Niles Thomas is a mere 5-foot-4 and 116 pounds, but he is a giant in New Mexico cross country.
The
Miyamura (Gallup) junior has run in eight invitationals this fall and won them all. He has set meet and course records in most - or all - of them. No one has come closer than 10 seconds, or 50 meters. Though he will be running in the Class 5A state meet Saturday morning at Rio Rancho High, he already has beaten the top runners in Class 5A and 6A.
Niles Thomas, Miyamura
Courtesy photo
His biggest challenge may come from
Aaron Valenzuela, a senior from
Belen.
He exploded onto the scene in the season-opening Lobo Invitational by winning against a premier field in 16 minutes, 3 seconds, and never has looked back.
Miyamura coach Robert Torres revealed that at first he had not planned to enter the meet, which annually is a big measuring stick for the season. However, he finally changed his mind and said, "Well, heck, let's give it a shot. All the top runners were there.
"Three-fourths into the thing, I told him, 'Niles, let's get it done. You can win this thing.' His reaction to me was 'OK' and away he goes."
Thomas told MaxPreps, "I'm really confident that I can win and be the best in New Mexico. It feels pretty good (to be the story of the year in the state), because I have worked really hard and hard work pays off."
His running style is to stick with the pack for about one-half mile to "see how they fill in, then it's 'See you guys later,'" he laughed.
It's not surprising that the Patriots' star is having great success, because he comes from a family of distance runners.
He explained, "All of my dad's (Arick Thomas) family are runners. They won a lot of state championships in Arizona. He didn't put that much pressure on me to be a runner."
Thomas was running track for Gallup Middle School as an eighth-grader when high school coach Torres watched him in a meet. He quickly saw potential and moved his youngster to his varsity at mid-season.
"It was a hard decision to leave my teammates, but it brought great things into my life," Thomas said.
He finished that spring by placing 16th in the 3,200-meter race at the state meet and just missed qualifying in the 1,600.
Without any summer workouts, he moved into cross country for the first time as a freshman and finished 15th in the state meet. In track he placed third in the 1,600 and 10th in the 3,200.
Before his sophomore year he began summer workouts to be better prepared for his second year of cross country. It paid off with a third-place finish in the Class 4A (now 5A) state meet. He qualified in three events for the state track meet that spring, placing third in the 800 and 1,600, and seventh in the 3,200.
Entering his junior year, his career-best times are 1:56 for the 800, 4:25 for the 1,600 and 9:53 for the 3,200.
Nothing Thomas accomplishes surprises Torres, who related: "I told him from the very beginning that he was going to be great as a junior and senior. He's one of the hardest workers that we've had and a great example to our team."
His prediction for Saturday?
Torres replied, "I think Niles at state probably will hit 15:30. If he sees someone close, he could hit 15:15."
Interestingly, Thomas said he thinks he will run a 15:30, which is his best so far this year, but his goal has been 15:15. He might reach that 15:15 goal over the 3.1-mile course "if I go out and try to kill myself," he laughed.
Thomas carries a 3.7 GPA and is starting to get college letters. He projects "10 more years of running. It could take me places and I'll just enjoy it."
