STATE TRACK AND FIELD
Records shattered at small-school state track championship
St. Michael's claims 7th straight boys title, 6th consecutive girls title as myriad state records broken
The St. Michael鈥檚 track and field dynasty 鈥 dynasties, actually 鈥 show no sign of slowing down. Which is an apropos metaphor for this sport.
The Horsemen once again had a vice grip on the Class 3A division, winning a boys title for the seventh straight season, and a blue trophy for the girls for the sixth consecutive season.
From Albuquerque, Legacy Academy鈥檚 girls and Menaul鈥檚 boys were among the other team champions as the Class 1A-3A state meet ended Saturday on a very warm day at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unlike any other feeling,鈥 St. Michael鈥檚 senior Kamal Stith said, and he鈥檚 a part of two current Horsmen dynasties, the other one being football. 鈥淭he community at my school is something I wouldn鈥檛 trade for anything. 鈥 The skill we have is unmatched.鈥
St. Mike鈥檚 accumulated 87陆 points over the two-day meet, with Stith himself bagging 25. He was the high-point athlete in that division. Navajo Prep (66), with terrific showings at the distances, was runner-up, followed by Sandia Prep (59).
The girls鈥 108 points were barely enough for St. Michael鈥檚 to get another title, with neighbor Santa Fe Prep finishing with 100 points. Cottonwood Classical Prep, in third, also won a trophy.
East Mountain junior Jaylyn Olguin, with 24陆 points, was the high point athlete in 3A girls. She won the 100-meter dash early in the morning, and added seconds in the 200, 400 and high jump, plus she was part of a winning 4x200-meter relay that broke the state record by two seconds.
鈥淚 knew that I had the potential,鈥 Olguin said. 鈥淎nd I worked really hard this year, and I envisioned it every day this season.鈥
It?
鈥淗igh point,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 wanted to get high point so badly.鈥
The overall high-point male athlete was senior Jay Lee of 3A Legacy Academy, with 32 points, and like last year, he was sensational on the biggest stage. He captured the 100 (11.07), then later the 200 (21.93) and the 300-meter hurdles (39.29). He was third in the 110-meter high hurdles.
His time in the 200 was a state record, and Lee let out a holler the entire stadium heard as he crossed the finish line and caught sight of his record-breaking time on the scoreboard.
鈥淚n my mind, I was like, last race of your high school career 鈥 leave a mark for yourself,鈥 Lee said.
Lee was, in fact, the last athlete competing at the facility on Saturday, as he tried to set a state record in the pole vault. He missed at 15 feet, 7 inches; his winning mark was 15-0. He also had four individual victories at state last May.
鈥淚 really got myself (noticed) out there this year,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淎 lot of joy coming off that.鈥
If Lee wasn鈥檛 the most impressive boy at the stadium Saturday, then it was Stith, who had victories in both hurdles (15.16 seconds in the 110; 38.96 in the 300 where he won by about three seconds), plus he claimed first in the long jump on Friday.
The Legacy Academy girls, with 81 points, won state for the second time in three years. Texico (64) and Capitan (39) were next.
The Silverbacks piled up the points in the sprints and hurdles.
Senior Taliyah Martinez, in 12.18 seconds, broke the 100-meter state record, giving her a unique distinction, since she is also the state record holder in this same event at the Class 1A level, before the school moved up a division.
The record she broke Saturday had stood for 40 years, since 1986.
鈥淚t just shows all the hard work I鈥檝e put in all these years. Moving up (in classification) was kind of different, but I did what I wanted,鈥 Martinez said, adding of her ending a 40-year drought in this event, 鈥淚t just sounds really good.鈥
Martinez also won the 200 late in the afternoon and, with 23陆 points, was 2A鈥檚 high-point girls athlete.
Her teammate, senior Sonrisa Gonzales, was the hurdle state champ at both distances.
Junior Wyatt Abruzzo of Sandia Prep had an excellent day for the Sundevils, winning the 100 (11.34) and anchoring the Sundevils鈥 winning 4x100- and 4x200-meter relays. The 4x200 effort established a state record, which was a running (pardon the pun) theme throughout Saturday鈥檚 second day of the meet.
No fewer than 19 state records 鈥 nearly two out of every three of the 30 total relays that were contested Saturday 鈥 were broken between the 400-meter relay, the 3,200-meter relay, the 800-meter relay, the 1,600-meter Medley relay, and finally the 1,600-meter relay. Pecos鈥 boys alone broke three 2A state records.
Moreover, Pecos鈥 performance in the relays helped the Panthers finish second to Menaul, which hadn鈥檛 won state in this sport since 1992. Menaul scored 75陆 points, Pecos 55 points. Legacy Academy (45陆) was third, largely due to Lee鈥檚 epic showing.
Melrose鈥檚 boys and Logan鈥檚 girls were 1A state champions. The Buffaloes edged rival Logan, 83-80, with Mountainair (47) third. The Logan girls scored 95陆 points, with Fort Sumner (76) and Gateway Christian (66) rounding out the top three.
Karen Inge of Dora, a junior, was outstanding throughout the day. She swept the 100 (12.83), 200 (26.17) and 400 (59.90), breaking state records in the latter two events. No other girl in Class 1A scored as many points as Inge鈥檚 26陆-point total.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty amazing,鈥 Inge said. 鈥淭his was my whole goal coming here today, this is what I wanted to do. It鈥檚 just so exciting to be here in front of all these people showing what I can do.鈥
Magdalena sophomore Kanaan Stephens (21陆) was the 1A high-point boys athlete.
NOTES: Tagoya Pedro of Laguna-Acoma鈥檚 win in the boys 2A 1,600 was his fourth in a row at state in this event. 鈥 Elijah England of Navajo Prep completed the distance sweep as he took first in the 3A 1,600 (4:18.651), breaking a state record in the process. The Eagles went 1-2-3-4 in the 3,200 on Friday, and went 1-2-3-4 in the 1,600 on Saturday. 鈥 Santa Rosa junior LeeAllen Lujan broke the 2A boys state record in the 110-meter high hurdles, in a time of 14.96 seconds.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .