Socorro’s Jay Lee soars to new heights in pole vault

Sophomore pole vaulter Jay Lee’s confidence is improving with each meet, and the defending state champion has upped his personal best each of the last two weeks.
At the 84th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational in Arizona, Lee cleared 13-0 for the first time in competition, and he bettered that mark by four inches at the Dexter Demon Relays on Saturday.

Lee’s new personal best is 14 inches higher than his gold-medaling 12-footer at last year’s state championships. A new pole and recovery from a broken hand have slowed Lee’s progress, but that hasn’t stopped him from being Class 3A’s No. 1 ranked vaulter.

Lee also added a new event to his routine, breaking out in the javelin with a throw of 133-9.

Senior hurdler Braden Mounyo broke the school record (39.13) in the 300-meters in Arizona and followed that up with a pair of firsts in Dexter. Mounyo won the 110 hurdles in a clocking of 15.47 and was first in the 300 with a time of 40.94.
Isaiah Ocampo had a big day in the sprint events. His 23.80 mark earned him first place in the 200 meters, and his 11.84 placed him second in the 100 meters.
Ocampo dropped wrestling this season and instead focused on the upcoming spring track season.

“Isaiah is the hardest working kid. He might not have all the ability, but he’s going outwork everybody and he’s going to do everything you ask him to do,” Warrior track coach Cody Lee said. “Isaiah is truly a leader in everything he does. In the classroom, on the field and off the field he goes as hard as he can the whole time and he does exactly what he’s supposed to do. He’s definitely one of the guys to chase down in the 200 right now. He’s been training with us since December.”

Despite his son Jay’s hand injury, Lee feels the sophomore is right where he needs to be regarding his progress. The 13-4 mark he cleared puts him third on Socorro’s all-time pole-vaulting record board. Robert Caldwell’s record of 15-9 has stood since 2002.

“Jay’s progressing exactly where we want to, but we’re in a position now where we’re out of pole,” Lee said.

Jay Lee has exceeded the limitations of his pole, which means he will alternate between his current pole and a new, longer one.

“We need a bigger pole. We need a bigger stick. I made some calls today, and hopefully, my mom will bring one back from College Station because that’s where we get our poles from. We rent them from a pole-vaulting academy there,” Lee said.
The goal is for Jay Lee to clear 15 feet this season, and that’s possible if he can transition to the longer pole before the state meet.

Demon Relays
GIRLS
4 x 100 (400 M) Relay – 4. 1) Bunning, Sienna 2) Chavez, Stephanie 3) Lucero, Breanne 4) Brown, Ma’Leah, 59.42.
100 M Hurdles – 6. Brown, Ma’Leah 22.72; 9. Zagrai, Anna 24.22.
100 M Dash – 13. Bunning, Sienna 14.94; 26. Olivares, Emilia 15.73; 30. Chavez, Stephanie 16.14; 38. Dunklee, Jasmine 16.98.
800 M Run – 9. Olivares, Emilia 10. Baca, Alex 11. Gutierrez, Esther.
4 x 200 (800 M) Relay – 4. 1) Dunklee, Jasmine 2) Gutierrez, Esther 3) Zagrai, Anna 4) Morales, Marijo, 2:23.31.
400 M Dash – 19. Lucero, Breanne 1:16.21; 23. Candeleria, Stella 1:19.89.
300 M Hurdles – 7. Brown, Ma’Leah 1:03.01; 8. Zagrai, Anna 1:08.00.
Medley Relay – 6. 1) Chavez, Stephanie 2) Lucero, Breanne 3) Olivares, Emilia 4) Candeleria, Stella, 5:33.28
200 M Dash – 16. Bunning, Sienna 31.67; 24. Lucero, Breanne 32.72; 42. Baca, Alex 38.61.
Long Jump – (no distances/results listed) Chavez, Stephanie; Gutierrez, Esther; Brown, Ma’Leah; Zagrai, Anna; Morales, Marijo
Triple Jump – (no distances/results listed) Chavez, Stephanie
Pole Vault – 3. Bunning, Sienna 5-06.00; 5. Lucero, Breanne 5-06.00; 7. Baca, Alex 5-00.00.
BOYS
3200 M Run – 8. Demorest, Liam 13:38.30; 12. Sewell, Riley 15:22.00; 13. Watkins, Ben 16:01.00.
4 x 100 (400 M) 1. Socorro Relay, 48.34.
110 M Hurdles – 1 Mounyo, Braden 15.47; 6 Gonzales, Ruben, 20.93.
100 M Dash – 2. Ocampo, Isaiah 11.84; 4. Mounyo, Braden 12.06; 20. Ocampo, Ezra 12.97; Scharle, Jordan 14.79.
800 M Run – 6. Burger, Kyle 2:23.27; 11. Gaytan, David; 12. Watkins, Ben.
4 x 200 (800 M) Relay – Socorro, 1. 1:33.22.
400 M Dash – 12. Arndt, Paul 59.89; 15. Sanchez, Vicente 1:30.94.
300 M Hurdles – 1. Mounyo, Braden 40.94; 6. Garza, Jeremiah 50.06; 12. Burger, Kyle 53.66.
Medley Relay – 8. Socorro, 5:19.79.
200 M Dash – 1. Ocampo, Isaiah 23.80; 17. Arndt, Paul 26.71; 33. Wheeler, Aiden 28.04.
1600 M Run – (no distances/results listed) Watkins, Ben; Chavis, Drizzton; Demorest, Liam; Sewell, Riley .
4 x 400 (1600 M) Relay – 4. Socorro, 3:53.51
Long Jump – 11. Barba, Josiah 18-01.00.
Shot Put – 6. Ocampo, Isaiah 37-06.50; 8. Aldridge, Chad 36-11.00; 17. Chavez, Diego 33-05.00.
Discus – 3. Ocampo, Isaiah 120-01.00; 15. Aldridge, Chad 93-04.00.
Triple Jump – 6. Barba, Josiah, 35-04.00.
Javelin – 4. Lee, Jay 133-09.00; 12. Burger, Kyle 102-07.50.
High Jump – 5. Gonzales, Ruben 5-02.00; 11. Giron, Ivan 4-10.00; 12. Silva, Nazario 4-10.00.
Pole Vault – 1 Lee, Jay, 13-04.00; 2. Mounyo, Braden 12-00.00; 7. Ocampo, Ezra 8-00.00; 8. Munguia, AD 8-00.00.
Division 1 (Girls) – Team Rankings – 20 Events Scored
9) 16
Division 1 (Boys) – Team Rankings – 20 Events Scored
3) 71.5