PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Storm and Chargers shine in Harper track meet
James, Joyner, Erinle and Nwagbo among Saturday's standouts
Cleveland has won every big-school boys state track and field meet since 2016, and it鈥檚 clear the 2026 event is the Storm鈥檚 to lose.
In what was likely a preview of the state meet next month, the Storm made it quite clear that if someone wants to end their dynasty, somebody is going to have to come get them.
For as big a weekend as La Cueva had at the Richard Harper Memorial meet at Albuquerque Academy 鈥 and the Bears were excellent 鈥 they still finished 17 points shy of Cleveland.
The Storm鈥檚 98 points made for an impressive showing at the Harper, which is New Mexico鈥檚 most elite regular-season meet. La Cueva (81) and host Academy (48) were second and third, respectively.
Led by hurdler Collin Joyner, who swept both hurdles titles on Saturday on an ideal weather day at the Academy, and distance runner Lucas Espinosa, the Storm鈥檚 depth across the board was in full bloom.
Joyner ran to wins in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.02 seconds, and was supremely strong in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, where his time of 38.76 seconds was almost 2陆 seconds ahead of the field.
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome,鈥 said Joyner, a senior. 鈥淭his has always been my favorite meet. I鈥檝e never won here before, it鈥檚 an awesome feeling.鈥
In their own way, the Academy girls were even more dominant than Cleveland鈥檚 boys. The Harper brings together an immensely deep and talented field, and the Chargers went out and scored 108陆 points this weekend. That was more than double the total of second-place Los Alamos (51). La Cueva (47陆) placed third.
Almost a quarter of Academy鈥檚 points were scored by super junior Grace Erinle, who amassed 24 points on her own. She had two field event victories on Friday, then was runner-up in the 100 on Saturday, and ran a leg on Academy鈥檚 winning 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays.
In the 100, Erinle lost her right shoe a little more than halfway through the race, and still almost won. Chloe Huff of Farmington was the Harper champ in 12.48 seconds; Erinle ran a 12.55 and had a good-natured chuckle a little later about the malfunction with her kicks.
Anna Hastings, who captured the 3,200 on Friday, added the 1,600-meter title on Saturday for Academy, crossing in under five minutes (4:59.27).
The best female athlete on the track Saturday was Boise State-bound Morgan James of Cleveland. She set meet records in both hurdles, finishing in 14.63 in the 100 high hurdles and 43.13 in the 300 hurdles, with a huge margin of victory. She actually posted a 14.59 in the 100 hurdles in the prelims on Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very rewarding,鈥 James said. 鈥淭hese past three years I鈥檝e been hurdling, it鈥檚 been a lot of hard work, but it鈥檚 just a really special moment. 鈥 It鈥檚 almost like a mini-state (meet), here at Academy.鈥
One of the truly stellar performances Saturday came from Sandia senior Chigekwu Nwagbo, who ran a blistering 10.49 seconds 鈥 .01 lower than the existing state record 鈥 in the boys 100-meter final. A state record can only be established at the state meet, but Nwagbo was fantastic.
鈥淭hat was very special,鈥 he said, smiling ear to ear, adding that he switched spikes between the 4x100 relay, of which he was a part, and the open 100, which was the very next race. 鈥淔eels good running with my guys. I鈥檓 glad we get to all compete and that we鈥檙e healthy.鈥
Academy鈥檚 Nicholas Ponte was the 1,600-meter winner, just ahead of Cleveland鈥檚 Espinosa, who was 3,200-meter winner on Friday. Senior Amin Cooper of Albuquerque High was one of Saturday鈥檚 most underrated performers, as he took first in the 400 (48.45 seconds).
鈥淢ost of these athletes are probably gonna be the ones I鈥檓 gonna be racing against at state, so it does give me that boost forward a little bit,鈥 Cooper said. He also was the runner-up to Nwagbo in the 100 among a powerhouse field that also included La Cueva鈥檚 duo of Tanner Monta帽o and Jhett Kinghorn.
Israel Nickols of Atrisco Heritage won the 200 against a field that was somewhat watered down when both Nwagbo and Cooper scratched.
On the girls鈥 side, Belen鈥檚 Sophia Cox had a nice Saturday, with a winning run in the 400 (57.28) and a second in the 200, just behind Albuquerque High鈥檚 Anayjah Garza (25.75) who outleaned Cox at the finish line. Highland鈥檚 Rebecca Neal had a solid weekend, with four top-four finishes, including an unexpected third in the 100 hurdles Saturday. Only Erinle of Academy scored more points than Neal this weekend.
There was only one field event Saturday, the javelin. La Cueva, which stacked points in the field events on Friday, went 1-2 here with Troy Dixon (177-0) and Cainen Monta帽o (176-2). Valley鈥檚 Amariah Altamirano had a tremendous showing, and her throw of 116-6 was nearly 13 feet better than runner-up Azriell Begay of Highland.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .