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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Monarchs Want To Build on 6th-Place Finish at State

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
          Michael Montoya and his sidekick, Micael, are the Manzano Monarchs' main men.
        The 2008 Manzano High boys cross country team is a pretty happy group. And the Monarchs aren't just about the studs, though Montoya, who placed third as an individual at the 2007 state Class 5A championships, and Tijeras' Micael Albonico are clearly the cream of the crop.
        "I've always enjoyed running," said Josh Maynez, a freshman from Sandia Park. "And my friend said they were all nice guys. So I came out. You can run on the cross country team, and it doesn't matter whether you're good or not, they just accept you."
        The Monarchs are coached by 10th-year coach Jeremy Vehar. He is aided by 11th-year assistant Kelley Macdonald and fourth-year assistant Stephen Krum.
        Manzano placed sixth as a team at state last year. The squad lost to graduation a royal flush of five varsity seniors, all of whom hailed from the East Mountains.
        "This year, how well we do depends," Vehar said during Tuesday's practice, whose hilly runs started near the damp creek bed at the mouth of Tijeras Canyon west of Town and Country Feed Store. "Michael and Micael are out front. But it depends on how the other five keep the gap close."
        Montoya, an Albuquerque resident, has a lofty yet achievable goal.
        "I really want to win state," said the 5-foot-8 Montoya, who ran the 3-mile state-meet race at Rio Rancho High in 16 minutes, 25 seconds. "I should be able to do it this year."
        Sandia Park's Ryan Haack, who graduated, and Albonico at state respectively placed 30th and 36th in 17:30 and 17:40. Albonico and Montoya are this year's team captains.
        "We're just juniors," the 5-foot-10 1/2 Albonico said regarding their leadership positions. "We're still trying to figure out what to do as captains. My goal is to have fun this year and keep up my Sunday runs on my own."
        Manzano's East Mountains contingent includes Colton Gibney, Craig Jones and Alex Clark. Some of the city kids are Evan Burke, Aaron Ami, Ben Clifford, Frankie Gonzales and Jeffrey Forster.
        Lady Monarchs
        "The girls (team) is where we have the depth," Vehar said. "This year, we actually have a team that can be competitive at the very first meet."
        Manzano will open the season at the University of New Mexico Lobo Invitational, run on the UNM North Golf Course on Sept. 6. The Monarchs host their invitational on Sept. 20.
        Natalie Gomez, a team captain, was the No. 1 Manzano girl at state. The Monarchs were 11th, and she finished 48th with a time of 21:27.
        Gomez, who lives in Albuquerque, is the team's unofficial, on-campus recruiting coordinator. Her grandparents, Suzanne and Ken Pierce, live south of Tijeras.
        "This year's team is like the strongest team we've had," the 5-foot-7 junior said. "We have six strong girls we know can run varsity, and we have five others that are all good enough to run the seventh spot. I am so excited. Before, it always took us a while to get to this stage. I just know we're going to state as a team."
        Tijeras' Vernonica Vazquez was 51st at state in 21:41.
        "A lot of the new freshmen had older siblings doing it," said Vazquez, a 5-4 junior.
        The Monarchs' other East Mountains residents include Jocelyn Barela, Rachel Bean, Caroline Lewiecki, Michelle Haack and Paige Williams. Others are Alyssa Paña, Anna Haschke, Kim Huynh and Mariah Pepe.