Girls state track: Norskog strong in 1,600 meters for 2nd straight title

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/16/2008 - 5/17/08

ALBUQUERQUE — For two laps, Patty Murray of St. Michael's High School took a wait-and-see approach as the finals of the 1,600 meters unfolded in front of her Friday afternoon at Great Friends of UNM Track.

For Murray, patience is a virtue.

It is a lesson Kate Norskog has yet to learn.

Then again, why should she?

For the third time in as many races in her oh-so-brief varsity career, Norskog, a St. Michael's freshman, waited for no one.

Not even Murray.

"I worked in my head to go out strong and pick it up every lap and finish strong," Norskog said after successfully defending her state championship in the 1,600 at the New Mexico Class AAA State High School Track and Field Championships.

"It felt pretty good."

It looked even better.

Norskog and Erica Diaz of Cobre, her two-lap shadow, gapped the pack by 20 meters after one lap and extended the distances to four seconds at the halfway point.

But as Norskog surged around the first curve, Diaz stalled. She maintained her place but not her pace. Meanwhile, Murray worked her way into third, one stride ahead of Sophia Torres of Pojoaque Valley.

"Everyone usually goes out too fast and I'm usually behind," Murray said. "That's just how I run."

For half the race. Few are better over the final 800. Only Norskog was Friday.

"Most people start slowing down on the third lap, and I start picking it up," Murray said.

Murray passed Diaz with 480 meters left. But she was 13 seconds in arrears to Norskog with a lap remaining.

"I could see her, but she was pretty far in front of me," Murray said. "That's just how it is."

Norskog stopped the clock in 5 minutes, 15.97 seconds. It was well under the 5:22.61 she ran en route to winning last year's state title. But it was still shy of her goal of 5:10.

"We told Kate to take it out hard. We knew if she did, good luck to the rest of them," Lenny Gurule, who coaches the St. Michael's distance runners, said. "And Patty executed her race perfectly, like she always does."

Torres lost a sprint to Bronwyn Bedrick of Albuquerque Sandia Prep in the race for third.

"I was feeling a bit off today," Torres, the 2007 state cross country champion, said. "I usually know when I'm ready to go, and I just didn't feel it. Maybe it was a confidence issue."

Norskog is the defending state champion in the 3,200 meters, which is the second of two distance races she will run today.

The first is the 800 meters. The field includes Diaz, the top seed, and Bedrick, the defending champion. Also entered is Dionna Montoya, a Pojoaque Valley sophomore who is seeded second.

Montoya was the second seed in Friday's long jump. That was until she went 17 feet, 51/4 inches. That was a personal best.

And, more important, a state best.

"Oh, my gosh, it feels so great," Montoya said of her first state championship in the long jump. "I worked so hard this season. This is one of my biggest accomplishments."

Montoya struck relay gold last season. In March, she celebrated a state championship in basketball.

"I'd never jumped 17 feet. It's a pretty big accomplishment for me," Montoya said.

It certainly didn't hurt finishing ahead of a pair of District 2AAA rivals in Jordan Miller of St. Michael's and Kassandra Tapia of Las Vegas Robertson.

Miller, a senior, took second at 17-3, while Tapia, a freshman, finished third at 16-9.

The high jump was not a showdown between district rivals. Instead, it came down to Marin Schweigert and Julie Franken, who share the same class (junior), the same uniform (Robertson) and the same height coming in (5-4).

Oh yeah, each also owns a state title in the event, with Franken winning as an eighth-grader and Schweigert entering as defending champion.

Schweigert was the first to flinch, missing her first two attempts at 5-0. When she cleared, the event was down to a final foul, with Shelby Walker of Bloomfield and Estephanita Herrera of Albuquerque Hope Christian joining the Robertson duo.

Schweigert was the first to clear 5-2, making the height on her first attempt. She was the last to clear 5-2.

Franken, who did not miss before the bar was raised to its final height, finished second, based on the fewest misses. Walker was third.

Schweigert tried three attempts at 5-4 1/2, which would have broken the school record she shares with Franken and Sherry Willis.

"I'm a little disappointed," Franken said, "because I know I could have done better."

Franken said the barrier was more mental than physical.

"I'm a very mental person," Franken said. "My mind is usually what messes me up. I kept thinking too hard that I don't want to lose. I guess I let it get to me."

Nerves almost grounded Schweigert.

"I was nervous because everyone else had cleared it," Schweigert said of being the last over 5-0. "I was thinking, 'That would be pretty bad if I missed it.' I'm just glad I made it."

Schweigert was pulling for Franken to clear 5-2.

Honest.

"And I wasn't thinking, 'Miss it,' " Schweigert told her coaches after the competition.

Prior to state, Franken and Schweigert, who have been nearly inseparable since third grade, both admitted that they sometimes think to themselves, "Miss it" right before the other jumps.

"I wanted her to clear 5-2," Schweigert said. "I wanted it to be us two at 5-4."

Robertson's impressive first day also included a runner-up finish from Alicia Garcia in the discus. The Lady Cardinals led St. Michael's, the four-time defending state champion, 21-17 after five events scored.

Fourteen more will be scored today. The Lady Horsemen expect to score big behind Miller, the top seed in the 100 hurdles and the second seed to Kimberly Babicke of Pojoaque Valley in the 100. Miller also is seeded second in the 300 hurdles.

Babicke, a freshman, is the top seed in the 200, and joins Montoya in the 400 finals. Neither went all out in their preliminary heats.

"I just wanted to get into the finals," Montoya said. "Tomorrow will be the real race."

No one knows that better than Amanda Trujillo. Still, the Los Alamos High School junior gave a preview of coming attractions in the Class AAAA State Track and Field Championships.

Trujillo posted the best time in the 100 (12.47), the best time in the 200 (25.74) and the second-best time in the 300 hurdles (47.84) during Friday's preliminaries.

Trujillo also anchored the Lady Hilltoppers to the top time in the 400 relay (50.00). Another relay member, Emily Weeks, got into the scoring act Friday, with a third in the long jump.

Lindsay Benage was fourth in the high jump and Holly Walker was sixth in the 1,600 for Los Alamos.

Albuquerque Academy, though, ran away from the competition, scoring 17 points in the 1,600 after Julia Foster, Paige Throckmorton, Amanda Throckmorton and Ellie Joles ran a respective first, second, fourth and fifth.

The Chargers could duplicate that number in today's 800 and 3,200.