FARMINGTON – The high school track and field season got started in a big way last weekend at Farmington High School’s Hutchison Stadium, where more than 20 teams participated in the Farmington Early Bird Meet on Saturday morning.
Bloomfield’s Evani Velasquez had a big day, winning the finals in both the 100- and 200-meter dash races, propelling the Bobcats to second place team in the girls competition.
Velasquez beat teammate Alivia Waite with the fastest time of the day, racing 100 meters in 12.7 seconds, more than a half-second faster than her nearest rival. Brooke Jabour from Mancos High finished third, and Piedra Vista’s Riley Wilson and Durango’s Juliana McKown rounded out the top five.
Velasquez was equally dominant in the 200-meter dash, stopping the watch with a time of 25.67 seconds, well ahead of Wilson, who placed ahead of Marlee Mack from Montezuma-Cortez. Jabour finished in fourth place with Vivien Chance from Bayfield completing the top five sprinters.
Piedra Vista’s girls team won the overall team competition, outscoring Durango by a score of 110.5 to 83. Farmington High finished third overall, with Bloomfield’s girls team taking fourth place.
The Panthers girls team picked up victories in a pair of relay races at the Early Bird Meet. The grouping of Rachel Rodriguez, Devyn Ericksen, Jordis Fage and Wilson ran past their competition from Durango in the 4-by-100 meter relay event, crossing the finish line in a time of 51.29 seconds.
The Panthers were equally dominant in the 4-by-200 meter relay event, with Ashlynn Mitchell, Aalysa Estrada, Karissa Loudermilk and Hailee Atchley beating Aztec to the finish line in a time of 1 minute, 58.47 seconds.
Piedra Vista’s Aurora Gamboa took home individual titles at the Early Bird Meet in both the discus throw and javelin throwing events. Gamboa had a winning discus throw of 107 feet, 11 inches to beat Violet Mazenko and Megan Hutchins from Durango.
In the javelin event, Gamboa topped Navajo Prep’s Makayla Yazzie and Farmington’s Amileigh Longhorn with a winning throw of 91 feet, 11 inches.
In the boys team standings from the Early Bird meet, Durango won the event, topping Bloomfield High School, Piedra Vista High School and Kirtland Central.
Durango’s William Zahradnik just outran Sincere Tso from Chinle in the 200-meter dash, stopping the time in 24.35 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Tso, while Jonah Ritter from Mancos High and George Rascon from Bloomfield mere fractions of a second behind to finish third and fourth, respectively.
Durango also scored a big win when Charlie Dillman won the 1,600-meter event with a time of 4 minutes, 46.03 seconds, topping Gallup’s Theodore Roundface by more than two seconds. Dathan Esson of Kirtland Central and Durango’s Miles Snow rounded out the top four finishers.
Piedra Vista’s Spencer Womack took home the individual win in the high jump competition at 6-feet, 2-inches, ahead of Durango’s Mason Miller and Bayfield’s Tanner Neeley.
Rascon earned a big win in the 100-meter dash for Bloomfield, checking in at 11.5 seconds, just a fifth of a second in front of Durango’s Seb Tripp. Finishing third in the event was Montezuma-Cortez’s Colby McMillian with Miller finishing fourth for the Demons.
For more information about results from the Early Bird meet, check out the official page at nmmilesplit.com.
Farmington Early Bird Track Meet Team Results
Top 10 girls teams
1. Piedra Vista High School 110.50.
2. Durango High School 83.
3. Farmington High School 64.50.
4. Bloomfield High School 44.
5. Aztec High School 29.
6. Chinle High School 23.
7. Montezuma-Cortez High School 22.
7. Navajo Prep High School 22.
9. Kirtland Central High School 18.
10. Dolores High School 9.
Top 10 boys teams
1. Durango High School 103.
2. Bloomfield High School 87.
3. Piedra Vista High School 69.
4. Kirtland Central High School 34.
5. Chinle High School 26.
6. Laguna-Acoma High School 23.
6. Dulce High School 23.
8. Bayfield High School 21.
9. Montezuma-Cortez High School 19.
10. Farmington High School 16.
