STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP
Records fall early and often at state track and field
Menaul's Samuels, Fort Sumner's Torres, who also received a UNM football offer Friday, among record-breakers
The state records began falling Friday almost as soon as the Class 1A-3A state track and field meet began.
Within the first two hours of the 8 a.m. start, three records fell at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex.
Menaul senior J鈥橯uan Samuels soared 6 feet, 9录 inches over the high bar to break a Class 2A record that had stood for 37 years. Fort Sumner junior Aaron Torres 鈥� who, before the end of the day, also had a football scholarship offer from UNM 鈥� absolutely shattered the Class 1A discus state record.
And in the first running final of the meet, junior distance specialist Elijah England of Navajo Prep broke the 3A record in the boys 800-meter run.
Starting with Torres, he held the discus record in 1A with a throw (144-1) from last year.
Friday, his winning throw was a whopping 30 feet beyond that (174-11). He won the event by more than 41 feet. And even his worst throw of the competition (156-9) would still have won this event by a wide margin.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty awesome,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great accomplishment, and it鈥檚 something I鈥檝e always wanted since I was a kid; just something special.鈥�
Not long after finishing competing in the shot put, Torres went next door and was shown around the UNM football complex. He said he met Friday with head coach Jason Eck, and Torres, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end (edge) and tight end for the 8-Man Foxes, told the Journal he had a scholarship offer from the Lobos.
After what he did Friday, Menaul鈥檚 6-foot-7 senior Samuels is hoping he鈥檒l attract some eyeballs from college recruiters. He went back-to-back with his mark in the high jump, and nobody else went over 6-2. He broke the 2A record by a quarter of an inch.
鈥淚 had to go for the record so I could be in the (record) book,鈥� he said with a wide smile. 鈥淭hing is, Monday, I told my coach, I was gonna do one jump this week and rest the entire week. I cleared it (on) the second try in practice, and I said yeah, I鈥檓 gonna clear it on the first try at state.鈥�
He reached 6-9录 on his first attempt in the finals.
And now, he hopes this mark will bring some colleges to his doorstep.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where my future is,鈥� Samuels said. 鈥淚t should get me attention. I really hope it does. This is the statement I had to make to get those offers.鈥�
England is one of the state鈥檚 pre-eminent runners, and was that ever on display early in the running program. At the end of the day, too.
He put together the best run by any athlete, boy or girl, on Friday, finishing the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 53.52 seconds. That broke a five-year-old 3A record in that event by almost a full second.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I would get a record in the 800,鈥� England said. 鈥淏ut I felt good this morning and I gave it my all.鈥�
The 3,200 was the most impressive display by a single school in an event Friday. Navajo Prep had the champion in England (9:30.30), but the Eagles also finished second, third and fourth to hog the podium.
England was one of three double champions in the boys鈥� meets Friday. Samuels was one of the other two; he added the long jump crown with a leap of 21-11 1/2. Menaul went 1-2 here with Payden Hodge the runner-up.
The third was Richard Lovato of Cuba. Lovato won the 3A discus (146-1), and later claimed a rather unusual victory in the shot put. On his first try of prelims, he recorded a throw of 45 feet, 6录 inches. Then he fouled on his next five attempts, including all three in the finals. But his first throw held up.
Kamal Stith of 3A dynamo St. Michael鈥檚 won the long jump, and it was a satisfying moment for Stith.
鈥淚 knew I wasn鈥檛 gonna lose two years in a row to (Santa Fe Indian鈥檚 Corey) Bird,鈥� Stith said, smiling. 鈥淪o I had to get it done.鈥�
Mason Wallin of Logan ended his shot put career for the Longhorns with a 1A state record. The future New Mexico Highlands football player not only broke the existing 1A mark, which was 49-6陆, he obliterated it, breaking it by over three feet (52-9 戮) on his first throw in the finals.
鈥淒efinitely sweet,鈥� Wallin said. He was recruited to play tight end for Highlands out of an 8-Man program, like Torres. 鈥淚鈥檝e been chasing that record for about two years now. Last chance to do it, I was on a mission.鈥�
Wallin also placed third in the discus, the event Torres won.
鈥淚 had a rocky morning,鈥� Wallin admitted, 鈥渟o I decided to take that anger out on the shot put.鈥�
The metro area found some success beyond Samuels.
Luke Sanchez of Legacy Academy earned the 2A shot put title (48-8 录), with his teammate, Sanjye Harrigan, placing second. And the Native American Community Academy earned a rare first place at state as junior Rylee Edaakie took the girls 2A 800-meter title with a time of 2:28.59.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .
