The First Week in April Through the Rear-View Mirror

Gas Capital Relays

You can't be much closer to Texas without being in Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas, but the team score was pretty big just across the border for the Eunice boys. Yet despite piling up 140 points to 87 for second-place Dexter, Eunice only managed to claim three event titles--Greg Mitchell in the 110 hurdles, the 4x200 relay, and Alex Zamora in the discus. This win was built on depth, scoring points in single event.

For the girls, homestanding Jal took the win, Sasha Navarette (long jump, triple jump) and Bailey MacDonald (100 hurdles, pole vault) taking two event titles each.

Meet Results

Lovington Wildcat Relays

Last week, Eric Galindo was making his mark as a sprinter. That accomplished, this week featured the long jump. And, at 22-6, it was a pretty nice feature. Clovis's Eddie Travizo won the 100 and 200 titles, taking up the slack on the track while Galindo was busy at the long jump pit.

Lovington's flying pole vault circus did its thing well, with Ryan Thomas, E. J. Stock, and Ryan Catlett going 1-2-3. the first two both clearing 13-0. That should translate into a few state points for Lovington in another month.

Zach Leyva of Carlsbad pitched the shot 50-10, and Richard Hill, also of Carlsbad, won the javelin at 163-1. Call it a hunch, but I'm thinking the throws coaching at Carlsbad might be a little above average.

For the girls, Maddie McNaughton of Clovis had a nice outing, winning the 1600 in 5:27 and the 3200 in 11:53, but the team's nicest performance may have been a 36-9 in the triple jump by Marivel Garza. It's nice to see some Clovis results come through here for once. Clovis is clearly one of the top girls' teams in New Mexico.

Miyamura Patriot Invitational

It's an interesting day when Chinle's Rolonda Jumbo comes to town, but we'll try to keep this about the New Mexico participants. 

I'm not sure how often something like this happens, but the girls' 100 meters was a 1-2 sweep by 8th graders, Natalie DePauli of Miyamura and Taea Hill of Ramah, 13.31 and 13.52, respectively. A hats-off to the youth movement in western New Mexico.

Miyamura's own Kishoun Woods won the 200 and 400, but the only other multiple event winner I could find from NM were Gallup's Tyler Stewart, who won both boys' hurdle events and Rehoboth's Brooke Hamilton, who took both girls' hurdle titles.

Moriarty Invitational

Among the other things Michelle Traynham does well, add her to state title consideration in the javelin. 134-0 is a very nice mark.

Nicole Jenrette of Los Lunas is a name we've mentioned here before, too. This week, she took the state lead in the high jump to 5-6.5. Jenrette also edged Moriarty's Erica Forrest for the long jump title.

Goddard's Alysha Bolduc is quickly making a name for herself in the hurdles. This week's chapter in the book was a 15.40 in the 100s and a 46.32 in the 300s. You'll probably not be surprised to learn she wasn't seriously threatened in either event.

On the boys' side, Artesia picked up a nice team title on the strength of Josh Gonzales winning the 400, Alex Bradbury the 1600, Pedro Lima the 110 hurdles, Xavier Moncada the high jump, Alex Donaghe the shot and discus. It's the sign of a very good team when you're able to spread the wealth around in that fashion.

Rio Rancho Invitational

Don't be fooled by the name, this one was hosted at the UNM track and field facility. Really big marks included a 14-6 in the pole vault by James Ritter of Aztec and a 155-11 by Hope's Jonathan Millar in the discus. We've been mentioning Millar's name a lot in these segments. That speaks well for his consistency. 

The girls 800 came down to two very good times and one very close finish, with Erika Nelson of Hope Christian edging Jessica Kresl of Aztec, 2:25.81 to 2:25.84. Del Norte's Jackson Thomas and Marissa Nathe of St. Pius X had no peers, nor any even close, in the 1600s. East Mountain's Caroline Kaufman took home a narrow victory against big-school competition in the 3200. 

In what's becoming a long list of nice marks by Aztec, add in the long jump and triple jump titles for Brett Moss, 21-10.5 and 43-8.5. Moss was definitely the name to have in the horizontal jumps, as Hope's Kearney Moss swept the girls titles. I don't know, but I'm presuming no relation here.

Tularosa Rose Relays

Yes, that Sprint Medley Relay mark shown below for Alamogordo is an eye-catching mark. Interestingly, Alamogordo wasn't trying to blow things out at this meet, but it does appear they loaded this one relay. 

In this corner of the state, there appear to be a few names you can count on dominating a few events, names like LaNay Crenshaw, Godfrey Cordova, Taylor Huey, Santana Zamora (though is travel was perhaps a bit farther than most of the others'), Ashley Landreth, Kolter West, and my personal favorite name--Skylar McMath. How cool would it be to teach a math class with a name like that sitting in the front row. Skylar, I hope you enjoy math!

Alamogordo's boys go home with a team trophy, and Fort Sumner's girls do likewise. The Fort Sumner girls, however, had the distinction of at least doubling the score on everybody. Nicely done.