Buy a new trophy case, Fort Sumner is bringing home two more.
It's been a long time since anybody in New Mexico's 1A classification had any answers for the domination of Fort Sumner. Judging by the way things looked this weekend, it may be a while longer. Someday, this dynasty will fall as all other dynasties have done, but there don't appear to be many chinks in the armor yet.
It was deep into the day on Saturday before any team other than Fort Sumner even won an event title. The distinction of breaking the string went to Kevin Naceanceno of Clovis Christian. Until the boys 100, Fort Sumner had claimed both 4x100s, both short hurdles, and the girls' 100. It was just that kind of day. And in the girls' sprints, Fort Sumner was in a league of their own, LaNay Crenshaw and Orianna Ortiz going 1-2 in the 100 and 200, plus taking legs in the 4x100 relay team that took first by a margin of over 1.2 seconds. Blanca Alvarez and Angelica Torres duplicated that kind of domination in the shot put.
When the points were all tallied, Fort Sumner went home with the blue trophy and 125 points. Jal was a distant second at 51.5.
The boys were almost as dominant. Skyler McMath did the biggest part of the damage, winning the 800 by seven seconds, finishing third in the 400, and second in the long jump. And, with the depth present on this team, Fort Sumner had no need of extending kids to five events. The opposition always lined up against fresh troops from Fort Sumner. Potential challenges from Cliff, Mountainair, and Menaul never had a chance to materialize into a serious threat.
2A saw at least one closer race, although Lordsburg's domination of 2A boys was at least as expected as Fort Sumner's among 1A boys. Wendell Hayes in the sprints, Kenny Evans in the hurdles, Joseph Jackson in the jumps, and a couple of top-tier relays (including a 43.81 4x100) were too much for anyone else to mount a sustained challenge.
Texico, by far the best other team in the field on this weekend, was 17 points back in second.
In 2A girls, however, literally every point counted as Cuba edged Santa Fe Prep, 47 - 46. Clayton was also in the thick of things with 43 points. None of the teams this year had the kind of star power that piles up points in a hurry, but there were key contributions nevertheless.
With only the 4x400 remaining, the point totals were Clayton 43, Cuba 41, and Santa Fe Prep 36. Each team had an entry in the final of the 4x400. Santa Fe Prep did all they possibly could in winning the event, but still needed help. That help almost, but not quite, came. Cuba, however, was able to hold off Magdalena for third and claim a state title. Clayton failed to score in the 4x400 and saw the opportunity for a first or second slip out of their hands.
A big second-place finish in the 200 by Chaez Ortiz put Cuba into position to win when the 4x400 came around. Ortiz had also made an earlier contribution in the 100 and was a key part of the 4x400. Individual event titles by Danielle Montoya (TJ), Kaylin Lovato (DT), and Felicia Chavez (Javelin, 131-5) also proved to be critical to the final outcome.