It looks like a good, old-fashioned showdown ahead in 4A boys.
On the one hand, you have the reliable stand-bys in Albuquerque Academy. On the other hand, you have a couple of real and dangerous threats emerging in the northwest corner of the state--Piedra Vista and Farmington.
Here's what a virtual meet of season results to-date looks like to 4A boys:
2013 NM HS M Outdoor Track Team Scores
Calculated as of April 11, 2013
These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We took the individual rankings and relay rankings and scored them as a normal meet: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
| 1. | Albuquerque Academy | 97 |
| Andrew Torres (D 10 + S 3 = 13) | ||
| Connor Schmidt (PV 10 = 10) | ||
| Kale Brown (110H 1 + LJ 1.5 + TJ 8 = 10.5) | ||
| Kevin Wyss (3200m 2 = 2) | ||
| Kyle Carrozza (1600m 2 + 3200m 5 = 7) | ||
| Nick Slade (110H 4 + 300H 6 + LJ 1.5 = 11.5) | ||
| Noah Weig-Pickering (110H 10 + HJ 9 = 19) | ||
| Parker Hibbitt (HJ 9 = 9) | ||
| Relay Team (11) | ||
| Stephen Thai (400m 4 = 4) | ||
| 2. | Piedra Vista High School | 85 |
| Beau Clafton (J 10 = 10) | ||
| Harrison Fleming (1600m 1 = 1) | ||
| Kason Wilkinson (S 4 = 4) | ||
| Orion Kaminky (110H 5 + 300H 4 = 9) | ||
| Relay Team (24) | ||
| Troy Young (D 6 + S 8 = 14) | ||
| Ty Murphy (200m 1 + 400m 3 = 4) | ||
| Wyatt Hardy (400m 2 + J 1 = 3) | ||
| Zach Johnson (100m 8 + 200m 8 = 16) | ||
| 3. | Farmington High School | 84.5 |
| Avery Rasher (400m 6 + HJ 3 + LJ 8 = 17) | ||
| Dallin Payne (110H 3 + 300H 8 = 11) | ||
| Jermey Klepac (110H 6 + 200m 4 + 300H 10 + LJ 10 = 30) | ||
| Miguel Andujo (PV 1.5 = 1.5) | ||
| Relay Team (23) | ||
| Taylor Bentley (300H 2 = 2) | ||
| 4. | Los Alamos High School | 84 |
| Brady Stokes (D 4 + J 3 = 7) | ||
| Colin Hemez (3200m 6 = 6) | ||
| Colin Nickless (D 5 = 5) | ||
| Daniel Dunning (110H 2 + TJ 2 = 4) | ||
| Nick Hill (1600m 6 + 3200m 8 = 14) | ||
| Relay Team (11) | ||
| Sean Reardon (1600m 10 + 3200m 10 + 800m 6 = 26) | ||
| Seth Drop (PV 7 = 7) | ||
| Zak Kennison (3200m 4 = 4) | ||
| 5. | St. Pius X High School | 64 |
| Andrew Dominguez (300H 3 = 3) | ||
| Cal Ballou (400m 5 + 800m 1 = 6) | ||
| Christopher Graham (1600m 5 + 800m 10 = 15) | ||
| Issac Sedillos (HJ 3 = 3) | ||
| Marcos Serna (1600m 8 + 3200m 3 + 800m 2 = 13) | ||
| Relay Team (14) | ||
| Steven Duran (400m 10 = 10) | ||
| 6. | Moriarty High School | 55.5 |
| Austin Anaya (3200m 1 + 800m 8 = 9) | ||
| Jake Flaming (HJ 3 = 3) | ||
| Jayson Alexander (LJ 5 = 5) | ||
| Johnny Montano (100m 4 = 4) | ||
| Jonathan Myrick (110H 8 + 300H 5 + PV 1.5 + TJ 4 = 18.5) | ||
| Justin Manning (LJ 4 = 4) | ||
| Relay Team (12) | ||
| 7. | Los Lunas High School | 50 |
| Brandon Brown (TJ 5 = 5) | ||
| Chris Romero (D 3 = 3) | ||
| Greg Wortman (100m 3 = 3) | ||
| Jacob Holland (HJ 3 + LJ 3 + TJ 6 = 12) | ||
| Jaden Torres (400m 1 = 1) | ||
| Jalen Chavez (100m 2 + 200m 5 = 7) | ||
| O'maury Samuels (100m 1 = 1) | ||
| Relay Team (18) | ||
| 7. | Artesia High School | 50 |
| Alex Donaghe (D 2 + J 4 + S 6 = 12) | ||
| Jaron Halsell (PV 7 = 7) | ||
| Josh Gonzales (100m 6 + 400m 8 = 14) | ||
| Relay Team (11) | ||
| Richard Orquiz (S 5 = 5) | ||
| Skyler Powell (300H 1 = 1) | ||
| 9. | Valencia High School | 30 |
| Joshua Burbank (100m 10 + 200m 10 = 20) | ||
| Relay Team (10) | ||
| 10. | Goddard High School | 28 |
| Mason Thomas (800m 5 = 5) | ||
| Nic Aston (J 6 = 6) | ||
| Relay Team (17) | ||
| 11. | Grants High School | 23.5 |
| Cassius Corley (LJ 6 + TJ 10 = 16) | ||
| Keaton Duncan (800m 3 = 3) | ||
| Ryan Fitzpatrick (HJ 3 = 3) | ||
| Tristan Williamson (PV 1.5 = 1.5) | ||
| 12. | Kirtland Central High School | 20 |
| Christian Mackey (D 8 + S 10 = 18) | ||
| Karson Costner (J 2 = 2) | ||
| 13. | Deming High School | 18.5 |
| Eugene Rosenbauer (PV 4.5 = 4.5) | ||
| Ismail Garret (200m 6 = 6) | ||
| Jd Perez (J 8 = 8) | ||
| 14. | Aztec High School | 12.5 |
| Adam Lucero (J 5 + TJ 1 = 6) | ||
| Brad Hardin (S 1 = 1) | ||
| Clay Green (PV 1.5 = 1.5) | ||
| Relay Team (1) | ||
| Wyatt Schleuter (HJ 3 = 3) | ||
| 15. | Capital High School | 8 |
| Hunter Ferguson (100m 5 + 200m 3 = 8) | ||
| 15. | Hershey Miyamura High School | 8 |
| Aj Starkovich (200m 2 = 2) | ||
| Antonio Erriguin (S 2 = 2) | ||
| Niles Thomas (1600m 4 = 4) | ||
| 17. | Santa Teresa High School | 7 |
| David Aldama (D 1 = 1) | ||
| Mariano Gamez (HJ 3 = 3) | ||
| Marlon Barrera (TJ 3 = 3) | ||
| 17. | Belen High School | 7 |
| Tyler Valdez (1600m 3 + 800m 4 = 7) | ||
| 19. | Santa Fe High School | 4.5 |
| Dakota Parke (PV 4.5 = 4.5) | ||
| 20. | Gallup High School | 4 |
|
Relay Team (4) |
On this analysis, it would appear that any of the top four teams taking an injury or two could be in a tough way against the other three. Albuquerque Academy and Piedra Vista have the most breadth of point-scoring ability. Los Alamos and Farmington tend to be a bit more specialized. Breaking things out on a team-by-team basis, we get the following:
Albuquerque Academy - Though traditionally strong in distance, the Chargers don't figure to match the Los Alamos distance point total this spring. If the Chargers claim the top postion, they'll need those distance points from guys like Kyle Carrozza, but they'll also be depending heavily on field events and hurdles--on guys like Noah Wieg-Pickering, Parker Hibbitt, Andrew Torres, Kale Brown, Connor Schmidt, and Nick Slade. You can't win this thing without relays and that's a thought surely not lost in the mastermind of Coach Adam Kedge, but the Chargers haven't developed relays heavily yet. If that part of the picture comes through for AA in the next two or three weeks, you could easily see their lead expanding on the other teams in this hunt.
Piedra Vista - In track, as in cross country, the Panthers are a team on the rise. You never want to discount the impact of the enthusiasm of a team on the rise. PV can hurt you in a lot of ways. Their distance isn't LA solid, but it's better than the team scoring analysis above shows. The trouble with distance at state track, though, is that you can be very good and still not place in the top six. Unlike cross country, all places below six are equal in terms of point value. It would help PV's cause immensely if their distance group is able to put up some points at state. In the meanwhile, however, the key contributions are coming from guys like javelin specialist Beau Claftoon and sprinter Zach Johnson. The Panther relays are looking very strong as well.
Farmington - To the casual observer, at least, the Scorpions may be the most surprising team among the big four, but things are going along nicely at FHS. The sting is back this spring, due to guys like Jermey Klepac, Avery Rasher, and Dallin Payne. The relays are essentially on a par with Piedra Vista. This is a very good team, but probably doesn't have quite the depth that PV or AA has. As such, Farmington will have to put a lot of weight on the shoulders of a few guys. That's a high-risk kind of proposition at a state meet, but you do what you have to do when it's on the line at the big event.
Los Alamos - It's not as if the Hilltoppers have nothing outside of distance, but--let's be frank--Los Alamos has to put up big points in distance to win this thing. Reardon, Hill, Hemez, and Kennison hold a lot of cards for the Hilltoppers. The unfortunate thing for LA is that these guys figure to be competing largely among themselves at 3200 meters. They can't all score 7 or 5 points, and that makes things a bit tougher. Other key pieces for LA include thrower Brady Stokes and pole vaulter Seth Drop. Relays haven't yet been that special for the Hilltoppers. A little relay magic on May 17 and 18 could work wonders for the cause of the green and gold but, like AA, the Hilltoppers haven't quite fully shown that part of their game yet.
St. Pius, Moriarty, Artesia, and Los Lunas are all solid teams but each appear to be a step back or two from the big four. It's worth noting, however, that the performances of middle distance and distance types like Chris Graham, Marcos Serna, and Austin Anaya could have a great deal to do with the final outcome. If these young men come up big at state, it's a bit of bad news for the more distant dependent programs above.