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Thursday, May 08, 2008

A Tale of Two Athletes

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
      Mountainair High senior Vincent Zamora and Estancia High junior Sharalynn Barela will be a part of this weekend's Class 1A and 2A state high school track and field championships at the University of New Mexico's track stadium.
       However, Barela and Zamora, both of whom have had success in the sport, will experience the season finale from vastly different perspectives.
       Zamora, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound hurdler and sprinter, is the Class 1A boys' top seed in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.41 seconds. The son of Lady Mustangs track coach Tammy Zamora, he also is No. 3 in the 110 hurdles (16.15) and the 200 dash (23.58).
       Mountainair's student-body president earned the District 7-1A title in the 300 hurdles and triple jump on Saturday in Carrizozo. Now, he's focused on earning a couple of state-meet gold medals, but he also has dreams of breaking his Uncle Robert Zamora's school record in the 300 (40.83).
       “Mostly, I want to get first in both hurdles events real bad,” Vincent Zamora said. “The kid from Animas (Casey Jackson) is probably my main competition. In the 110, you need to get your three steps down and get over the hurdle in a hurry. In the 300, you can still do well if you can run between the hurdles fast enough.”
       The 2007 state meet was a disappointment for the Mustang. With a comfortable lead, he clipped a hurdle and fell in the 300.
       “I've got that out of my mind,” he said confidently. “I'm not going to hit any hurdles this year.”
       Barela already has a state individual championship to her credit. She won the 2007 Class 2A girls triple-jump crown with a distance of 34 feet, 8½ inches, better than the state record but the leap was deemed to be wind-aided.
       But the 5-7 Barela, also a volleyball middle hitter and basketball post, will be a supporting staff member rather than a participant this weekend. A torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, incurred in October, sidelined the talented athlete for the remainder of the season, including basketball and track.
       Barela underwent surgery in late October and has only recently begun to run.
       “I'm still lifting, and now, I'm starting to run a little bit,” said Barela, who has been relegated to acting as a manager for Estancia's basketball and track and field squads. “Now, I can do some jogging. But it's been hard to just watch them and want to do it yourself.”
       A thin sheen of a tear made Barela's eyes glisten when she was told that if she had been able to compete in this year's meet the Lady Bears would have been a near-certain top-three team trophy recipient.
       “I probably just have to look to next year,” said Barela, who also was a state high-jump bronze medalist and a key relay leg runner last season. “It'll be my senior year. I want to do well next year. But now I'm filming (as a manager) and it's hard to watch and not be a part of it.”
       Harold Smith can be reached by phone at 823-7104 or by e-mail at hsmith@mvtelegraph.com.>   

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