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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Coach: EHS Boys Relay Teams 'something Else'

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    A season-opening third-place finish for the defending two-time Class 2A boys state champion Estancia High track and field team isn't too shabby considering the Bears lost a slew of seniors to graduation in 2007.
    EHS collected 74 points at the Tucumcari Invitational on Saturday. The Bears trailed first-place St. Michael's by 11 points and the runner-up hosts by five at the 13-team meet.
    "It made me feel good about our squad," EHS coach Troy Coburn said. "Our relays were something else."
    The Bears placed second in the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays. And they acquired three golds, three silvers and two bronze medals in the individual events.
    Senior David Ortiz was first in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches) and tied for first in the triple jump (38-21/2). He was second in the long jump (18-6).
    Freshman Hugo Wester won the 200 dash in 23.66 seconds.
    Alex Georgia (javelin, 126-6) and Derek Georgia (300 hurdles, 46.18) earned a silver medal apiece. Troy Mitchell (javelin, 121-9) and Lawrence Tapia (100 dash, 11.75) finished third.
    "There's so much room for improvement," Coburn said. "But that's exciting, too."
    The Estancia girls placed seventh, with 35 points, at the Rattlers' meet. Cimarron was the team victor, but Lady Bears coach Laci Lockwood did not have the Lady Rams' score handy during a telephone interview on Monday.
    The EHS 800 relay squad was first in 1:58.46, and the Bears' 1,600 relay contingent was third at 4:49.28. Shawna Blaisure was first in the triple jump (31-5).
    Estancia's Erin Thomas was the bronze medalist in the long jump (15-11/4). Her fellow Bear, Leslie Stokes, was third in the discus (79-8).
    "I think we did pretty well," Lockwood said. "We have a lot of room for improvement, but we know where we need to improve now."
    Estancia's Kaiya Coburn has an injured quad. She solely ran in the 400 relay before Lockwood pulled her from the competition.
    Mustang Vincent Zamora paced the Mountainair boys to an 11th-place finish at the Jim Burke Invitational in Belen on Friday.
    The senior took second in the triple jump with a leap of 39-11. He was third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.24, and he was seventh in the 110 hurdles at 17.68.
    Class 1A Mountainair scored 10 points. The host Eagles, a 4A squad, had 110 for the win.
    'Stangs junior Kohen Kayser was sixth in the pole vault with a clearance of 10 feet.
    The Lady Mustangs failed to score at the meet. Their top placement came from their 800 relay quartet, which was ninth in 2 minutes, 9.99 seconds.
    Junior Shayna Padilla was Mountainair's top female individual. She placed 28th in the open 800 at 3:21.92.
    Class 5A Los Lunas High was the team victor with 161.42 points.
   
Moriarty
    The Pintos boys took fifth with 35 points in the eight-team "blue" meet during the Buddy Robertson Invitational at Milne Stadium on March 20.
    Los Alamos garnered the first-place team trophy with 106 points.
    Moriarty's Taylor Allcorn, the reigning Class 4A state champion in the triple jump, was second in the triple (42-111/2) and third in the long jump (19-4). His teammate, Jason Tidwell, earned the silver medal in the 300 hurdles (43.46).
    Pinto Nick Taylor was third in the 300 hurdles (44.79).
    Moriarty's David Varady ran a state-qualifying 11.03 in the 100 dash and placed fourth. Kyle Wolf was fourth in the long jump at 19-31/2.
    "My legs feel stronger this year," said Varady, a senior. "I think a lot of it has to do with doing weights."
    The Lady Pintos concurrently competed in the Robertson "red" meet at Wilson Stadium. The girls placed fifth with 46 points while Cibola, the winner, had 113.
    Moriarty's Jayci Manning (long jump, 16-3) and Angel Laue (triple jump, 33-3) both earned gold medals. Laue also was second in the high jump (4-10).
    The Pintos girls were second in the 1,600 relay (4:20.53). Moriarty's Madeline McKenzie was the bronze medalist in the shot put (32-11).
   
Manzano
    Monarchs Nick Linden, Sam Gardner-Tafoya, Matt Stoltzfus and Chris Quintana won the 1,600 medley relay in the boys "blue" meet at the Robertson invite on March 20.
    Stoltzfus, a Tijeras resident, ran the relay's third leg, the quarter-mile portion of the race.
    "I think it was a good time (a cumulative 3:45.32), but I haven't seen it yet," the senior said after the event. "But all that matters right now is we won. The medley and the 4-by-4 (1,600 relay) are always our strong suit."
    Quintana, who lives in Sandia Park, took the lead at the first curve of his anchor 800 and pulled away for a 10-meter advantage by the final backstretch of the four-lap race.
    "I'm working harder," said Quintana, also a senior. "I'm running through the pain better. I almost want the pain now. I know if it's hurting, I'm probably running hard."
    Linden, a junior, hails from Tijeras.
    "We're starting off pretty good," Linden said. "The beginning of the season is always pretty hard. But we're having good practices. We're working hard."
    Overall, the Manzano boys placed sixth with 25 points.
    Meanwhile, the Lady Monarchs took fifth, with 421/2 points, in the girls "blue" meet at Wilson Stadium on March 20. La Cueva won with 1121/2.
    Manzano's Monquisha Coleman was the gold medalist in the 100 and 200 dashes with respective clockings of 12.25 and 26.25. The Monarchs also won the 800 relay (1:49.16).
    Danielle Carver was second in the triple jump (30-2).
   
East Mountain
    The Timberwolves boys and girls have been idle since March 15.