Hilltopper Track & Field Teams Are 2026 District Champions

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on May 13, 2026
- 9:39 am

The District Champion Girls and Boys Track & Field teams! Photo by Blake Wood

Margaret Steinkamp thrills her teammates in the District Champion 4×400 m relay. Photo by Blake Wood

By BLAKE WOOD
Assistant Coach
LAHS Track and Field

Both the Hilltopper Boys and Girls Track & Field teams won the District 4A-2 Championship at Sullivan Field on Friday afternoon, May 8. The Boys scored 186 points to runner-up Moriarty’s 124 points. The Girls win was even more dominating with 195.5 points to Moriarty’s 108.5 points. Taos was third in both competitions.

The boys swept every individual track event and won 13 of the 20 events contested. The ‘Topper Girls were District Champions in five individual events and all five relay events.

To qualify athletes and relay teams for next Friday/Saturday’s State Championship, athletes need to either finish first or second in the District Championship or achieve a qualifying mark in any meet of the season. Both the Boys and Girls teams have qualified athletes for the State Championship in 13 of 15 individual events and all five relay events.

Individual District Champions (qualifying for the State Championship) included:

Jens Wald-Hopkins in the 100m (11.00) & 200m (22.00).
Jacob Hilderbrand in the 400m (50.43).
Cole Luscher in the 800m (2:04.37).
Kaj Maupin in the 1600m (4:45.26).
William Hudlemeyer in the 3200m (10:23.75).
Rylee Gramer in the 110m hurdles (15.82).
Connor Lattimore in the 300m hurdles (42.39).
Pat Montoya in the high jump (6’4”).
Ezra Kozimor in the pole vault (12’).
Jordan Herrera in the javelin (126’ 7-1/2”).
Jayden Burns in the 100m (12.76).
Evangelina Gutierrez in the 200m (25.98).
Zoe Romero in the 400m (61.96).
Iris Purtzer in the high jump (5’2″).

Relay Champions included:

4x100m relay: Ewan Arnold, Jacob Hilderbrand, Chris Teague, and Rylee Gramer.
1600m medley relay: Jens Wald-Hopkins, Andres Torres-Quintana, James Ito, and Koen Christensen.
4x100m relay: Evangelina Gutierrez, Raina Passalacqua, Jayden Krupp, and Maliyah Vigil.
4x200m relay: Jayden Burns, Chloe Coffey, Evangelina Gutierrez, and Margaret Steinkamp.
4x400m relay: Jayden Burns, Chloe Coffey, Maliyah Vigil, and Margaret Steinkamp.
1600m medley relay: Lauren Evenhus, Zoe Romero, Grace Montoya, and Ensley Jorgenson.

Individual District Runners-Up (also qualifying for the State Championship) included:

Connor Lattimore in the 110m hurdles.
Pat Montoya in the 400m.
Rylee Gramer in the 200m.
William Hudlemeyer in the 1600m.
Ewan Arnold in the triple jump.
Tevi Funaki in the discus.
Margaret Steinkamp in the 100m.
Chloe Coffey in the 200m.
Ensley Jorgenson in the 400m.
Abigail Swigert in the 1600m.
Grace Montoya in the 3200m.
Raina Passalacqua in the 100m hurdles.
Sarah Martis in the shot put.
Ariana Galvez in the pole vault.

There were several all-time top-10 Hilltopper performances at the District Championship:

The 4x200m relay by Jayden, Chloe, Evangelina, and Margaret ranks as the #2 all-time.
Pat Montoya’s 6’4” high jump is now tied for 8th all-time.
Ewan Arnold’s 42’ triple jump now ranks 10th all-time.

A special shout-out is due Ezra Kozimor, whose dedication and coachability is literally propelling him to greater heights. At the beginning of the season, Ezra was an 8’6″ pole vaulter. As recently as three weeks ago, his PR was 10’. This week, Ezra cleared a State Qualifying 12’, and came very close to clearing 12’6″, a remarkable progression in an extremely technical event!

The State Championship will be held at the UNM track in Albuquerque this upcoming Friday and Saturday, May 15-16.

The Hilltopper Track & Field coaches want to thank all the parents and volunteers who helped us host large track meets at Sullivan Field two weekends in a row!

Kaj Maupin leads teammates Cole Luscher and Oliver Mosby in the 1600 m. Hilltopper athletes captured the first six places and nine of the top-10 in this event. Photo by Blake Wood

Jayden Burns completes the handoff to Chloe Coffey in the 4×200 m relay. With teammates Evangelina Gutierrez and Margaret Steinkamp, the Hilltoppers not only won the event, but also posted the 2nd best all-time ‘Topper performance in this event! Photo by Blake Wood