Sandia will be unleashing a lot of talent on the state's largest schools this spring. Contributed photo.
5A Girls
If you were around and paying attention last spring, you may not need to be told that La Cueva won fairly handily over Sandia at the state meet. Alamogordo was more or less alone in third, followed by a tightly-packed cluster in the next few places.
So, clearly, we're going to talk a little about La Cueva, Sandia, and Alamogordo. But, we'll also spend some time reviewing prospects for Eldorado and Sue Cleveland--they are teams that could create some issues at the top this as well.
Last year's winners, La Cueva, figure in the hunt to win it again this year. The Bears are deep, though probably not as deep as last year. They'll need to make some steps forward to make a run at another title, but the program has some history in that direction.
La Cueva figures to lean heavily on middle distance runner Nicole Ihlein, high jumper Rylie Ottman, distance runner Brynn Esplin, and 400 runner Erica Ihlein.
The Bears have other athletes who can score, and high jump seems a particularly deep event for La Cueva, but these are the four on whom the Bears' title hopes are likely to rise and fall. It helps the La Cueva cause that the Bears are not too heavily tied to any small circle of events.
It's a wait-and-see kind of proposition to find out if La Cueva has the legs to populate a nice set of relays this spring. Sometimes you just have to see something on the track before you're sure it's there. This is one of those cases. If La Cueva has the relay legs, they could be more trouble than folks are guessing.
Sandia, last year's runner-up, counters with a solid cast of their own, starting with 5A's top sprinter in Adriana Tatum. Mia Roy is one of the classification's top hurdlers, and Savanna Lawson is among the best hurdlers and jumpers. Tallison Baca is another high-end sprinter. Top end talent is something the Matadors do not lack. Plus, the Matadors return their record-setting relays from last year, giving the rest of the state something to think about all spring long.
The most important question at this point is whether Sandia has enough depth to make a run all the way up to and through the state title. Early indications are that they do. If everyone stays healthy and performs at indicated levels, they should be a considerable force.
Alamogordo has a decent list of potential state scoring athletes from last year, but being the state's high school most closely associated with a major military base means you typically have a few moving in and a few moving out. It's not clear how all that will impact the Tigers this spring, but it shouldn't take us too long into the season to get a decent read on that.
Between Gwenyverre Payton and Sierra Lessentine, the wood and iron (and maybe a little synthetic material these days, too) group at AHS seems very well established. There's a bit of a tradition here with throws.
Sprinter Justyse Martin is the best of the rest, at least based on last year's performances. Yet, as good as the throws and sprints are at Alamogordo, the Tigers will likely need to develop more balance to make a serious state title run.
Cleveland was well back in the pack at state last year, but you never simply count on the Storm ending up back in the pack.
Cleveland has a very competitive group returning in hurdler Hannah Kiess, distance runner Leah Futey (a cross country state champion!), and high jumper Makayla Stephens. But, like Alamorgordo, they need more representation across the spectrum of events, and perhaps particularly so in the sprints.
Eldorado figures to lean heavily on the distance group of Jasmine Turtle-Morales, Laurynn Sisneros, Madeleine Velasquez, and Susanna Wollard that carried them to a state cross country title, but it's not clear yet where all the rest of the necessary points will be coming from. Track is a bit more diverse than cross country.
Olivia Mikaelian adds a critical presence in the throws. And, Velasquez may see more time at the pole vault than in distance events. Still, the Eagles could make good use of another potential state scorer or two.