At this point, we do not appear to have a rousing contest for the 5A boys team title shaping up on Friday and Saturday, but there will be plenty of high-quality track and field to be enjoyed just the same.
If you're looking for the team with the horsepower to push Cleveland off in a ditch somewhere, that team doesn't yet exist. Cleveland figures to be piling up points right and left with high end seeds like Luis Martinez (1600, 3200), Brandon Lawrence (400), Parker Jones (100, 200, 110H), and Nainoa Biggs (TJ). Oh, and the Storm owns the top seed in every relay except the 4x400. And, in that relay, Highland would do well to consider their lead on Cleveland less than completely safe.
It's entirely possible that Cleveland scores points in every event. This team's breadth is matched only by its depth.
The battle for second, however, could become a very spirited one between La Cueva, Highland, and Cibola.
La Cueva may have the most individual point-scoring options of the three, but they need Randy Dias, Assad Rizvi, and Jesse Arroyo to come up big.
Highland's point production figures to come from pole vaulter Anthony King and hurdler Mustafa Mudada. Actually, "hurdler" is a bit of a misnomer for Mudada; if it's an event that involves moving down a lane or a runway at a high rate of speed, Mudada does it.
Cibola, like La Cueva, has a lot of guys who can score points, but appears to be bringing a slightly stronger set of relays to the state meet than La Cueva. And that one fact alone could turn the trophy race in their favor. Throws should be good to Cibola, with Christopher Garcia, Juan Pimentel, and Terrence Bell each going in with high seeds.
With solid weekends mostly free of lapses, Rio Rancho, Alamogordo, and Hobbs could also find themselves in the trophy hunt.
For the girls, team prospects look a lot more competitive.
You can still start out with Cleveland as your favorite, but La Cueva and Eldorado aren't buying any of that. It has every possibility of becoming an outstanding three-team race to the finish. If it does get that far, all three teams are qualified in the 4x400 at under four minutes, so it could be very exciting.
Cleveland will look for big point production from Elicia Gallegos (200, 400), Malia Gonzales (distance), Nia Powdrell (sprints, long jump), Alex Winebark (throws), and a very tough set of relays. The Storm can absorb one or two athletes having an off weekend, though they would undoubtedly prefer not to.
La Cueva gets big lifts from thrower Akuadasuo Ezenyilimba, distance runner Hattie Schunk, and hurdler Stephanie Brener. So far as these three are concerend, there is no margin of error for LC. Relays at La Cueva are essentially every bit as solid as the relays at Cleveland. Expect a little gamesmanship, however, between programs as teams play it a little close to the vest about who will and will not be running on any given relay.
Eldorado likewise comes in with high hopes. The big contributor for the Eagles this season has been middle distance freshman Jessie Hix. Hix has the potential to carry this team a good, long way. She'll see her efforts complemented by pole vaulter Lauren Martinez, do-a-little-of-everything Kyra Mohns, and distance types Cassie and Crissey Amberg. To date, Eldorado's relays have not matched up all that well (at least across the board) with the relays of Cleveland and La Cueva, so there will be extra pressure on the Eagles' big-scoring individuals to produce. Thus, Eldorado's place is the title hunt is probably ever-so-slightly more fragile than the places of La Cueva and Eldorado.
But, expect it to be tight and fiercely contested. You know the place you need to be to take it all in. Get the sunscreen on and enjoy all that comes your way!
