Girls track and field championships: Young Monte del Sol team makes splash

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/10/2008 - 5/11/08

ALBUQUERQUE — The final home stretch belonged to Traci Lopez, and the third-place trophy went home with Santa Fe Preparatory, but for the past two days, no team did more with less than Monte del Sol.

Enter the Lady Dragons.

Monte del Sol brought five girls to the Class AA Girls State High School Track and Field Championships at Great Friends of UNM Track.

Four combined for five state championships.

Two won individual titles.

One left with four gold medals.

Still, quality could not overcome quantity when the team totals were final. And when that quantity also includes state-championship quality, the Lady Dragons' hopes of returning with the school's first state trophy in any sport were put on hold.

"We'll work on getting a four-by-four," Nicolas Trouvat, Monte del Sol head coach, said after Santa Fe Prep won the final event — the 1,600 relay — to nip the Lady Dragons, 51-50, for third place.

Cloudcroft, behind twin sensations Courtney and Camille Schultz, successfully defended its team championship, amassing 66 points. Texico was second with 55 in the 21-team field.

"It was a great day, and we made history for our school," Trouvat said. "We'll build up for next year."

The Lady Dragons did not arrive with a senior, while junior Sarah Meade and freshman Kiara Glover showed they have no equals when it comes to the sprints.

Meade won the 100 and 200 meters, the first state victories of her career. Meade also anchored the 400 and 800 relays, two more firsts for the school.

Glover ran third leg on both relays. She also added the 400 title to her collection in this, her first season on varsity.

Meade and Glover could not have done it without Jamaica Gonzales and Danielle Varela, the two other relay mainstays.

Juliet Smith, an eighth-grader, added points to the total with a fifth in the 300 hurdles.

While the Lady Dragons were introducing themselves to the rest of the state, two Santa Fe Preparatory seniors were saying goodbye.

One is Lopez, who left with four gold medals and one state-meet record.

The other is Shawna Winnegar, who finished her five-year career the way she started it, as the lead-off leg on the 1,600 relay.

It was the fourth gold medal in the 1,600 relay for Winnegar, Lopez and Ali Mackenzie, a junior. The newest member to the club is Elizabeth Lanman, an eighth-grader.

"Start fast, end fast," Lanman said of her second-leg strategy.

It worked.

Lanman extended a six-second lead to eight seconds after taking the baton from Winnegar and passing it off to Mackenzie.

Tove Shere, Santa Fe Prep head coach, put Mackenzie third because, "she's a hunter."

Even with no one in front, Mackenzie still pursued.

"It's only the second time I've been in front," Mackenzie said. "This time, I pretended someone was out there to chase."

Lopez pretty much had a victory lap before stopping the clock at 4 minutes, 16.62 seconds.

She earned it.

On Friday, Lopez won the triple jump and high jump, and posted the fastest preliminary time in the 300 hurdles. On Saturday, she won the 300 hurdles and finished sixth in the long jump before she took the track for the 1,600 relay.

"I am so happy," Lopez said of her decision to continue her track career. "It's totally been worth it."

Lopez competed in the triple jump, long jump and 300 hurdles for the first time. She left with a state-meet record in the triple jump, but decided against running for the record in the final of the hurdles.

"I just wanted to win," Lopez said. "To have the record would have been a bonus."

Lopez ran 47.06 in the prelims, 47.21 in the final. The record stands at 46.26.

Meade also had a record on her mind — the 12.52 mark for 100 meters. Meade ran 12.28 during the regular season, but state-meet records can only be set at the state meet.

Meade ran 13.25 on Friday, 12.60 on Saturday.

"I'm kind of bummed because I've had faster times," Meade said of her championship run.

Meade would not make excuses. But within the span of a couple hours Saturday, she took three long jumps, anchored the 400 relay, took three more long jumps before the 100 final.

"It was a little tiring running so much," Meade admitted.

If it affected anything, it was the long jump.

Meade led after the first three jumps at 15 feet, 6 1/2 inches. She scratched on her final three attempts.

Yeshemabet Turner, a Pecos freshman, passed her in the final round with a 15-10. So did Victoria Richards, a Texico sophomore, who won with a leap of 16-1.

Meade felt rushed when she returned to the long jump. It was the opposite in the 100, and the two relays, where no one pushed her. Or so it appeared.

Meade extended the lead her teammates gave her after the first three legs of the 400 relay, and she never trailed in the 100.

The 800 relay was another solo effort, but not the 200.

"I held behind a little bit," Meade said of her start in the 200. "I wanted to save the rest I had for the last 100."

It was there that Meade passed Tawsha Brazley of Bosque School and powered through the finish in 26.33. Brazley was second in 26.52.

Glover was sixth in the 200, but it was another 200 meters, this one coming in the 800 relay, that was of championship caliber.

Glover received the baton in fifth and instead of moving inside to Lane 1, she stayed outside along the curve. It didn't save space, but it saved time.

"It was a lot harder to catch up this time," Glover said. "I could have moved in. But in my head, I knew it would work better if I stayed outside instead of moving in and out."

Different strategy. Same result.

"It's exciting to get it from Kiara," Meade said. "I'm most excited for our relays."

Gonzales, too.

"I can do an individual 200, but they just kick my butt," Gonzales said. "In the relays, I push myself more because of my teammates."

It's a sentiment shared by Varela.

"In relays, I make sure I stay where I'm at or catch up to the other girls," Varela said.

Gonzales, a junior who starts the relays, was nerve-free after striking gold.

"After the 400, all the nerves were gone," Gonzales said. "I've been on the relays since the eighth grade. We've never made it to the finals before. To come this far and get first is amazing."

And agonizing.

At least, for Glover.

"I'm hurting right now," Glover said after the 800 relay. "But I'll try to pull it together."

She did.

Ever so slowly.

It was by design.

Hers.

Glover did not set the pace in the 400. Instead, she trailed the field through the opening 200. That brought her to the curve, and few are better in the state.

Glover accelerated into the lead and held it down the stretch, claiming her first individual title in 1:01.72.

Winnegar showed her prowess in the third 200 meters of the 800.

"One the first curve, I made my move on Sabrina (Lee) and the whole rest of the race I had my eyes on Courtney's head, trying to pull her closer," Winnegar said.

Winnegar could tell that Schultz was wearing pink ribbons on her braids. That's because she was closing ground fast on the distance standout in the final 100 meters. But it was not enough to keep the Cloudcroft senior from an undefeated career.

Schultz won in 2:24.01, while Winnegar was second in 2:26.17. Lee, of Estancia, was third in 2:27.92.

Schultz finished her career six for six — sweeping the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 for the second straight year. The sisters were tennis players until transferring to Cloudcroft prior to their junior year.

Schultz-squared is off to Oklahoma State University, after signing national letters-of-intent to run cross country and track.

Both said they are looking forward.

Daniel Wendland is looking ahead as well.

"I'm looking forward to next year," Wendland, Santa Fe Waldorf had coach, said after the conclusion of the Class A Girls State High School Track and Field Championships.

For good reason.

Santa Fe Waldorf did not have a senior on its roster. And, the school made its share of history with a runner-up finish in the 800 relay.

"We keep getting better and better," Wendland said. "We started the season running 2:03."

Santa Fe Waldorf finished by running 1:55.93, which trailed only Clovis Christian and its winning time of 1:53.07.

Unlike Monte del Sol, which anchors its 800 relay with speed, Waldorf front-loads its relay with Malika Stuerznickel and Montana Brown.

It worked.

Santa Fe Waldorf led after two legs. But not enough for Tanya Kwantao and Mariah Salyer to hold off Clovis Christian, which entered state as the favorite.

"I'm elated," Wendland said. "I can't believe we just got second. We're surprising ourselves each time we run that race."

As expected, Margot Groenfeldt scored in the 1,600 with a fifth, one day after scoring in the 3,200. Stuerznickel added a fourth in the 400, while Kwantao was fifth in the 100 hurdles.

Waldorf finished sixth in the team standings.

Not bad for four juniors, two freshmen and one eighth-grader.

"We're placing left and right," Wendland said. "This is the best we've ever done."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

It does.

It also sounds like the start of something good.

Wouldn't you agree, Monte del Sol?