Boys state track: Sanchez earns second title in 3,200 meters as Burnett finishes in second place

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/16/2008 - 5/17/08

ALBUQUERQUE — Tony Sanchez never hurt so good.

Kevin Burnett's hurt felt even better.

West Las Vegas senior Sanchez added a second state championship in the 3,200 meters to his résumé Friday afternoon at Great Friends of UNM Track during the opening day of the New Mexico Class AAA Boys State Track and Field Championships.

And while Sanchez was catching his breath after being carried off the track, Burnett, an Albuquerque St. Pius X senior, went on a Class AAAA record-setting run in his 3,200.

Burnett shaved more than five seconds off the year-old record set by Ben Johnson of Albuquerque Academy, who just so happened to be in Friday's final.

After staying loyal to Johnson's pace for nearly five laps, Burnett decided it was time to see what he could do running solo.

What he did was cover 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 21.24 seconds.

What he did was shatter the previous record of 9:26.44 that Johnson ran a year ago.

What he did was set the stage for today's 1,600, where not only could the AAAA record of 4:20.04 fall, but also the Class AAAAA record of 4:12.84.

"We definitely have that in us," Burnett said of running 4:11, maybe even 4:10. "I know it's in me. I'm positive Ben has it, too.

"Ben is just an excellent runner. To beat someone of that caliber is amazing. It all came together."

It arrived sooner than Burnett expected.

"The plan was to sit behind him and take it the last 400, the last 200," Burnett said. "But I was feeling good. I told myself, 'If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this now.' I knew it was going to hurt."

Burnett pushed through the pain. But it was the uncertainty of knowing where Johnson was that caused concern.

"I kept telling myself, 'He's coming, he's coming. You've got to go. You've got to go,' " Burnett said.

Johnson, though, was nowhere near Burnett at the finish. He crossed in 9:30.11, scoring valuable points for the Chargers, the six-time defending state champions.

"What an amazing young man," Adam Kedge, Academy head coach, said of Burnett. "He's been stalking Ben for a couple years, and he happened to run great on the right day."

Patrick Zacharias of Academy finished third, while Los Alamos, looking to usurp Academy, took the next three slots.

"Just to place so many so high was awesome," Allen Pittman, who finished fourth ahead of teammates Gareth Gilna and Kyle Pittman, said.

"As a team, we did good. Individually, it's not as important. We were just hoping to score something for the team."

Los Alamos will need every single point. Particularly, after Curtis Beach won two individual events and set two state-meet records for the Chargers.

Beach set the record in the long jump at 23 feet, 1 inch and lowered his own record in the 110 high hurdles to 14.24 in the preliminaries. He also won the high jump, beating Capital's twin brothers Jordan and Devin Bolich, who finished second and third.

Beach posted the best prelim times in the 300 hurdles and 200.

"He's a joy to watch and a gem to work for," Kedge said of his All-American junior. "He's an amazing athlete and an amazing young man."

The Chargers were sitting pretty after Friday. So, too, was Los Alamos.

"We qualified everything we had hoped to so far," Larry Baca, Los Alamos head coach, said. "It's the second day that counts.

"Academy's going to score a lot of points. Artesia's going to score a lot of points. Aztec's going to score a lot of points. We're hoping we're gonna score more."

Ruben Martinez finished second in the discus after coming in as the fourth seed. Martinez is favored in the shot put and javelin. Matt Zocco added a third in the pole vault and is seeded second in the two hurdle races.

Martin Romero, the cornerstone on two relays, is the top seed in the 400. Jason Reagor looks to score in the 100 and 200.

Whatever the Hilltoppers accomplish today will not surprise Kedge, an Española Valley High School graduate.

"Larry and his assistants do such a great job," Kedge said. "I assure you, they're gonna give us a handful and I couldn't think of a more formidable team to go against.

"The first day is about weathering the storm. All you can ask for on Day 2 is to have a shot. And we do."

Sanchez will be back for more. His opening run will be a tough act to follow.

Sanchez couldn't stand on his own after sprinting away from Ryan Fenton of Albuquerque Hope Christian down the home stretch.

After seven laps of running in Fenton's shadow, Sanchez looked for a sign as the two traded strides for the next 300 meters.

"I thought I could pass him, but I wanted to see what he did the last lap," Sanchez said. "He might be playing with my head."

Sanchez never saw a sign. Instead, he heard one.

"He let out a deep breath," Sanchez said. "When I heard that, I said, 'I gotta go.' I went."

Sanchez looked back once before reaching the finish in 9:49.53. It was more than 21 seconds faster than his seed time of 10:10.08 and eclipsed the 10:08.98 he ran in winning his first state track title a year ago.

"Man, that hurt," Sanchez said. "He took off pretty fast, but I figured I had to stay with him. I couldn't hold back like I wanted to."

Sanchez knows more pain is in store for today's 1,600, where once again Fenton is the runner to beat.

"It's a different race, but I think I have a chance," Sanchez said. "I'll stick behind the first-place guy and see what happens on the last lap."

Estevan Vigil does not have that luxury.

Vigil, a Robertson sophomore, is seeded second in the 100 and 400 following the prelims. He is the top seed in the 200, which did not have to run a prelim.

Vigil collected his first medal, a third in the long jump. It was one place behind teammate Chris Phillips, who also took second in the high jump. In fact, the top three high jumpers cleared 6-2, then missed at 6-4. Matthew McCullough got the victory on fewer misses.

Misses also determined the final order in the pole vault, with Dominick Valdez of St. Michael's taking third behind Billy Pinto of Bloomfield and Lucas Pace of Crownpoint.

The top four vaulters cleared 11-6. For Valdez, the height set a school record.

Losing a state title on misses hurts. Not in the good way, either.

Not like Sanchez.

Not like Burnett.

Not like Friday.

Not like today.

"Who wants to hurt more, that's what it's going to come down to," Burnett said.

He was speaking about the 1,600.

But he easily could have been talking about the rest of the meet.