Cibola sweeps Yuma County District Cross Country Championships

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - Cibola High School continued its dominance at the Yuma County District Cross Country Championships, sweeping the boys and girls team titles while Gio Cabrera and Bella Ochoa claimed individual championships at West Wetlands Park.

Cibola's boys entered the meet having won 14 consecutive district championships. Cabrera helped extend that streak, pulling away from the field in the final stretch to win the 2026 boys individual title in 17 minutes, 27 seconds.

Cibola sophomore Manuel Mendivil finished second with a time of 17:32, followed by Kofa senior Emiliano Martinez in third, three seconds later.

Cabrera said he was proud to see his work pay off.

"It feels good to get the job done. I honestly put in the work for these kind of events. I always expect myself to do the most I can, but you cannot always be perfect about it. Just do what you can," Cabrera said.

Withe the teams performance, Cibola's boys team captured its 15th consecutive district championship, continuing one of the area's most impressive runs of success.

On the girls side, Cibola reclaimed the team title after Kofa ended the Raiders' 12-year championship streak last season.

Senior Bella Ochoa led the way, running out front throughout the race before crossing the finish line with a time of 20:29 to claim the girls individual championship.

Her teammate Maliyah Willis finished second, about a minute later, while Kofa's Esther Taylor took third with a time of 22:37.

Ochoa said the victory was especially meaningful after an ankle injury disrupted one of her previous races during her sophomore year.

"I'm very proud about myself, and we have an amazing coaching staff and coaches who believe in me and who've trusted me in this process," Ochoa said. "I believe it was my sophomore year where I had to stop my race because I rolled my ankle, and that kind of messed up my head. So this has been a big thing for me. I've been wanting to do this for a while, since my sophomore year."

The girls team title marked Cibola's 13th championship in the past 14 years, bringing the trophy back to the Raiders after last season’s loss to Kofa.

With the district championships complete, some runners will turn their attention to sectionals, where they will look to qualify for the state meet.