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Capital senior Lucas McNatt settles for fifth in the high jump and Santa Fe Indian School senior Marc Riley takes fourth in the 110 meter hurdles
By Arnie Leshin
He still has a 4 x 400 relay leg that winds up the first day, and there’s the 3,200 that he will run on Saturday, but St. Michael’s junior Justin Angel is already happy with the 1,600 that he ran Friday.
It was similar to the second place that qualified him at that distance at St. Michael’s inaugural Invitational. He raced with West Las Vegas senior standout Miguel Coca until the stretch run to the finish, placed three seconds behind Coca, and qualified in 4:33.
Again, he took second behind Coca, but this time Coca, one of the elite distance runners in the state, led from the start to win in 4:24.50, and then came Angel in 4:30.49.
“That was my first silver,” Angel said after the race, “my others were both bronze, so I’m happy about that and thought I ran well behind Coca, who is real good.”
He goes against favored Coca again in the 3,200, but feels his best race is the mile (1,600), although he hopes to step onto the podium for the second straight day at the University of New Mexico Complex that hosts the championships.
Coca is also number one in the 800, where Horsemen junior Justice Johnson is in the field and in quest of a spot on the podium.
As for the 1,600, it was also a satisfying run for Santa Fe Indian School senior Thomas Lucero. This was his first time out for track and field and he finished sixth in a personal-best 4:45.55.
“I’m happy for him,” said Braves’ head coach Joe Calabaza. “He worked hard this season and now gets a medal and a place on the podium. He was very excited about that.”
Saturday, Indian School sends senior Coby Quintana and freshman Chris Humetewa into the 3,200. Quintana is coming off his best race of the season and young Humetewa, Calabaza said, is an up-and-coming standout who has already won the 3,200 once this campaign.
Beating Coca would be nice and surprising, but it’s a gone conclusion that both Quintana and Humetewa are looking to just step onto the podium.
In the 4A long jump, St. Michael’s senior Shawn Roybal came up with a fifth place 20-10.50. The winner at 23-02.75 was Taos star junior Jonah Vigil, who reigns supreme in this field event plus the 100, 200 and 400. He’s for sure a record-breaker.
Indian School senior Marc Riley made his way into the 110 hurdles final by hurdling fourth in 16:44. He’s also in the 300 intermediate hurdles.
In the 5A high jump, Capital senior Lucas McNatt didn’t defend his title, but, similar to last year when he won a four-way tie by clearing 6-2, but this time his best of 6-feet placed him fifth. McNatt has also qualified for the 100, 200 and long jump.
He raced the century in a preliminary fourth-place time of 11:39 to qualify for the Saturday finals. Sophomore teammate Osman Pacheco dashed 11:72, but did not gain the finals.
In 6A, Santa Fe High senior Theodore Goujon landed in the top-eight of the 100 meters after three years of missing out. He placed eighth in 11:55 and will also go in the 200 and 400.
The St. Michael’s boys ran sixth in 44:51 to make it to the 4 x 100 finals, with the sprint medley and the 4 x 440 still to come. Portales had the fastest time of 43:45 in the 4 x 100.
But in the 4 x 200, where the Horsemen came in with the fastest time, they backed it up with the best time of 1:30.74 in the prelims.
