Lauren Martinez cleared 12-2 in the pole vault and smashed a meet record in the process. Photo by Blake Wood.
Beautiful weather finally greeted the Albuquerque track & field faithful, as teams from around the state gathered at the Albuquerque Academy campus for the most competitive regular season meet of the year.
The Richard Harper Memorial Track Meet showcased many of the greatest stars in NM Track & Field. Most importantly, the Harper Invite afforded fans, coaches, and athletes the opportunity to see marquee matchups in every single event. The traditional ABQ powers were in attendance, and were fiercely challenged by teams from Los Alamos, Piedra Vista, Los Lunas, and Santa Fe. With about 20 teams in attendance, the 2013 Richard Harper Memorial Track Meet provided the final showdown for most teams within the 2A-5A classification brackets.
Final scores showed that Cleveland is the king in boys track & field, easily winning with a team score of 106 points. The most interesting portion of the team scores happened in the 2-6 range, as the best 4A & 5A schools were separated by only 8.5 points. That’s right, the potential podium arrangement for 4A and 5A teams will likely be decided by a slim margin.
Sometimes, with a team like the Cleveland boys, its great to watch a mighty team establish dominance and win with incredible depth and talent. It can also be fun to watch the breakthroughs and matchups that split points among everyone else, and see the other fantastic teams battle through a highly competitive meet. We were lucky fans to see both, and it bodes well for the State Championship meet, as high drama will follow these competitors.
The team battle among the girls teams was also hotly contested, as Eldorado prevailed to win with 79 points, over a La Cueva team that scored 75 points. These two teams were separated by .5 points at last year’s state meet, and that difference will be similar territory for their meetings over the final three weeks of the championship season. 4A power Los Alamos finished third with 52 points, narrowly edging out Piedra Vista in fourth place with 49 points. That could foreshadow an interesting 4A showdown as well.
Meet Highlights:
Field Events
Discus
Akuadasuo Ezenyilimba (La Cueva) had a big breakthrough, as her winning heave reached 138’4” and she easily became the new overall state leader. Consistent thrower Jaden Ortiz (Sandia), continued her stellar season with a second place toss of 126’4”, her second best throw of the season.
Javelin
(Boys) Christopher Garcia (Cibola) led the charge with a winning throw of 176’7”. Garcia beat a very solid field, as Tanner Kattenhorn (Eldorado) was second with a throw of 171’3”, and Mick Budick (Volcano Vista) finished third with a distance of 171’0”. The entire scoring field of finishers, plus one, bettered the state qualifying mark. Even seventh-place finisher Beau Clafton (Piedra Vista) qualified with a throw of 162’4”.
Pole Vault
(Girls) On the girls side, this looked like it was going to be a great matchup between Lauren Martinez (Eldorado) and Merica Valdez (Rio Rancho). However, Martinez easily soared to a state leading height of 12’2”, while Valdez cleared 10’6” to finish in second place.
(Boys) In the boys field, Connor Schmidt (Academy) won by clearing 14’6”, as the next 4 finishers all bettered the state qualifying standard. Anthony King (Highland) served a strong Highland team with his runner-up performance of 14’0”. Kent Jones (Sandia) cleared 13’0” to finish in third place.
Long Jump
Kyra Mohns (Eldorado) 17’0”, Laura Wendelberger (Los Alamos) 16’11.5”, and Akeisha Ayanniyi (Santa Fe) 16’10” competed to the very end. Each girl jumped to a state qualifying mark, and their results hovered around the vaunted 17’0” distance, suggesting that they will be major players in the state championship meet.
Track Events:
110 Hurdles:
A distinct lesson in dominance was displayed by Stephanie Brener (La Cueva) and Mustafa Mudada (Highland). Brener outclassed the field and ran a 5A state leading time of 14.97 in the prelims, and followed up the performance with another scintillating victory in the finals. Mudada had a much tougher field, as he battled Parker Jones (Cleveland), and Noah Weig-Pickering (Academy) to the tape. Mudada edged the competition to win in 14.30.
200m Dash
(Girls) Zhianna Flores (Piedra Vista) focused her efforts on the short sprints, and did so with a large margin of victory in the half lapper. Flores won with a time of 25.47, outpacing Alexis Lafave (Los Lunas) in the process.
300m Hurdles
(Boys) This event wasn’t so much a race, as it was performance art. Mudada (Highland) was in supreme form as he jettisoned the field en route to a state leading time of 38.24.
(Girls) Laura Wenddelberger (Los Alamos) battled a tough field to win with a season best time of 45.93. Kyra Mohns (Eldorado) was second in 46.75, while Stephanie Brener (La Cueva) was third in 46.84.
400m Dash
(Girls) Jessie Hix (Eldorado) continued her fantastic season, easily outpacing the field as she ran home nearly three seconds ahead of the nearest finisher, Kaylee Amershek (Volcano Vista). Hix’s winning time of 57.40 is the fastest among all NM athletes. Hix is currently the top ranked 400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m runner in 5A.
(Boys) Assad Rizvi (La Cueva) battled teammate Randy Dias (La Cueva) down the stretch. For once, Dias actually tightened up over the last 80m, as Shawn Prince (Highland) 49.56, and Camden Davis (Cleveland) 49.87, pressed late to eclipse the 50 second barrier. Rizvi’s winning time of 49.11 is the fastest time among all NM athletes, and sets up next week’s Metro Championship 400m race quite well.
800m:
(Girls) The first showdown between Jessie Hix (Eldorado) and Hattie Schunk (La Cueva) did not disappoint, as each girl ran a seasonal best time. Hix led Schunk at the 400m in 1:06, and Dix sprinted aggressively over the final 300m to pull away and win in 2:14.18. Schunk finished second in 2:19.37, and Carisma Lovato (Valencia) finished third in 2:21.72.
(Boys) Randy Dias (La Cueva) led wire-to-wire as he powered through the halfway point in 56 seconds. Frankie Scorfina (Cibola), Adam Monroe (Eldorado), and Taylor Potter (Eldorado) gamely challenged, but Dias prevailed to win in 1:56.59. Scorfina (1:58.58), Monroe (1:58.99), and Potter (2:00.00) all bettered the state qualifying standard.
1600m:
(Boys)The boys 1600m was a classic display of David vs. Goliath. Luis Martinez (Cleveland), the reigning distance king, squared off against a stable of all state runners, led by Sean Reardon (Los Alamos). Reardon challenged early and often, even leading through the 800m in 2:10. However, the final lap from Martinez is often a whirlwind, and he quickly accelerated in the bell lap and kicked home in 61 seconds to finish in 4:17.41. Reardon gamely pushed, and finished in 4:22.22.
(Girls)The girls race was similar, as Hattie Schunk (La Cueva), entered as the fastest seed. However, this race was led by 8th grader Melina McCLure (Academy), and Rachel Fledderman (Sandia Prep). The girls quickly opened the first lap in 1:15, but that only seemed to take the steam out of their legs. Schunk waited patiently until the final lap to start accelerating, and Fledderman was in her sights along the backstretch. Schunk’s 1:14 final lap bested a solid field, and Noel Prandoni (Santa Fe) closed late to finish second in 5:21.80. Fledderman was third in 5:23.23. In the deepest field of the entire meet, the top 10 finishers all eclipsed their state qualifying standards.
Top Performers:
Jessie Hix (Eldorado) Won the 400m (57.40) and 800m (2:14.18) races with state leading performances, and anchored winning 4x400m relay.
Kyra Mohns (Eldorado) Won the long jump (17’0”), second in the 300m Hurdles
Lauren Martinez (Eldorado) Won the Pole Vault (12’2”), and debuted with a second place finish in the Triple Jump (34’1”).
Hattie Schunk (La Cueva) Won the 1600m (5:18), second in the 800m (2:19), and ran a 59.9 400m leg in the 1600m Sprint Medley.
Stephanie Brener (La Cueva) Won the 100m Hurdles, and was third in the 300m Hurdles (46.84).
Akuadasuo Ezenyilimba (La Cueva) Won the discus (138’4”), and finished third in the Shot Put (35’5”).
Laura Wendelberger (Los Alamos) Won the 300m Hurdles (45.93), second in the 100m Hurdles (16.28), second in the Long Jump (16’11.5”), finished third in High Jump (5’0”).
Rachel Fledderman (Sandia Prep) Winner of the 3200m (11:33), and third place finisher in the 1600m (5:23).
Boys
Luis Martinez (Cleveland) Won the 3200m (9:22)& 1600m (4:17) races with scintillating finishing kicks over the final 400m.
Randy Dias (La Cueva) Undefeated 800m winner (1:56), and 4th place finish in 400m (50.18).
Mustafa Mudada (Highland) Winner of the 110m Hurdles (14.30), and 300m Hurdles (38.24), runner-up performance in the 200m (21.87). Also finished sixth in the Long Jump (20’6”).
Assad Rizvi (La Cueva) Winner of the 400m (49.11)
Sean Reardon (Los Alamos) Runner-up performances in the 1600m (4:22) and 3200m (9:42).
Kale Brown (Academy) Winner of the Triple Jump (43’4.75”), and third place finisher in the Long Jump (21’3.5”)
