Boys track and field championships: Krell, Fishbein lead Blue Griffins; Desert Academy wins long jump

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/10/2008 - 5/11/08

ALBUQUERQUE — While Michael Krell proved a doctor wrong, and a photo proved Jacob Fishbein's lean was right, Randy Nez proved if 70 meters of sprinting worked once, it would work twice.

And if that weren't enough, a hand-drawn kangaroo proved golden for Jackson Hardwick.

Krell and Fishbein, junior classmates at Santa Fe Preparatory, each sprinted to victory Saturday at the Class AA Boys State High School Track and Field Championships at Great Friends of UNM Track.

Fishbein had help in the form of Samuel Cicci, Joel Van Essen and Billy Scarborough, the first three legs on the Blue Griffins' 400 relay.

Krell faced 10 obstacles. You know, the ones in between the starting blocks and finishing line for the 110 high hurdles.

Each faced uncertainly.

First, Krell, who contacted mononucleosis right after Christmas and confirmed what his head coach, Tove Shere, said, that a doctor told him he most likely would not run this season.

It wasn't just mono. Another virus followed, which left him unable to eat solid food for two weeks.

"I missed preseason and the first five meets," Krell said. "District was the first race I felt really good."

District is the final meet prior to state.

"I knew I had the form, but I didn't know if I would have the power," Krell said. "It just came."

The first indication arrived Friday. Krell qualified for the final with the fourth-best time after the preliminary heats.

Krell's initial strategy was to run to qualify. Then he hit a hurdle. That dropped him from fourth to sixth in his heat. So much for strategy. The top eight qualify. Krell didn't take any chances. He found the power he needed and closed to fourth by the finish.

"I felt all along I could win," he said. "Really, in my mind, I was keeping everything positive."

The strategy for the final was straightforward.

"Make sure you don't hit the last hurdle," Krell said.

He didn't.

But he busted the penultimate hurdle. Still, his speed and skill were superior. He never broke stride in stopping the clock at 16.38 seconds.

Joaquin Bachicha of Santa Rosa was second in 16.50, while pre-race favorite Ryan Morgan of Texico was third in 16.55.

Krell's winning time was nearly a second better than his prelim time of 17.32.

"It was much better than I expected," Krell said, referring to the meet and not the race.

He spoke after running second to Morgan in the 300 hurdles.

His personal one-two finish usurped his pair of fourths from a year ago. Of course, last year will never be forgotten.

"I was the only guy on the team that got points," Krell said. "And I actually outscored a couple teams. That was a pretty interesting situation."

You want interesting?

Try running an entire season without qualifying the 400 relay. That's exactly what the Blue Griffins did until district, when they finally ran under the qualifying standard.

"It was very erratic," Fishbein said of the relay. "I had confidence in us, but I didn't know how it would go."

Even after Friday, when the Blue Griffins clocked the fastest preliminary time at 44.83?

Yes.

Santa Fe Prep couldn't rest on its one laurel. Not with Tomas Cruz running anchor for Clayton, and Tucumcari and Eunice also running at their best.

Cicci, a freshman, Van Essen, an 800 runner, and Scarborough, a track tyro, gave Fishbein what he wanted, what he needed — the lead.

But Fishbein couldn't hold it.

"It was 50, 60 meters in when two guys passed me," Fishbein said of the home stretch. "I knew I had to pass them, but I can't say how I passed them. I guess I happened to have the best lean today."

The Blue Griffins finished in 44.81. Clayton was second in 44.84. The next three were all within a second of victory.

"It could have gone to anybody, and all would have been deserving," Fishbein said.

Cruz wouldn't be caught a second time, capturing the 100 and 200. Fishbein chased him across the line in the 100 for a runner-up finish. He later placed sixth in the 200.

"You've seen him today, he's amazing," Fishbein said of Cruz.

Cruz wasn't the only one to make jaws drop and hands clap. The 3,200 was another rump-raiser. Particularly, when Nez, Thomas Martinez and Nicholas England decided to catch up to Mario Armijo with three laps remaining.

Armijo, a Pecos junior, set the pace from the first stride. He built his lead to six seconds after three laps, but over the next 400 meters, Nez and Martinez, Navajo Pine teammates, closed the gap to one second. When England, a Jemez Valley senior, joined the pack, it appeared to be anyone's race.

But with 400 meters left, Nez surged first, Martinez surged second, and England surged third over the next 100 meters. Nez weaved in and out of lapped runners until 70 meters remained. That's when the senior, who had not won a state title until before Friday's 1,600, unleashed his second uncatchable kick and finished in 10:22.41.

England passed Martinez for second in 10:26.52. Martinez held off Armijo for third, 10:31.13 to 10:33.42. Charles Roybal and Justin Bustos, Armijo's teammates, were fifth and sixth, respectively.

It wasn't the lone close finish.

Adrian Coronado of Mesa Vista took second in the pole vault at 11 feet. Issac Ramos of Jal was the winner at 11-6.

Jonathan Garcia of Mora shared second with Josh Wiklund of Cloudcroft in the long jump, each going 19-11 1/4. Michael Fazekas of Tucumcari earned the victory at 20-2 3/4.

Jaime Cruz Jr. of Mesa Vista was third in the 800 in 2:07.66. Wiklund took first in 2:03.85, while Austin Sellers of Tucumcari was second in 2:04.74.

Hardwick also was on the edge of the track for the final long jump — excluding his — in the Class A Boys State High School Track and Field Championships.

Hardwick, a Desert Academy senior, started the competition with a 19-11 1/2 season- and personal-best jump. It was never threatened, except by Hardwick, who extended his lead to 20-1 1/4 on his third attempt.

The mark stood.

And stood.

And stood.

But when Jeremy Zamora of Carrizozo took off and landed, Hardwick and his head coach, Terry Passalacqua, shared the same thought:

"Uh-oh."

Only after it came up at 19-11 1/2 did Hardwick and Passalacqua exhale.

"I figured I'd be on the podium for that," Hardwick said of his first mark. "That was my best ever. But I've wanted to go 20 feet since I was a freshman."

But relays and other team needs came first.

That was, until Hardwick returned from Australia for the senior year with a fresh tattoo of a kangaroo on his right arm.

"It's always been my favorite animal," Hardwick said of the kangaroo.

It wasn't the only one at the track.

When Passalacqua and Hardwick marked his starting point on the runway that leads to the pit, the head coach handed him a piece of white adhesive tape. Before it was placed, Hardwick drew a tiny kangaroo.

"We did it today and we did it at district," Passalacqua said of the good-luck ritual.

Hardwick, though, never used it at district. Because he had qualified, he let two other teammates jump in his place in an attempt to qualify.

It wasn't the first sacrifice he's made.

"That's Jackson, anything for the team," Passalacqua said. "One year at state, he ran the prelims of the medley and gave up his spot in the final to a senior. That's really taking one for the team."

Hardwick, though, was part of one championship relay. Now, he has a bookend.

"It couldn't have come at a more opportune moment," Hardwick said of his final meet.

Hardwick entered as the fifth seed. His personal best was also his season best, 19-8 3/4.

He didn't arrive with something to prove.

Neither did Krell and the 400 relay.

They proved something anyway.