SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Track and field meet anybody?
It’s not a secret for the state’s high schools. And those from Northern New Mexico have choice that includes the two-day annual Richard Harper Invitational that starts Friday and is hosted byAlbuquerque Academy.
That’s one. The others are set for Saturday, with the 2nd annual St. Michael’s Invitational highlighted by the host Horsemen and Lady Horsemen teams that finished first in both the boys and girls team scoring at the recent Capital City Invite held at Santa Fe High.
West Las Vegas and Robertson are also expected to provide at least three District 2-3A schools at St. Michael’s. This is scheduled for a 9 a.m. start.
Girl athletes to watch here are senior Claire Lee in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and the high jump, and on the 4 x 400 relay team. There’s senior Janai Clayton in the 400 and the relays, sophomore Olivia Farrar in the high jump, senior Joelyn Fernandez in the hurdles and relays.
The Horsemen have senior Justin Angel in the 1,600 and 3,200, and possible the 800, senior Justice Johnson in the 800, and its 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relay teams that consist of Sebastian Alcarez, Heydan Lee, Rico Gurule, Michael Waring, and Johnson and Angel all running legs. Lee is also good in the 100 hurdles and long jump.
At Santa Fe Indian School, the Braves Invitational is counting on the likes of Desert Academy, Academy of Technology and The Classics, Santa Fe Waldorf Charter, New Mexico School for the Deaf, and Coronado, also starting at 9.
The Brave boys are led by sophomore Christopher Humetowa, who will probably be favored in the 1,600 and 800. There’s senior sprinter Ahbeden Eagle White from ATC, and the Phoenix girls have some quality underclassmen led by Kate Ferguson and Maggie Reitmeyer.
Desert Academy senior Jessica LeBron, in her fifth year on the team, has increased her speed and should be among the leaders in the 100 meters.Then there’s Wildcat senior Jonathan Kaare-Rasmussen also in his fifth year, and he will be racing the 400.
That’s just the short list of schools, and the same goes for the meet at St. Michael’s.
Santa Fe Prep will make its way to the annual Mark Shumate Invitational to be held at Albuquerque Menual. There, too, a good field is expected, with the event slated to begin at 9.
The Griffins have three of the most versatile athletes in the state. On the girl’s side, its junior Hayden Colfax, who has already won two state tiles and competes in 4-5 events. The boys have seniors Sam Sparks and Sean Coles, with Sparks excelling in the high jump, long jump and the sprints, and Coles in the triple jump, high jump, and the sprints.
The Harper always brings in some top-notch athletes and Academy has one of the state’s finest programs each and every year. Los Alamos is also among the best and will joined by Santa Fe High and Capital.
The Jaguar boys have a speedy sprint relay quartet with junior Fabian Ponce, sophomore Luke Padilla, sophomore Lucas Rosas, and junior Osman Pacheco on the anchor leg. They also have Rita Vigil as head coach, and she ran the Boston Marathon last week.
Santa Fe High has a fine sprinter in junior Kevin Garcia, who dashes in the 100, 200 and 400, with the longer ones his best. The Demonettes have a real good hurdler in senior Judith Allison, and she goes in both the 100 and 300 after improving the last two years. There’s also junior Rhannah Varela, who can challenge in the long jump and triple jump,
On the baseball scene, Saturday finds doubleheaders pairing 5-5A schools Santa Fe at Capital, with the times of 10 a.m. and noon, Indian School at Robertson with the 2-3A scheduled starts 11 a.m. and 1, and the same times for 2-3A rivals Santa Fe Prep at West Las Vegas.
In softball, Capital plays at Santa Fe High in an 11 a.m.-1 p.m. twin bill, and Indian School travels to Robertson in a doubleheader set for the same times.
