Socorro fares well at Belen meet
The Socorro High School track and field teams made a strong showing at the Jim Burke Invitational in Belen on Saturday, March 12, with the boys team earning third place and the girls taking fifth among 10 schools.
Host Belen finished with 95 points to edge out Valencia, which scored 92 points, for first place in the boys meet. Socorro was next with 67 points, nipping Hope Christian by one point for third place.
Valencia County schools took the top three spots in the girls meet, with Valencia edging Belen for first place, 93.3-91.5. Los Lunas scored 86.5 points to take third, while Hope placed fourth with 83.3. Socorro was next, but well down the point standings with 37 points.
Several Socorro athletes set personal bests at the meet and are closing in on qualifying for the state meet.
Socorro head coaches Cody Lee and Dianna Jameson each said they were pleased with their team’s performances.
“I thought we made a big improvement from last week. We are definitely going in the right direction,” said Lee.
For the Socorro boys, David Robinson once again placed first in the discus throw, beating his personal best by 10 feet with a 143-foot toss. Abran Serate also did well in the discus event, topping his personal best by 15 feet while finishing third.
Ray Vaiza tied for first place in the long jump while coming within five inches of the state qualifying mark.
In the running events, Dylan Gallegos finished first overall in the 400-meter dash and was only one-half second from qualifying for the state meet.
“He is going to be a beast,” Lee said of Gallegos.
Jorge Rivas finished second in the 100-meter dash and qualified for state. He was closely followed by Vaiza, who finished in third place.
In the relays, the Warriors finished second in the 400-meter event — with Matt Lopez, Rivas, Adrian Miranda and Vaiza running the event — and the 1600-meter relay with Rivas, Dylan Gallegos, Vaiza and James Howell.
For the Lady Warriors, Zoe Howell finished second in the 400-meter dash improving her time for a second weekend in a row.
The relay teams of Kierra Schauer, Tamara Chavez, Angelina Stanzione and Jaden Jones qualified for state in the 400-meter relay with a fourth-place finish. The group of girls also ran the 800-meter relay and finished third. In addition, Stanzione, Nikki Mortenson, Jones and Howell finished fourth in the 1600-meter relay.
Overall 27 Socorro athletes scored points for their team.
The Warriors have this weekend off but will continue to practice during spring break. They compete next at a meet in Lordsburg on Friday, March 25.
Contact Kelcie MacRunnels