, Los Alamos. Breshears floated between the sixth and seventh runner last season, but is expected to be one of the front-runner for the Hilltoppers, who once again are in the conversation of state favorites in Class AAAA. Los Alamos's tightly-knit pack also features Tim Wermer, Daniel Roybal, Ian Pulliam, Sean Reardon and Josh Bowman, a group that ran second to Albuquerque Academy at the UNM invite.

Andres Gonzales, St. Michael's. Gonzales enters as one of the individual favorites in AAA, after placing seventh a year ago. He also will be looking to pace the Horsemen back onto the podium. St. Michael's captured the program's first state title in 2006, then added a bookend in 2008. The Horsemen were sixth last season.

Santiago Pasquale and Steven Mora, Santa Fe Indian School. There is no clear-cut leader for the Braves, who enter the season as reigning state champions of AAA. The title was the first for SFIS since 1995, and Pasquale and Mora did their part, finishing eighth and 13th, respectively, at state. At the University of New Mexico Invitational on Saturday, Mora crossed 21st and Pasquale finished 27th for the Braves, who were the top AAA finisher in the field of 29 teams.

Daniel Santistevan and Sam Roybal, Pojoaque Valley. Santistevan ran ninth and Roybal finished 12 for the Elks, who were the state runners-up last season. The pair were within eight seconds of one another at state and crossed within 11 seconds of each other at the UNM invite.

Sean Sanchez, Peñasco. Were it not for Antonio Varela of Pecos, Sanchez would be considered the top runner in Northern New Mexico in Class A-AA. Sanchez, after all, ran sixth at state a year ago and paced the Panthers to the runner-up trophy behind Jemez Valley. Sanchez chased Varela across the finish line at the Peñasco invite on Saturday.

Jimmy Buchanan, Santa Fe Preparatory. Buchanan ran 13th at the Class A-AA State Championships last season, as the Blue Griffins continued their climb up the state ladder with a fifth in the team standings. Buchanan ran third on Saturday at the Peñasco Invitational, helping the Blue Griffins to a second behind Peñasco.