Gianna Rahmer, an eighth-grader, wins state high school cross country title in record time
Nov. 11—Gianna Rahmer was a star everywhere she went this fall.
She can claim official superstar status now.
On Saturday morning, New Mexico's brightest high school cross country star — who doesn't even yet attend high school — blazed her most spectacular trail yet.
Rahmer, the eighth-grader from Hoover Middle School who runs for Eldorado High School, completed a perfect, and perfectly sensational, season at the Class 5A state meet at Albuquerque Academy, romping to the championship with a time never seen before at any girls state competition.
According to record keeping by the New Mexico Activities Association, no girl at state had ever broken the magical 17-minute threshold at a state meet, although there is this important qualifier: the length and difficulties (topography, for example) of state courses have varied since the first official NMAA state meet in 1979.
Rahmer did a little celebratory hop after crossing the finish line inside Richard A. Harper Memorial Stadium at the Academy. Why? Because her winning time was 16 minutes, 58.01 seconds. Sub-17 minutes. Almost unheard of in New Mexico.
The runner-up, Ariana Thiel-Hadjilambrinos of La Cueva, finished in 19:02.46 and hadn't even entered the Harper stadium when Rahmer was already comfortably celebrating her victory.
"I'm so so so happy," Rahmer said. "I'm so proud of myself."
Rahmer's previous personal record was 17:44 — on this same Academy course three weeks ago that also established the course record at Academy. She shattered that mark on Saturday with a brilliant performance that earned her some huge applause as she reached the line.
"That was definitely a surprise," she said, smiling, talking about her winning time. "It's a huge PR (personal record). I was very, very surprised."
Rahmer's effort was phenomenal; her time would have placed her 26th in the 5A boys race.
The next-fastest girl in any classification on Saturday was St. Michael's eighth-grader Chloe Grieco, whose first-place time was 18:15.24. There were, in fact, three eighth-graders who won individual titles on Saturday, with Oak Grove Classical Academy's Olivia Marquez the third.
But neither Marquez nor Grieco captivated crowds this season, or on Saturday, the way Rahmer did, and she accomplished something rare insomuch as she became a must-watch athlete who doesn't belong to a major team sport. She already is easily identifiable by her bright pink headband, but her talents made her a state champion.
For comparative purposes, Leah Futey of Cleveland, who is running for Syracuse University, won state last year on this same Academy course with a winning time of 18:17.41. Longtime Academy coach Adam Kedge said last month that Rahmer was the fastest girl he'd seen in New Mexico in 20 to 30 years.
Rahmer won every race she entered this season. Next August, she'll officially become a high school student.
"I'm really proud of myself and I'm really glad this season went how it went," she said.
