Ledgerwood, Norton and Torregrosa aim for honors

Cibola's Ryan Norton and Yuma High's Gabe Torregrosa kept an eye on each other's times throughout the cross country season.

Kofa's Stephanie Ledgerwood only faced competition outside of Yuma County.

The Gila Valley Region's top three runners lead their respective teams into the 5A Division II state meet along with San Luis and Gila Ridge today at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.

"Camelback and Sunnyside (in the boys race) are two teams that are out there a little bit. After that it gets interesting," said Cibola coach Kris Norton, whose boys and girls teams each won the region titles. "We figure that third through seventh it gets pretty close. We're pretty young and inexperienced. Getting up there in the top five is a goal we're shooting for, but that's pretty high expectations."

Norton added that Cibola's best finish at state in the last 10 years was 10th place.

Ledgerwood has perhaps the best shot at bringing home an individual state championship. The Gila Valley champion and back-to-back The Sun/Yuma Rotary Club's Runner of the Year placed second to a freshman from Tucson-Ironwood Ridge at last year's state meet by 16 seconds.

The top four runners on the girls' side at last year's 5A-II state meet are back this year.

Norton and Torregrosa have had a bit of a rivalry. They have split the four head-to-head races this season, with Norton coming out ahead in their last meeting to win the region title.

Both are expected to be in the pack with the best in the state.

"He looks tough," Kris Norton said of Ryan. "He's definitely mentally ready, and physically he seems to be there. We're going to look for a good race from him."

Yuma coach Tim Schwehr said Torregrosa is aiming for a top five individual finish.

"He's been telling me all week he's feeling really good; his legs are feeling good," Schwehr said. "This is like the first time since the beginning of the year his legs have felt pretty decent, because the first race he pulled his hamstring."

Like Cibola, Schwehr said he's hoping for a top-five finish from his boys as a team.

"We're right in the mix, right there with Cibola. Cibola has a really good chance," Schwehr said. "I'm really hoping our No. 4 and No. 5 guys have a breakout race."

No runner at the state meet will have the advantage of being familiar with the course since the state meet is the only race it hosts all season.

The Cave Creek course itself is a grass terrain and does not have many steep hills.

"It's a little more difficult than it looks," Norton said. "There are no major hills on it, but that grass over the three miles can absorb some energy, and that last half mile gets pretty tough."