Boys state track: Navajo Pine senior Nez finally wins state crown with late sprint in 1,600

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/9/2008 - 5/10/08

ALBUQUERQUE — It took five years of running and 70 meters of sprinting for the moment to finally belong to Randy Nez.

It was worth every second.

"It's been hard," Nez, a Navajo Pine senior, said. "All anyone ever asks is, 'Are you Ryan's brother?' I wanted to get recognition just once."

Nez did just that Friday afternoon at the Class AA Boys State High School Track and Field Championships at Great Friends of UNM Track.

Ryan Nez is one of the finest distance runners to come through AA in the past decade. And yes, Randy is Ryan's little brother. But after failing to win the Class A-AA title at November's state cross country championships, the younger Nez had to wait until Friday's 1,600 meters to don his first state crown.

The wait lasted exactly 4 minutes and 41.73 seconds. That was the time Nez spent circling the track four times. Only the final 15 meters were spent out front.

"I wanted to start out strong and pick people off as the laps went on," Nez said.

He did.

But the field was talent-laden.

Thomas Martinez, a junior at Navajo Pine, entered as the top seed. Mario Armijo, a Pecos junior and the 2007 state cross country champion, was among the front-runners.

So, too, were Nicholas England of Jemez Valley and Charles Roybal of Pecos.

Roybal endured his own drought. Since qualifying as an eighth-grader and finishing dead last, Roybal battled injuries and misfortunes over the past three years and had failed to win a single medal in either cross country or track and field.

But there he was on the medals stand after crossing sixth, which was three spots behind Armijo and less than 10 seconds behind Nez.

"It's bittersweet," Roybal said. "I thought I had another two laps. Had I known it was the last lap, I would have kicked harder at the end."

Roybal saw correctly.

When the runners reached 1,200 meters, the sign at the side of the track still had the number 2 showing, as in laps remaining. No gun ever sounded, either.

Still, Roybal was able to drop the past from his shoulders.

"It's a weight off," Roybal said of collecting a state medal. "Now, I hope to progress on that and get two more."

Roybal is entered in today's 800 and 3,200 meters. Armijo, will be part of the 3,200. As will Nez.

Nez enters as the favorite, based on the 10:02.11 he clocked during the regular season. Armijo ran 10:03.28 this season. Roybal is the sixth seed at 11:07.68.

The longer the distance, the better Armijo runs. And, he will toe the line with added confidence.

"I'm happy," Armijo said of his third place in the 1,600. "It's better than I expected. I expected to get fourth or fifth."

Armijo was second after one lap and third after two laps. He held his position as Martinez surged to the front. Martinez led at the top of the home stretch, while Nez was fourth. He liked the view.

"They were close enough that I knew I could push past them," Nez said.

Martinez was the last to be caught. He crossed in 4:42.36, while Armijo finished in 4:43.58.

"He made us go faster," Nez said of Martinez. "He's a good teammate."

Martinez will be in the 3,200 as well, coming in as the fourth seed. Will he be looking for Nez to set the pace?

Probably.

"I'm much better in the 3,200," Nez said. "It's a lot longer, but I like pushing myself through it."

Will Randy's push be enough to shove Ryan out of people's memories?

Probably not.

That's OK.

"It's good to finally be out of his shadow," Nez said.

The Santa Fe Preparatory 400 relay team stepped into the spotlight after posting the fastest preliminary time.

The Blue Griffins entered as the fourth seeds. But Samuel Cicci, Joel Van Essen, Billy Scarborough and Jacob Fishbein combined for a 44.83 to nip Eunice, which ran 44.97.

Scarborough and Fishbein also qualified for the finals of the 100 meters with the second- and third-fastest preliminary times, respectively, behind Tomas Cruz of Clayton.

Cruz clocked 11.47. Scarborough ran 11.72 in a separate heat, while Fishbein chased Cruz and finished in 11.75.

Jonathan Garcia of Mora will be part of the 100 final. Garcia ran third in the heat that included Cruz and Fishbein, in 11.78.

Michael Krell is doing double-duty as well. The Santa Fe Prep junior qualified for the
110 high hurdles and the 300 hurdles. He is seeded fourth in the 110s after running 17.32 in his prelim. He is the sixth seed in the 300s.

Jonah Shure of Mesa Vista, the eighth — and final qualifier in the 110s — ran the third-best prelim time in the 300s at 43.97. Only Ryan Morgan of Texico at 43.10 and Joaquin Bachicha of Santa Rosa at 43.54, ran quicker.

In addition to Pecos, Mora and Peñasco also got on the scoreboard. Garcia finished third in the triple jump with a best of 41 feet, 11 1/4 inches, while Brandon Gurule of Peñasco was fifth in the discus with a 117-01 throw.

Josh Wiklund of Cloudcroft set a state-meet record in the triple jump at 44-6 1/2. The previous mark was 43-10 1/2, set by Jimmy Gillooly of Albuquerque Sandia Prep in 2002.