Maybe Bernie Montoya should try Velcro.
As a sophomore, the
Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.) star lost his shoe in the middle of the state-meet 1600-meter run, kicked it all the way off and ran the remainder of the race with just one shoe. Remarkably, he won the Division I race, but he also lost a large chunk of skin, which kept him off the track for awhile.
Bernie Montoya, Cibola
Courtesy of Kris C. H. Norton
Well, during last week's state-meet 1600, he barely got to the starting line in time, and after two laps he again lost his shoe when a runner clipped him from behind. This time, however, he stopped long enough to put his shoe back on. Even though 100 meters behind, he still won the state title in 4:14.69.
Montoya told the Arizona Republic, "It was just survival. I thought about kicking the shoe off and keep going. But then I thought about New York (the adidas Dream Mile) in a few weeks."
He returned later - passing six runners in the final 100 meters - to win the hotly-contested 800 in a personal-record 1:52.49. He completed an outstanding two-day triple by capturing the 3200 in 9:08.70.
Trae Armstrong of
Deer Valley (Glendale, Ariz.) matched Montoya's Division I triple by winning the 100-meter dash in 10.48 seconds, the 200 in 20.74 and the 400 in 46.84. He nipped Devon Allen of
Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) by one one-hundredth of a second in both the 100 and 200. Still, Allen won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in 13.58 and 36.94, respectively.
The 4x100 boys relay from
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix, Ariz.) ran a state-record time of 40.46.
Elsewhere:
Mary Cain
File photo by Kirby Lee
*Super sophomore Mary Cain of
Bronxville (N.Y.) won the 800 in a personal-record and national season-best time of 2:03.34 during the Loucks Games in White Plans, N.Y. She also holds the No. 1 times in the 1500 and mile.
*Junior Edward Cheserek of
St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) received a strong test from senior Zavon Watkins of
Liverpool (N.Y.) before winning the 1600 in 4:09.90. Watkins was clocked in 4:11.86.
*Devon Williams, senior brother of super junior Kendell Williams, is an outstanding performer in his own right for
Kell (Marietta, Ga.). During Georgia's Class AAAA state meet, he won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in respective times of 14.18 and 37.45 to help Kell win its first-ever state track team title.
*Rudy Winkler, a junior from
Averill Park (N.Y.), took over the national lead in the hammer throw with a personal-record toss of 251-1 while competing unattached in the Army Strong Throwing Series.
*
Neptune (N.J.) senior star Ajee Wilson placed second (2:05.29) in the 800 against older runners during the Cayman Islands Grand Prix.
*Josh Lampron of
Mansfield (Mass.) took over the national lead in the 1500 with a sizzling time of 3:45.74 during the New Balance Boston Twilight Series at Bentley College. He competed unattached and placed sixth in a field of older runners.
