PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Rio Rancho's Galbraith, Taos' Romero put on a show in opening-season victories at Cleveland
Eldorado's Gianna Rahmer places 5th, her first finish inside New Mexico that wasn't first place
RIO RANCHO – As she hit the finish line on a hot, still Saturday morning, Mariah Galbraith learned her time.
The final tally: 17 minutes, 48.9 seconds.
The first major goal of her 2026 cross country season had been fulfilled.
“Starting the season with a sub-18,” the Rio Rancho High School junior said, “I’m really proud of that.”
Galbraith, who didn’t finish a single race last year in under 18 minutes, authored a dominating performance in the metro area’s first major competition of the season, the Cleveland Invitational.
Not only was she the only runner in the field to finish in under 18 minutes, she won by approximately 45 seconds, to boot, leaving the trailing pack far behind.
“It was really, really nice,” she said. “The whole thing felt pretty easy in a way. I think I’m definitely ready to see what I can do against higher competition.”
This was a strong field to open the season.
Eldorado, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque Academy, Cleveland, ϼ Vista, La Cueva — those traditional powers were all in attendance on Saturday.
The Eagles, the team heavily favored to be a Class 5A state champion come November, displayed their depth and strength on Saturday. They finished 2-3-4-5-8 and scored a minuscule 22 points. Cleveland, with 94 points, was well behind in second, followed by Rio Rancho (100).
None of Eldorado’s runners, including the three-time state champion, junior Gianna Rahmer, could do anything to chase down Galbraith in this race. She still clearly had great energy as she entered the Cleveland football stadium where the finish line was located.
“I really just went for it, and it worked out for me,” she said. “When I saw Eldorado was in a big group (behind me) and they were kind of pacing it, I was ready to go around faster, so I took control.”
Freshman Helene Gessner (18:33.0) of the Eagles placed second. Eighth-grader Isla Rahmer (18:43.3) was third in her varsity debut for Eldorado.
Gianna Rahmer was clearly in physical distress over the final portion of the race. She labored to make it to the finish line and collapsed to the turf as soon as she crossed it. It was believed to be a mix of dehydration and perhaps heat exhaustion; she was still receiving assistance nearly 45 minutes after the race ended.
Gianna Rahmer placed fifth overall (19:02.6). Another Eldorado freshman, Ava Denton (18:47.0), was fourth.
For Rahmer, Saturday marked the first high school meet in her career where she competed inside New Mexico’s borders and didn’t place first. This is her fourth season on the Eagles’ varsity.
The boys team champion, Los Alamos, also had an outstanding day. The Hilltoppers had four runners among the front 11, and their 47 points staked them to a large margin over runner-up St. Pius (107) and third-place Cleveland (120).
Senior Billy Romero of Taos, like Galbraith, enjoyed a memorable run. His time of 14 minutes, 59 seconds was a course record. It was another 29 seconds before the next runner, Kaj Maupin of Los Alamos (15:27.7), finished Diego Friedrich of Academy (15:47.4) placed third, followed by Koen Christensen of Los Alamos (15:49.8) and Silas Brown of St. Pius (15:59.7).
“I mean, going into it, I was a little nervous, but I have this confidence,” Romero said. “I knew I was the best, I was the most fit, and it all showed today. I’m pretty excited. I wanted to start on a good note.”
Taos, in its first time in this meet, finished fourth, three points behind Cleveland.
“Sub-15 was the big one for me, and I got that today,” Romero said. “The terrain was a little unsteady, but it all worked itself out. If anyone had the (courage) to go with me, I was gonna make them hurt for it.”
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .