Wednesday, March 26, 2008

LLHS girls take 1st, qualify for state in 4 events

Los Lunas boys second at Belen meet

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Belen While there weren't really many standout individual performances for Los Lunas at Friday's Jim Burke Invitational at Belen High School, there were many orange-colored body suits at the meet. The Tigers' sheer numbers aren't the only thing that helped them score so many team points competing against much smaller schools, but the quantity of Class 5A Tigers sure didn't hurt the cause.

The Lady Tigers, led by four state-qualifying performances, dominated, scoring 161.5 points. Second-place Belen scored 105.86. The Tiger boys' 97 points, with one extra team scoring compared to the girls, were second to 4A Belen's 110.

"We just need to train a little harder, and we'll probably move some people around on some relays," said LLHS boys coach Denvis Manns. "The exchanges look pretty good, and this was good competition for us."

Los Lunas did have a few strong individual efforts, mainly that of junior Lesly Torres. The 5-foot, 11-inch Torres had already qualified for state in the high jump before Friday, when she added the long jump, triple jump and 300-meter hurdles to her list, taking first place in each event.

"That girl could do almost any tack and field event she wants to do, and do well at it," said LLHS girls coach Larry Padilla. "She'll go down as one of the top track and field women in Los Lunas history.

The junior also narrowly missed qualifying in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing a close second to Belen's Kelli Williams.

Bailey Emond became the second Los Lunas girl to qualify for state when she took first place in the shot put on Friday. Her top throw was 34 feet, 2 inches.

In addition to those four first-place efforts, the Lady Tiger medley relay team of Alisha Peralta, Olivia Carrasco, Candice Guthrie and Leah Bidwell won its event as well. Carrasco and Peralta were joined by Mariah Acosta and Juanita Sanchez on the first-place 4-by-100 meter relay team. Peralta, struggling with a weakening knee in the final stretch of the 4-by-400 anchor leg late in the day, buckled just a few feet from the finish line. She didn't appear to be seriously injured.

The boys didn't get any state qualifiers, but a few entries on Friday were close, and beat all competition. Matt Billups won an exciting 100 meters race, edging Belen freshman Dylan Barba for first. Neither qualified for state.

Mike Contratto won the 300-meter hurdles and both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relay teams were first. Zach Hendrix was the top discus thrower at the meet, and teammate Chance Roberts was second in that event.

Roberts won the shot put, with LLHS's Morgan Emond taking second and Hendrix placing third. Marc Rodriguez was second in the long jump for Los Lunas. Jeffrey Smith won the javelin.

It being Good Friday and a holiday weekend, the Tigers had to travel a little lighter than they would have liked. Some athletes couldn't attend, and the LLHS boys struggled to score team points in the middle and longer distances.

Manns said despite the difference in team sizes, his squad appreciates any opportunity to compete.

"3A, 4A, 5A, everyone's got talent," said Manns. "There's really not that much difference."

Valencia's boys performance was highlighted by a second-place showing among the 17 entries in the medley relay. The 4A Jaguar medley squad beat Los Lunas and four different BHS teams as Valencia scored 12 points on the boys side for ninth place. The VHS girls didn't score any team points.

Manns said the LLHS teams would practice three mornings this week despite it being spring break for Los Lunas. The Tigers are idle until traveling to Albuquerque for the APS Invite on Saturday, April 5. The girls are scheduled to be at Milne Stadium that day, while the boys will head to Wilson Stadium.

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