Warrior, Steer and Cougar boys track qualify for state

There was no underperforming when it came to the local boys track and field teams as each turned in noteworthy efforts in the district meets in advance of the Class 1A-3A New Mexico state meet Friday and Saturday at the University of New Mexico Track and Soccer Complex.

Socorro

Warriors coach Anthony Baker thought his squad could face a challenge from Hot Springs so he took some steps to mitigate that.

“I thought it was a little close for comfort so we chased points,” he said. “And we ended up winning the meet comfortably. We had kids doing things they were not used to and competing in more events than they were used to just to benefit the team even if it did not benefit themselves.

That type of sacrifice helped Socorro to a 183-137 win over Hatch Valley in the District 3-3A meet.

“It’s something they’ve done in previous years so it was more of an expectation for some of the kids as opposed to something they were worried about,” Baker said of winning district. “The seniors who have given a lot to the program, they were looking to see an outcome and I wanted to give that to them. I wanted to make sure we were able to give that to them as a last parting gift before state.”

And that leaves the Warriors with pretty strong coverage across the various events, which could give them an outside chance of earning a trophy.

“I think we’re going to have to be a bit more of an underdog, sneaky team in terms of points this year,” Baker said. “We have a lot of guys on the fringe of points so we’re going to have to pick up points in the fourth-to sixth-place range.”

In terms of gold medals, the medley relay is the top seed and looks to be in strong shape, while Kyle Berger is seeded second in the 800 and Isaiah Ocampo sits in fourth in the discus.

“I think we have an outside shot of it,” Baker said of hitting the podium as a team. I don’t think we’re going to be the team that comes in and wins events. We’re going to have to be a team that picks up points at the back end, and take advantage of races where we’re able to.”

Magdalena

Although the Steers came up short in their bid to win the District 2 championship, coach Sara Sue Olney was pleased with what she saw.

“They did their jobs and did what they needed to do,” she said. “It was a really good track meet.”

Cliff prevailed 179-140, but Magdalena accomplished one of the big goals by qualifying all but the 4X800 relay “We had a lot of kids in lots of stuff so that’s a good day for us,” she said. “We had already qualified a couple of relays. And I’m excited because we got all four relays qualified and also qualified by time. And qualifying by time is a big deal so I was excited about that.”

As for how well the Steers will stack up at state, it’s tough to tell, but a trophy is probably outside the realm of possibility.

“Track is a numbers game,” Olney said. “You have to have some team stuff, but you have to have quite a few people in individual events. Right now, we just don’t have those kinds of numbers.

Still, Ky Stephens has a good shot at hitting the podium in both the hurdles, as well as triple jump and two of the relay teams.

“He has an opportunity to get some big points,” Olney said.

His younger brother Kanaan Stephens can gain points in both the pole vault and discus, while Joseph Zamora is looking to place in both the javelin and shot put.

Alamo Navajo

Andy Pino in the discus and shot put, and Pherrell Herrera in the three distance races, were the only individuals for the Cougars to qualify for state. But they got enough from other members of the team to also qualify the 4X400 and 4X800 relays through the efforts of Tyresse Apachito, Nahum Apachirto and Ibnijah Guerro, with a bump from some field athletes.

And with 72 total points in the District 3-1A meet, Alamo Navajo also finished a respectable third overall, just 12½ points behind Carrizozo for second.

“We knew our team was small and we didn’t have numbers to compete with Mountainair for first place, we made a good run at second place,” coach Obed Torres said. “We wanted to be able to compete for state in all of the relays and get as many points as possible.”

The highlight of the meet, though, was Pino tossing the discus a career-best 130-feet, 10.5 inches, which leaves him a good position to finish well.

“I’m really confident that Andy can definitely finish in the top three in discus,” Torres said.

Likewise, he’s expecting big things from Herrera, as well.

“Pherrell has really done a lot of work this track season to improve his times, working with Dayna Guerro, our long-distance alumni,” the coach said. “I believe that Pherrell can hit the podium in the 3200, maybe even the top six in all three.”

State qualifiers:

Socorro: 100-meters, Isaiah Ocampo and Ezra Ocampo; 200, Isaiah Ocampo and Ezra Ocampo; 400, Isaiah Ocampo; 800, Kyle Berger; 1600, Berger and Ben Watkins; 3200, Liam Demorest; 4X100 relay; 4X200 relay; medley relay; 4X800 relay; high jump, Ruben Gonzales; pole vault, AD Munguia and Ezra Ocampo; discus, Isaiah Ocampo and Julian Aldrich; javelin, Ezra Ocampo; shot put, Julian Aldrich and Isaiah Ocampo.

Magdalena

110 hurdles, Ky Stephens; 300 hurdles, Ky Stephens and Kanaan Stephens; 4X100 relay; 4X200 relay; 4X400 relay; medley relay; high jump, Prescott Herrera; triple jump, Ky Stephens; pole vault, Kanaan Stephens; discus, Kanaan Stephens; javelin, Joe Zamora and Kanaan Stephens; shot put, Joe Zamora.

Alamo Navajo

800, Pherrell Herrera; 1600, Pherrell Herrera; 3200, Pherrell Herrera; 4X400 relay;

4X800 relay; discus, Andy Pino; shot put, Andy Pino.