Harris Hicks is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Peoria High School for AZPreps365.com

LAVEEN-- The Peoria High School boys and girls cross country team ran in the 5K Division III sectionals at Cesar Chavez Park on Tuesday. The girls finished eighth out of 13 schools, and the guys finished last. 

The Panther boys squad struggled to make up for the loss of its fastest runner, Estaban Quinonez, who was out of the race due to Covid protocols. 

Without Quinonez, Peoria had to rely on freshman Christopher Ramirez as its next man up. Ramirez placed 57th out of 90 runners, finishing with a team-best time of 21:24.4 over the 5-K (3.1 mile) course. Ramirez was Peoria's male runner to place in the top 60. 

"Chris has grown a lot this year," said first-year head coach Beatrice Martinez. "He's the tunes of our team, quite literally. He's always holding his guitar." 

When Ramirez isn't running cross country or holding his guitar, he's often playing video games with his friends.

"My friends and I just like to hang out," said Ramirez. "Play Call of Duty, and talk to girls."

At that moment, one of his teammates felt compelled to interrupt Ramirez. "Talk to girls?!" he said. "I think you mean to attempt to talk to girls." 

That person is fellow freshman Rolando Quinonez. Having posted a time of 24:18, Quinonez may not be Peoria's fastest harrier, but he is nothing short of comedic relief. 

"He's hilarious," said coach Martinez. "Off the course, he's goofy and sarcastic." 

Peoria also got help from sophomore Hunter Bartel, who finished 63rd in the race, at 22:06.

"Hunter is always willing to do whatever task," said Martinez. "The entire team looks up to him." 

Rounding out the field, Jackson Hein finished in 80th place at 25:05. Zachary Isley and Peyton Jackson finished in a virtual tie at 25:09, placing 81st and 82nd. 

In terms of aggregate average time, the Peoria boys team finished roughly six minutes behind the winners, Shadow Mountain High School, which posted an average time of 17:26. 

Regarding the girls, Peoria finished with an average time of 27:54, placing nearly four minutes behind first-place Paradise Honors High School, which posted an average time of 24:04. 

The Panther girls were led by sophomore Natalie Cook, who finished 18th in the race with a time of 24:15. "Natalie does it all," said Martinez. "She works her tail off with us at 5 A.M. and she practices cheer until 6 P.M." 

Also placing in the top 30 for Peoria was freshman phenom Ruby Johnson, who finished in 25:51, 27th out of 72 runners. 

"Ruby's our number one," said head coach Beatrice Martinez. "She's so dedicated and determined. She'll come to the track and run before every race." 

On the course, Ruby Johnson is in her own echelon. Her average time sits at an uber-fast 20:35, faster than 51% of the boy runners finishing times in the race on Tuesday and :49 faster than any of Peoria's boy runners. 

But according to coach Martinez, Johnson could be described as a "complete goofball" off the course. 

"I remember on the way to a meet that was three hours away, she did karaoke the entire time," said Coach Martinez. "When Shakira is on, she will jam it out. She's hilarious and so outgoing." 

As for the remainder of the Lady Panthers, Alyssa Rodriguez placed 49th, finishing in 28:39. Kelsey Mendez was not far behind, placing 55th at 30:01. Arleen Carreno also placed in the top 60, placing 59th at 30:44. Ayana Gill ranked 70th at 40:03. 

The Panthers' girls team missed one of its fastest runners, Mallory Saucedo, in Tuesday's race due to Covid protocols. 

The Peoria Panthers will look to redeem themselves on November 13th at the Division III state meet.