Owen Burton won last year's 1A Boys pole vault under adverse conditions.
New Mexico 1A Boys appeared this spring to be a very tight race at the top between Logan, Melrose, and Fort Sumner. A bit back, but potentially in the hunt, were Cimarron and Springer.
Below, we take a lot at each of those five teams and the seniors behind whom each team figured to make their bid for state meet hardware.
Teams are treated in alphabetical order.
Cimarron - The Rams have long been one of the top teams in New Mexico 1A. This year hurdler/pole vaulter Steven Mulkey figured to be the senior who would lead the charge for Cimarron. It would require a considerable stirring of the forces, but that is what senior leadership is all about.
Fort Sumner - The Foxes have long been known as a girls powerhouse in New Mexico. Last spring, it was the boys who stepped up and took center stage. There could have been more of that this year, though it would likely have been more difficult this year with losses to graduation last year. Still, the senior class had some nice potential state meet scoring members in pole vaulter Benjamin McKnight, sprinter/jumper Izaiah Padilla, thrower J. D. Candela. If this group stepped up, Fort Sumner was once again going to be very difficult to beat.
Logan - Logan, too, showed a lot of promise for this spring. Among the top potential there was sprinter/javelin throw Jantzen Paris and sprinter/pole vaulter Steven Coronado. The ability to multi-task between events is a much bigger deal in small schools than large, and Logan seemed ready to do it well.
Melrose - On paper, Melrose was likely the top threat to topple Fort Sumner this spring. So far as seniors go, however, it was likely to fall to sprinter Tristan Sena to get things done. Sena likely would have been a key part of some strong Melrose relays as well. Look for Melrose to be very much back in the hunt next spring as what appeared to be something of a younger cast for this spring is a year older.
Springer - The Red Devils came into this spring led by sprinter/hurdler/pole vaulter Owen Burton. Read above under Logan about the importance of being able to multi-task in 1A track and field. Springer had some other talent to bring to the table, but Burton's leadership as a senior figured to be critical.