The Cleveland grandstands afford a nice view of the excitement on the track whenever Cleveland hosts a meet. Photo by Nick Martinez.
In New Mexico track & field, all roads go through Cleveland. On this early spring morning in northern Rio Rancho, the greater Albuquerque Metro track season was ready to commence at Sue Cleveland High School. After a week of sunshine and warm weather, clouds and winds were present to remind us that a spring storm is always brewing.
The defending champion Cleveland Storm served as gracious hosts, and today they flexed their collective muscle en route to handily winning both team titles. The Cleveland boys tallied 133.5 points to claim their team title, with Cibola in the runner-up position (81 pts), and Volcano Vista in third (49 points). The 112 points tallied by the Cleveland girls easily turned aside La Cueva in second (76.5 points), and Los Alamos third (59 points).
Among the early-season competitors, many of the 2012 All-State returnees were in attendance, each eager to solidify their state rankings and maybe surprise a coach or two with their newfound improvement. These performances were sprinkled throughout the day, each impressive in its own right.
Quick Highlights:
3200m (Girls)
On this day, events started out with the 3200m girls race. All-State honorees Teresa Sandoval (Los Alamos) used a patient and steady assault to overtake Elisa Woody (Volcano Vista) to win the race with a state qualifying time of 12:14. Elisa Woody followed close behind with a time of 12:16.
100m Hurdles (Girls)
In front of the beautiful Cleveland grandstands, Stephanie Brener (La Cueva) swiftly cleared the hurdles to finish in 15.60, with Laura Wendelberger (Los Alamos) finishing in second at 16.15. The mark established Brener as a state qualifier and the early favorite in 5A.
300m Hurdles (Girls)
This race became a duel between La Cueva’s Brener and Los Alamos’ Laura Wendelberger. Brener was the early aggressor, and burned brightly over the first five hurdles. In the final 100m, however, Wendelberger sneaked up and used a final surge on the 7th hurdle to overtake Brener, win the early season showdown, and even up the series between the two. Final times were 48.21 for Wendelbergerand 48.75 for Brener, both state qualifying marks.
800m Relay (Girls)
Cleveland powered away from the field, as their anchor Elicia Gallegos cruised home to finish in 1:46.
Discus (Girls)
Impressive showing by Akuadasuo Ezenyilimba (La Cueva), her winning heave blasted to a distance of 121-2, followed by Jaden Ortiz 119-1 (Sandia) and Alex Winebark 115-6 (Cleveland). All three girls easily bettered the 5A state-qualifying standard.
Discus & Shot Put (Boys)
Volcano Vista’s Mike Budick claimed the blue ribbon in the discus with a winning toss of 138-1, and he was a double winner in the shot put. Budick’s winning heave was recorded at 48-10. Both throws qualified Budick for the state championship meet.
Javelin (Boys)
Christopher Garcia (Cibola) outclassed the field with the only state-qualifying throw, winning with a final distance of 163-10.
1600m (Boys)
This race was impressively raced with a wire-to-wire victory for Sean Reardon (Los Alamos) in a time of 4:27. Reardon was in a small pack at the 800m mark and clocked 2:16. He then unleashed a long sprint to finish his final lap in 61.2 seconds and claim the victory. As Reardon sprinted along the backstretch, Cleveland Coach Kenny Henry was overheard to remark, “Wooo, that boy can put his feet down.” Henry is qualified, as few other people in New Mexico are, to speak on that particular subject.
1600m (Girls)
Reigning 5A state champion Malia Gonzales opened her season with an aggressive opening lap of 1:13, but quickly grabbed her side and noticeably slowed over the remainder of the race. Sensing the opportunity, Mikayla Pulliam (Los Alamos) seized control and ran a beautiful race to finish in 5:31. Amanda Mercer (Los Alamos) also passed Gonzales to finish second overall with a state qualifying time of 5:33.9, Gonzales struggled home in third with a time of 5:44.
1600m Relay (Girls)
Cleveland claimed another relay, and their stellar anchor Elicia Gallegos powered home to finish in 4:05.64. Their time was a state qualifier, and a fine early season mark that was twelve seconds faster than second place Volcano Vista.
1600m Relay (Boys)
The boys of Cleveland capped a terrific all-around performance with a state qualifying wining time of 3:26.21. Volcano Vista was the runner-up, finishing in 3:32.66. While the 3:32 was a bit shy of the state-qualifying standard, it earned valuable team points nevertheless.