Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Socorro sweeps district meet

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

NHOLLAND The moral of countless sports stories is that the payoff comes in the end after a lot of hard work to get there. That was the story of the Socorro boys and girls track and field teams this season as they faced many larger and stronger Class 5A teams in meets throughout the season, but they were rewarded with dual District 3-3A district championships on Saturday.

"We did exactly what we were hoping to," Socorro boys coach Caleb Hull said. "More than 80 percent of the team had personal bests. They ran faster than they ever had before. They stepped up to a whole new level. We've been telling them the whole time its practice and its the last two meets that matter."

Heading into the meet, district rival Cobre looked to hold advantages in several key areas, while Socorro presented a more balanced team. Certain individual performances by Socorro athletes helped to upset Cobre in some of the events they were expected to sweep.

"We had a few events where Cobre should have been first and second," Hull said. "But we had some kids step up and say 'I've got this.'"

One of those events for the boys team was a first place finish by Josh Reid, in the 400-meter dash, edging out two Cobre runner by less than a second.

Hatch Valley dominated the sprints, but Socorro runners Reid, Avery Ngo and Erik Garcia managed to place well in the events, all but eliminating other schools from scoring points in those events.

Baski Baker and Zach Esquivel took first and second in the 110 meter hurdles, Esquivel was first in the 300-meter hurdles and Baker was the top high jumper.

The Socorro boys 400-meter, 800-meter and 1600-meter relay teams all placed in the top two, securing a trip to the state championships in the events.

Ngo took the top spot in the long jump, Sam Jones landed the longest triple jump and Daniel Boykin tossed a second place discus throw.

The Lady Warriors had equally impressive performances and their depth showed when it came to tallying team points.

Zoe Howell finished first in the 400-meter dash, and her finish was complimented with additional points scored by Victoria Lopez and Ashli Lam. Lopez took second in the 800-meter run where teammate Ellen Aster backed her up with a third place finish.

Abigail Wolberg finished first in the 200-meter dash and second in the 100. Aster finished second in the 1600-meter run and first in the 3200 with additional team points earned by Dominique Baca and Michelle Mora in the events.

Nikki Engler had the best time in the 100-meter hurdles and finished second in the high jump.

Wolberg took first in the long jump and second in the triple jump.

The Lady Warriors did not have a strong showing in throwing events, but easily made up for it with their relay teams, placing first in all four events.

"They just straight gave us everything they had," Hull said. "There was not a kid who didn't leave there exhausted, which is a good thing."

Socorro now has one final chance to give a top performance when they head to the state championships this Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, held at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex, in Albuquerque.

nholland@dchieftain.com

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