Jasmine Todd dominated her second indoor meet in as many attempts on Saturday night in Albuquerque. Colorado Track XC file photo.
Any time Krista Armstead laces up her spikes, it’s must-see track and field. To the casual New Mexican observer of the sport, it’s an oddity to see another athlete even close to the Sandia Prep sprinter/hurdler, who is arguably the state’s most dominant T&F athlete, regardless of event group, classification, or gender.
So you can imagine the sense of surprise at the Great Southwest Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, when Armstead finished fifth in the 200m dash.
Armstead was by no means overmatched--she competed in the fastest heat of the event, and finished in the thick of the race. Nor was she off her game--her time of 25.72 would have won last May’s outdoor state championships by more than half a second in her own AAA classification. Rather, the result spoke to the caliber of competition at the event, which, in its third year, has the appearance of a fledgling super-meet.
The women’s 200 alone featured nine individuals under the Milesplit national elite standard, including runner-up Christine Scott from Mullen HS, CO, (24.74) and champion Jasmine Todd from Chandler HS, AZ, (24.43).
Todd was perhaps the brightest star of the evening, claiming four event titles in four hours. In addition to her victory in the 200, she also claimed the 60m dash (7.64) and dominated the long jump and triple jump (19-7 and 39-10.75, respectively), winning both by margins of greater than two feet.
The long distance events featured a pair of impressive double-victories. Heather Bates, running unattached but from Discovery Canyon HS, CO, led wire-to-wire in first the mile and later the 800m run, with slick winning times of 5:08.18 and 2:22.60.
Minutes after Bates completed her double, Nick Hartle from Centennial HS, NV matched the accomplishment on the boys' side. In his second, and perhaps more impressive event, Hartle set a break-neck pace early in the 800m run, coming through the 400m mark in 54 seconds and was able to hold on for the victory in 1:56.18. Earlier in the evening, he had employed a similar strategy in the mile, where he ran his opening 400 in 60 flat before returning to earth and “settling” for a victory in 4:27.50.
Another fantastic performance came in the waning minutes of the meet when Scott Marshall (unattached – Desert Vista HS, AZ) cleared 15-0 in the pole vault on his third attempt to edge his teammate, Matt Arseneau, who was already over a PR of 14-6.
In addition to the elite, national-caliber competition, the meet also featured a number of crowd-pleasing extracurricular events, including an age group 4 x 200 relay, a special Olympics 60m dash that drew the crowd’s most enthusiastic applause, and the 4th annual ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’ coaches mile where meet announcer Jeff Turcotte broke out a red pitchfork and removed the last place coach after each lap. Truly, the event was more than just an opportunity for athletes to compete, but also a display of community and sportsmanship that fit perfectly in line with what athletes, coaches, parents and fans have come to expect from Great Southwest Track and Field.
Other noteworthy event winners included: Tony Carodine (Widefield HS, CO) in the boys’ LJ and TJ (the 23-9 in the long jump extends a personal best by several inches and moves him a few notches up in the national rankings), Ben Trotter (Mountain Pointe HS, AZ) in the boys’ 60 and the 200, Bianca Finn (Chandler, AZ) in the girls’ shot put, and Sean Reardon (Los Alamos, NM) in the boys’ 3200.