By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
Track and Field: 1A, 2A Champs Decided
For those stymied by the Schultz twins over the past two years, perhaps the only distinguishing characteristic between the two Cloudcroft girls on Saturday (May 11) was that one wore a pink ribbon in her pony tail while the other wore a green one.
One thing's for sure: Opponents won't be sad to see them go, because they've been watching them go – away from the field – in long-distance running events too often already.
Thanks particularly to the efforts of Courtney Schultz, the Cloudcroft girls won the state Class 2A track and field meet at the University of New Mexico track complex in Albuquerque. The Bears scored 66 points and won by 11 over second-place Texico, but actually had to come from behind to get the team championship.
Cloudcroft trailed Texico by 10 points with three events left in the meet. But, with Camille Schultz running anchor, the Bears won the 1,600-medley relay to trim the deficit to six.
Then Courtney and Camille Schultz finished one-two in the 3,200-meter run and Cloudcroft suddenly burst to the top of the team standings. Earlier in the day, Courtney won the 800 meter run to go with her 1,600-meter victory the day before.
"I think team ranking is so very important. My sister and I are both very team-oriented," said Courtney Schultz, who was unaware of Cloudcroft's overall position until just before the last event.
Texico had an individual crown with sophomore Victoria Richards in the long jump as the Wolverines, seeking a championship to go with titles earned in volleyball and basketball, finished with 55 points – 11 behind Cloudcroft's 66.
Richards' winning effort in the long jump, at 16-feet, 1-inch, nearly a half-foot better than her qualifying mark.
"I hadn't been jumping very well. There was an older man there and, after I scratched on the first jump of the finals, who told me to relax and jump as if it were my last jump ever," Richards said. "When I was stretching, I relaxed and said, 'Okay, this is your last jump,' and I got a lot of speed and height."
Monte del Sol, a private school in Santa Fe, made waves by getting its first taste of state championship success. Besides finishing third in the team standings, junior Sarah Meade and freshman Kiara Glover won the first state title of any kind for the Dragons with individual victories in the 100- and 200-dashes (Meade) and the 400 (Glover).
In the boys 2A competition, brawn from Tucumcari in the field events proved to be crucial as the Rattlers won their first state title since 1983.
Senior twins Tyler and Taylor Koch were first and second, in that order, in both the discus and shot put events to pace Tucumcari to 66 points, ahead of district rival Clayton's 58. The Rattlers also got a victory from senior Michael Fazekas in the long jump and a second-place run from Austin Sellers in the 800 to help seal the team win.
Balance and depth was the key for Hagerman's championship in the Class 1A boys competition. The Bobcats got individual wins from senior Bill Squire in the discus and Bryan Norris in the 200 and 400-meter sprints, but Hagerman also was dominant in the relays – winning the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and the 1,600 sprint medley events.
Carrizozo was second in the 1A boys team standings while Fort Sumner finished third.
One of the memorable moments of the 1A competition came in the 110-meter hurdles – a one-of-a-kind photo finish between three contestants.
Leading with his right leg, Carrizozo junior Jeremy Zamora went to the front first. One hurdle from the end, Mountainair senior Vincent Zamora caught his fellow Zamora. Then Jacob West, the tall Fort Sumner senior, came astride of both Zamoras as all three crossed the line at the same time.
Many minutes later, after careful examination of photos of the finish by race officials, West was told he was the winner. With a winning time of 16.4460, West's time was only thousandths better than Vincent Zamora (16.4482) and Jeremy Zamora (16.4494).
"I was just trying to get it done; just trying to catch those guys," West said. "It was like a dream or something to have a photo-finish. I first thought it was just them two and then they said that I was in there too."
In the Class 1A girls meet, Fort Sumner's Vixens had little trouble racing away from their foes – very similar to the way one of their own, eighth-grader Christa Boyle, romped to wins in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter distance runs.
The 1,600 meter race on Saturday saw Boyle hold the lead from the start. However, three three full laps, the Vixens youngster seemed tired at times while staying just ahead of Roy sophomore Megan Costa. But when the gun sounded for the final lap, Boyle raced ahead and turned an advantage of a few feet into one of about 25 yards midway down the backstretch.
"I'm just trying to put people on," said Boyle of her apparent fatigue. "I felt pretty good. The wind was blowing, so that made it harder."
With 102 points, Fort Sumner easily outdistanced second-place Roy's 52. Animas was third in the 1A standings with 45 points while Floyd (42 points) and Clovis Christian (38) rounded out the top five.
The solo star of the meet, however, was Roy senior Laura Pharies. A year ago, Pharies was forced to miss her chance at winning running events after she tweaked a hamstring injury during the long jump.
This time, in addition to winning the long jump, Pharies also took the 100-dash, the 400-meters and the 200-meter sprint on Saturday. The Longhorn also had the best triple jump on Friday.
"Just having to watch the running races (in 2007), coming back from something like that is hard. I got a second chance, kind of, to compete," Pharies said.
