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Rendon Kuykendall becomes first Hope Christian boys XC runner to win Gatorade award
Sophomore Rendon Kuykendall helped the Hope Christian Huskies claim their first-ever boys cross country team state title and also won an individual state title last month. (Credit: @_NMAA/Twitter)

Rendon Kuykendall becomes first Hope Christian boys XC runner to win Gatorade award

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (BVM) — Rendon Kuykendall helped the Hope Christian boys cross country team make history last month when the Huskies captured the program’s first-ever state title and became the first team other than Los Alamos or 15-time champion Albuquerque Academy to claim the Class 4A title in 24 years. But the star sophomore runner might just be getting started in terms of what he can accomplish as an individual.

Kuykendall, who placed first in Class 4A with a time of 15 minutes and 17.84 seconds, was named the Gatorade New Mexico Boys Cross Country Player of the Year on Thursday, becoming the first Hope Christian athlete to win the award in his sport. Kuykendall won the state meet by 10.53 seconds over teammate Eric Scharton, who was followed by another teammate, Cade Martin, as the Huskies accounted for the top three individual finishes in the dominant championship performance.

Kuykendall was also New Mexico’s fastest finisher at the prestigious Desert Twilight Festival and Kokopelli Invitational held last fall while the New Mexico Activities Association was forced to delay the start of the high school cross country season. 

“Rendon is a model leader in our program and has been, even as a freshman,” Hope Christian head cross country coach Shane Cleveland said in a Gatorade press release.  “I can always count on him to be at every single practice rain or shine. We are a blessed staff to have a fine young man such as Rendon in our program.” 

Hope Christian will have the luxury of watching Kuykendall run for the program for two more years. Already ranked as one of the top runners in the country for the Class of 2023, Kuykendall has likely only scratched the surface of his potential.